Peter Schorsch
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2018 Legislative Session
The Last 24
Good Wednesday evening. Distilleries may get a boost this Session, and lawmakers are looking at a half-mil to pare down the state’s clemency review backlog. Sixty Days says justice delayed is … well, you get it. Here’s your evening rundown.
Fill ’em up: A Senate panel OK’d a measure to raise the amount of booze a Florida craft distillery can produce per year and still be considered “craft.”
Info please: The Southern Poverty Law Center has requested more information on the recent agreement struck between federal immigration authorities and 17 sheriffs’ departments.
Pricey clemency: A Senate criminal justice panel has proposed $500,000 to help the Florida Commission on Offender Review handle its backlog of thousands of clemency cases.
Labor fight: A bill that opponents call “union busting” was denounced in a conference call before it was set to be debated in the House.
After Irma: Legislation would forbid garbage pickup companies, cable companies, and landline telephone companies from charging the public for services they do not provide.
Quote of the Day
“This should serve as a warning. Don’t be greedy during hurricanes, or we’ll come after you.” — Rep. Jackie Toledo, a Tampa Republican, commenting on a Hurricane Irma-inspired bill that would forbid garbage pickup companies and cable TV providers from charging for service they don’t provide.
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Ballard Partners’ lobbyist Mat Forrest went to the mat Wednesday for his client TIKD at the Regulated Industries Committee meeting. The company aims to fight your speeding tickets for you in court. But it’s run afoul of The Florida Bar and others who question whether it’s an unlicensed practice of law. Sen. Dorothy Hukill, a lawyer and Port Orange Republican, had some questions. One big issue is that Bar rules prohibit sharing or splitting fees with nonlawyers “to stop a nonlawyer from having control over the lawyer’s independent professional judgment.” (Questions and answers were edited for clarity and length.)
Hukill: How does your company get paid, when do they get paid, and do they share a fee after a customer is referred to an attorney?
Forrest: The attorneys are independent practitioners; TIKD doesn’t violate that attorney-client privilege. They pay a flat rate per representation to the attorney, based on the volume they get … If we lose, we refund your money.
Hukill: OK, so you pay the attorney? That means the client pays you?
Forrest: Correct … We make the money through the customer … We are not trying to change any of the current legal obligations under the Bar.
Hukill: I doubt you could change Bar rules but that’s neither here nor there. How would you compare this to referral services that exist today?
Forrest: I look at this as a deregulation bill. The referral system is currently not in statute. This is simply saying there’s a new way Florida consumers are reaching attorneys.
Lobby Up
Claudia Davant and Rebecca Roman of Adams St. Advocates are fighting the good fight for nonprofit organizations.
Their new registrations so far include the Alliance for Aging, The Children’s Forum, Inc., Family Guidance Centers, Inc., and Goodwill Industries of South Florida, Inc.
Roman joined the firm in 2015. She focuses on health care, technology, and environmental issues. She was an aide to former Rep. Jimmie Smith, an Inverness Republican, in 2013-2015.
Davant most recently was on the national business development team for Accenture, a global information technology firm, where she led sales campaigns for large, complex integrated systems opportunities.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Florida Public Service Commission Nominating Council will interview candidates for the open PSC post. That’s at 7 a.m., 37 Senate Office Building, The Capitol.
Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers will hear arguments on whether to throw out Orlando attorney John Morgan’s lawsuit over the ban on smoking medical marijuana. That’s at 8:15 a.m., Courtroom 365D, Leon County Courthouse, Tallahassee.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a bill that would allow firearms on private school campuses run and operated by a church or religious institution. That’s at 10 a.m., 110 Senate Office Building, The Capitol.
The Senate Rules Committee will consider a bill that would exempt fantasy sports play from regulation under the state’s gambling laws. That’s at 1:30 p.m., 110 Senate Office Building, The Capitol.
The House will hold a floor session. That’s at 1:30 p.m., House Chamber, The Capitol.
