Our Crazy Legislature, Week 2

Progressive Pensacola is proud (or ashamed?) to present the latest installment of our weekly feature, Our Crazy Legislature. Each week, we try to round up some of the many, many bad decisions made by the Florida Legislature, and some of the many, many bad ideas proposed by the legislators therein. There are so many that it’s literally hard to keep track.

Central Florida Political Pulse:
“Bogdanoff: No cig tax on my watch”

A top Republican lawmaker has come out against an increase in Florida’s cigarette tax:

Fort Lauderdale Republican Ellyn Bogdanoff, who runs the House’s Finance and Tax Committee, has come out strongly against a proposed cigarette tax increase. “I’m not interested in the cigarette tax,” she said in an interview. “This is not the time to increase taxes. You’re sending a very, very bad message

Rep. Bogdanoff’s opposition could kill any chances of even getting a cigarette tax hike to the House floor, which is incredibly disappointing. Several Republican lawmakers seemed more open to the idea this session, and the Florida Hospital Association has encouraged an increase. Progressive Pensacola has long advocated an increase to Florida’s cigarette tax, which is dramatically lower than the national average and hasn’t been raised since 1990.

The Buzz:
“Budget deficits bigger than Crist figured”

The unfunded hole in this year’s state budget is worse than almost anyone figured:

Economists are projecting that the current year deficit ranges anywhere from $894 million to $1.1 billion. Crist estimated $700 million. Next year, however, it’s even worse. The governor estimated an additional deficit next year of $1.2 billion. That’s smaller than what economists are debating — a new hole of $2.2 billion to $2.6 billion.

This is bad news for the people of Florida because the Florida Legislature is full of morons, and now they’ve got to find more money to fill this hole. Will they roll up their sleeves and think of creative ways to improve efficiency and cut administrative costs? Doubtful. Will they consider smart, sensible tax increases to bring in extra revenue to balance the budget? Probably not. They’ll cut your social services — like education and healthcare — which are already in bad shape after huge cuts last year.

This is what happens when you ask incompetent people to run your state’s finances.

Miami Herald:
“Florida sales tax breaks aren’t likely to be dumped”

Florida lawmakers don’t even have the guts to eliminate some tax breaks:

The House Finance and Tax Committee on Wednesday wrapped up its six-week review of sales tax exemptions as it watched a parade of lobbyists defend $385 million worth of exemptions — everything from tax breaks on Super Bowl tickets and skybox seats to religious items and bottled water.

What a bunch of panderers.

Daytona Beach News-Journal:
“Lawmakers seek hiding places”

The Daytona Beach daily critiques various efforts to skirt Florida’s great public records laws:

It’s a spring ritual in the Florida Legislature — a drizzle of proposed exemptions to the public records law, all of them slippery, most of them unnecessary, some of them downright hysterical (not in the funny sense).

One bill this year would shroud the identity of property owners, their mortgage information and the address of properties on the state’s abandoned or vacant property registry. Another would seal from public scrutiny crime photographs involving dead or injured individuals. Two bills would close records relating to prescription-drug records held by pharmacists and health-care providers. In public safety agencies, one bill would close disciplinary records and investigations involving firefighters, another would exempt the cellular phone numbers of current or former law enforcement officers from public scrutiny, making cell records untraceable.

The News-Journal rightly points out that these exceptions don’t improve government operations or enhance public safety, and are kind-of contrary to the recommendations of governor’s Commission on Open Government that we review existing exceptions to public records laws to determine if they’re really necessary.

One bill (S 1260/HB 409), sponsored by two Jacksonville-area Democratic legislators, State Senator Tony Hill and State Rep. Mia Jones, would remove from public records pertinent information about the employment status and benefits of school district employees — including elected School Board members. That would be a terrible precedent to set. Information about the compensation and employment status of public employees should clearly be public record.

Tallahassee Democrat:
“Storm clouds are on the horizon for state’s Sunshine law”

The always excellent Bill Cotterell puts the spotlight on so-called “shell bills” — bills which state a general purpose as a framework and are later fleshed out through amendments. Because they are often unspecific, incomplete, and constantly changing, it’s harder for the members of the public to follow along:

[Barbara] Petersen, an attorney who has worked legislative committees for years on public-access issues, said there are 14 shell bills that simply state the Legislature’s intention to do something with laws relating to open government. There are another 80 in the Senate, plus two constitutional amendments, which don’t even say what they will deal with.

It could be literally anything, Petersen said. And although they have free access to legislative records and meetings during the 60-day session, which ends on May Day, citizens have no way of knowing — until someone offers an amendment fleshing out the bills — what department, activity or tax might be affected by each bill.

There’s no question that shell bills are being used too often. I’d like to see some legislation that limits their use.