Gov. Scott signs death penalty sentencing law to correct
Flflaws
TALLAHASSEE — After more than a year of uncertainty, Florida is again poised to begin executions and prosecute death penalty cases after Gov. Rick Scott signed a law Monday aimed at fifixing flflaws in the state’s capital sentencing procedure.
“Governor Scott’s foremost concern is always for the victims and their loved ones. He hopes this legislation will allow families of these horrifific crimes to get the closure they deserve,” Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said in a statement early Monday evening.
The new law --- the second death penalty “fifix” in a year --- came in response to a series of court rulings, set offff by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in January 2016 in a c ase known as Hurst v. Florida.
The 8-1 opinion, premised on a 2002 ruling in a case known as Ring v. Arizona, found that Florida’s system of allowing judges, instead of juries, to fifind the facts necessary to impose the death penalty was an unconstitutional violation of the Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.
The Legislature last year hurriedly passed a law to address the federal court ruling, but the Florida Supreme Court struck down the new statute. Florida justices said the law was unconstitutional because it only required 10 of 12 jurors to recommend death, instead of unanimous jury decisions.
The state and federal court rulings — and others related to it — created confusion regarding Florida’s death penalty, with circuit judges split on whether they could move forward with capital cases until the Legislature addressed the issue of unanimity.
A House panel approved a proposed constitutional amendment Monday that could shift power in Florida’s executive branch.
Rep. Gayle Harrell, R-Stuart, wants to convert the offiffice of secretary of state into an elected Cabinet position, eliminating the governor’s power to appoint Flor- ida’s highest elections offifficial. The move would undo a change approved by voters in 1998 that strengthened the offiffice of the governor, which shares power in many areas with three statewide elected officials who make up the Florida Cabinet.
T h e Hou s e Ove r s i g h t , Transparency & Administration Subcommittee voted unanimously to approve Harrell’s proposal (HJR 811) to place the issue on the November 2018 ballot. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee approved a Senate version (SJR 882) last week.
Sandra Mortham, Florida’s elected secretary of state from 1995 to 1999, told the House panel that the “consolidation of power” in the executive branch has led to conflflicts of interest in the secretary of state’s offiffice.
“It has become more diffifficult for the secretary because clearly, they have a chain of command to have to deal with issues,” said Mortham, who left offiffice after she lost a Republican primary to Katherine Harris.
Information about applicants vying to become presidents, provosts or deans at Florida universities or state colleges would be kept secret unless they become fifinalists for the jobs under a bill approved Monday by a House subcommittee.
The legislation (HB 351), sponsored by Rep. Bob Rommel, R-Naples, would only require the disclosure of candidates who made “fifinalist” lists, with the lists disclosed at least 10 days before decisions are made on the hiring.
Ro mmel s a i d c re a t i n g more “privacy” in the search process would help the state recruit top-qualit y candidates for higher-education jobs, protecting candidates who could face repercussions at their current schools.
Opponents questioned the need for the bill, noting that the state’s top two universities, Florida State University and the University of Florida, successfully conducted presidential searches in the open and attracted large groups of highly qualifified candidates. Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of West Florida have also conducted recent searches, and the University of North Florida is preparing to begin the process of replacing President John Delaney, who will step down next year.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the Los Angeles Lakers great, was in Tallahassee on Monday lobbying Florida lawmakers about health care coverage.
Johnson, who stunned the sports world in 1991 when he retired after contracting HIV, met with 10 members of the Senate Democratic caucus and later with Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, to advocate for HIV/AIDS coverage and dental coverage in state health-care programs.
Johnson i s a n i nvestor and spokesman for Simply Healthcare Plans Inc., which, along with affiffiliates, serves more than 200,000 Medic are and Medicaid members in Florida.
All Aboard Florida’s Brightline rail service plans to begin operating a 30-minute route between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale in late July, while an effffffffffffort to give the state more regulatory authority over high-speed passenger rail gets a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
A measure (SB 386) going before the Senate Transportation Committee today seeks to have high-speed operators pay for safety upgrades and would give the Florida Department of Transportation regulatory authority over high-speed rail where not preempted by federal regulations.
T h e p r i v a t e l y o w n e d Brightline will expand the s e r v i c e t o Mi a mi i n l a t e August, according to a news release Friday. It may be another t wo years before All Aboard Florida is running Brightline trains north at speeds up to 110 mph from Jupiter to Cocoa and then at 125 mph to Orlando.