Five state senators and five state House members have been issued subpoenas by a law firm representing the League of Women Voters of Florida and the National Council of La Raza. Both groups have intervened in the case of State of Florida vs. United States of America and Eric H. Holder Jr. Holder is the U.S. attorney general.
The Florida legislature’s frantic final hours last week exposed a major flaw in this year’s lawmaking process: An untold number of policy-making provisions were crammed into dozens of budget conforming bills that no lawmaker could have possibly read in their entirety.
After a procedural glitch yesterday, lawmakers will have another crack at debating and voting on a rollback of Florida’s growth management laws that eliminates state-level planning on issues from transportation to schools.
“[Voting] is something people die for,” said state Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton. “You want to make it convenient? The guy who died to give you that right, it was not convenient. Why would we make it any easier? I want ‘em to fight for it. I want ‘em to know what it’s like. I want them to go down there, and have to walk across town to go over and vote.”
Last Friday, the Florida Senate drew criticism for sneaking growth management provisions into a budget bill, which would allow lawmakers to bypass the normal legislative process to roll back 25 years of environmental regulations. Members responded that they had the votes to pass the bill normally. Looks like they were right.
The Florida House of Representatives just gutted the power of ordinary citizens to challenge decisions made by environmental regulators. In a 79-36 vote, members approved changes Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, made to a rulemaking bill that is now headed to the governor.
Today the Florida House will have a chance to vote on a measure that environmentalists warn would make it harder for citizens to participate in decisions made by regulators.
State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, added an amendment to a rulemaking bill that would make it more difficult for members of the public to challenge environmental permits.
Efforts to roll back restrictions for a minor seeking a judicial bypass to a mandatory parental notice for an abortion failed today during the last action before the bill’s final vote tomorrow in the Florida Senate.
A measure that would bar labor unions from automatically deducting dues from state employee paychecks narrowly cleared the Senate budget panel Thursday.
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