Capitol hears about porn, Amazon plan
Lawmaker says state lacks what it takes to lure online firm.
TALLAHASSEE — Plants froze. Pipes burst. Noses dripped.
Temperatures approached the teens last week in Tallahassee, causing a conundrum for visitors to the Capitol from balmier regions of the state.
But the frost outside didn’t create a chill inside the Capitol, where House and Senate committees sifted through a range of legislation that included Hurricane Irma fallout, gambling and opioids.
The legislative week also gave Rep. Ross Spano, a Dover Republican running for attorney general, an opportunity to burnish his conservative creds with a measure that would declare pornography a public health risk.
According to Spano, research shows a correlation between porn and “mental and physical illnesses, difficulty forming and maintaining intimate relationships,” and a host of other ills.
The only “no” vote on the measure, approved by a House panel Thursday, came from Republican Rep. Cary Pigman, an emergency-room doctor who said the state should focus on real health risks affecting Floridians, such as hypertension, obesity and diabetes.
No (state) love for Amazon
After playing the key role in reducing and revamping Florida’s economic-development programs last year, House Speaker Richard Corcoran said Thursday he has no interest in developing a state incentive plan to bring Amazon’s new headquarters to Florida.
Florida suddenly became a contender for the giant online retailer’s second headquarters — dubbed HQ2 by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — after South Florida emerged as one of 20 finalists for the project, which could generate some $5 billion in spending and lead to 50,000 jobs.
Miami, which was competing with 238 other cities, was the only finalist in Florida, although the Miami bid also includes sites in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Gov. Rick Scott, who’s pushed state funding to lure businesses to Florida, tweeted that it was “great news” that Miami made the cut.
But Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, didn’t share the love.
Corcoran said he doubted Florida would end up as the location for the Amazon project, citing remarks by MiamiDade County Commission Chairman Esteban “Steve” Bovo, a Hialeah Republican who formerly served in the state House.
Bovo told the Miami Herald in October that MiamiDade’s transportation challenges would ultimately eliminate Miami from contention.
“What was the reason?” Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, asked. “There’s not enough money? We didn’t throw enough incentives? No, (it’s) because of their infrastructure and their transit issues.”
Corcoran listed the items he said “site selectors” consider when relocating.
“Here’s what we ought to do as a state. I’ll say it until I’m blue in the face,” Corcoran said. “There are five things that site selectors look at. The most important being having a great educational system.”
Anti-gambling proposal hits jackpot
The “Voter Control of Gambling Amendment,” an initiative largely bankrolled by a Disney company and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, would make it harder to expand gambling in Florida by requiring voter approval for any form of casino gambling, an issue now largely controlled by the Legislature.
Backers of the amendment last week topped the 766,200 petition signatures required to get on the November general-election ballot, where it will appear as Amendment 3. The Florida Supreme Court last year approved the ballot language. Like all constitutional changes, the proposal will require 60 percent approval from voters in November to pass.
If ultimately approved, the proposal would give voters the “exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling” in the state. The change would require voter approval of casino-style games, such as slots, in the future.
New sexual harassment policy
After the resignation of two prominent senators because of sex scandals, Senate President Joe Negron last week released a new sexual-harassment policy outlining do’s and don’ts — mostly don’ts — to guide senators, aides and lobbyists.
Unwelcome physical behavior that could constitute sexual harassment includes “kissing or hugging, unless welcome or clearly not objected to, when made in connection with a greeting or parting, such as a peck on the cheek.”
And “patting, pinching, or intentionally brushing against an individual’s body” are also off-limits, according to the new policy.
The policy also advises members and aides to keep in mind that a single incident may or may not constitute sexual harassment and that “conduct or communications that might have been welcome between two individuals at one time may become unwelcome at any time.”
Negron released the policy after the Senate has been roiled by the resignations of Lake Worth Democrat Jeff Clemens and Clearwater Republican Jack Latvala. Clemens resigned after disclosures about an extramarital affair with a lobbyist, while Latvala stepped down after a highly damaging investigation about sexual harassment.