Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 08-23-11 regular — reading text

Organizations Undermining United States Sovereignty A. Neither the City of Fort Walton Beach or any city in Florida, nor any agency or corporation created by the City of Fort Walton Beach, can be a member of, receive funding from, contract for services from, or give financial or other forms of aid to the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the International Democratic Union (IDU), the United Nations, any entity established by the United Nations, or any entity whose purpose is to undermine the sovereignty of the United States and restrict the natural rights of the people of the United States as elucidated by the founders of this nation. B. If the mayor's of all the cities across Florida who are partners with the ICLEI have not terminated their membership in an organization specified in subsection ( A) of this section within thirty days of the effective date of this ordinance, the mayor shall be fined $ 1, 000 for each day the City is still a member of such organization payable to the City. C. If one or more city official accepts funding or services from, or provides funding or resources to an organization as specified by subsection (A) of this section, such officials shall be personally liable to the City for the amount of money either accepted or contributed, unless the direct transfer of money is not involved, in which case the person shall be liable for the amount of money equivalent to the fair market value of all services or resources given or received in violation of subsection ( A). D. All officials participating in violations pursuant to this section shall be jointly liable to the City for such actions. E. The City shall not indemnify any public official of any liability incurred pursuant to violations of this section. F. Either the city or Florida state attorney general or the county prosecutor can initiate civil suits against any public official for violations pursuant to this section and can also seek a writ of mandamus to terminate activities described in subsection ( A) of this section. Proceeds from the lawsuit in excess of reasonable litigation costs shall be deposited into the general fund ofthe City in question. G. Violations of this section shall constitute valid cause for removal from office pursuant to Florida law. Section 4. That this ordinance be submitted to the electorate of the City for their approval or rejection at the next election applicable under Sections of the Charters of the City of Fort Walton Beach. Section 5. Severability. If a part of this act is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of this act is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications. Section 6. Effective Date. This ordinance, if approved by the electorate, shall take effect and be in full force upon the issuance of the certification of election by the cities County Auditor' s office. Charter Amendment An ordinance regarding preventing any city in Florida from implementing aspects of the Mayor's sustainability task force by preventing the city from adopting any regulations, taxation, or other policies which would be targeted specifically towards modifying greenhouse gas emissions. WHEREAS, carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of life and a necessary component of the atmosphere to sustain healthy plant life. This molecule is not a toxin or carcinogen. Carbon dioxide has existed at much higher concentrations than currently present in our atmosphere such as during the Mesomic Era when the dinosaurs roamed the earth and animal and plant life were extremely abundant. There is substantial evidence that climate change is primarily due to the natural solar cycle. In the recent time period climate change activists claim the earth was warming due to carbon dioxide emissions, other planets in the solar system were undergoing global warming simultaneously without man made carbon dioxide emissions being present. Geophysical Research Letters published a paper in 2005 which showed that arctic temperatures in the twentieth century were closely correlated to solar activity and not to atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Moreover, there are multiple lines of corroborating evidence demonstrating a roughly 1, 500 year cycle ( plus or minus 500 years) of warming going back 400,000 years. Temperatures in the Medieval Warm Period ( 1100 to 1300 AD) were higher than at present, despite not having experienced the Industrial Revolution. Throughout history these warm periods have proved to be beneficial to society, particularly with regards to agricultural production. Many of the predictions of the man made global warming hypothesis have been contradicted by empirical evidence These include ( 1) the lack of additional water vapor being trapped in the upper atmosphere, (2) surface temperatures increasing at a faster rate than those of the upper atmosphere, a trend that should be reversed as predicted by the greenhouse gas hypothesis, ( 3) warming is not the strongest in the polar regions of the Earth as predicted by greenhouse gas models, (4) carbon dioxide has been shown to be a lagging, not leading, indicator of global warming throughout the history of the earth ( most likely due to changes in solubility of carbon dioxide in oceans as temperatures rise), and (5) mean temperatures declined from 1940 to 1975 despite huge increases of man made carbon dioxide during this period. WHEREAS, taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize costly policy decisions based on junk science and the erroneous proposition that carbon dioxide is harmful to out environment. Revenues lost on funding incentives for promoting an anti -carbon dioxide agenda necessarily need to be repaid by the remainder of the taxpayers. Preferential parking access for uncommonly used vehicles can create a parking availability issue for citizens utilizing vehicles that are not favored by the city. Carbon dioxide is a harmless gas that is often released in industrial production. Any effort to artificially limit its production could thus provide permanent damage to the city's local economy and tax base. Finding alternative sources of energy as a means of lowering the long tern cost of providing city services is a laudable goal; this should be the only goal of such efforts. The use of alternative sources of energy that are substantially more expensive than existing technologies should not be justified in the name of the junk science of global warning and such usage would be violating the fiduciary responsibility city officials owe to the taxpayer. WHEREAS, given that carbon dioxide is a product emitted by all animals, yet deleterious at normal concentrations to none, any restrictions on its production are infringements of the natural rights preserved under the ninth amendment of the United States Constitution. As such any state or federal regulations of such emissions would be null and void and of no force in any City in Florida. -- Now, Therefore, The Cities across Florida do ordain: Procurement of Public Works, Goods and Services Subject to the general laws of the State of Florida, the city council' s shall by ordinance regulate the manner in which the City contracts for public works, personal services, and the acquisition and disposition of property. The city council shall employ accepted procurement principles, reserving in all cases the right to reject all bids, proposals, or other offers, and, as trustee of public funds, shall in all procurements of public works, goods, and services promote the public interest. City officials and employees owe a fiduciary duty to the citizens of the city in the management of the public funds. All expenditures shall be made while being mindful of the lowest long term cost to the taxpayer over the life of the project without regards to ancillary criterion such as greenhouse gas emissions. Section 2. That the City Charter of the City of Fort Walton Beach and all cities across Florida be amended to add a new section to read m follows Taxpayer Funding of Greenhouse Gas Modifications a. No public funds can be used to educate, indoctrinate, advertise, or imply the idea that carbon dioxide, water vapor, or other nontoxic greenhouse gases are harmful to the environment, that these gases need to be intentionally reduced, or that mankind is responsible for climate change. The city shall not fund incentives or impose mandates specifically purposed towards lowering carbon dioxide emissions, nontoxic greenhouse gas emissions, or the carbon footprint of the city as a whole. b. Vehicles shall not be granted preferential access to parking spaces based on the gas mileage of the vehicle, the type of engine used by the vehicle, or the type of fuel consumed by the vehicle. c. The government cannot spend excess money on any project to specifically reduce carbon dioxide emissions, nontoxic greenhouse gas emissions, or the city's carbon footprint above and beyond what is necessary to accomplish the same project absent the aforementioned goals. The government shall seek to use those energy sources which provide the least long term financial burden on the taxpayer based on fuel price assumptions consistent with the existing city budget. d. Evaluations and remuneration of city employees or officials shall be made independent of any evaluation of their ability to manage the city' s carbon footprint or greenhouse gas emissions. Section 3. That all ordinances, resolutions, motions or orders in conflict with the amendments to the City Charter specified are hereby repeated to the extent of such conflict. Taxpayer Funding of Greenhouse Gas Modifications A. Definitions. The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 1. " Greenhouse gas" includes carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, sulfur hexaflouride, hydrofluorocarbon, or pertluorocarbon. 2. " Nontoxic greenhouse gas" includes carbon dioxide, water vapor, and any other greenhouse gas that is not classified as a " toxic greenhouse gas" under this section. 3. " Penalties or fines" means any civil or criminal penalty or fine, tax, salary, wage withholding, surcharge, or any named fee with a similar effect that is established by law, rule, or regulation by a government- established, created, or controlled agency that is used to punish or discourage the exercise of rights protected under this chapter. 4. " Toxic greenhouse gas" means any greenhouse gas that multiple confirmatory scientific studies have proven beyond a reasonable doubt is directly toxic to life under normal circumstances and at naturally occurring concentrations. B. The City of Fort Walton Beach and all cities across Florida, as well any entity or corporation established by the City, may not: 1. Specifically tax or set penalties or fines tied to the production of nontoxic greenhouse gases; 2. Limit the production of nontoxic greenhouse gases; 3. Adopt or enforce a state or regional program to regulate the emission of nontoxic greenhouse gases; 4. Adopt regulatory disincentives specifically designed to modify nontoxic greenhouse gas emissions; 5. Adopt any public policy specifically designed to modify nontoxic greenhouse gas emissions; 6. Discriminate against any vehicle based upon fuel economy or carbon emissions from such vehicle; or 7. Expend any resources under the City of Fort Walton Beach or any city in Florida' s disposal, including public funds, to modify nontoxic greenhouse gas emissions indirectly through public education efforts. Prohibited activities include: Advertising that carbon dioxide and other nontoxic greenhouse gases need to be reduced; Advertising that nontoxic greenhouse gases are harmful to individuals or the environment Sponsoring propaganda campaigns in