Another Dismal Session
in
Tallahassee
The Florida State legislative session is finally over, and with few positive results. Every year the legislature has an opportunity to make necessary changes in the tax structure to avoid boom-and-bust cycles that adversely affect Floridians. Every year they fail. This seeming lack of Republican leadership needs a change in Tallahassee. This will only happen if the redistricting petitions reach the ballot in 2010, and is passed by at least 60% of the voters in Florida. The state legislature needs to represent all of its citizens.
Here are a few highlights of the recent session.
Insurance reform was a top agenda item for the Legislature, Governor Crist, and the public. The Legislature passed a bill allowing the market to dictate policy costs. If the governor signs the bill by June 27th, insurance companies will have no limits on their fees, allowing the market to regulate costs. Customers could see significant rate increases. Insurance companies expect the changes to stimulate Florida’s property insurance market. Questions abound as to what will occur if the governor uses the veto pen. Concern centers on the state’s largest private insurer, State Farm, which is trying to drop 800,000 residential property policies. This could mean that Citizens Property Insurance would take over, thereby making the state ultimately responsible in the case of a major hurricane. Crist came into office promising to rein in insurance costs – a promise which has yet to be fulfilled.
Considering Governor Crist’s active engagement with Governor Schwarzenegger regarding alternative energy and the desire to improve efficiency, citizens thought that a Republican legislature in Tallahassee would make this a top priority in 2009. However, it was Democratic Representative Keith Fitzgerald who cosponsored a clean- energy bill that showed promise, by focusing on less dependence on oil and gas, and allowing individuals who converted to solar power to sell energy back to the power companies. The House refused to bring the bill to the floor. Rather, they chose to slip in their proposal allowing for oil drilling as close as three miles from our beaches. Big oil companies and the House worked together to present a package they considered saleable. The drilling bill did not pass the Senate but it will resurface in the future.
The environment took another hit when the Florida Forever Trust Fund was raided to help balance the budget. There was a short-lived outcry from environmentalists and other groups who want to preserve open lands for parks and animal habitat, but their cries were muted by the economic downturn. It is just another case where an economy based on boom –and-bust cycles failed the Florida populace. Of course, politicians promise to reinstate the money when the economy improves, but don’t hold your breath, because Governor Bush also robbed trust funds, and that money has yet to be repaid.
Ironically, in a time when educators are encouraging teens not to start smoking, the Lawton Chiles tobacco trust fund was also depleted for purposes of balancing the state budget.
Growth management has been dealt a huge setback by legislation our Governor signed. Near the very end of the session the Legislature revived and passed one of the biggest changes to Florida’s growth plan in decades. This change will likely permit more sprawl and congestion on roads in our state: the bill will eliminate the requirement that communities have adequate roads in place before allowing developers to build new subdivisions or shopping centers.
Secondly, the law will permit municipalities or counties to designate areas for large-scale development without being subject to regional planning boards that currently analyze how such plans would affect nearby communities.
Realtors, developers, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce supported this legislation hoping to spark economic development, while major environmental groups and local governments vowed it would worsen the state’s already overburdened roads and bridges. They believe it will encourage reckless development that has endangered Florida’s natural resources and made the state’s economy more vulnerable to boom- and-bust cycles.
The one bright spot in Tallahassee was the passage of the seatbelt bill. Finally, law- enforcement officers can arrest drivers if they are not buckled up. Until this bill became law, drivers had to be stopped for some other infraction before they could be ticketed for failure to wear a seatbelt!
However, the second traffic bill that would have also saved lives and injuries did not make it out of committees. Red light cameras cannot not be installed on state highways. Some cities and counties are implementing cameras on local roads, but there is some question of how effective this will be if drivers challenge the infraction.
Further in the area of roads and safety is the continuing issue of privatizing. During tight budget years politicians never fail to look for a quick fix for increasing revenues. This legislature pressed for the privatizing of some roads and bridges, beginning with Alligator Alley. Obtaining large sums of money from private companies -- foreign and domestic -- in exchange for control of roads and bridges should be cause for concern. First, roads are built with taxpayer money; second, maintenance issues could become a problem; third, drivers will experience new or increased fees to use them; and, perhaps most important, this is a national security issue. Fortunately, this year no one bid on the project, but voters should be aware that the issue is not dead.
The legislature succeeded in cutting university budgets; as a result, colleges are cutting positions and raising tuition to compensate. This will be a hardship for many parents of students, as well as some faculty and staff, where the breadwinners have lost jobs.
The Republican State Legislature raised the fees on drivers’ licenses, auto renewals, and court costs to help balance the budget because they did not want to raise taxes! These costs disproportionately hurt the poor more than the rest of the population. Once again baseball skybox owners and charter fishermen have been spared!
We have our work cut out for us getting those petitions signed before the December deadline. Anyone who can help collect signatures, please see one of our board members or send me an email. It is imperative that we ask all of our friends, neighbors, and even strangers to sign the two petitions from Fairdistricts.org.
Norma Dayton