The further I get away from Tallahassee, the worse the Florida Legislature looks.
When you spend years watching messy lawmaking up close, as I did in the 1980s and '90s, you get accustomed to the rhythms of the legislative process. The personalities become familiar; the political maneuvering and policy fights become routine. I've spent less time in the capital this spring than almost any other in the last 22 years. But through the Internet and live broadcasts on the Florida Channel, I've seen enough.
This is among the most depressing, infuriating legislative sessions in memory.
Journalists of earlier eras talk about the audacity of the Pork Chop Gang in the 1950s and early '60s, the rural conservatives whose iron grip finally was broken by the courts and redistricting. I am prone to bore younger colleagues by recounting the 1987 services tax debacle — and I remain convinced Florida is still suffering from the failure of Gov. Bob Martinez and state legislators to stand firm. They caved and repealed the services tax after six months, and the Legislature hasn't passed broad tax reform since.
But the 2009 Legislature is hard to beat in terms of abysmal leadership, misplaced priorities and disrespect for the institution. Lawmakers are lucky this is not an election year and that the memories of too many voters are too short.
The contributing factors to this discouraging debacle are clear. A deep economic recession that created a record $6 billion budget shortfall would rock any legislature. But instead of approaching this crisis as an opportunity to create a broader, fairer tax base, lawmakers are taking the easy way out. They are relying on federal stimulus money, a cigarette tax increase, higher fines and fees — and hoping for better days ahead. It takes less backbone to require a guy who wants to fish from shore to buy a license than it does to stare down a lobbyist and close a sales tax exemption.
On top of the economic meltdown, add the ouster of the House speaker just before the session and then his indictment by a grand jury. Rep. Ray Sansom, R-Destin, would not have been a particularly inspiring leader with an enlightened agenda. But his replacement as speaker, Rep. Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, had no plans to lead, no agenda and no broad base of support. He is a placeholder. Combine a leadership void with a bunch of inexperienced legislators who have no apparent grasp of policy or history, and special interests and political hacks will exploit it.
That is why a nasty elections bill loaded with every bad idea imaginable to suppress voting rights emerged in the final weeks. That also is why developers and shortsighted Republicans came so close to dismantling growth management laws and had the gall to personally attack Department of Community Affairs Secretary Tom Pelham on the House floor. Pelham has served under two Republican governors, and he was working on these issues before many of these legislators were out of college. He wants to control sprawl and protect the environment, and he has smart ideas about revising growth management laws; his critics want to pave over what's left of the state and think the overdevelopment that got us into this mess will get us out.
But the most devious maneuver was the last-minute House Republican effort to open up state waters to offshore drilling. It was a well-planned surprise attack financed by unnamed energy interests and backed by Associated Industries, the business lobby that cares more about the bottom line than the shoreline. Fortunately for our beaches and our tourist industry, Gov. Charlie Crist and the Senate refused to go along. But it raised more questions about the motives and values of Rep. Dean Cannon, the Winter Park Republican who is in line to be the next speaker and was the sponsor of this oil slick.
There are some systemic reasons that the Legislature is out of touch with most Floridians and lacks perspective. The eight-year term limits are too short, and the redistricting process is too partisan. Particularly in the House, lawmakers tend to be from the most strident wings of their political parties and assume leadership positions before they know the issues.
Legislators could improve the situation if they would accept constructive criticism. The grand jury that indicted Sansom recommended more transparency in the budget process and campaign finance reforms. Legislators dismissed the presentment and went right on conducting key budget negotiations in private.
If they will not respond to a grand jury, then Floridians have to force them to change their ways. The Times' editorial page today is calling for a constitutional amendment to extend the sunshine requirements that already apply to local governments to the Legislature. The public's business should be conducted in public, regardless of whether it's being done in city hall, the county courthouse or the state Capitol.
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