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Bousquet: 'Panacea' for what's gone wrong at the Capitol

 
Published May 26, 2015

The Florida Legislature's regular session was short on accomplishments, all right.

Want proof? There won't be a "Furry Friends of Florida" specialty license plate this year.

Furry Friends is a very respected program. But you know something is wrong when the Legislature can't approve a tag that promotes pet adoptions.

More than two dozen other new tags got spiked, too, during a session that was cut off early by the House. But six new ones will recognize decorated veterans.

They include tags for recipients of the Combat Action Ribbon, Air Force Combat Action Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, as well as for Navy submariners, female veterans and World War II vets.

Lawmakers passed fewer bills this spring (188) than they have in many years, and some people would say that's a good thing.

Before 1968, the Legislature met for 60 days every two years. The wisecrack was they should meet for two days every 60 years.

The remark is attributed to John Stokes, who represented Pensacola in the early years of the last century and whose career ended in 1923. But his special wisdom endures.

Lawmakers now meet for 60 days each year, and sometimes more, as will be the case Monday, when they return for a three-week special session to complete work on a budget.

Here are some other events from the 2015 regular session that may have escaped your attention:

• The "Ford recall." The Senate passes resolutions every year honoring people and groups from all walks of life, and it's extremely rare that a senator would oppose one. Sen. John Legg, R-Trinity, asked to be recorded as opposing a resolution honoring Andy Ford, retiring president of the Florida Education Association. The FEA has consistently criticized and challenged in court the Legislature's education laws, including a tax credit scholarship program that Legg says has benefited tens of thousands of poor and minority children by allowing them to go to private schools. (Last week a state judge dismissed the FEA's challenge to the program, saying it lacked legal standing to sue.)

• No more long weekends? After the House abruptly adjourned at 1 p.m. April 28, Senate Democrats sued, saying the House violated a constitutional provision that neither house can unilaterally walk out on the other for more than 72 consecutive hours. The Florida Supreme Court refused to order the House to reconvene, citing the lack of time before the scheduled May 1 adjournment. Sharp-eyed legal minds note, however, that because the court called the House action unconstitutional, the Senate will have to get the House's permission to set a more leisurely calendar with its four-day weekends.

• A bright shining city on a hill — sort of. A bill signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott will create, subject to local voter approval, a new city in a placid little fishing village south of Tallahassee that is locally famous for its Blue Crab Festival.

Considering the anger and frustration of recent weeks, the city's name has a perfect symmetry. It's Panacea, defined by the dictionary as "a remedy for all ills or difficulties."

Contact Steve Bousquet at bousquet@tampabay.com or (850) 224-7263. Follow @stevebousquet.