The Political Whore

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor
Jim Johnson is the creator of The State of Sunshine blog.

Today is the 50th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The House and Senate are meeting in Session today to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Bills heard “on the Floor” are on first placed on a “Special Order Calendar” where they are read (for the second time), debated, and amended. Bills taken up on Special Order move to “3rd reading.” The Florida Constitution requires bills to be read three times before a chamber can pass the bill.

Here are the highlights from their Calendars:

Florida House of Representatives

The House will meet in session to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Some of the bills to be heard today are:

Third Reading:

• House Joint Resolution 1013 by Rep. Adam Hasner — the “Save Our Secret Ballot” amendment — This bill proposes to amend the Florida Constitution to provide that any voting for, among other things, “designations or authorizations of employee representation, the right of individuals to vote by secret ballot shall be guaranteed.” The same language is being proposed in state legislatures across the country.
• House Bill 7091, a committee bill by the Economic Development & Community Affairs Policy Council — The bill creates a mechanism to coordinate a statewide effort to promote the efficient and effective deployment of broadband Internet service throughout Florida.
• House Bill 479 by Rep. Rob Schenk — This bill makes a number of changes to the Florida Retirement System, the most important of which changes the “double dipping” capabilities. Currently, when a state employee in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) retires, he or she may start working for an FRS employer (the state and most local governments participate in the FRS) after waiting one month. This bill changes the one-month to a 12-month waiting period after retirement before the retiree can be re-employed by an FRS employer (unless they are elected to office). The bill also says if a retiree is re-employed by an FRS employer, the retiree has to delay further benefits until 24 months after the initial retirement (the current limitation is 12 months).

Special Order Calendar:

• House Joint Resolution 833 by Rep. Horner — This bill proposes an amendment the Florida Constitution to provide additional property tax exemption for members of U.S. military or its reserves, U.S. Coast Guard or its reserves, or Florida National Guard who receive homestead exemption and were deployed in previous year on active duty outside continental US, Alaska, or Hawaii in support of military operations.
• House Bill 885 by Rep. Rob Schenk — This bill requires state universities who charge health-related fees for services provided to students, to bill the fees to the students’ private health insurance. The bill also spells out requirements for insurance companies who wish to be considered a university-sponsored insurance provider, as well as requirements for universities (like Florida State) who require all students to have health insurance.
• House Bill 453 by Rep. Will Weatherford — This bill expands the existing Corporate Income Tax Credit program for corporations who donate funds to private voucher programs. The bill allows corporations who collect and remit sales taxes, who makes estimated tax payments, and who makes an eligible contribution to an private voucher program is allowed a credit against any estimated sales tax payment.
• House Bill 75 by Rep. Seth McKeel — The bill will allow the University of South Florida to grant a doctor of pharmacy degree. Currently, Florida A&M and the University of Florida are the only public schools to grant such degrees; Nova Southeastern Palm Beach Atlantic, and the Lake Erie College of Medicine’s Bradenton campus also provide access to this degree.
• House Bill 7113 a committee bill by the Finance & Tax Council and Energy & Utilities Policy Committee — In the 2008 General Election, the voters approved a constitutional amendment to give the Legislature authority to prohibit property appraisers from consideration of the following in the determination of the assessed value of residential property: (1) Any change or improvement made for the purpose of improving the property’s resistance to wind damage. (2) The installation of a renewable energy source device. The bill implements the constitutional amendment.

Florida Senate

The Senate will meet in session to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process.

The list of Senate Bills officially released as of post time was short. Five bills are on Third Reading, none of which are of significant interest. The bills on today’s Special Order Calendar, twelve in all mostly dealing with transportation or highway safety measures, are also relatively uninteresting.

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