Few bills pass as session wraps up

Legislature went long, but only 211 proposals brought to conclusion

TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers failed to agree on gambling, gun rights and medical marijuana in a session where only 211 bills were passed — the fewest in at least 20 years.

But they did fix Florida’s death penalty law, made it easier to buy liquor in the grocery store and set aside land and money for a massive reservoir designed to halt further incidents of green slime.

Here is a look at what lawmakers did this session on the major issues. Budget The Legislature is set to pass an $82.4 billion budget Monday, three days late. Expect to see major changes.

Big increases in university funding and teacher bonuses are on the way, as are a massive reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee and a new program that could see high-performing charter schools compete with failing traditional public schools.

Those represent some of the top priorities of either chamber, but Gov. Rick Scott’s priorities have been left behind. He wanted full funding for the state’s tourism marketing and business incentive agencies. Instead, Visit Florida’s budget is slashed from $76 million to $25 million, while Enterprise Florida’s business incentive fund is zeroed-out entirely.

Scott wanted $200 million to shore up the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee. He didn’t get it. Scott wanted $600 million in tax cuts. Not even close.

The governor has not said whether he would veto the budget, but he has said it is an option. Taxes About $75 million in tax cuts are included in the budget. Those cuts include a reduction in school property taxes and a three-day sales tax holiday to be held in August.

The Legislature also voted to place on the 2018 ballot a proposal to increase the homestead tax exemption by $25,000. That proposal would require 60 percent of voters to approve and would cut homeowners’ taxes by $644 million, or about $275 per property owner.

But local governments worry the loss of tens of millions of dollars in revenue could mean either budget-slashing or tax increases. Palm Beach County has already floated the idea of a 0.5 percent sales tax increase should the homestead exemption become reality. Gambling The Legislature came close to allowing another casino in Miami-Dade County, giving the Seminole Tribe craps and roulette, allowing blackjack at parimutuels and letting eight counties, including Palm Beach County, have their voter-approved slot machines.

But the expansion of slot machines was the sticking point so no changes were made to the state’s gambling laws. The failure also means the loss of a guaranteed $3 billion over the next seven years from the Seminole Tribe in exchange for the new tables. Medical marijuana After voters approved a medical marijuana constitutional amendment in November, the Legislature looked to implement the amendment by creating rules for the nascent marijuana industry.

But competing House and Senate

plans fell apart in the final hours of the session over the amount of dispensaries that would be allowed and whether a sales tax could be imposed on medical marijuana and marijuana delivery devices. Education Funding was increased by $24 per child for a total of $7,220 per student. But money to build and repair school facilities was reduced, with traditional and charter schools receiving $50 million each statewide.

University-bound students will see a $180 million increase in Bright Futures scholarships, which will cover the complete cost of tuition for the first time in years. Other student aid funding will increase as well, and universities’ operating budgets will increase by $300 million.

At the K-12 level, a new program created in the House, Schools of Hope, would spend $200 million to get high-performing charter schools to move in and compete with traditional public schools that have received “D” or “F” ratings three or more years in a row. There are 18 such schools in Broward County; Palm Beach County doesn’t have any.

The Best and Brightest teacher bonus program is also expanded this year. The bonuses come from a set pool of money, so the amount each teacher can receive depends on how many qualify. According to the Orlando Sentinel, 7,200 teachers received $6,800 this year. Under the news rules principals for the first time can qualify for the bonus if enough of their teachers do. Guns A raft of gun-rights expansions was proposed this year, and all foundered at the hands of State Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami.

Bills filed in the wake of the shootings at the Fort Lauderdale airport and the Pulse nightclub in Orlando to require trigger locks and close the gun show loophole were never considered by the Republicancontrolled Legislature. Environment A $1.6 billion reservoir plan designed to prevent further incidents of green slime in South Florida rivers while also sending more water south into the Everglades passed both houses and awaits Scott’s signature. Scott has said he will sign the bill.

The reservoir was a top priority of Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, whose district includes part of the St. Lucie River Inlet that was covered in algae last summer. The reservoir would be built south of Lake Okeechobee on 31,000 acres of stateowned land, using $800 million of state money and $800 million of federal money, should the feds agree. Health care Hospital budget cuts were the final major sticking point in the budget, with both sides agreeing late Thursday how to divvy up $250 million in hospital Medicaid reimbursement rates. With federal matching dollars included, that means half a billion dollars cut from hospitals.

The cuts include more than $14 million each at Broward Health Medical Center and Memorial Regional Hospital, along with smaller cuts at other publicly funded hospitals.

Those cuts could be made up for by $1.5 billion in federal funding for hospitals that treat people who cannot afford health insurance but do not qualify for Medicaid. But it’s impossible to say how much could be recouped because the money is paid to hospitals depending on how many qualifying patients are treated. Business regulation Ride-booking companies such as Uber and Lyft are now subject to statewide insurance requirements. Local governments are banned from charging fees to drivers, except the same fees they charge taxis for pickups at airports and ports.

The Whiskey and Wheaties bill, which would allow stores like Publix to sell liquor in grocery store aisles instead of a separate, adjoining store, passed by one vote after years of languishing. It has gone on to the governor, but there is some question as to whether he will sign it.

The Legislature also sent Scott a bill implementing Amendment 4, the solar energy tax break for commercial property that voters approved in the last primary election. The rest The Legislature sent several other important bills to the governor, including a crackdown on sober homes that, once signed by Scott, will prevent them from falsely advertising their services. The idea is to prevent bad sober homes from attracting out-of-state addicts by promising them services and treatment results that the home cannot deliver, then trapping them in a cycle of addiction and abuse.

The first bill sent to Scott this session was an important fix to the state’s death penalty law, which will allow courts to sentence people to death.

The $83 billion budget also includes more than $20 million for Broward County homeowners who had their healthy citrus trees cut down during the citrus canker scare in the early 2000s. Unless vetoed by Scott, that money will close the books on a classaction lawsuit that has been awaiting resolution for almost a decade.

Hospital budget cuts were the final major sticking point in the budget. With federal matching dollars included, half a billion dollars was cut from hospitals. The cuts include more than $14 million each at Broward Health Medical Center and Memorial Regional Hospital, along with smaller cuts at other publicly funded hospitals.