Politics
Senators attempt, and fail, to stop governor's rejection of rail funds. Last Tuesday, Sens. Thad Altman and Arthenia Joyner filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court to force Gov. Rick Scott to accept $2.4 billion awarded to Florida for the development of a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando. Senate President Mike Haridopolos refused to join the lawsuit, observing that "state government should focus on its needs, not its wants." On Friday, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously denied the senators' petition, noting that the petitioning senators had not clearly demonstrated entitlement to relief. The federal Department of Transportation will now likely redistribute funds earmarked for Florida to other states for the development of high-speed rail lines.
Will Weatherford designated as speaker. On Monday afternoon, Rep. Will Weatherford was formally designated as speaker of the House for the upcoming 2012 – 2014 legislative biennium. Rep. Weatherford served as the chair of the Education Committee during the last biennium and currently serves as the chair of the House Redistricting Committee, the committee that will lead the effort to draw the boundaries for legislative and congressional districts. Rep. Weatherford is 31 years old, represents a district encompassing portions of Pasco and Hillsborough Counties near Tampa, and is married to the daughter of former speaker of the House, Allan Bense.
Legislature
House and Senate leaders plan busy first week of session. Lawmakers will bypass a traditionally benign first week of session in order to advance a series of controversial proposals across a wide policy spectrum this week. In the Senate, proposals include constitutional amendments to toughen the state's revenue growth limit (S.J.R. 958) and prohibit individuals from being compelled to purchase health insurance (S.J.R. 2). The Senate also will debate the successor bill to last year's teacher quality reform by taking up S.B. 736, which comprehensively reforms the state's policies regarding teacher contracts, evaluation, and pay. In the House, H.B. 7005 will be taken up to reform the state's unemployment compensation system by reducing the scope of benefits based on the state's unemployment rate, as well as reducing employers' tax rates, among other provisions.
Speaker Cannon outlines agenda for upcoming session. On Monday, Speaker Dean Cannon outlined his priorities for the upcoming legislative session, which include a bifurcation of the Florida Supreme Court, reform of Florida's Medicaid program, and dismantling of the prescription drug database. The restructuring of the Florida Supreme Court would result in two five-member courts, one criminal branch and one civil branch. In order to address Florida's "pill mill" problem, Speaker Cannon is seeking to dismantle the existing, but troubled, prescription drug database program. In its place would be a ban on distribution of controlled substances to practitioners, requiring individuals to obtain controlled substances from pharmacies. Senate President Haridopolos responded to Speaker Cannon's outline for the upcoming session by noting that while the Senate would evaluate the Supreme Court proposal, it would not repeal the prescription drug database program. Both the Medicaid reform and prescription drug distribution ban proposals may be heard as early as this week in the House Committee on Health and Human Services.
Destination resort bill filed by Sen. Jones. On Friday, Sen. Dennis Jones filed S.B. 1708 to authorize the licensure of "destination resorts." The bill would create a Destination Resort Commission composed of seven members, appointed by the governor to four-year terms and confirmed by the Senate. The commission would authorize casino gaming at up to five destination resorts, with no more than one resort in each of the five districts created by the bill. Each applicant must demonstrate its ability to provide a resort with a minimum of 1,000 hotel rooms, 500,000 square feet of convention and meeting floor space, and gaming space no larger than 10 percent of the resort's total square footage. Each applicant must pay a $1 million application fee, a $50 million one-time licensing fee, and a $5 million annual license fee. The bill would impose a sliding-scale gross-receipts tax, based on the infrastructure investment in the construction of the resort.
House produces Medicaid reform draft. The House Committee on Health and Human Services released its draft proposals to reform the state's Medicaid program last Monday. The proposal is similar to last year's proposal by the House and differs from the Senate proposal (S.B. 1972) that was released last month. In particular, the House bill divides the state into seven service regions, while the Senate uses 19, and the House bill implements managed care over five years, while the Senate bill would implement managed care in two years. The Senate bill also would exclude individuals with developmental disabilities from managed care and would place limits on the civil liability of Medicaid providers and community-based care providers. The House may begin debate on its proposals as soon as this Thursday.
Marnie George of The George Group assists Foley on a variety of government and public policy matters as a consultant.
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