Sen. Crist voted for it, before he was against it

TAMPA — Someone out there pushed Sen. Victor Crist's button.

When Senate Bill 360 came up for a vote on May 1, it already had been roundly criticized by some environmental groups, newspapers and a core of Hillsborough County residents who opposed it for wiping away a set of regulations that they said would spur further sprawl.

It passed by a vote of 30 to 7. Crist's vote was recorded as yea, making him the only Hills­borough senator to approve one of the most controversial bills in years.

But in a quirk that underscores just how difficult it can be to account for the behavior of local officials in Tallahassee, Crist said he wasn't there to push his green 'yea' button when the bill came up for a vote.

Somebody must have done it for him, and incorrectly at that, he said.

He was in a conference on appropriations at the time, he said. Senate rules allow senators to vote for each other in cases where they are on the floor, but unavailable to vote. When he returned to his seat, Crist said he noticed the error.

"Everyone assumed I was a 'yes,' " Crist said. That might be because he had already voted for the bill three other times in a committee meeting and floor votes. But after getting a phone call from Hillsborough Commissioner Mark Sharpe and reading editorials that were against the bill, he said, he no longer supported it.

Crist filled out a Senate form that changed his vote to nay. But his revised vote doesn't matter. The final tally still counts Crist's initial vote.

What's curious is that Crist, who announced this week that he will be seeking to replace Phyllis Busansky as Hillsborough's supervisor of elections, still doesn't know who pushed his button.

"It's usually whichever senator is around at the time," Crist said. "It could have been one of many who was in the vicinity of the button."

Senate rules say senators can't vote for each other without permission. So if Crist didn't give a senator permission, whoever voted for him broke the rule, right?

Crist doesn't know and doesn't care. From the way Crist tells it, the rule is breached all the time.

"While we leave notes on our desk that say, 'Don't push our button,' people do," he said. "If it's wrong, you can change it. It happens all the time."

Michael Van Sickler can be reached at mvansickler@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3402.