Editorial Board | Naples Daily News
The long and short of the 2017 legislative session is that it went long and came up short for Southwest Florida. Let’s count 10 ways:
1. The session spilled over a weekend to Monday to finish an $83 billion spending package. Legislative leaders chose secretive final negotiations that prompted Gov. Rick Scott to say, “I have no earthly idea what’s in this budget.” Citizens — not to mention the state’s chief executive — should expect transparency on the budget. Approving a budget was one of two must-do matters for the tardy 2017 Legislature.
2. Providing safe housing that’s affordable is a critical issue in Collier and south Lee counties. An affordable housing trust fund was to be buttressed with some $292 million, based on the state’s formula for collecting documentary stamp taxes on sold property. A Florida Housing Coalition analysis shows $137 million surviving, with the bulk diverted to other budgetary uses. Collier government’s $3.3 million share drops to $1.4 million; Lee government’s from $4.35 million to $1.86 million. Southwest Florida city amounts drop proportionately, too.
3. Beach and inlet project spending increased to $50 million from $32 million this year. Yes, it’s an improvement, but that’s still far too little for a state with 400-plus miles of critically eroded coastline.
4. Lawmakers didn’t complete their second required task to approve a medical marijuana rollout plan to comply with voters’ wishes expressed in November 2016. Already, there are calls for a special session. The sticking point was the number of dispensaries. Local zoning rules — and business profitably in a free market — should guide that, not an arbitrary number. Lawmakers let down voters, patients and local governments that were waiting for legislative direction to adopt regulatory ordinances.
5. Just as Collier government finally gained steam on its economic development initiatives, lawmakers gutted the state incentives program that has helped Scott, Collier and Lee grow well-paying jobs in both counties with signature companies like Hertz and Arthrex.
6. Teacher retention in public schools is a critical issue in Collier and Lee. The Legislature delivered a paltry $24 more per student, some $200 less per student than Scott proposed. House leaders instead crowed about helping charter schools. The League of Women Voters of Florida has urged Scott to veto the budget, saying “the House is determined to starve public schools” and “the proposed budget harms 90 percent of our children.”
7. Fracking, the hydraulic or chemical fracturing of rock layers during inland oil drilling to increase well production, remains legal in Florida. That’s not by legislative decision. It’s because the House and Senate couldn’t agree on a regulatory approach and whether to do a peer-reviewed study specific to Florida’s geology and hydrology.
8. Most states have seen the wisdom of cracking down on a driver texting behind the wheel, allowing law officers to pull over a distracted driver just for that reason, making it a primary offense. Bills in both Florida chambers died at committee level. As a secondary offense, there will still have to be some other reason for an officer to stop a driver.
9. Gaming issues have been on the table for lawmakers annually since a 2013 study was presented to lawmakers, who held hearings around the state about new regulations. Scott negotiated a new gaming agreement with the Seminole Tribe two sessions ago, but lawmakers still can’t reach consensus on rules. This time, it’s costing the state $3 billion in the next seven years that could help plug other financial holes.
10. Lawmakers, primarily in the House, spent too much time debating issues better left to local elected leaders who are more responsive to citizens back home. Lee and Collier commissioners, after considerable deliberations, made their own decisions on regulating ride-sharing businesses like Uber and Lyft. Lawmakers passed a measure this session to create statewide regulations instead.
Certainly, there were pluses, notably money for a new water storage reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee. We just wish it was a long list, not such a short one.
Article last accessed here on May 16, 2017.