GOP Legislature Stings Crist With Overrides

November 17, 2010

The Republican-ruled Florida Legislature took what may prove a final swipe Tuesday at independent, lame-duck Gov. Charlie Crist, overriding seven bills and a spending provision he vetoed last spring, while also setting the stage for a major overhaul of the state’s Medicaid program.

The three-hour special session – on the heels of Tuesday’s organizational session — marked only the third time in 24 years that a Florida governor’s vetoes were turned back by lawmakers, with lame-ducks stung in both previous instances. Democratic Govs. Bob Graham in 1986 and Lawton Chiles in 1998 both had vetoed legislation overridden by lawmakers.

On Tuesday, the bills overridden all easily drew the needed two-thirds support in the GOP-dominated House and Senate. Crist has been roundly criticized by leading Republicans since breaking with the party in April to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as a no-party candidate.

“We’re still friends, we don’t think politically the same as we used to,” said Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, before adding, “today was about good public policy.”

While the House pushed through most of the overrides with little debate, the most contentious exchanges Tuesday swirled in the Senate.

Several senators questioned revived legislation that would give lawmakers authority to block state agency rules that could cost businesses $1 million over five years and another that spends $31.3 million in federal stimulus money to cover rebates owed thousands of Floridians who installed qualified air-conditioning systems or made solar improvements.

A non-binding memorial to Congress underscoring the Legislature’s intent to revamp the state’s Medicaid program drew the most heat because it touted plans to expand the state’s five-county managed-care pilot program statewide.

“If you think you get a lot of calls now, put people in HMOs and the phones will ring off the hook in your district,” said Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey. “This is more than an intent. We are setting policy here.”

Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston also said the move signaled the Senate was buying into an overhaul of the almost $20 billion program advanced last year by the House, but rejected by senators.

“Medicaid is broken,” Rich conceded. “But the memorial is not a blank piece of paper. It lays out portions of a bill…that was very distressing to many of us in this chamber.”

But Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, managed to get the memorial through on a voice vote by cautioning it primarily was designed to show, “We’re no longer going to just kick the can down the road another year.”

The Senate also wrestled briefly over the rule-making measure, one of the few issues that caused the House to pause.

“Frankly, I don’t think we have the time to look at those potentially thousands of rules,” said Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach.

But Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights, shot back, warning that lawmakers needed to be a check on bureaucracy. “We have state agencies that make rules, and those rules become laws without any legislative oversight, whatsoever,” Van Zant said. “Those laws are then imposed on our citizens.”

For leading Republicans, many of whom were campaigning earlier this month on shrinking government and cutting spending, the three-hour special override session included some apparent contradictions.

Revived by lawmakers was a $9.7 million budget item vetoed by Crist for Shands Teaching Hospital in Gainesville. The spending, which makes the state eligible for another $12 million in federal Medicaid matching money, will help provide health coverage for an additional 18,000 uninsured Floridians.

Lawmakers also resolved the state’s outstanding commitments to homeowners and businesses who took part in a pair of energy rebate programs, agreeing to direct $31.3 million in federal stimulus money to cover what’s owed thousands of Floridians who installed qualified air-conditioning systems or made solar improvements.

Another measure reinstated allows farmland put up for sale to retain existing agricultural property-tax exemptions, while also tripling a one-cent citrus box fee to raise $3 million for industry research.

While lawmakers raced ahead with the overrides, about 100 tea party activists from groups around Florida spent the day at the Capitol, huddled in a fourth-floor Senate committee room exchanging ideas on issues.

Most criticized state spending practices, including the Legislature’s support for high-speed rail, Central Florida’s SunRail commuter train, while supporting lawmakers’ decision Tuesday to delay the start of a septic tank evaluation program.

“We’re here to send a message,” said Henry Kelley, a leader of the Fort Walton Beach Tea Party and an organizer of Tuesday’s gathering, which drew a handful of lawmakers as speakers. “We want that to be a positive message. But we want the Legislature to know we will hold them accountable.”

He added, “We know that showing up in March is going to be too late.”

For his part, Haridopolos acknowledged that not all of Tuesday’s overrides would sit well with the conservative voters who played such a central role in this month’s Republican victories in Congress and legislatures across the nation.

“I don’t think we’re ever going to do things perfectly,” Haridopolos said.

House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, said the chambers will continue to mark their own courses.

“The Legislature today sent a message to the rest of state government,” Cantera said. “We are an independent branch of government and we will be conducting ourselves in that way over the next two years.”

By John Kennedy

Comments

One Response to “GOP Legislature Stings Crist With Overrides”

  1. David Huie Green on November 17th, 2010 2:26 pm

    REGARDING:
    “We are an independent branch of government and we will be conducting ourselves in that way over the next two years.”

    Which is the way it is supposed to work.Checks and balances stop government from having too much power over the citizens. Sad they so often forget and think it is all about supporting one party or cutting down the other party.

    David for good government

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News