Bruce RitchieState Rep. Jimmy Patronis told me more than once that I would miss him after this year when he leaves the Florida Legislature because of term limits.
Maybe I won’t be covering him in the Legislature any more. But he’ll still be in Tallahassee.
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday appointed Patronis, R-Panama City, to the Florida Public Service Commission.
The move came as no surprise to me.
Patronis, 42, was an early supporter of Scott in the 2010 election. And, like the governor, Patronis is a darling of industry and business groups.
Patronis jokingly said I would miss him because, as a reporter covering environmental issues at the Capitol, I wouldn’t have anything left to write about.
That’s because he introduced bills each year that would have rolled back environmental regulations and were a catch-all for industry, developer and agriculture groups. He was as well known for his controversial environmental bills as his promotion of “seersucker suit” day at the Capitol.
In 2011, Patronis faced environmental opposition when he introduced the first of his wide-ranging bills in the Florida House, HB 991. The bill eventually died in the Florida Senate.
He credited industry lobbyist Frank Matthews with helping write the bill. Matthews played a key role with other Patronis bills in later years, describing himself to me in 2014 as a mere “scrivener” in the legislative process.
This year, HB 703, a bill introduced by Patronis, would have prohibited supermajority votes on changes to comprehensive plans. Aimed largely at Martin County, another provision also would have prohibited any county from rescinding urban zoning for properties that maintain an agricultural classification for tax purposes.
Mary Jean Yon of Audubon Florida told Patronis during the 2014 legislative session, “We’re just fed up” with the bills every year, and said Audubon would not be working toward a compromise bill.
Patronis described the environmental opposition as highly exaggerated. But he was always polite.
“They (environmental groups) have used their own concerns for fund-raising for advocacy,” he said. “If that’s what it takes to get their membership engaged and involved to raise resources for their mission, I guess my bill has provided them with the opportunity to enhance their business model.”
His bill this year died in the House without a floor vote after the Senate companion bill stalled in a Senate committee.
Patronis also was never confrontational or evasive with reporters. And that’s another reason why he was able to joke that I would miss him.
But I won’t for a number of reasons.
For one, I suspect that another legislator will replace him as the legislation standard-bearer for developers and industry.
And I will see Patronis starting in January in his new role as a PSC commissioner, even though I don’t expect him to be as chatty about energy issues.
Commissioners have become more guarded about commenting after ethics controversies in recent years.
And I expect environmentalists and renewable-energy supporters will argue that the deck remains stacked against them in favor of the utilities – or perhaps even more so with Patronis replacing Commissioner Eduardo Balbis.
So I don’t expect anything to really change. Unless perhaps if former Gov. Charlie Crist gets re-elected, this time as a Democrat.
Bruce Ritchie is an independent journalist covering environment and growth management issues in Tallahassee. He also is editor of Floridaenvironments.com. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
