Crack down on government corruption.
It’s a Darwinian environment for legislation in Florida’s Capitol. The sheer number of bills introduced during the state’s annual legislative sessions means many good measures get trampled in the stampede, while some bad ones sneak through to passage. sageLast year, of more than 2,600 bills filed during the regular session, only 231 became law — a survival rate of less than 10 percent.
A little past the halfway point in the 2016 legislative session, here’s a short list of some lesser known but promising bills that deserve to pass, and some bad bills that should be buried.
First, a trio of good ones:
Senate Bill 582 would
strengthen laws against official corruption in Florida. It would make government contractors, paid billions of dollars a year by Florida taxpayers, subject to laws against bid-rigging and official misconduct. It also would lower an abnormally high legal standard for convictions in corruption cases. A statewide grand jury recommended these reforms in 2010. The bill’s House counterpart,
HB 7071, passed unanimously in that chamber. The Senate must now pass its version, so a bill can reach Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.
SB 7012, sponsored by all 40 Senate members, would boost the pension benefits of surviving spouses of police, firefighters and other first responders killed in the line of duty. It was drafted in response to the tragedy of Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Pine, whose shooting death in 2014 left his wife and three young children without a survivors’ pension. The Senate passed the bill this week, but it could get bogged down in the House if it gets attached to broader, more controversial pension changes. House members must not allow that to happen.
SB 954/HB 75 would make it a felony to tamper with or remove an electronic monitoring device on accused abusers who have had a domestic-violence injunction filed against them to keep them away from their alleged victims. Under current law, police alerted to a device’s tampering or removal must first get a warrant from a judge before making an arrest, prolonging the time a victim may be in danger. This bill, which just missed passing last year, is based on a recommendation from the Orange County Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Commission. Now, a couple of bad bills:
SB 186/HB 4027 would repeal the 2010 state law authorizing red-light cameras. Critics say they’re really just revenue drivers for local governments, not traffic-safety devices. The Senate bill’s sponsor, St. Petersburg Republican Jeff Brandes, claims studies show cameras increase accidents, but there is plenty of other reputable research that has reached the opposite conclusion. In Orlando, red-light violations and accidents have fallen at monitored intersections. Regardless, legislators shouldn’t throw up a roadblock for local governments that choose this route to make their streets safer. There are steps short of banning the cameras to make their use fairer. And the easiest solution for motorists who hate the tickets is to stop at red lights.
SB 1220/HB 1021 would undermine the 1909 Florida law and 1992 constitutional amendment that require government agencies to release their records to the public. It would remove the guarantee that agencies caught violating the law will reimburse the attorneys’ fees of citizens who have taken them to court — the one mechanism in the law for enforcing it. Supporters of the bill, including the Florida League of Cities, say it’s needed to thwart a few bad actors who have been targeting local governments to collect big fees. But courts are already cracking down, and there are better ways to discourage predatory lawsuits without eviscerating this constitutional right.