A secretive group of powerful legislators, business groups and Texas oil companies has been laying the groundwork since December to win legislative approval to open Florida waters to oil exploration and end the 20-year drilling moratorium.

Florida Energy Associates, which identifies itself only by saying it is financed by a group of independent oil producers, has hired lobbyists, public relations experts, a financial consultant and a pollster to help advocate for the sale of drilling leases in state waters between the shore and 10 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.

And the group has influential friends: Associated Industries of Florida, the Association of Builders and Contractors, and several petroleum companies.

Between the start of April and the end of July, the group spent as much as $234,000 on legal work and lobbying to push a bill through the Legislature last session. The measure passed the House, 70-43, but died in the Senate.

Supporters say defeat won't happen again.

"I predict we'll pass the bill and the governor will sign it," boasted Barney Bishop, president of Associated Industries of Florida.

But he declined to say which members of his group are backing the effort. "With the nature of public discourse today, they don't want to have a target on their backs," he said.

Bishop has reason to feel confident. The group has heft: Florida Energy Associates has contributed $55,000 to political parties — $35,000 to Republicans and $20,000 to Democrats — since May.

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