Florida Geological Survey


 4. Required notice of intention to drill, deepen
 or plug a well.
 5. Required that log and plugging records be
 filed with the State Board of Conservation.
 6. Authorized the State Board of Conser-
 vation to promulgate and enforce rules and
 regulations and prescribe necessary forms.
 7. Prescribed penalties for violations.
 Opponents to the legislation argued that such
a law would doter rather than encourage
exploration. A quote from one of the opposition
leaders states:" ... as long as the state has no
production .. there is about as much necessity
for legislation to regulate or control production as
there would be to require paupers to rent lock
boxes in banking institutions." This first effort to
pass legislation failed.
 Florida's legislature only met every two years
so the next attempt to pass a conservation bill
was not made until 1941. The proponents had
enlisted petroleum industry lawyers to prepare a
much more detailed bill than the previous one.
The opposition revised the bill to the extent that it
dealt more with ground-water pollution concerns
than with conservation of oil and gas. The
original proponents, therefore, fought the
passage of the bill in the House of
Representatives after it passed the Senate. It
died on the House calendar at the end of the
session. Efforts to pass a conservation law were
again delayed by two years.
 1941 was also the year that the discovery
award bill (Chapter 20667-No. 459, Laws of
Florida, 1941) was passed to encourage
exploration for oil and gas. The bill offered an
award to the explorer and operator of the first
commercial oil or gas discovery. The award
included $50,000 and a five-year oil and gas
lease covering four tracts of land up to 10,000
acres each "free of any bonus, rental or lease
charges except the reservation of one-eighth
royalty usually retained in such leases." This act
became law without the Governor's approval and
was filed in the Office of Secretary on June 4,
1941.
 In 1943, the conservation bill was Introduced
 again. A briefer, simpler version was proposed to


avoid the alteration by the opposition that had
occurred in 1941. The bill had stronger backing
but failed to be voted on during this session. The
session closed with the bill on the calendar. A
separate bill, which sought to protect ground
water by regulating drilling practices, was also
introduced in 1943. This bill passed the Senate,
but died in the House, primarily due to a lack of
Interest by its sponsors.
 The 1943 legislature adjourned in June; just
three months before the first oil discovery. If the
discovery had been made before the end of the
session, the conservation law may have passed.
By the end of 1943, more than 15 major oil
companies and numerous independents were
buying leases in the state. Major newspapers
began publishing oil news and discussing
conservation issues.
 The September 1943 discovery, named the
 Sunniland field, was made by Humble Oil and
 Refining Company (HORC) in Collier County,
 Florida (Figure 1). In 1944, after proven
 commercial production, HORC was awarded the
 $50,000 for finding the first oil production in
 Florida. HORC donated the award to the
 University of Florida and Florida State College for
 Women (now Florida State University) and added
 $10,000 as a gift (Elliot, 1945).


 PHASE II: ECONOMIC CONCERNS AND
 PETROLEUM LEGISLATION

 The second phase of Florida's petroleum
 legislative history began in 1945 with the
 passage of the conservation law and spanned
 the mid-1940's to -60's. The public began to
 show concern for the value of Florida's other
 natural resources. This concern was prompted
 primarily by potential economic impact on tourist
 trade and commercial fisheries.
 In 1945, due to the Sunniland discovery and
 the resulting increase in exploration, Governor
 Millard F. Caldwell appointed an Oil Advisory
 Committee to study the petroleum laws and
 practices of other states. The State Bar
 Association also appointed an oil and gas