A.G. Gancarski
The Florida Democratic Party made a rare attack on an individual Republican state Legislator Thursday.
While the FDP has trained most of its fire at the Governor for one perceived misstep or another during the current coronavirus crisis, Thursday saw them turn the turrets toward the incoming Senate President.
Chairperson Terrie Rizzo slammed Sen. Wilton Simpson for saying Florida’s budget, relatively speaking, is in “good shape” considering two months of lockdown-driven economic downturn.
Rizzo and some Democrats have made the case for a Special Session, a push that has thus far been futile.
“Republicans are pushing Florida workers to go back to work, but instead of taking their own advice, Republicans in the legislature voted NOT to go to work. And even more insulting, Wilton Simpson said legislators didn’t need to come back to work, because Florida is ‘in good shape.’ Really?
“Unemployment is at record levels, benefits are shockingly low and we have months of delays in benefit payments. People who lose their jobs are unable to pay for health care coverage and small business owners lack the child care needed so that parents can go back to work. The Republican legislature needs to go back to work — now,” Rizzo decried.
Rizzo’s statement doesn’t address the totality of Simpson’s strategy for determining whether to hold a Special Session.
Simpson, in comments to WUSF, did not rule it out under certain circumstances.
“Because Florida had been so fiscally responsible with the taxpayer dollar, we’re actually in pretty good shape right now,” Simpson said. “When the data gets updated here in another three to five weeks … we may have to have a Special Session. If that were to be the case, I believe that the Special Session would focus on areas of the budget that we could trim this year because obviously there would be a shortfall in revenues.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis, isn’t pushing for a Special Session just yet either, agreeing with Simpson that variables are in play.
“I don’t think we’re going to need to do a Special Session for the rest of this fiscal year,” DeSantis said. “But I think obviously looking at next year’s budget is really going to be determined on what we’re looking at in terms of economic recovery and what type of federal assistance we get.”
Worst case scenarios would include budget cuts, DeSantis said last month.
In 2019, DeSantis scratched at least 35 last-minute deals from legislative budget leaders through supplemental appropriations.
More cuts could be coming if federal aid doesn’t fill the gaps, and the shape of that eventual legislation is far from fixed, with the majority Democratic House clashing with the Republican-controlled Senate.
One comment
StopTheBS
May 14, 2020 at 11:58 am
Uness the Florida Democrat Party presents some valid ideas on solving problems, instead of always karping, why spend the extra money that a special election costs.
Unlike the U.S. Congress, State legislators are part-timers. Why aren’t the Democrats pushing Nancy Pelosi to have the Federal House of Representatives go back to work?
It is clear, that the Democrats have no helpful solutions, but that with elections coming, they will continue to harp and whine, in order to create more chaos and dissatisfaction, to try to help them get into power…and then to do nothing buy destroy everything that has been built by Republicans over the years.
If the new Democrat/Socialist Party, gets into power in Florida, we will quickly become like the failed states of New York, New Jersey, California, etc. While Florida has been growing over the past 20 yeas, those states have been losing population and those people have flooded into Florida. Hopefully, those who moved from the failed states, will not make the same mistake in who they vote for in Florida.
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