04/22/19

2019 Session: Week Seven

It’s crunch time for Florida lawmakers now that just two weeks remain before the tentative May 3 end to the 2019 Legislative Session.

Budget conferencing — from a public perspective — likely will begin early next week. The negotiating process is designed to bring lawmakers together on a 2019-20 fiscal year spending plan.

The budget is the only thing the Legislature is required to pass each year. The chief players in that process are budget subcommittee chairs and each chamber’s budget heads, Sen. Rob Bradley and Rep. Travis Cummings. Senate President Bill Galvano and House Speaker José Oliva will handle anything that can’t otherwise be settled.

With those negotiations looming, the Senate this week amended a number of bills to bring them in line with the House. Policy matters, just like the budget, are negotiable and carry weight.

For example, the Senate made considerable changes to health care reforms moving through the chamber that had previously been at odds with what Oliva has championed. The Speaker has made it a priority to reduce costs by overhauling aspects of the health care system.

Eliminating the state’s “certificate of need” process for health providers practically sailed through the House earlier in Session. The idea met resistance in the Senate, but this week an amendment to a previously watered-down Senate plan (SB 1712) matched it with the House’s bill. The Senate is ready to act on that bill on the floor.

Also primed for full consideration is a bill (SB 1528) that would create two importation programs for prescription drugs from Canada. The House backed that idea — expected to lower patient costs — last week.

“I’ve been very encouraged by the movement that there’s been over there,” Oliva said this week, referencing the Senate.

Something to Watch

One big question mark looms as lawmakers approach the final hour of the 60-day lawmaking process: Will the state reach a deal with the Seminole Tribe?

The matter is pressing because the Tribe provides a sizable amount of revenue lawmakers work with each year. Last year, the gambling entity kicked up more than $320 million to the state. But the current agreement would expire at the end of May, meaning lawmakers could miss out on that revenue next year.

The Senate appears to be workshopping a bill that would renew a revenue-sharing deal. The package reportedly could be tied to sports betting, something permitted under a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case last year.

But some have argued that permitting the Tribe to allow sports betting could prompt a legal challenge. Voters last year backed Amendment 3, which would require any gambling expansion in the state to be approved by voters rather than the Legislature.

Team Update

We’d be remiss to not mention good news about a good person on the team here at GrayRobinson.

Stephanie M. Marchman, a GrayRobinson shareholder and member of The Florida Bar Board of Governors, was recently admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court by Chief Justice Roberts alongside 12 other members of the Board of Governors.

A shareholder in our Gainesville and Tampa offices, Marchman represents private and public sector employers in the areas of labor and employment law, civil litigation and government law.

She received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Florida and is a leader in the legal community. Marchman has served as President of the Eighth Judicial Circuit Bar Association, President of the North Central Florida Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and Chair of The Florida Bar’s Federal Court Practice Committee.

Issue Roundup

Lawmakers are poised to revise laws guiding “assignment of benefits” or AOB agreements, which have sparked contentious debates in years past.

Critics of the practice — including insurance companies and business groups — have faulted some restoration contractors for abusing the system. Insurers say AOB lawsuits, which are on the rise, are a major factor in higher homeowners insurance premiums. The Senate could soon vote on a reform package that would, among other things, restructure the current one-way attorney fee system to account for the difference between the judgment sought by AOB contractors and what the court awards.

The House and Senate are still at odds over funding for VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s tourism-marketing agency.

The Senate this week backed a bill that would repeal the agency’s sunset date, currently set for Oct. 1. The House, meanwhile, has not moved that bill. In the House budget, there is only enough funding to keep the agency alive until October, while the Senate wants to perpetuate its existence.

Two different criminal justice reform proposals are ready for floor consideration in the House and Senate.

The Senate version (SB 642) would offer judicial discretion in sentencing certain nonviolent criminals for drug crimes that carry mandatory minimums. It also would decrease mandatory time-served thresholds for certain offenders who are by law required to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. Those provisions are absent from the House plan (HB 7125). But both reform proposals would provide more re-entry services to inmates, raise the felony-theft threshold and lower occupational-licensing barriers for returning citizens.

Looking Ahead

The committee process, for the most part, is wrapped. That means lawmakers will be spending a great bulk of their time on the floor. Public budget conference meetings are often noticed day-of but expect those to be peppered throughout the next two weeks.

The Senate on Tuesday meets at 10 a.m. and will consider legislation that would implement school safety findings — including allowing trained teachers to carry firearms (SB 7030). It will also hear further restrictions on texting while driving (SB 76) and the AOB reform bill (SB 122).

The House on Tuesday meets at 12:30 p.m. and will consider bills that are expected to draw heavy debate. Among them: legislation that would further restrict texting while driving (HB 107), require local officials to comply with federal immigration authorities (HB 527) and implement Amendment 4, the felon-voting rights initiative, (HB 7089).

Client Spotlight

The Villages

Gary Lester, Vice President of Community Relations

My role at The Villages is: Vice President of The Villages for Community Relations –General Management Duties including governmental relations, special projects, liason to resident groups and Board Chairman for The Villages Charter Schools.

The Villages can help you: Enjoy a great retirement in an active, safe and affordable community.

Something you wish people knew about your job or The Villages that might not be obvious: Villagers have formed approximately 3,000 different clubs or interest groups and contribute approximately half a million hours of community volunteer service each year.

What excites you about going to work each day: Working with a team dedicated to making people’s retirement dreams come true.

GRay Matters Video

2019 Session: Lindsey Davun Interview

In this week's GRay Matters, Todd C. Steibly interviews Lindsey Davun on her role as Procurement & Development Director at RESPECT of Florida and the job opportunities the non-profit organization provides for the disabled population. The video wraps up with timely Session updates.

Check out our video series and stay informed throughout the 2019 Session.

The GrayRobinson Team

* Denotes non-attorney professional

www.GRLobby.com

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