With the legislative session reaching its midpoint, House Democrats have filled out progress reports for how things are going.
So far, not so good, said Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, the Democratic Caucus Policy Chair.
Fitzgerald and incoming House minority leader Ron Saunders, D-Key West, held a news conference Monday and gave House Republicans straight F grades on restoring public trust, improving education, helping small businesses and pushing the interests of Floridians.
Despite these harsh marks, the Democrats insist that they want to work with the Republicans. Were critical of the product but holding out an open hand to the other side, Fitzgerald said.
The Democratic leaders focused on blasting the teacher merit-pay legislation sponsored by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, that passed the Senate and is working its way through the House.
We shouldnt be vilifying hardworking people who have made public service a career, Fitzgerald said.
He said Florida faces competition from other states for good teachers and that this legislation would make the Sunshine State less appealing for these educators. We have made it a hostile climate with this bill, he said.
As the Republican leadership gears up to take the budget to the House floor on Wednesday and Thursday, the Democrats voiced their concerns about it and said they will vote against it.
The House Democrats will stand in firm opposition to the House budget, Saunders said.
He said that the House leadership was not using federal funds as intended, pointing to the $1 billion the state is receiving from the federal government for Medicaid and saying the Republicans are planning to use that money in general revenue instead of on health issues.
Instead of providing adequate funds for health care, theyre using it for other things, Saunders said. Its a shell game.
The budget process continues to be a closed process, Fitzgerald said. Its another round of closed-door meetings where the decisions are made.
Fitzgerald and Saunders said that Republicans are considering going after retiree health benefits and pensions to help balance the budget.
When you make a promise, you should keep it, Saunders said. Retirees will have the rug yanked out from under them by the Republican leadership.
When asked if the House session had produced any positive outcomes for Florida, Fitzgerald and Saunders said that deferring the unemployment-tax increase was the right thing to do. Noting that the bill passed the first day of the session and was supported unanimously, Fitzgerald said, We hoped we were setting a tone for bipartisanship.
When youre in the minority party, its hard to play offense, said Saunders, a veteran of the House who served from 1986 through 1994 before being elected again in 2006. Sometimes, by playing defense, we can avoid job loss, he said, referring to the unemployment tax deferment as an example.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com, or (850) 727-0859
