As legislative sessions go, 2016's came in like a lion and went out like a lamb.
After two months, hundreds of bills, dozens of committee meetings and protesters of every description in the courtyard -- all weaved into an explosive presidential election year -- there's no way Sunshine State News can identify every winner and loser along the way to Friday's sine die. Nor would we try. But here is a sampling of some of the people and issues and organizations that stood out most as the session ended Friday.
Winners
Steve Crisafulli and Andy Gardiner. The speaker and the Senate president brought an $82 billion budget in for a landing, coolly on time, and with only one dissenting vote between them -- in the House. What a difference between this year and last when the House adjourned early. If there was a hard-feeling hangover in either chamber, it was well concealed. Even a smiling governor congratulated Crisafulli and Gardiner for "a good budget" and "a smooth session." In fact, during the session's first week Gov. Rick Scott signed into law the top priorities of each — Crisafulli's sweeping water policy legislation and two bills Gardiner wanted aimed at advancing job and education prospects for Floridians with developmental disabilities.
The Environment. A couple of Republican legislators from Martin County, Gayle Harrel in the House and Joe Negron in the Senate, pulled off a neat last-minute trick, working their chambers to pour more than $200 million a year into the Everglades, $50 million annually to the springs and $5 million a year to Lake Apopka. If Gov. Rick Scott signs the bill as expected, the money would come from 2014's Amendment 1, the ballot initiative that set aside a portion of real estate tax for purchase and maintenance of land and water. Environmentalists are saluting the legislation, known as Legacy Florida, that will give the state an opportunity to expedite planning and construction of critical restoration projects and to significantly reduce damaging discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers.
Americans for Prosperity. Sure, AFP’s Florida chapter spent a lot of ammo and focus on going after incentives for entertainment projects and taxpayer funds going to sports teams. But no other group stood up against Rick Scott’s call for Enterprise Florida to get an extra $250 million the way AFP did. The fact that so many Republicans breaking with Scott on the matter shows how much respect -- and fear -- some elected officials have for AFP, especially in a chaotic election year like this one. The rhetoric between AFP and Enterprise Florida often went over the line but, when the smoke cleared, Scott’s call for additional funding went down, and AFP can take much of the credit.
Chris Sprowls. Sorry, Eric Eisnaugle. With the blessing of Richard Corcoran and some of the other masters of the House, this Clearwater Republican looks ready to lead the House. Sprowls has flipped enough pledges to deny Eisnaugle the gavel and become speaker of the House after the 2020 elections. Only 32, with an inspirational story on how he recovered from Hodgkin’s lymphoma while still in high school and an excellent record as an assistant state attorney, Sprowls looks like a Republican rising star whose ascension was helped by outmaneuvering Eisnaugle.
School choice. Supporters of school choice should love the education bill, increased by $453 million and passed out of the Senate after a contentious debate on the last day. The bill would allow parents to transfer their children to any public school in the state that isn't full. Said Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida's Future, a nonprofit organization that backs education choice, "The best educational fit for a child may be a public school less than a mile down the road. But if a district boundary line intersects that road, the school might as well be in China. It is time to tear down invisible barriers that block students from attending schools that best meet their needs, even when there is available space." Lawmakers largely agreed with that logic.
Rep. Katie Edwards. The session framed the emergence of Rep. Katie Edwards, perhaps the most effective Democratic member of the House, as a true champion of Florida's voiceless. Edwards scored a number of longshot victories this session, but none more impressive than her proposal for a syringe-exchange pilot program in Miami-Dade County. The program seeks to reduce rates of infection among intravenous drug users -- addicts. Edwards, from Plantation, amassed strong bipartisan support for the program's proven ability to reduce infectious disease transmission and all the costs associated with that epidemic. Odds were against her. A similar measure had died without a hearing previously. Also, teaming again with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, Edwards was instrumental in the passage of a bill that will allow terminally ill patients to use full-strength medical marijuana. HB 307 expands existing law that allows patients with seizure disorders, such as intractable epilepsy, and cancer to have access to a non-euphoric strain of cannabis.
Losers
The Business Community. Through thick and thin, the business community has been Rick Scott’s most loyal constituency during his time in Tallahassee. For the most part, it has delivered for him and stuck by him through it all. With Scott’s call for $1 billion in tax cuts, mostly for manufacturers but also including lowering the commercial lease tax, the business community went all in -- and got very little despite the GOP holding a veto-proof majority in the House and a large majority in the Senate. As Democrats are expected to make major gains in the Senate after redistricting, the business community has to be wondering ...
Rick Scott. The governor had a simple agenda for the session: $1 billion in tax cuts, mostly to manufacturers, and an additional $250 million for Enterprise Florida to lure companies to the Sunshine State. But, despite solid majorities in both chambers, Scott failed to get anything for Enterprise Florida and only got a fraction of his tax cuts across the line. Republicans have been splitting apart in Tallahassee for some time, which was evident in last year’s acrimonious sessions. While the the tensions cooled off between the House and the Senate, the Legislature was clearly on a different page than Scott. The governor also failed to get a Seminole Compact and the confirmation of Dr. John Armstrong, his choice to lead the Department of Health, even as Florida dealt with the Zika crisis. Scott was chirpy and positive in interviews after Friday's sine die ceremony. In fact, he looked beyond the session, announcing he will kick off his “Million Billion Jobs” victory tour Monday, visiting five cities celebrating the creation of more than one million jobs in five years and $1 billion in tax cuts for Florida families over the past two years. But, underneath it all, Scott must know, while he's not exactly a lame duck, over the last three months he hasn't been a lucky one either. On the other hand, he does have a veto pen ...
The Seminole Tribe of Florida. The Seminoles thought by now they would be starting their $1.8 billion, 800-room, guitar-shaped Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, and would be preparing to add roulette and craps -- the full package -- to their casinos statewide. All in exchange for revenue-sharing payments, guaranteeing $3 billion to the state over seven years, beginning in 2017. But everybody who touched the new compact, from the governor to Negron in the Senate and Gaetz in the House, used it as a vehicle to expand gambling to five counties that wanted slots -- not only wanted slots, but wanted them without the need to run pari-mutuel games or racing. In the end, through no fault of the Seminoles, greed tipped the compact over the edge. Now either a special session on gaming or expensive litigation lay ahead.
The pari-mutuel casino lobby. For 14 months, from November 2014 through January 2016, 31 casino interests plowed more than $3.2 million into political parties and the campaign war chests of leading Florida legislators, starting with Joe Negron, president designate of the Senate, who got close to $200,000. All in the hope they would get bills passed to expand gambling in Florida. It didn't happen this time, and not because bills were voted down. With about a week to go, both chambers put the brakes on and went oddly quiet. Rest assured, this isn't the end of it. Lobbyists' push for casinos in counties other than Broward and Miami-Dade will be back. There's just too much money at stake to let it go -- even if it stands to kill an iconic Florida industry and lifestyle, horse racing.
The NRA. Liberal groups shot down three gun bills -- "campus carry," open carry for concealed-carry permit holders, and "Stand Your Ground" changes that would have made prosecution more difficult. Defeat of the powerful gun lobby was led by the Florida League of Women Voters. "There's always next year," said Philip Myers, an FSU graduate student and proponent of all three bills.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com. Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
