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"A Preview of the 2003 Florida Legislative Session"
December 2002 Edition of the ACLU of Florida Newsletter
By Larry Helm Spalding
Legislative Staff Counsel
As a result of the November elections, Florida Republicans now control the governor's mansion and all three cabinet positions. They enjoy a 26 to 14 majority in the Senate and increased their majority in the House of Representatives by winning 81 of the 110 seats.
Nonetheless, most expect the second Jeb Bush administration to look much like the first. Some in the House of Representatives, with the tacit concurrence of Speaker Johnnie Byrd, will undoubtedly push hard for slash-and-burn legislation to flex their new supermajority status. The Senate, however, under the leadership of President Jim King, should continue to moderate the more extreme positions of the House.
Here are some things to expect from the 2003 Florida Legislature:
First and foremost on the agenda is a $1.2 billion deficit in the budget that must be dealt with. The 2002 Florida Legislature spent $1.2 billion of Florida's non-recurring revenue on recurring expenses. The expenses will return in 2003, but the money will have to come from someplace else. The Republican majority is not likely to increase taxes. Consequently, they must look to other sources such as the environmental and tobacco trust funds, and make deeper cuts in social services programs such as Medicaid. Other areas that may see budget cuts are corrections, the judiciary, and universities.
The Governor and the Florida Legislature must address, for political reasons if no other, the continuing problems at the Department of Children and Families. The new Secretary at DCF has asked for $400 million in additional revenue in the coming fiscal year. Ordinarily that request would fall on deaf ears during lean times, but perhaps not in 2003.
Reproductive rights, including abortion and contraception, are in serious jeopardy. Legislation will be introduced both in the Florida Legislature and in the Congress as part of a coordinated effort to further restrict a woman's right to choose and to have meaningful access to reproductive health care. The defense of reproductive freedom may prove to be the key ACLU battleground in 2003 even as we approach the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
One of the more intriguing problems facing the new administration is how to implement Amendment Nine that requires a reduction in public school class size. One possibility is to ignore the amendment and not pass any enabling legislation as the Florida Legislature has done with the bullet train. The Legislature can also simply decide that class size reduction is a local issue and pass the buck to the school boards. We may also see an increased use of portables or 'creative accounting' by changing the designation of teachers' aides to meet the new requirements. Yet another possibility ? which is being touted as the governor's 'devious plan' ? is to adopt a universal school voucher system permitting any school age child to attend the public, private or religious school of his or her choice. If the number of public school students is reduced, then there is less of a need for more teachers and new classroom facilities, or so one side of the argument goes.
The Legislature is likely to expand its efforts to reorganize, downsize and privatize state government. Expect more public/private partnerships and increased reliance on faith-based programs to provide social services.
There will likely be a proposed constitutional amendment to change the ballot initiative process. There is obviously a disconnect between the people who have been elected to run government and the ballot measures the people say they want enacted. The Florida Legislature will likely adopt a proposed amendment to be voted upon in 2004 that will make approval of future constitutional amendments more difficult by requiring two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority for enactment.
Of course, the ACLU and other public interest organizations would be surprised if some of the perennial favorites such as school prayer and Internet censorship did not resurface. Nonetheless, the overriding issue for the 2003 Florida Legislature will be the fiscal budget and whether the Bush administration is prepared to address that issue without jeopardizing the public's valued assets.
Finally, it will be important to watch whether there are any new credible voices who will come to the defense of civil liberties on the floor of the House and Senate. Florida House Minority Leader Lois Frankel, for example, was an ardent and articulate defender of the Bill of Rights for the past two years. She will no longer be in the House chambers to defend the Constitution. Kendrick Meek often played a similar role in the Florida Senate. He is now a member of the United States Congress.
There are certainly individuals in the newly constituted Florida Legislature who are capable of taking their place, but it is not clear at this point which of them will step forward as the new champions of constitutional freedoms.
