Speaker Larry Cretul Convenes the House and Calls for Motion to Adjourn

Throwing down the gauntlet at Gov. Charlie Crist who left the Republican Party earlier in the year, House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, just convened the special session of the Legislature -- and quickly adjourned it.

The Florida Constitution authorizes the governor to call the Legislature into special session for any legislative purpose, said Cretul. When the call is issued, we are compelled to assemble.

But from the moment a quorum assembled here, the agenda in this House is and always will be set by its membership.

The governor has no direct authority to propose constitutional amendments to voters, said Cretul. The governor has no veto power over proposed constitutional amendments. The fact remains that he has called us here at the last possible moment to consider a constitutional amendment for which he never proposed language and permitted far too little time for reflection and review. That is a terrible way to propose constitutional changes.

Cretul said that he and Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, were reviewing the situation in the Gulf and that they would convene later in the year to tackle issues resulting from the oil spill. We agree that we can do this week to improve the situation more than we could in September.

For the House, this is not the time for traditional committee meetings, hearings and roll-call votes, said Cretul. Instead, its time to roll up our sleeves and figure out what state government can do to help.

Cretul said he would create work groups in the House to uncover problems and offer meaningful legislative solutions if possible. The work groups would finish their recommendations and report to Cretul at the end of August.

Cretul said in no uncertain terms that Crist called the Legislature into session on Tuesday due to the governors campaign for the U.S. Senate. We were called here today because of politics, he said. But we are leaving today with a concrete workplan to provide real aid for those who are most in need.

I trust your judgment whether or not to submit a question to the people of Florida for their ratification at the 2012 general election, said Cretul to backers of the proposed amendment.

Cretul ended his remarks with a last shot at Crist.

If I were an adviser to the governor, I would have encouraged him to focus on creating jobs, and on helping Floridians in need, and not calling a session at the last moment, he said before calling for a motion to adjourn. The House is now debating the motion to adjourn.