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The Legislative Report: Prospects for the 1997 Legislature
By Legislative Staff Counsel Larry Helm Spalding
February 1997
1981: "The Constitution of the United States is a marvelous document for selfgovernment by Christian people. But the minute you turn the document into the hands of nonChristian people and atheist people, they can use it to destroy the very foundations of society. And that's what's happening." Pat Robertson, Founder Christian Coalition
1990: "I honestly believe that in my lifetime we will see a country once again governed by Christians ... and Christian values." Ralph Reed, Executive Director Christian Coalition
1996: "While the media remains fixated on the presidential race and the fact that Florida is still a battleground state, the more interesting political development, all but ignored, is that the next speaker of the Florida House of Representatives is likely to be the first Republican speaker of that chamber since Reconstruction, a committed Christian named Daniel Webster who is a member of the legislative body's pro family caucus that is called by its enemies, and now by its friends, the God Squad.'" Ralph Reed, Executive Director Christian Coalition
1997: "There's no question a Republican Legislature is far more sympathetic toward profamily issues than the Democratic Party." John Dowless, Executive Director Christian Coalition of Florida
The January/February '97 Christian American magazine the Christian Coalition's flagship magazine, which keeps getting slicker and slicker outlines legislative "issues of particular interest" to the Coalition (and to the ACLU) in an article by Legislative Director Brian Lopina entitled "105th Congress Unfinished Business":
1. Defending the right to life for the unborn, the elderly and the infirm including fighting "a phony' partial birth abortion ban likely to be proposed by proabortion forces trying to appease conservatives." Includes eliminating all abortion funding.
2. Religious Freedom Amendment.
3. Resubmission of the Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act.
4. Laws restricting special rights for homosexuals and banning pornography.
5. Further economic reform to benefit families (like the $500 per child tax credit, the Charitable Tax Credit and the elimination of the " marriage penalty' in the tax code forcing married couples to pay higher taxes than two adults filing separately."
The anticivil liberties assault, however, is not confined to the halls of Congress. History was made on November 5, 1996. Florida became the first state from the former Confederacy to elect a Republicancontrolled legislature. The new Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives is indeed Daniel Webster (ROrlando), a man closely allied with the Christian Coalition and its agenda for America.
Do the Christian Coalition and the new Speaker of the House of Representatives have an agenda for the 1997 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature? You bet they do. The first shot was fired at the opening of the organizational session. The Speaker announced that a longstanding practise concerning the Invocation would be changed. In prior legislative sessions, the roll call has come after the Invocation which permitted members who did not wish to be present on the floor during the prayer to remain outside the chamber. The Speaker has decreed that the first order of business will be the roll call, requiring all members to be inside the chamber for the Invocation.
Next, the Speaker invited the minister of his local church to give the Invocation for the organizing session. It was a highly sectarian and, to some, offensive prayer. Several members of the House were openly critical of the Invocation on the floor. Speaker Webster, however, later told the media that he saw nothing inappropriate in either action, but said he would try to be more sensitive in the future.
Republicans pushed hard for charter schools in 1996 . Education Commissioner Frank Brogan, a Republican, and Jeb Bush, the 1994 Republican gubernatorial candidate, have both been at the forefront of the charter school effort. The Republicancontrolled Legislature is now expected to initiate a voucher program, which would permit parents to use tax dollars to send their children to private or parochial schools. This is a Christian Coalition priority.
The most dramatic changes the Republican Legislature will attempt to adopt are in Florida's social agenda. This is also the arena where the ACLU will provide much of its opposition.
Even with a divided Legislature, the Christian Coalition and its antichoice allies last spring came close to winning approval for a measure requiring a 24hour waiting period before women could obtain abortions (Woman's Right to Know Act). The bill will be back in 1997. This time there may not be enough votes to stop it.
The school prayer bill also was approved by both chambers last spring, only to be vetoed by Governor Chiles. As a result of the new Republican majority in both houses, watch for a veto override early in the session.
Another Chiles veto that may be endangered is one that wiped out the socalled family impact statement, designed to place a social and financial pricetag on legislation being considered by lawmakers.
Another conservativebacked change likely to be wellreceived by the Republican Legislature will be new limits on Florida's 20yearold "nofault" divorce law. There will also likely be challenges to affirmative action programs and attempts to restrict the rights of gays and lesbians.
Expect the return of the Family Bill of Rights Act, which is similar to the initiative recently defeated in Colorado. It would severely restrict the actions of the Department of Children and Family Services in its effort to investigate child abuse.
There will be an effort to reform or abolish the Office of the Capital Collateral Representative, which provides counsel to deathsentenced inmates in their postconviction appeals.
The changes in the leadership of the Florida Legislature will mean more challenges for the ACLU in 1997. The "God Squad," at the urging of the Christian Coalition, will be emboldened to introduce many measures designed to curtail civil liberties. We must, however, remain eternally vigilant. An ACLU presence in Tallahassee now, more than ever, is critical.
But we cannot do the job alone. It is now more important than ever that legislators hear from civil libertarians on issues of vital concern to all of us. They will hear from the antiBill of Rights forces. None of us can afford any longer to sit passively when the Florida Legislature is debating bills designed to take away our basic freedoms. We all must become involved!
You are invited to become a member of the ACLU of Florida Legislative Network. Here is your opportunity to follow the activities of the Legislature almost on a daily basis. You will receive news reports from around the state on civil liberties issues and will be provided legislative alerts on key bills. To participate, simply send an email to LarryACLU@aol.com stating that you would like to be added to the group. Get Involved!
