Nutz 2 U: the GOP agenda
April 30th, 2008 by Wayne Garcia in Florida Politics, Issues & Wonky Shit, Politics
My cover story on the stands today is a mock GOP election strategy memo outlining the many wedge-issue bills in the session this year, plus a sidebar by Alex Pickett on 10 outrageous bills offered by goofballs in both parties.
Read the cover stories here and here.
And here is an update on the various pieces of legislation we wrote about, as of today’s session (most notably, the ultrasounds for abortions bill was killed on a tie Senate vote):
SB 744 Sexual Activities Involving Animals.
Co-sponsor Rep. Bill Heller.
Senate bill stuck in Judiciary committee; in several House committees going nowhere
SB 302 “The Saggy Pants Bill.â€
Democratic Senator Gary Siplin of Orlando
Passed Senate 28-11; in House council with iffy chances
HB 257 “Ultrasounds before abortionsâ€
– Rep. Trey Traviesa of Tampa
Passed House 70-45; died in Senate on 20-20 vote this afternoon
SB 1992 Anti-Truck Nutz bill/Banning gonads on vehicles.
Sen. Carey Baker of Eustis
Passed Senate 37-2; passed House this morning 112-2
HB 371 I Believe, Chrisitan license plate –
On third reading calendar in the House; Senate passed a specialty plate bill without it, with In God We Trust instead (Senate voted down an amendment from Sen. Ronda Storms of Valrico to add it)
SB 2692 Academic Freedom bill (teaching creationism)
Sen. Ronda Storms
Passed House 71-43 with language that tones down the bill’s impact; passed Senate 21-17; must go to a conference committee to iron out differences.
HB 73 – Immigration
Wide-ranging crackdown on undocumented workers similar to Oklahoma bill
Rep. Don Brown of DeFuniak Springs
Going nowhere in committee
SB 1354 Florida Commercial Anti-Pornography Act.
Sen. Siplin
Going nowhere in committee
SB 1118 Illegal Aliens.
Senator Frederica Wilson of Miami
Prohibiting the term “illegal alien†from appearing in state documents,
Going nowhere in committee
SB 340 Salvia Divinorum ban.
Sen. Paula Dockery of Lakeland
Passed, 109-4 in House; 39-0 in Senate
possession or sale of salvia a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.
HB 977 Public Transit Safety/bathroom breaks for drivers
Rep. Geraldine Thompson
Going nowhere in the House
SB 386 “I can’t spare a square†bill
Food Service Restroom Inspections/
requires toilet paper in clean restaurant bathrooms
Sen. Victor Crist
Stuck on second reading calendar in Senate and passage is unlikely
SB 2464 Implanted Microchips.
Central Florida Senator Bill Posey
Making it a felony to implant microchips in someone without their consent.
Dead, went nowhere in committee
Cell phone prohibitions
HB 175 – on first reading calendar
HB 357– on first reading calendar
SB 1266 – going nowhere in committee
SB 1314 – going nowhere in committee
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May 1st, 2008 at 10:16 am
SB 1992 was a comprehensive transportation bill including issues about hybrid usage and speeding in school zones. It was not just about truck nutz.
May 1st, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Jim — you are right, Sen Baker tucked the Truck Nutz provision into a bill that could not be voted against and actually had some other good provisions in it. Not that I think truck nutz are good, but just doubt we need to empower Johnny Law to have one more reason to pull us over and waste his time writing a $60 citation