Peter Schorsch
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2018 Legislative Session
The Last 24
Good Wednesday evening, the last of February. Funding cuts have already affected baby deliveries in one rural area, and a bill on the vacation rental industry seems ready for a funeral. Condolences: Sixty Days doesn’t send flowers, but will donate to bill sponsors’ favored charities. Here’s your nightly rundown.
Rural resentment: The biggest Medicaid funding differences will be cuts to hospitals, an area slashed last Session that has already had real-life impact on one rural hospital in DeSoto County: No more baby deliveries.
Opioid battle: Medical providers and law enforcement leaders came out fighting, urging the Florida House to restore funding for opioid addiction treatment.
Health care hullabaloo: Anitere Flores said she doesn’t expect a conference committee to settle differences on health-care spending, leaving them to be decided by legislative leaders.
Vacations bill vacated: A controversial bill that would pre-empt the local regulation of vacation rental properties is likely dead.
Texting ban: Sponsors of a measure that would make texting while driving a primary offense in Florida continued their fight for the bill’s passage, even though it appears dead in the Senate.
PIP play: An advertising onslaught against the Senate version of a no-fault auto insurance repeal broadened, even as a committee prepared to tweak the measure.
Bottoms up: A raft of House bills related to alcoholic beverages, including one dealing with booze-delivery apps, were discussed Wednesday and set up for votes.
Veggie wars: A broad amendment to the Senate vegetable garden bill that would have preempted local ordinances that ban plastic straws was withdrawn after facing scrutiny.
Leadership, lately: Dana Young has pulled her name from the race for Senate President beginning 2022.
Quote of the Day
“… I can’t support any policy or any law that destroys the family tradition of possessing and practicing safe use of firearms. I can’t imagine that a state that has done so much to encourage youth hunter safety would outlaw the purchase of any and all firearms by someone under 21.” — Adam Putnam, the state’s agriculture commissioner and a Republican candidate for governor. Putnam’s department also issues concealed weapon licenses.
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Once again, Speaker-designate José Oliva was in the hot seat, taking questions from reporters after Wednesday’s floor session. The Miami Lakes Republican was asked mainly about Parkland parents being upset over the school safety legislation. They’ve said it does not go far enough, mentioning a lack of a ban on assault rifles backed by Democrats.
Q: There’s a lot of pushback over the plan … The parents are saying they felt misled. What happened with those amendments?
Oliva: We’re putting together a very comprehensive piece of law in a very short period of time. Things are changing for the sake of all the stakeholders involved and the different viewpoints we are getting … 99 percent of the bill is the same as it was the day before. If you’re (a schools) superintendent, nothing changed for you. If you want your school board to decide whether a teacher can be trained like a law enforcement officer, nothing has changed.
The only thing that changed … was we tell the sheriffs (they) have to make this program available. If teachers want to go through … training, that has to be available to them … If school boards don’t want it (in their counties), they don’t have to have it.
…There are still parents that are strongly behind the bill. Of course, when you compromise, as we are asked to do often by the public, everyone is not going to be happy. You will get people on both sides who are not happy. This is a compromise bill, but the politics around it are toxic.
Q: Do you think the Democrats will use this issue to get out the vote this year?
Oliva: I think it’s being used on all sides. The Democrats that I’ve been working with are still trying to work with me. They’re still getting into meetings. There are some that are no longer there.
(Before) the procedural maneuver was pulled in the House, I spent three hours with (Democratic) Leader(-designate Kionne) McGhee. Three hours. Talking about the challenge before us. What was the best way to resolve it … we agreed we would (work together) in earnest. Then, the next day, a procedural move to create a political event. That’s unfortunate.
Q: There was a meeting with about 100 people from Parkland, a lot of lawmakers there. Did you tell them then the bill would not be changed?
Oliva: No. The meeting was to discuss the process … We were trying to explain to parents who came up in a charged environment what the process is like. And how we’re trying to navigate to a place that they can feel they made a difference.
Lobby Up
Lobbyist Van Poole has rejoined the team of influencers working for The Seminole Tribe of Florida, according to registration records. His representation was renewed as of Feb. 23, state reports show.
That brings to 13 the total of lobbyists now working for the Tribe.
Poole joins Emily Buckley, Jorge Chamizo, Gus Corbella, Hayden Dempsey, Angela P. Dempsey, Fred Dickinson, Charles Dudley, Cory Guzzo, Will McKinley, Chris Moya, and Screven H. Watson.
The Tribe’s outside counsel, Barry Richard of Greenberg Traurig, also is listed as a lobbyist.
The Seminoles have been airing an ad in the Tallahassee market urging passage of a new gambling deal between the Tribe and the state.
The Tribe is angling for a renewed 20-year deal, called the Seminole Compact, for continued exclusive rights to offer blackjack at its casinos and to offer slot machines outside South Florida in return for $3 billion to the state from their casino revenues over seven years.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Senate Democratic caucus will meet before a floor session. That’s at 9 a.m., 200 Senate Office Building, The Capitol.
The state Public Service Commission will decide whether to give a key approval to a plan by Florida Power & Light to build a new power plant in Broward County. That’s at 9:30 a.m., Betty Easley Conference Center, 4075 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee.
The full Senate is scheduled to hold a floor session at 10 a.m., Senate Chamber, The Capitol.
The House also is scheduled to hold a floor session, at 10:30 a.m., House Chamber, The Capitol.
The Florida Supreme Court is scheduled to release its weekly opinions at 11 a.m.
The Senate Special Order Calendar Group will set the special-order calendar, which lists bills that will be heard on the Senate floor. That will be 15 minutes after Senate floor session, 401 Senate Office Building, The Capitol.
