One-third of the way through this year's legislative session --- assuming that it wraps up on time --- some of the debates that will define the next six weeks are beginning to take shape. But there still seems to be a bit of haziness on where things are going.
There was movement on some of the more high-profile initiatives of the session, whether tearing down the “liquor wall” or overhauling the state's higher education system. At the same time, there were few signs of movement on the budget, the one thing lawmakers must get done every year, and the thing that some have pegged as a reason the session could head to overtime.
At the same time, a longer-term project got underway, as the once-every-20-years Constitution Revision Commission held its first meeting --- and promptly got into a scrape with House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, about when the next few get-togethers should be held.
There were also issues of crime and justice to emerge, including the ongoing battle over an Orlando prosecutor's decision not to seek the death penalty in capital punishment cases and one House Republican's own brush with the law as he made his way home from the Capitol.
The skirmish over the Constitutional Revision Commission has its roots in a stinging defeat of Carlos Beruff, now the panel's chairman. Beruff months ago lost his attempt to win the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in a bare-knuckles battle against U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.
By Monday, Beruff had undertaken another project that could have long-lasting effects on the state: chairing the panel empowered to recommend constitutional amendments directly to the voters, who will decide whether to adopt those changes in November 2018.
Beruff, a Sarasota homebuilder and close political ally of Gov. Rick Scott, is the first chairman of a Constitution Revision Commission selected by a Republican. He pledged an open process as the 37-member body got down to work in a ceremonial meeting.
"Every member of the CRC will have the opportunity to be heard and have the chance to fight for the issues they believe are important to this state," he said. "Most importantly, though, we need to listen to the citizens."
Complaints from various corners accused Beruff of having no apparent experience in constitutional law, and also raised questions about his closeness with Scott. But even some Democratic members of the GOP-dominated commission seemed less than concerned.
In fact, one of the first flashpoints around Beruff's leadership of the commission came from Corcoran, a Republican whose relationship with Scott has become increasingly strained over the last several months.
Of the four men allowed to pick members of the commission --- Scott, Corcoran, Senate President Joe Negron and Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Jorge Labarga --- the House speaker was the only one to place current legislators on the panel. Corcoran appointed five members.
So when the first four public hearings were announced --- all of them to be held outside of Tallahassee, and during the ongoing legislative session --- Corcoran was not pleased.
"Obviously ... especially when you have such a once-in-20-year august body dealing with something that is of the highest impact, which is our Constitution, and you only have a limited number of members, 37, and immediately the first action is to disenfranchise one-sixth, I don't think that's a good start," he said.
A spokeswoman for the commission responded Friday, noting that videos of the meetings would be available online and more meetings will be held.
"As a commission which meets just once every 20 years, commissioners have a responsibility to be accountable to the people of Florida and accomplish as much as we can in the short time we have," said Meredith Beatrice. "The work before this commission is incredibly important. We will be working with all commissioners on additional public hearings to ensure the best possible outcome for families in our state.”
TEAR DOWN THE WALL
The nation's most prominent Republican might be devoted to building a wall, but in Florida, some members of the Senate GOP were part of a push to tear one down.
The so-called “liquor wall” --- a Depression-era ban on liquor being sold alongside groceries --- took a hit when the Senate narrowly approved a measure (SB 106) to get rid of the prohibition.
The chamber voted 21-17 to approve the bill, as members argued over whether it might kill someone. And as two of the Senate's more prominent Republican members got into a public fight on the floor.
The issue has led to repeated legislative battles in recent years, pitting Walmart and Target, which want to stock liquor on shelves near other goods, against Publix and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, which have stand-alone liquor stores as part of their corporate blueprints.
In asking lawmakers to reject the proposal, Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said "large corporate citizens want us to do it (approve the bill) for their own economic purposes."
That prompted Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, to fire back in a speech that ended with him dropping a live microphone on his desk.
"We talk about who is pushing it, but we know who is pushing against it too, Sen. Latvala. We know who's pushing against it real hard,” Lee said.
On the other end of the Capitol, House committees began moving forward with two marquee issues. First, they approved the latest version of legislation in the years-long battle over what comes next for the state's gambling industry.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 11-7 to approve the proposal (HB 7037), aimed at creating a new agreement with the Seminole Tribe, even if a tribe representative recently called the proposal a "non-starter.”
The bill would continue to allow the tribe to have exclusive rights to operate "banked" card games, such as blackjack, at five of its casinos. In exchange, the Seminoles would have to guarantee $3 billion in payments to the state --- earmarked mainly for education --- over seven years.
But critics objected that the proposal gives short shrift to pari-mutuels. The measure would, among other things, ban popular and lucrative "designated player" poker-style games operated by numerous cardrooms throughout the state.
"The pari-mutuel industry has been a friend to this state. They've helped provide a lot of dollars for a lot of things to happen. They by-and-large are getting treated less well than they deserve for the service they've rendered the state," Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura, said.
Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican shepherding the upper chamber's proposal, was optimistic.
"It's only week three (of the 60-day legislative session) and at this point I am more focused on the fact that gaming bills are moving than the differences," Galvano, who is slated to take over as Senate president in November 2018, said in a text message late Tuesday.
On the education front, a House committee approved its version of a higher-ed reform bill, one that includes expanding Bright Futures scholarships and requiring state universities to begin using “block” tuition, some of the earliest movement on a priority of Negron, R-Stuart.
Both bills would expand the top-level Bright Futures award for "academic scholars" to cover full tuition and fees for those students who qualify for the merit-based aid. But while the Senate would expand the scholarship for "academic scholars" to the summer semester, the House wants to expand summer support to all Bright Future recipients.
There are also differences over the details of the tuition plan, which would replace the current per-credit hour charge with a flat per-semester fee.
PUNISHMENT AND CRIME
Outside the walls of the Capitol, the firestorm started by a Central Florida state attorney who says she won't seek the death penalty continued to play out.
Aramis Ayala, whose decision not to ask for capital punishment for alleged cop-killer Markeith Loyd started the dispute, accused Scott this week of abusing his authority by handing the case to another state attorney.
Ayala, state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit in Orange and Osceola counties, asked a judge Monday to put a hold on proceedings in the case of Loyd, accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and the execution-style killing of Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton.
In a five-page filing, Ayala argued that Scott lacks the power to strip her of her role as prosecutor. If a court interpreted state law to allow Scott's action, Ayala wrote, the governor could supersede a prosecutor in any given case.
"Giving the governor the tremendous and unfettered discretion to interfere in that decision making, would be unprecedented and could undermine the entire justice system in Florida," she wrote.
Scott defended his decision to appoint a different prosecutor.
"So the first thing I did was I asked her to recuse herself. She said she wasn't going to, so I moved the case to Brad King. Last week, she said she was fine with that. Today she's changed her position. So the case has been assigned to Brad King, and that was the right decision," the governor said.
By the end of the week, another potential criminal case had grabbed attention.
With a blood-alcohol level nearly double the legal limit, state Rep. Cary Pigman was charged with drunken driving after a traffic stop on Florida's Turnpike several hours after a House session Thursday, according to a police report.
Pigman, R-Avon Park, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. Calls to his legislative offices went to voice mail.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Constitution Revision Commission held its first meeting as it embarks on the once-every-20-years task of recommending changes to the state's basic law.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “This is Florida's version of `To Kill a Mockingbird.' And I appreciate the committee supporting this resolution so that these families can get some closure.”---Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, on a proposal (SCR 920) that would apologize to families of the “Groveland Four,” a quartet of African-American men convicted under dubious circumstances of raping a white woman in 1949. Two of the men were killed in the aftermath of the alleged crime and two others served lengthy prison sentences.
