Fla. legislature plans ceremonial session
TALLAHASSEE—When the Legislature last left the Capitol in mid-March, there were 432 COVID-19 cases and nine deaths in Florida.
Now, as lawmakers prepare to gather for an organizational session on Tuesday with swearing-in ceremonies and formal leadership votes, the state has seen about 900,000 cases, more than 17,000 deaths, a lockdown, and a reopening. The coronavirus crisis also has wrought widespread job losses, exposed a broken unemployment compensation system and led to an eviction moratorium that has kept many from being homeless but which expires at the end of the year.
Throughout it all, Republican legislative leaders have given way to Gov. Ron DeSantis, opting to let him handle the state’s response to the pandemic on his own.
That’s outraged Democrats, who have pushed to hold special sessions this summer to fix the unemployment system and pass police reforms in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, which sparked mass protests throughout the country.
“There’s a never-ending list of crises that have gotten worse due to legislative inaction,” said Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando. “But there’s an overwhelming sense of urgency thatwe have to take bold action to help Floridians struggling due to COVID-19 and make upfor the fact that the Legislature basically took a year off during a once-in-a-lifetime crisis.”
Republicans, though, feel vindicated by voters. The GOP added five seats in the House and one in the Senate in a year when Democrats hoped to make significant
gains of their own amid a cratered economy. Instead, they had one of their worst cycles in legislative races and President Trump won the state.
That means legislative leaders aren’t in a hurry to tackle the issues raised by Democrats about unemployment compensation.
“There was no need to come back to Tallahassee to pass a law to make the unemployment system work - it’s already supposed to work,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Brevard County. “They used the fact that people weren’t getting their benefits that they were legally entitled to as a justification to try toget a special session. It was dishonest and, obviously, it backfired.”
Many Republicans have said they want to increase the maximum weekly benefit and look at overhauling the system to ensure it works in the future, but Democrats have wanted to go further, by increasing the amount of weeks unemployed residents can receive.
At the ceremonial session, Rep. Chris Sprowls, a Palm Harbor Republican who’s slated to become House Speaker, and Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, who will be elected as Senate President, could lay out their policy agendas for the coming regular session that starts in March.
Two items that will be near the top of the priority list are high on DeSantis’ agenda: increasing penalties on protesters who attack police or loot property, and protecting businesses from lawsuits related to the coronavirus pandemic. The protest crackdown billwould include expanding Florida’s stand your ground law to include looting, the Miami Herald reported.
Sprowls and Simpson rejected DeSantis’ suggestion to hold a special session next week to tackle those issues but are considering a session in January.
For Democrats, those priorities are out of tune with the dire economic straits faced by many residents. In addition to fixing the unemployment system, Smith said he wants to see action on providing relief to small businesses, kickstarting the economy andensuring affordable housing for those affected by the crisis.
Fine said hewants to get the state’s economy going again as well and pointed to DeSantis’ plans to pass liability protections for businesses as one way to do it. But when lawmakers return next March, the pandemic and its effects will likely color everything they do, he said.
“Everything gets back to the pandemic,” said Fine, who was hospitalized this summer with the coronavirus. “(COVID-19) is not just a health crisis, it’s an economic crisis, it’s an education crisis, it’s an infrastructure crisis. It lays over everything.”
The usual pomp and circumstance of the organizational session will be somewhat muted this year, with access restricted to the public, and restrictions placed on lawmakers, who will only be allowed one guest on the floor of the chamber.
While there won’t be substantive legislative action, there could still be partisan fireworks. Sprowls unveiled this week a series of proposed changes to the House rules. Such changes are typically a formality with minor adjustments, but Smith said Democrats could be vocally opposed to Sprowls’ moves, which include using more structured debate times and banning “frivolous” amendments.
“They’re going to basically determine that any amendment filed by a Democrat is frivolous and therefore ruled out of order, which takes away our ability to even play a role in the legislative process,” Smith said. “It’s an attack on our democracy.”
A spokeswoman for Sprowls didn’t make him available for an interview but pointed to the memo his issued along with the proposed changes, which indicated that a desire for a more orderly, efficient process.
“Given the amount of work that must be accomplished during the Regular Session, we must ensure that we make the best use of our schedule,” the memo states. “We’ve added language that frivolous amendments — those that do not accomplish a technical or substantive purpose — are out of order.”