Weekly Roundup: Dysfunction prevails

By JIM TURNER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, August 21, 2015.......... A hurricane named Danny is churning in the Atlantic. Another storm named Trump is spinning through the Republican presidential field. Florida's governor, who continues to wage his own health care battles, is stirring the pot with a quest for more public money to lure businesses to the Sunshine State.

But in Tallahassee on Friday, the thundercloud eclipsing the House and Senate --- who concluded the special session without passing a congressional map --- overshadowed everything else.

The blast of the sweltering Tallahassee heat met upon stepping out of the Capitol on Friday was quite refreshing after the legislative theatrics that resulted in the GOP-dominated Legislature's second meltdown of the year --- so far.

MISMATCHING MAPS

In April, a number of senators were downright indignant when the House ended its regular legislative session more than three days ahead of schedule.

The Senate even got a majority of the Florida Supreme Court to declare that House leaders violated the state constitution when they called it quits early because of an impasse over the budget.

On Friday, it was the Senate's turn to pull the walkout routine.

Led by Senate Redistricting Chairman Bill Galvano, a group of senators stood up and exited a committee meeting, leaving Galvano's counterpart, House Redistricting Chairman Jose Oliva, in the lurch just hours before the two-week special session's noon deadline.

For most of the week, the Senate had refused to budge from an amendment prodded by Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon. The proposal would have altered the staff-drawn base map (HB 1B) by consolidating eastern Hillsborough County into a single congressional district.

House members expressed concern that the "parochial natural" of the proposed Hillsborough County lines, and the impact the change would have on districts in and around Orange County, would violate the anti-gerrymandering "Fair Districts" constitutional requirements approved by voters in 2010.

On Friday, Oliva --- who characterized the current state of the Legislature as "dysfunctional" just before Galvano and his entourage exited --- argued that the Senate map wouldn't meet Supreme Court muster.

"These amendments have put upon us an insurmountable obstacle," Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, said. "My concern is the interpretation of the court. The court has shown its tendency to use circumstantial evidence and place the burden upon this Legislature. And that is what I'm trying to free us of."

The special session was called when the court tossed eight of the state's congressional districts, saying they violated the new constitutional requirements.

Galvano maintained that the Senate has followed the dictates of the court in its amended map.

"That's why we recorded our meetings," Galvano, R-Bradenton, said. "That's why we had open discussion in committee. That's why we made sure that everything we did along the process was corroborated and so the genesis of ideas and amendments was known."

Oliva then resisted Galvano's request to have the two chambers "conference" over the issue, something usually reserved for budget negotiations.

"Chairman, I think at this point I'm going to respectfully reiterate the Senate's request for conference and leave it at that. Thank you," Galvano said.

Before Oliva could reply, Galvano and his cohorts were on their way out.

"Well, certainly, members of the House, I think that probably speaks a little bit to the nature that this has taken," Oliva said. "Up until now, these meetings were held in a very courteous fashion. What you see here is probably what should concern all of you, and certainly anybody out in the public, about the function of their government."

The House later rejected two attempts by the Senate to extend the session until Tuesday evening.

The matter will now probably have to be resolved by the Supreme Court, which House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said will have to decide "whether or not they want to redraw a map, take a plaintiff map or take one of the maps produced here through the House or Senate."

Lawmakers are scheduled to return in October to redraw Senate districts. At least the weather should be a tad less hot.

SCOTT V. PLANNED PARENTHOOD

Three Planned Parenthood clinics filed and then withdrew a lawsuit against the Agency for Health Care Administration this week, but the dispute with Gov. Rick Scott's administration lingers.

Amid news reports that AHCA had backed down due to the lawsuit, the state agency released a letter from its top lawyer reiterating that the clinics were still under investigation and had broken the law.

The agency wanted it known that, while the clinics could continue to operate, state officials didn't give in, contrary to some of the news reports' headlines.

"Your client, Planned Parenthood, continues to misrepresent to the media that AHCA has changed its position, and Planned Parenthood clinics in Florida may now provide unauthorized second trimester abortions. This is false," AHCA General Counsel Stuart Williams wrote to the clinics' lawyer, Julie Gallagher, on Wednesday.

The agency targeted the clinics after Gov. Rick Scott ordered health officials in July to investigate 16 Planned Parenthood clinics in the wake of a national firestorm over a series of undercover videos by the pro-life group Center for Medical Progress. The secretly taped footage included a senior Planned Parenthood doctor discussing the procurement and sale of fetal tissue from aborted fetuses.

AHCA accused three Planned Parenthood clinics in Naples, St. Petersburg and Fort Myers last week of unlawfully performing second-trimester abortions while the clinics are licensed only to perform first-trimester procedures.

In a lawsuit filed Monday, Gallagher pointed to a nearly-decade old agency rule that allows first-trimester abortions during the 14 weeks after a woman's last normal menstrual period. The lawsuit sought an emergency injunction and a declaratory statement to clarify whether the clinics could continue to operate.

But the lawsuit was dropped two days later after both sides agreed on the 14-week period.

Barbara Zdravecky, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, called that a "concession," but the agency wasn't willing to let it go at that.

State officials maintained that Planned Parenthood may be relying on a different interpretation of when pregnancy actually begins. Or the disagreement could simply be a reporting error, they said.

MONEY, IT'S WHAT SCOTT WANTS

Minutes before he was scheduled to appear before the Enterprise Florida Board of Directors on Thursday morning, Scott's staff worked the phones to make sure reporters were aware that their boss would be giving an important address.

The message from Florida's fiscally conservative standard-bearer was that lawmakers short-changed the agency this year. Scott vowed to pressure the Legislature to ensure that millions of dollars are added to the economic-development till to woo out-of-state businesses.

"We're on a roll. There is no place like Florida. There is nobody that can compete with us," Scott declared at the meeting. "We can win everywhere. However, we do have to fund it. So this year our Legislature didn't fully fund our tool kit and it's pretty frustrating."

Scott said the public-private agency has only $9 million left this year for recruitment efforts, while companies such as Connecticut-based General Electric are being courted by a number of states, including Florida.

"When was the last time you ever heard a Fortune 500 company publicly say they're thinking about moving from a state?" Scott, who went to Connecticut in June on a business-recruitment mission, said. "GE did that. We have a shot at getting companies like GE. But we can't get companies like GE if we don't have any money."

Earlier this year, Scott asked lawmakers to set aside $85 million for business incentives. The final budget for the fiscal year that started July 1 included $53 million for Enterprise Florida, which included $43 million for incentives and $10 million for marketing.

Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, argued in June against Scott's request. He said the agency should use more private money for incentives and that marketing dollars should come from $86 million that Enterprise Florida already has in an escrow account.

STORY OF THE WEEK: The failure of the Legislature to complete on time a Supreme Court-ordered redraw of congressional districts.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "They should be ashamed, but they're not. Just the other day, senators were crying on the Senate floor about conversations having to be recorded. What's the big secret? If there is nothing to hide, who cares if the conservations are being recorded?" --- Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, referring to the Florida Senate's refusal to pass the House's proposed congressional map.