Florida Weekend Recap – May 1

Florida Weekend Recap – May 1

A recap of this week’s best political and policy happenings; Historic City News brings you what you missed this week in Florida policy and politics.

The Week in Review for April 27th – May 1, 2015

BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
A bill that attempts to make Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s take-out program more consumer friendly by informing policyholders when multiple companies are interested in taking over their policies and limiting the number of take-out offers a policyholder receives in a six month period quietly sailed through the Legislature just before the surprise adjournment sine die of the Florida House. ♦ Droning on: the Florida Legislature has just passed a bill that would regulate the usage of unmanned aerial drones. ♦ The famed whiskey and Wheaties proposal allowing grocery stores to sell liquor nearly made it to the House floor Monday, after it was attached to a bill banning powdered alcohol, but the palcohol ban was tabled the same day and then killed later by the House’s adjournment, as were so many other bills. ♦ Let’s get real (estate) for a moment — Florida’s housing market continued its trend of modest but steady improvements in May, according to Florida Realtors, with higher sales and median home prices compared to last year.

ECONOMY
The University of Florida’s consumer sentiment index, which purports to measure the level of confidence and optimism Floridians have in the state and national economy, surprised analysts by declining in April, falling three points despite the strength of other economic indicators like unemployment and economic growth. ♦ After enjoying tumbling energy prices due to increased oil and natural gas production across the U.S., gas prices rose again and will likely continue to do so over the next few months, although the increases should be relatively modest, with prices hovering somewhere around $55 a barrel. ♦ Come fly with Florida — the number one state for aviation manufacturing attractiveness for the second year in a row. ♦ That news that is sure to lift the spirits of Gov. Scott, whose tax cut package — including a permanent sales tax exemption on manufacturing equipment — was jeopardized by ongoing health care funding disputes between the House and Senate.

EDUCATION
Just when you think you’re out they pull you back in: The Senate initially took the House position on standardizing volunteer requirements for applicants of the Bright Futures Scholarship program but shortly after passing the bill changed its mind. Bill sponsor Sen. Tom Lee asked for the vote on HB 747 to be reconsidered and subsequently tabled the bill which effectively killed it. ♦ The Senate took a symbolic vote on expanding services for children with unique abilities. Sen. Don Gaetz added provisions from other Senate bills aimed at helping adults with unique abilities, including a plan to create post-secondary opportunities and financial literacy programs. ♦ Since the House had already adjourned, the changes killed the bill that contained the top priorities for Senate President Andy Gardiner. ♦ Only one substantive education policy bill, to reform the state’s testing system, passed the Legislature. Bills on school uniforms, classroom technology, high school athletics and school choice, many of which ended up in omnibus packages, died.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT
The well of opportunity to pass meaningful water policy legislation again dried up this year with the early adjournment of the House. HB 7003 was amended by the Senate to include language from the upper chamber’s version a day after House Speaker Steve Crisafulli adjourned sine die, effectively killing it for the regular 2015 legislative session. The plan was a priority for Crisafulli, but its demise was roundly cheered by environmental groups who said the legislation was too “industry friendly.” ♦ Another House measure (HB 7109), seeking to reform the Public Service Commission and make it more “consumer friendly,” was passed by the upper chamber. Although the bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. Jack Latvala voiced his disappointment in what he said was a “watered” down version of the reform he originally supported. The proposal now heads to the governor. ♦ The Legislature also left a bill regulating the energy extraction process known as fracking on the table after the House ran out of gas. The measure and its public records companion were halted after the upper chamber’s sponsor Sen. Garrett Richter said he didn’t have the votes needed to waive rules and send the House bill to the governor for approval.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
It looks like it won’t be the “year of mental health” after all. Shortly before the House adjourned sine die, the body passed an amended version to a bicameral plan to overhaul the state’s mental health services system. Sen. Rene Garcia reluctantly allowed the issue to die rather than accept House amendments that included one that stripped an issue he called “dear to my heart” — the merging of the Baker and Marchman Acts. ♦ Families of sick children waiting for the low-THC medical marijuana known as “Charlotte’s Web” were burned when a glitch-bill (SB 7066) sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley went up in smoke. The bill was meant to expedite the medical marijuana process and get families the medicine faster. ♦ Gov. Rick Scott made good on a promise to sue federal officials over what he says amounts to “coercion” over Medicaid expansion and the withholding of federal Low Income Pool funds. ♦ A day after the governor’s announcement that the lawsuit had been filed, he released a draft plan for a proposed Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding. He suggested the idea earlier this month, when he said he would readily call a special session to resolve outstanding budget issues.

LAW & ORDER
The Legislature managed to pass a bill that extended the statute of limitations for bringing forth rape allegations and fixed an accidentally unenforceable law that made it a civil offense for minors to send each other lascivious text messages in the final days of the session. ♦ Alimony reform died for the 2015 session, with Senate budget chief Tom Lee blaming House Rules chairman Rep. Ritch Workman and vice versa for the bill’s failure. Alimony reform looked poised to pass early this year after lawmakers addressed concerns that led Gov. Rick Scott to veto last year’s bill and brought together parties usually opposed to attempts to change Florida’s alimony laws. ♦ Revenge porn might become a first degree misdemeanor after the Legislature approved a weakened version of a bill that outlawed the practice of posting sexually explicit pictures without the consent of the depicted person. Lawmakers in the Senate, however, expressed disappointment that they had to take up the House’s language, which made it harder for victims to bring forth charges under the law than the Senate version did.

POLITICS
State Sen. Jeff Clemens, a Lake Worth Democrat, announced he will not run for the open congressional seat in District 18 and will instead seek re-election in District 27. “Why would I run for Congress, when Tallahassee has become so entertaining lately?” asked Clemens. “Besides, I have a tremendous amount of confidence that we’ll have a fantastic candidate who will keep that seat in Democratic hands.” ♦ House Democrats took advantage of the budget stalemate over Medicaid expansion by targeting potentially vulnerable Republican controlled districts with tens of thousands of robocalls. After House Speaker Steve Crisafulli told members to go home Tuesday Democrats criticized Republicans for walking away from the job. ♦ You be the judge: In a case that began in Hillsborough County, the Supreme Court ruled that states may limit candidates for elected state and local judgeships from making a personal appeal for campaign contributions. “Judges are not politicians, even when they come to the bench by way of the ballot,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. “A state may assure its people that judges will apply the law without fear or favor — and without having personally asked anyone for money.”

PUBLIC SECTOR
Two bills hoping to institute insurance regulations on ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft hit a brick wall with the surprise adjournment of the House. HB 817, sponsored by Matt Gaetz and SB 1298, sponsored by Sen. David Simmons both would have set some road rules for the popular app-based services, although the Simmons measure would have been more expansive. ♦ Senate President Andy Gardiner requested that both chambers meet in a special session June 1 through June 20, 2015. ♦ Florida’s Democratic senators took a short field trip to the state Supreme Court building Thursday, where they filed an emergency petition to force the House back into regular session. The paperwork before the justices cites a provision of the state Constitution, which says “[n]either house shall adjourn for more than seventy-two consecutive hours except pursuant to concurrent resolution.” The House responded shortly before 10 a.m. Friday and cited the separation of powers doctrine as “prohibiting the court from intruding on matters committed to the discretion of the legislative branch.” ♦ Session Statistics: 1,754 bills were filed and 231 bills were passed during the 2015 session. That represents a 13 percent rate of passage, and reflects a general downward trend in the number of bills filed and subsequently passed in the Florida Legislature since the new millennium.