Florida House Calls It Quits And Heads Home Early

April 28, 2015

In a surprising twist in the Legislature’s budget impasse, the House abruptly adjourned and went home Tuesday, killing scores of bills and deepening a crisis surrounding the spending plan for the year that begins July 1.

While the Capitol had buzzed with rumors that the House might adjourn “sine die” — from the Latin phrase for “without day” — before Friday’s scheduled end of the annual session, the chamber’s leadership had shown few signs of the impending move. House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach, said he only knew what was happening moments before House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, began addressing the chamber.

In his remarks to the House, Crisafulli blamed the shutdown on the Senate’s unwillingness to drop its insistence on discussing a Medicaid expansion alternative before agreeing to a budget. The House has repeatedly refused to consider any plan that would use Medicaid expansion dollars, including a Senate proposal to tap those funds to help lower-income Floridians purchase private health insurance.

“I made a promise to you when you elected me to be your speaker that I’d never ask you to vote for something that I wouldn’t vote for myself,” Crisafulli said. “Accordingly, I will not force anyone to expand Medicaid. And so for now, we stand at an impasse with the Senate. … I do not see a need to keep you here waiting around, away from your families, away from your businesses, until the Senate decides they are ready to negotiate with us.”

It was not immediately clear if the Senate would follow suit and end its session Tuesday, or if it would continue to meet through the week. It continued hearing bills Tuesday afternoon.

Either way, the Legislature will have to return for a special session before June 30 to approve a budget.

After a brief flurry of offers late last week, budget negotiations again ground to a halt over the weekend. The state is still waiting to hear back from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on whether the agency will approve a plan to extend the $2.2 billion Low Income Pool, or LIP, program past June 30. LIP is largely used to cover the expenses of uninsured, low-income Floridians who show up at hospitals needing treatment.

The Senate and the federal government have said the fate of LIP is tied to whether the Legislature approves the Senate expansion plan. The House and Gov. Rick Scott reject that idea, and Scott has threatened to sue the Obama administration over attempts to connect the two issues.

Pafford said after the session that the House should have continued its work through Friday. But he said he did support the House closing out the regular session instead of extending it into the coming week s — and said the adjournment could help the Senate Medicaid proposal, which House Democrats support.

“Now, we can clearly come back and talk about the only item that apparently was so massive enough that it’s brought down business in the Florida House, which is health-care expansion,” Pafford said. “In a way, it might be the best thing, largely because now we’re going to talk about health-care expansion.”

by The News Service of Florida

Comments

4 Responses to “Florida House Calls It Quits And Heads Home Early”

  1. jeeperman on April 29th, 2015 3:47 pm

    They are paid $494.95 per day
    Since they walked away three days early, they owe us taxpayers $1484.85

  2. pje on April 29th, 2015 11:12 am

    So the Republicans prove yet again that they are incapable of effective governing and act like spoiled crybabies.

    Line your pockets and screw the people! The Republican way.

    Disgusting.

  3. deBugger on April 29th, 2015 6:37 am

    House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island?

    Ought to be arrested for impersonating a public servant.
    Ought to be publicly scolded for immature legislative behavior.

    Your (li’l Stevie) family has served & benefited from the public trough in Florida for years, and now you shame their legacy by behaving like a spoiled brat that can’t have his way.

    You’re there to do the people’s business, pal, and you can’t “take your ball and go home” just because real reps buckle down and push the hard issues.

  4. Jane on April 29th, 2015 5:57 am

    I guess they are taking lessons from Washington….let the bills die, don’t do anything to fix the situation, just get paid for not doing our job. I am very disappointed in the Florida legislature. I hope next election people remember this and vote someone else in.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News