Little cheer for Florida legislators as they wrap up session

TALLAHASSEE — The 2009 lawmaking session — which is not quite over— will best be remembered not for what lawmakers did, but for what they went through.

The onetime speaker of the House was indicted in a political scandal that by extension condemned the furtive budget process. Not since the Great Depression had the Florida economy been so bad. Republicans were forced to raise taxes and to accept the federal largesse of a Democratic president.

It was a period of tumult and malaise at once, and it is not over yet. Unable to agree on a spending plan — their only constitutional duty during the 60-day session — lawmakers return Friday to pass a $65 billion budget that is a case study in compromise.

"I don't think there's ever been a session like this," said Sen. Jim King, a veteran Republican from Jacksonville.

"We've had changes in leadership. We've had indictments. We've had no money. We've had polarized budgets. We've had protests. We've had a governor who became active a little too late in the process," King said.

"This has been one of the most challenging and emotionally difficult years," said Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale. "It's the perfect storm."

New House speaker

The session began with the ouster of House Speaker Ray Sansom, who faced a grand jury investigation over millions he secured as budget chairman for the Panhandle college that later hired him to a six-figure job.

The House replaced Sansom, R-Destin, with Rep. Larry Cretul, a little-known legislator from Ocala, who rebuffed the "accidental speaker" label but did little to change the perception that others were in charge. The abrupt leadership change knocked the House off stride and left the chamber without a clear leader.

"I never knew for sure who to negotiate with because I didn't know who called the shots," said King, who failed to get the House to take up an energy bill that was a priority of Gov. Charlie Crist.

"One of the things Republicans have been good at since we took over in the late '90s, is managing the process, and this hasn't looked good. It really hasn't," said former House Speaker John Thrasher, a Republican lobbyist running for an open Senate seat in 2010.

Thrasher said Cretul's challenges as a leader were magnified by the fact that he didn't have his own leadership team — he inherited Sansom's.

"It makes it difficult when you don't have your own personal top lieutenants who you think are important to get the job done," he said.

But House members say Cretul performed ably under the circumstances.

"Of course we're going to extend a few days, but the end product is pretty good," said Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel. "The transition has been hard. But we rallied around each other and around Speaker Cretul."

Budget is focus

Through it all loomed the biggest challenge of the session and perhaps several sessions to come.

"Budget, budget, budget," said Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation. "Once you got to the point where we had to focus on state workers taking the type of hit they're going to take, the speaker's problems became a sideshow."

A $6 billion budget deficit forced Republicans into awkward positions all session. They had to raise taxes on cigarettes and increase scores of fees, from court filings to motor vehicle tags to fishing licenses.

They increased hurricane insurance rates. They raised college tuition. They moved to expand gambling, an issue that is still in discussion.

The House and Senate took turns giving in.

The House vehemently opposed the cigarette tax it ultimately endorsed, and the Senate largely retreated on a bid to expand gambling. The Senate also abandoned its ambitious plan to rethink tax exemptions as the House ignored those calls. A House-led push to reopen the standards for classroom size, as dictated by the Constitution, went nowhere.

The dire financial circumstances forced GOP leaders to take nearly all the money available in the federal stimulus package pushed by Democratic President Barack Obama.

Derided by congressional Republicans as irresponsible spending, the "Obama bucks" were initially bashed by Tallahassee Republicans as well.

Then they took the money — $5 billion of it. Even with the federal bailout, the Legislature still faced a deficit of about $3 billion.

Though federal rules restricted them from cutting Medicaid or schools too deeply, legislative leaders still found a way to shift about $1 billion in federal money to other parts of the budget.

Democrats screamed about a "bait and switch." Republicans said they had no choice. Crist, who embraced the stimulus package as well as Obama at a Fort Myers event in February, said the extra money was a lifesaver.

"Obviously that's been a tremendous help to us in many areas," Crist said. "That's why we're grateful for it."

Steve Uhlfelder, a Democrat and veteran lobbyist, said the stimulus money prevented an even more protracted budget struggle. "If it weren't for that, they'd be here all summer.''

The lure of federal aid brought long-stalled legislation to life.

Legislators overwhelmingly approved a measure allowing law enforcement officers to pull over and ticket people for not wearing seat belts. The bill had languished for decades due to objections over racial profiling and arguments for personal responsibility.

Why the change of heart? The $35.5 million in federal transportation funds.

Grand jury report

The removal of Sansom, disruptive though it was, may have prevented an even bigger spectacle in the final moments of the session. As budget negotiations began in April, Sansom was indicted on a felony charge of official misconduct for allegedly putting $6 million into the state budget for a college project that a grand jury concluded was designed to benefit a developer's corporate jet business.

The grand jury had a loftier target: the legislative process itself.

A scathing report called for an end to backroom budget deals that reward ranking members like Sansom. "This state should be guided in openness and transparency," the grand jury report said.

The message was met with indignation from some lawmakers, but it had a noticeable effect. For the first time in memory, budget proviso language — which directs how money will be spent — was discussed in open meetings. Democrats said the process remained secret and accused Republicans of paying lip service to the report.

"We didn't see openness. We didn't get documents, details," said Rep. Ron Saunders, a ranking Democrat from Key West. "If you're going to be open and transparent, you have to do more than just say you are."

Steve Bousquet, Shannon Colavecchio, Breanne Gilpatrick and Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report. Alex Leary can be reached at aleary@sptimes.com.