Archive for April, 2010
After a brief debate, senators added the gun amendment to the omnibus agriculture bill (SB382) they've been working on. It was a voice vote, so members did not have to go on record on the issue that divides the Republican caucus.
It's a victory for the NRA, but with time fading fast and the House
just starting on the budget, we'll see if they get to the bill before
Sine Die. Stay tuned…
The loaded agriculture bill, which just got stuck with an amendment to allow certain workers to bring guns to work, was also being used as a vehicle to end greyhound racing at greyhound tracks.
Under a proposal by Sen. Charlie Justice, dog tracks could decide whether they want offer gambling on live greyhound racing. They measure, supported by animal rights groups, was rejected as not germaine to the ag bill.
“It makes little sense for the state to require dog tracks to lose money on greyhound racing,” said GREY2K USA President and General Counsel Christine Dorchak. “It also makes no sense for greyhounds to suffer needlessly. Having dogs run around in circles while fewer and fewer people watch, means that dog racing is simply a loss leader for newer, more modern forms of gambling.”
There are only 24 operational dog tracks in the U.S., 13 of which are in Florida. Because of the decline, state revenue from live greyhound racing has dropped 93 percent since 1989, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
The Legislature's answer to the "Fair Districts" redistricting amendment is about to pass the Senate.
Republican sponsor Mike Haridopolos said the amendment simply clarified the amendments proposed by Fair Districts, which he and others said could weaken minority voting districts due to the vagaries of reapportionment case law. To bolster his claim, sens Al Lawson (the Democratic leader) and Gary Siplin (the black caucus leader) co-introduced the bill.
But all other Democrats and black lawmakers in the Senate opposed the measure.
"It is not about protecting minorities," Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa. "It is about holding on to power."
Sen. Mike Benett, R-Bradenton, said Fair Districts isn't really "grassroots." Instead, it's a coalition of liberals. He pointed out that unions and trial lawyers were among the biggest contributors.
Siplin said he was just trying to protect minority-access seats, such as his Orlando-based district which is about equally divided into three groups: Blacks, Hispanics and whites. Siplin faulted Fair Districts for not consulting with him. And he thanked Haridopolos for giving him the chance to participate in the redistricting hearings because he wanted to make sure that any new standards "protect" lawmakers like him.
The Legislature's amendment: Download RedistH7231
A Fair District amendment: Download Fair District
A more than three-hour House debate about an ultrasound bill
dissolved into a heated discussion about abortion, as tempers flared and
lawmakers warned visitors and young staff to leave the chamber.
It's
a remarkable scene on the final day of the legislative session that
leaves palatable divisions among Republican and Democratic lawmakers
ahead of an election year and ends House Speaker Larry Cretul's
tenure on a sour note.
The 72-46 mostly party line vote to add the
abortion language to a broad health care bill was expected since
the debate first began at 8:28 a.m. but it didn't stop the political
theater as Republicans used procedural moves to block all amendments and
put time limits on debate. The entire bill passed an hour later by a 76-44 vote.
"What are we as a society going to say
years from now about the killing of more than 50 million babies since
Roe v. Wade. How can you find the Holocaust so revolting and be opposed
to this bill," said Rep. Alan Hays, a Umatilla Republican, whose
remarks drew rebuke from the speaker.
Democrat Adam Fetterman
called the legislation "paternalistic government stepping in and
dictating (a woman's) care."
"There's not bacon to bring back
home (through the budget), but you sure can bring the red meat,"
Fetterman added.
The real decision comes to Gov. Charlie Crist,
who has vacillated on the issue in the past but now looks at it through
the lens of his nonpartisan bid for the U.S. Senate.
"I want to have that independent governor to think about what the
people want … and veto this bill," pleaded Rep. Richard Steinberg,
D-Miami Beach.
But a former Crist supporter, Rep. Chris
Dorworth, a Lake Mary Republican, countered: "If he vetoes this
bill, he's saying the millions of babies who will be terminated from
this are not people. I know he's a man of character and he won't do
that."
Defying party lines on the ultrasound language, six Republicans voted
against the abortion language (Homan, Planas, Schultz, Anderson, Culp
and Domino) and three Democrats voted for it (Bembry, Boyd and
Bush).
Gov. Charlie Crist today declared a state of emergency for six Panhandle counties because the oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon platform threatens Florida's coasts "with a major disaster." The governor's office reports that he has been flooded with phone calls from concerned residents regarding the spill.
Download 2010.4.30 EO Emergency Deepwater Horizon[1]
Crist has also scheduled a conference call on the subject with Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano and other federal officials at 12:45. After declaring the emergency, Crist formally apointed David Halstead to be director of the Division of Emergency Management. He had been serving as interim director since January.
An effort to pre-empt Pinellas County's fertilizer ban is one of the
last fights in the Legislature this year. The ordinance bans the
sale and use of fertilizer during the rainy summer months in order to
avoid runoff. A legislative pre-emption of the sale has
already passed the House.
The Senate just now approved an amendment by Sen. Eleanor Sobel
that makes it easier for localities to approve strict ordinances.
The vote: 21-18, with several Republicans crossing
over to side with the Democrats.
But there's an added wrinkle. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer
is sitting in the front row of the gallery, wondering what will happen
to her amendment
that allows people to carry guns in their cars. It would be added
to the same agriculture bill (SB 382). Since the Senate and House do not agree on
the fertilizer provision, the bill (with or without the gun language)
cannot move forward. Stay tuned…
The Washington Post: "The White House vowed Friday that no expansion of offshore oil drilling will take
place until investigations are completed into a rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, which is sending thousands of gallons of crude oil lapping toward Louisiana's shores.
"Senior White House adviser David Axelrod pledged that President Obama's plans to end a longstanding moratorium on offshore drilling would be put on hold until the cause of the explosion at the Deepwater Horizon rig is known.
" 'What the president has said — all he has said — is he's not gonna continue the moratorium on drilling. But he hasn't — no additional drilling has been authorized and none will [be] until we find out what happened here and whether there was something unique and preventable here," Axelrod said on 'Good Morning America.' Axelrod defended the Obama administration's response to the disaster, saying the Coast Guard was on the scene 'almost immediately' to begin overseeing the response."
Today is Rep. Ralph Poppell's 60th birthday and final day in
the House. His niece, Holly Colson, and her two young kids came
from Perry to celebrate. But they didn't realize what they were getting
when they sat in the House gallery amid the ongoing abortion debate.
Speaker
Pro Tem Ron Reagan suggested those with young children leave the
gallery — twice stopping the debate to urge them to go.
Colson,
who is against abortions, said it's an appropriate topic to discuss but
she doesn't think a woman should pay for the ultrasound, as the bill
would mandate.
"Crist’s decision to run under no party affiliation is a political long shot and likely GOP nominee Marco Rubio will continue to be favored in November, but the move by Crist has also given renewed hope to Democrats and has caused CQ Politics to change Florida’s Senate race rating from Likely Republican to Leans Republican."
Go to Source
Pundits had questioned what a Crist indie bid would mean for George LeMieux, Crist's one top aide whom Crist appointed to the Senate. Here's the answer: "I am saddened that my friend, Governor Crist, has decided to leave the Republican Party.
"Our friendship runs deep, but my commitment to the principles of the Republican Party runs deeper," said LeMieux, who has been talked about as a potential 2012 challenger to Democrat Bill Nelson. "I cannot walk down the path he has chosen. Now more than ever, our nation’s future depends on our ability to uphold the core Republican ideals of fiscal restraint, peace through strength, individual liberty, personal responsibility and smaller government.
"I will support our Republican nominee and will continue to do everything I can both in Florida and across the country to increase the number of Republicans in the United States Senate."