With less than two weeks to go in the legislative session, the Florida House spent the better part of Wednesday debating national matters and passing memorials to Congress.
The House passed a measure asking Congress to hold trials of captured terrorists and enemy combatants in military tribunals instead of in a civilian courtroom. The measure passed on an 83-28 vote with some Democrats, including incoming House Minority Leader Ron Saunders of Key West joining Republicans in voting for it.
The day that terrorists flew airplanes into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and killed thousands of innocent American civilians, America was at war, said Republican Erik Fresen of Miami. This memorial makes it clear that enemy combatants should be tried in a military tribunal.
Republicans continued to push back against new federal health-care laws during the session, as the House set the stage for sending a constitutional amendment to the voters in November.
Immediately after President Barack Obama signed the new laws, Attorney General Bill McCollum filed litigation against the federal government to block the new health-care legislation. Nineteen other states have joined suit, with Alaska signing on board on Wednesday.
The proposed amendment allows Floridians to opt out of having health insurance. The measure will pass if it garners 60 percent of voters' support.
It protects a persons right to participate or not participate in a health-care system, said Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, who sponsored the measure. We get to make the choice.
The House discussed the legality of the measure, with Republicans insisting the bill passed constitutional muster.
Invoking the constitutional theory of nullification espoused by John C. Calhoun in the early 19th century, Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, asked Plakon if his measure would let the state of Florida ignore laws passed by Congress.
We have the right to put basic rights in our constitution, insisted Plakon.
Democrats said that with the session winding down, the House had other tasks to focus on.
With a 12 percent unemployment rate, weve spent the last four hours sending memorials to Congress, said Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach.
The House passed other memorials to Congress, including a measure sponsored by Sandy Adams, R-Orlando, urging Congress not to pass cap and trade measures. Other memorials passed by the House supported Taiwan, called for Congress to continue funding the Kennedy Space Center and for one of the retired space shuttles to remain in Florida.
The House did focus on some state issues on Wednesday, passing a bill reorganizing the Department of Health by an 81-30 vote. Sponsored by Matt Hudson, R-Naples, the measure reduces the Department of Healths mission to eight responsibilities and requires the DOH to restructure. The measure faced opposition in the committee stage from Surgeon General Ana Viamonte Ros.
We must demand that Floridas state agencies be high-performance and results-driven, said Hudson. By focusing the DOH on their core mission, Floridians will be assured that their taxpayer dollars are being spent in the most efficient and responsible manner while increasing quality care for Floridians.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859.
