SPEAKER'S UPDATE: "The Supreme Court issued a ruling just now that denied the motion by the Florida Senate Democrats to force the Florida House of Representatives to return to Tallahassee after our sine die adjournment. Accordingly, you will not need to return to Tallahassee until the Special Session for the budget is called."
The following was a letter issued at 4:35 p.m. Friday from Florida Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, to his House members:
"I am pleased that the Florida Supreme Court denied the emergency petition for a writ of mandamus, which sought to compel our Florida House to reconvene the 2015 legislative session. The Court recognized that they have no ability to force us to return to Tallahassee.
"From a legal and traditional standpoint, I believe that one Chamber does not need to seek the permission of the other Chamber to adjourn. Five Justices disagreed. In fact, according to the new interpretation of the Florida Supreme Court, the Senate violated their Constitutional duty throughout this Session when they adjourned for more than 72 hours without the Houses consent in the form of a concurrent resolution.
"I did not take the Florida Senate to Court at the time because I did not believe that they were violating their Constitutional duty, but rather conducting themselves according to the sovereignty to which they are entitled.
"The decision to adjourn sine die was one of the most difficult choices that I have made as a legislator. The level of acrimony and unprecedented demand that we pass a policy bill before providing budget allocations are what ultimately led me to finish our policy work and go home. I believed taking a few weeks off was the best way to get us in a position to pass a budget.
"With the lawsuits over and a little time to reflect, I trust that we can return with a new level of civility on both sides. We will make up for these three days, and then some.
"Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented Session. I believe better days are ahead."
Steve Crisafulli is speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
