One prominent theme out of Tallahassee in the first week of the 2016 legislative session was an insistence that things would be different from last year.
Members of the Republican majority in both chambers of the Legislature went out of their way to stress that there wouldn’t be a string of special sessions like there were last year. With legislators scrambling after the latest round of Senate redistricting with a few open congressional seats also up for grabs, few politicians can afford to stay in Tallahassee.
Even with tensions still high in Tallahassee, Rick Scott should get most of what he wants on tax cuts but there will be questions about if they will be permanent. Scott’s call for $250 million for Enterprise Florida will be a tougher reach especially as some Republicans in the Legislature will be looking over their shoulder as fiscal conservative group Americans for Prosperity (AFP), one of the most effective advocacy groups in Florida, continues to stand against it. Scott tried to put some pressure on the legislators to back his proposals, hitting the road and crossing the state to drum up support.
The wounds from last year haven’t fully healed yet but there were some priorities that garnered wins in the first days of session, from Steve Crisafulli’s water policy bill to Andy Gardiner’s efforts to help the disabled. The heavy lifting hasn’t been done yet but the first days of session offered some hope for a smoother session than what we saw last year.
Much of the focus at the start of the session involved elections. John Legg decided to forego taking on Wilton Simpson in a primary. Dana Young set her eyes on a Senate seat. Fred Costello and David Santiago both turned their eyes towards an open congressional seat, prompting a round of speculation if it meant Eric Eisnaugle’s chances to become House speaker after the 2020 elections were doomed. A host of House members threw their support behind Jeb Bush’s presidential bid. Democrats and their allies looked to place education front and center with the FEA holding a teachers rally in Tallahassee.
Not a bad start of session even as national events--Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address, the Republican presidential debates, Donald Trump holding a rally in Pensacola--took much of the limelight. Almost everyone in Tallahassee wants a quiet session and the first days showed that. Of course, there’s still a long way to go.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
