IN THE FLORIDA
LEGISLATURE
The second special legislative session of 2002 was held
April 29 - May 13
The second legislative session of 2002 was held April 29 -
May 13. Although the Governor's call was theoretically
narrow in scope -- limited primarily to only the
completion of the FY 2002-2003 state budget, the rewrite
of the school code which the members could not complete in
the first special session, and a bill specifying the
duties of the state's newly created position of chief
financial officer -- 102 bills were introduced by the
members for consideration during the two-week timeframe.
THE BUDGET
After months of negotiations, the House and Senate finally
enacted a budget for fiscal year 2002-2003. The
$50.4 billion budget includes a $262 million tax break to
corporations that was a major point of contention during
both the regular session and the second special session.
It was approved largely on a party-line vote.
The compromise on the budget was not the result of an
infusion of 'new dollars' or of a courageous act to make
difficult decisions about raising taxes or reducing
popular programs. Rather the members used slight of hand
to solve this year's fiscal dilemma by passing it on to
the 2003 Florida Legislature.
The compromise became possible by depleting reserves --
including the so-called "rainy-day fund" -- and
taking money from funds set aside for other purposes. Many
of the dollars being taken are nonrecurring, which means
that a new source for continuing the level of spending
next year must be found.
It has always been a fundamental budget principle that it
is irresponsible to spend nonrecurring funds on recurring
programs. But the 2002 Florida Legislature jettisoned that
principle for the expedient of completing work on the
budget and going home to campaign in the fall elections.
One of the funds raided for more than $100 million is the
popular Florida Forever/Preservation 2000 bond-reserve
account. The Legislature also took money from that account
last year, over the protests of environmentalists.
Spending down the reserves and various trust funds to
balance this year's budget will leave the Florida
Legislature with little room to maneuver when it comes
time to write the FY 2003-2004 budget. Conservatives are
counting on a major rebound in the economy, producing more
revenue than in recent years, but there are no guarantees
that money will materialize. In fact, tax collections on
both the federal and state levels have been below
expectations this spring.
It is estimated that the Legislature authorized over $1
billion dollars of non-recurring revenue to fund recurring
programs. Along with funding for the court system,
high-speed rail, and an estimated Medicaid shortfall,
Florida may face a $2.3 billion deficit next year.
What is the reason behind this irresponsible behavior? The
answer is that 2002 is an election year. All 160 seats in
the Florida Legislature will be on the ballot in November
because of reapportionment. Governor Jeb Bush is also
seeking reelection to a second term. Nobody wants to run
on a record of having sharply cut education or other basic
programs, and nobody wants to run on a record of having
increased taxes to pay for controversial social programs
even if that means children and seniors must suffer the
consequences.
THE SCHOOL CODE
The House and Senate approved a sweeping rewrite of the
state's education laws during the second special session.
The state's education laws have been reorganized to
accommodate Governor Jeb Bush's new "K-20"
seamless education system that will be supervised by seven
appointed members of the new state Board of Education.
SB 20-E, which was the largest bill ever proposed in state
legislative history (1,776 pages), abolishes the Board of
Regents and creates a new, independent board of trustees
for the state's eleven public universities. It took
the Legislature three times to pass the bill because of
past controversial provisions that were stripped from the
final bill passed during the second special session.
Among the provisions taken out were the religion section
and the school firearm and weapons clause. With these two
measures removed from the bill, the Legislature passed and
the Governor signed the bill into law.
The religious freedom language, based on current court
law, allowed students to discuss their beliefs with other
students, incorporate those beliefs in assignments and
distribute religious materials on campus. Supporters said
they wanted to give schools guidance and avoid lawsuits.
While Jewish lawmakers made the initial complaints about
the religious provisions, conservative Christian lawmakers
joined in the debate saying the bill would protect devil
worshippers and Taliban extremists.
In the compromise (SB 20-E) fostered between lawmakers and
Governor Jeb Bush, the state will issue a pamphlet to
local school officials detailing what kinds of religious
expression are currently allowed. The US Department of
Education produces such a document every year after
conferring with about 30 civil liberties and religious
groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union.
In addition to this updating of the statutes, several
substantive provisions are contained in the bill:
· Universities are removed from state agency
status and designated as public corporations.
· Universities will exercise right of eminent
domain with approval of State Board of Education.
· For 2002 -2003 only, school districts will
have flexibility over their categorical funds.
· School board members will set their own
salaries at a public meeting, rather than having their pay
ranges established in law.
THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
After feuding for years over how to regulate the state's
banking and insurance industries, legislators finally
reached agreement on a proposal (HB 3-E) that creates the
new post of chief financial officer. The agreement creates
a new Department of Financial Services headed by the CFO,
but gives the responsibilities for regulating banking,
securities and insurance to separate directors who are
appointed by the Governor and Cabinet and report to them.
This hybrid design was intended to appease Insurance
Commissioner and Treasurer Tom Gallagher and Comptroller
Robert Milligan who were at ideological odds over how to
structure the office being created as a result of voters
shrinking the state Cabinet from six officials to three.
Gallagher wanted a CFO who could command authority over
the financial services industries and, critics claim,
command campaign contributions. Milligan insisted that the
regulation of the powerful banking and insurance
industries should be separated from the political whims of
elected officials.
The new CFO will assume the role of state bookkeeper,
responsible for keeping the state's fiscal house in order,
as Milligan sought, but would also retain some of the
insurance oversight responsibilities, such as consumer
services, regulation and licensing of insurance agents and
insurance fraud, that Gallagher sought. Significantly, the
compromise removed all of the ratemaking and rule setting
authority that many insurance companies believe have been
manipulated by insurance commissioners to suit their
political goals.
OTHER ISSUES OF INTEREST
BILL TO CREATE DRUG DATABASE DIES
SB 28-E (Controlled Substances) was reintroduced by
Senator Locke Burt after a similar bill (SB 636) failed to
pass during the regular session. The legislation, which
was supported by Governor Jeb Bush, would have implemented
a plan to track medical transactions between patients,
doctors and pharmacies. The ACLU opposed the bill that
died on the House calendar.
Responding to the escalating problem of prescription drug
abuse, the Senator Burt wanted to include hundreds of
thousands of Floridians in a massive database designed to
track drug use.
The bill originally was intended to crack down on the
abuse of the painkiller OxyContin but was expanded to
include more than 100 commonly prescribed medicines known
to have a high potential for abuse, such as Ritalin,
codeine and morphine.
The database would monitor every transaction among
patients, doctors and pharmacies. Even someone picking up
a prescription for someone else, such as a spouse, would
have to show identification so they could be added to the
list.
The database would be closed to the public but accessible
to doctors, Department of Health employees and law
enforcement agencies. It would allow them to question
patients who tried to get a prescription at multiple
drugstores or a doctor who prescribed OxyContin repeatedly
to the same person.
The ACLU expressed concern that the proposal would
interfere with the privacy rights of innocent people, and
worried about the potential abuse by those who would have
access to such personal information. The plan, which is
certain to resurface in next regular session, would cost
more than $7-million over three years to create the
database.
CONTRACEPTIVE EQUITY
A state employee health plan that covers Viagra also will
now pay for birth control pills as the result of a
provision included in the state budget. The 101,406 state
workers currently pay out of pocket for birth control
pills on the health plan.
Ever since Viagra became a household name in the late
1990s, women's rights activists and family planning
agencies have argued that it is unfair for insurers to
cover a drug that boosts sexual activity but not birth
control. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission ruled that excluding coverage of contraception
is discriminatory, since only women use birth control
pills, diaphragms and other contraceptive devices.
Federal employees won birth control benefits in 1998, and
about 17 states have ratified laws requiring that private
insurers include contraception in prescription drug plans.
Efforts in past legislative sessions to enact similar laws
were foiled by conservative Republican leaders and the
insurance industry.
ACLU has always supported 'contraceptive equity'
legislation, and was pleased that it was finally included
in this year's budget.
EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION FOR RAPE VICTIMS DENIED
Unfortunately, the House Republican leadership sealed the
fate of rape victims who may become pregnant because of
sexual attacks. There will be no requirement to tell
them that emergency contraception is available to prevent
pregnancy immediately following a rape, nor will there be
a requirement to provide the prescription medicine that
would keep them from having to bear their rapistąs child
against their will.
Proviso language that was in the Senate version of the
budget to give financial incentives to providers who do
offer this information and treatment was rejected by the
House and was not included in the Budget Conference
Report.
Representative Anne Gannon and Senator Debbie Wasserman
Schultz filed legislation during the 2002 Regular Session
to assure that all medical facilities and providers,
uniformly, advise rape victims that emergency
contraception is an option for them. In addition,
the legislation would have required providers either to
make the drug available on site or to refer the victim to
a facility or provider who would administer it.
Though the bills did extremely well in their committees,
House leadership refused to allow the bill (HB 215) to
come to the floor for a vote.
ACLU supported HB 215 as well as the Senate proviso
language, although we did express reservations about the
inclusion of "conscience clause" language to
which the ACLU objects.
FISCAL IMPACT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Lawmakers approved a bill requiring a price tag for only
citizen-led proposals to amend the Constitution in
November elections. This bill requires the members
of the Revenue Estimating Conference to attach a price tag
to the universal Pre-K and the classroom reduction
amendments, both opposed by the Governor. If the
Conference is deadlocked and does not approve a statement
by majority vote, the fiscal estimate of the Governor's
designee to the Conference prevails.
Unfortunately, the citizens who proposed the amendment
have no process to challenge the price tag if they believe
the estimate is too little or too much. This bill
only applies to these two amendments on the November
ballot this year and not any of the other amendments being
proposed this year. After this year amendments will
require fiscal impact.
ACLU took no position on the bill.
HEALTH CARE
Two million Floridians lack health insurance. During the
second special session, the Legislature tossed some of
them a lifeline -- that is likely to snap at the first
tug.
The health care bill was enacted by the Legislature
without a single committee hearing. The so-called
"health flex" program is probably the worst
segment of the bill. The bill authorizes employers to buy
so-called mini-med policies for their workers -- the kinds
of policies that offer desperately skimpy coverage
combined with high co-payments and deductibles.
The policies are often described as "no-frills."
Many suggest that is a cruel misnomer. Under the bill a
heart transplant for an ailing child, or chemotherapy for
a breast-cancer patient is considered a "frill."
Those kinds of treatments can be written out of mini-med
policies either directly or by creating lifetime caps on
benefits that fall below the cost of one serious illness.
The health-flex provision is billed as a pilot project,
and is supposed to be limited in scope. Only workers who
make less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level
are eligible, and only if they've been without health
insurance for the previous six months.
Opponents say this too is a cynical sham. Linking
eligibility to the "federal poverty level"
creates the illusion that this bill targets at the poorest
Floridians. In fact, a family of four with an income of up
to $35,300 could find themselves in this plan. And the
six-month gap is short enough that employers might be
encouraged to drop better coverage for the chance of
getting cheaper mini-med policies later.
The bill also allows insurance companies to jack up rates
for self-employed people by as much as 50 percent, a move
certain to push more Floridians into the uninsured
category. Conservative lawmakers say that this bill is
balanced. However, it is a balance that clearly favors
high-powered medical lobbyists, not the consumer.
Because this bill dealt with an economic issue, rather
than a civil liberties issue, the ACLU took no position on
the bill. Nonetheless, its passage is extremely troubling
to public interest health care advocates.
OPEN RECORDS
This year, state lawmakers introduced 153 bills during the
regular session and an additional 12 bills in the second
special session to restrict the public's constitutional
right to open government -- an unprecedented assault.
Fortunately, the vast majority of the bills did not pass.
Governor Jeb Bush even included a bill on his agenda to
conceal information in military discharge papers filed
with county court clerks. Fortunately, the bill died.
The ACLU opposes the weakening of the state constitutional
guarantee of open government, and insists upon a strong
showing of necessity for the creation of any exemption to
that guarantee.
For additional information on the Second Special Session,
access Online Sunshine (www.leg.state.fl.us), the official
web site of the Florida Legislature. The session number is
2E.
___________________________________________________________________
Larry Helm Spalding ACLU Legislative Counsel Tallahassee,
Florida www.aclufl.org
The first special legislative session of 2002 was held
April 2-5.
Lawmakers returned to Tallahassee to rewrite the
1800-page school code because of changes to the state
education system enacted by Florida Legislature 2001,
which put all of education under the state Board of
Education. Prior to last year's changes, K-12, community
colleges and universities answered to separate bodies.
Going into conference negotiations, 42 differences
separated the House and Senate proposals. In the end,
Senate members agreed to the House position on most of the
issues. Among them were provisions that:
Created a research center for Alzheimer's disease at the
University of South Florida, a priority for incoming House
Speaker Johnnie Byrd.
Required school board members to set their own salaries
during a public meeting.
Allowed school boards to hire principals without teacher
certification or other educational background.
Lawmakers also agreed to remove a provision setting a
maximum class size in public schools by 2010.
But it was new religious language in the school code that
attracted the most attention.
ACLU BECOMES FOCAL POINT OF DISPUTE
The new language allowed, among other things, students to
discuss their religious beliefs with other students,
distribute religious literature and express religious
beliefs in homework and artwork. It gave religious clubs
the same access to schools as other clubs have. Christian
conservatives fought for the religious provisions in the
House version of the bill, which were subsequently
accepted by the conference negotiators.
The language was present in the bill House and Senate
negotiators agreed to on the final day of the legislative
session on March 22, but that bill was not taken up on the
Senate floor because Senate President John McKay did not
want his chamber to vote on a 1,800-page proposal that few
senators had read.
House members added the language to the bill in the
closing days of the regular session and said it was based
on provisions drafted and approved by the American Civil
Liberties Union and the American Jewish Congress, two of
the most vocal groups in opposition to religion in the
schools.
In truth, neither the ACLU nor any other organization
specifically drafted language for inclusion in the House
bill. Rather the House leadership in the Education
Committee excerpted some, but not all, of the provisions
in the document "Religion in Schools: A Joint
Statement of Current Law" which the ACLU has
endorsed, along with 36 other organizations which are
concerned about church/state issues. The full text of the
Joint Statement can be read at the ACLU National web site
at http://www.aclu.org/issues/religion/relig7.html
Opponents in the Senate objected to the religious language
being included in the bill because they feared it could
pave the way for proselytizing and discrimination. They
said the language was meant as a guideline for students,
teachers and parents, not as the basis for a state
statute.
There was one other controversial and rather bizarre
provision that caused a rift among the members. Lawmakers
voted to allow loaded guns on school campuses. The only
caveat was that students would have to keep the guns
locked in their cars. The National Rifle Association liked
the idea because young hunters could hurry to shoot game
after school without going through the bother of picking
up their guns at their homes.
In the normal course of events, the school code bill
should have been enrolled. Each house enacted its version.
The competing bills were sent to a joint committee where
the differences were resolved by conference negotiators.
The committee bill was sent back to each house where the
conferees argued for its passage on the floor. But, the
bill was not enrolled.
The school code bill failed amongst charges of betrayal
and deceit.
In the waning hours of the special session, the Senate
leadership warned both the Speaker and Governor Jeb Bush
that the inclusion of the religious language would kill
the bill. The Senate President asked that the House
leadership reconsider the religious provisions. Senate
President John McKay said there were not 10 votes, out of
40, to pass the bill in the form the conferees had
approved.
The House response was "take it or leave it."
They passed the conference bill and immediately adjourned
sine die. The Senate called the House's bluff. They
declined to take a vote on the school code bill with the
religious language included, and voted instead to adjourn
sine die.
THE ACLU POSITION ON THE REWRITE OF THE SCHOOL CODE
Until the inclusion of the religious provisions in the
1800-page rewrite of the school code, the ACLU was
prepared to take no position on the bill. However, when
the House included the religious provisions in the bill
and members of the House leadership stated that the
language was drafted by the ACLU, much to the
consternation of some of our members and supporters, the
ACLU Legislative Office did begin to work with
organizations and legislators who were concerned about the
provisions.
In the House, where it was clear that the language was
going to be included in their version of the bill, the
ACLU took the position that it was inappropriate to
include some, but not all, of the provisions in the Joint
Statement. We were particularly concerned by the omission
of the provision dealing with the obligation of school
officials to intercede to stop student religious speech if
it turns into religious harassment aimed at a student or
small group of students.
In the Senate, the ACLU took the position that the House
language purporting to guarantee religious freedom in
schools did not need to be included in the school code at
all. It was our view that the courts speak periodically to
what the Constitution does and does not allow. To write
evolving case law into a state statute would at best
precipitate more litigation; at worst, it could be taken
as an open invitation to students and evangelical groups
to proselytize students on school campuses.
In summary, the ACLU believes that the Florida Senate was
correct not to include the religious provisions in the
school code. The authors of the Joint Statement span the
ideological, religious and political spectrum. While they
share a commitment both to the freedom of religious
practice and to the separation of church and state, there
was no intent for the Joint Statement to be codified into
a state statute or school code. It was offered as a
statement of consensus on current law to aid parents,
educators and students. No more, no less.
Larry Helm Spalding ACLU Legislative Staff Counsel
Tallahassee, Florida www.aclufl.org
Week in Review: March 23-30
REGULAR SESSION FINAL SUMMARY
The American Civil Liberties Union Legislative Office tracked in excess of 100 bills during the 2002 Regular Session of the Florida Legislature. We took positions and actively lobbied for or against approximately 50 of the 100+ bills. A detailed summary of the bills we believe had the most significant impact on civil liberties in our state can be found at
http://www.aclufl.org/2002_legislative_review.html
Comments on the legislative summary are welcome, particularly if you disagree for one reason or another with the position the affiliate took on a particular bill.
Once again a special thanks to all of you who were members of the ACLU of Florida Legislative Network this past session and responded to our Legislative Alerts. More alerts may follow in the coming days as enrolled bills are sent to Governor Jeb Bush for his signature or veto.
SPECIAL SESSION CALLED
Governor Jeb Bush has called the first special session of 2002. The session will begin on Tuesday, April 2, and will adjourn at the close of business on Friday, April 5. The call is limited to the "sole and exclusive purpose" of rewriting rules governing public schools, colleges and universities.
The rewrite bill (SB 1564) is one of three "must pass" bills that lawmakers could not finish during an acrimonious session focused on redistricting and tax reform. The other two -- a budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and the reorganization of the Cabinet in time for the fall elections -- will likely be addressed in a second special session call in May.
SB 1564, the designated legislative vehicle for the session, consists of approximately 1800 pages. School code bills passed both houses during the regular session, but the conference committee report was not ready for a floor vote prior to adjournment sine die last Friday. Many elements of the code, including how education is run and how the Bright Futures scholarships are awarded, are automatically repealed in January. Also, the new code must set forth how the trustees and the Board of Education do their jobs. It is no small task.
While there are few specific issues of concern to the ACLU directly related to the rewrite of the school code, that does not mean that ACLU will be absent from the special session. The primary reason is a fear that the members will expand the call, as they have done in the past, to include unrelated issues like school prayer.
Already members, particularly those not directly involved with the education committees, are actively debating whether and how to introduce issues not tied to the school code. Lawmakers can expand the call of the session with a two-thirds vote. In practical terms, that means if the Republican leadership in both houses can agree on waiving the rules to introduce a bill unrelated to the call, it will happen.
NELSON POYNTER AWARD DINNER
The ACLU Foundation of Florida will honor Miami-Dade Public Defender Bennett H. Brummer with the 2002 Nelson Poynter Award at its annual dinner.
The 2002 Nelson Poynter Award Dinner will be held Saturday, May 4, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 50 Alhambra Plaza, in Coral Gables.
The award dinner will feature keynote speaker Anthony D. Romero, the former Ford Foundation executive and public interest attorney who became the National ACLU’s sixth executive director in September 2001.
Brummer, a Miami-Dade County Public Defender for 27 years and the longest serving public defender in Florida, will be presented with the 2002 Nelson Poynter Award, which is given annually to people who have worked tirelessly to advance civil liberties and civil rights in Florida. Past recipients include former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan, federal appeals Judge Rosemary Barkett and former Miami-Dade County School Board Member Janet McAliley. Jacksonville civil rights attorney William J. Sheppard was the 2000 Nelson Poynter Award recipient.
The award is named for Nelson Poynter, the former crusading editor and publisher of the St. Petersburg Times. For Poynter, the Bill of Rights was meant for daily use -- it was not an abstract document. Never afraid to stand up for unpopular causes, he fought racial segregation, staunchly defended the right of a free press and led the fight for
Florida's Sunshine Law.
Tickets are $150. To reserve tickets or place your message in the commemorative program honoring Brummer, the work of the ACLU, or to welcome Anthony Romero to Florida, please call Director of Membership and Major Gifts, Jessica Connor, at (305) 576-2337, ext. 13, or e-mail her at
jconnor@aclufl.org .
IN THE CAPITAL CITY
Pax Christi invites those opposed to the death penalty to join them on Good Friday, March 29, at 12 noon on the steps of the Old Capitol to pray together for all those on death row and their victims, and reconciliation of the murder victims' families.
At 7:00 PM on Friday evening, March 29, the ACLU of Florida's Tallahassee Chapter will hold its annual meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church on North Meridian Road. The program will feature speakers on "Civil Liberties After 9/11: What Cost Security?"
Larry Helm Spalding ACLU Legislative Staff Counsel Tallahassee, Florida
www.aclufl.org
Week in Review: March 18 - 23
REGULAR SESSION ADJOURNS SINE DIE
Lawmakers adjourned their 60-day regular legislative session about 10:00 PM last night, but they will return to Tallahassee to address unfinished business. Still to be completed are the FY 2002-2003 budget, new rules for public education, and the job definition for a new chief financial officer.
With a roughly $50 billion budget still awaiting their attention, lawmakers stumbled to the end of a 60-day session Friday plagued by infighting among Republican leaders while seething Democrats watched helplessly from the sidelines.
SPECIAL SESSIONS
Governor Jeb Bush said Friday the Legislature would be called back April 2 to take up a measure that would rewrite the codes governing public schools. The measure covers everything from school finance laws to health and safety codes. The call may also include defining the role of the chief financial officer for the state.
A second special session will likely be called in May, after the next report of the Joint Legislative Estimating Conference is released, to finish writing the budget. The House and Senate remain at odds on everything from education to healthcare services for the poor and elderly. For example, the Senate has earmarked $300 million more than the House for public education and neither house has indicated any desire to compromise on the issue.
CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
The two chambers shaped the state's 25 congressional districts only after the Senate agreed to draw a district in Central Florida that would favor a safe seat for Speaker Tom Feeney who is expected run in the newly created district.
The congressional map prompted furious debate by Democrats, who banded together to vote against it in the House, where it passed 76-41, and in the Senate, where it was approved 25-14.
TAX REFORM
Throughout the session, Speaker Feeney blocked President McKay's proposed constitutional amendment to repeal some of the state's sales-tax exemptions to provide a more stable source of revenue to fill state coffers.
After the Senate approved a congressional seat specially designed for Feeney, the Speaker allowed a scaled-back version of McKay's tax reform proposal to go to the House floor, where it was approved 74-43, with Democrats voting against it. The Senate passed the measure 30-9.
ELECTION REFORM
Blind, wheelchair-bound and other disabled people will be able to vote without someone to help them under a bill that passed in the last hours of the legislative session.
The measure now goes to Governor Jeb Bush, who has said he is supportive of the idea, although he has not made a commitment to sign the bill (CS/SB 1350) in which the measure is contained.
Requiring counties to upgrade voting equipment and polling places to better accommodate the disabled was the recommendation of a special panel set up to look at the issue, and was the top priority this year for Secretary of State Katherine Harris.
Counties are worried, however, they may come up about $9 billion short, but there may be federal money available to help with that, too. The changes are not required until 2004. The measure was part of a larger bill that also contained some campaign finance changes.
BILL TRACK
Next week I shall provide you with a summary of the bills which the ACLU tracked that passed and failed during the 2002 Regular Session as well as look at the first special session set for April 2.
Larry Helm Spalding ACLU Legislative Staff Counsel Tallahassee, Florida
www.aclufl.org
CLEARINGHOUSE ON HUMAN SERVICES
Monday began with the regular meeting at the Capitol of
the Clearinghouse on Human Services. Some of the issues
that were discussed included: the report due today from
the Revenue Estimating Conference which, because of the
projected upturn in the economy, makes $400 million in
new dollars available for budget negotiators; a proposal
to require pharmacists to report, for inclusion in an
FDLE database, the patient name and address as well as
quantity of specified drugs prescribed by a physician;
children's healthcare funding; legislation requiring
recitation of Declaration of Independence; a pilot
project to demonstrate use of electronic equipment in
nursing homes; and reapportionment.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
SB 1776 and HB 885 (Recitation of Declaration of
Independence) are both moving toward a floor vote
perhaps as early as next week. The original bill has
been amended from requiring a daily recitation in public
school classrooms to recitation each day for one week in
September to be designated 'Celebrate Freedom Week' with
three hours of class during that week to be spent
studying the document and its history.
WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Senate Judiciary passed SB 410, the pregnancy
discrimination bill, that tracks the federal pregnancy
discrimination language and puts it into Florida law.
ACLU supports the bill.
Senate Health Care passed SB 920, the contraceptive
equity bill. There was an interesting debate and
the bill had a number of challenges. Senator Skip
Campbell offered a "conscious clause" to allow
religious institutions and their affiliated institutions
to escape from offering contraceptive care. Senator
Wasserman Schultz did an excellent job explaining why
that was not a good idea. The amendment passed.
The ACLU supports the bill, but opposes the conscience
clause provisions which exempt entire institutions
rather than individuals who object to providing the
care.
Senate Health Care also passed SB 2246 which provides
for emergency contraceptive treatment for rape
survivors. Once again, Senator Campbell offered a
"conscious clause" amendment on behalf of the
Florida Catholic Conference. The amendment would have
permitted Catholic hospitals, including physicians
employed by Catholics hospitals who do not personally
object to the treatment, to be exempt from advising rape
victims about the availability of emergency
contraception. Fortunately, the amendment failed.
The Florida Catholic Conference opposes the legislation
because it views this as a religious issue. ACLU, which
supports the bill, believes this is a mistake. Patients
of all faiths and no faith need to balance their
personal beliefs with their reproductive needs.
Hospitals, physicians and pharmacists need to do the
same with their professional obligations. Most
Floridians are troubled by the idea that religious
interests can come between them and their healthcare
needs. Hopefully, the Legislature will pass this
legislation to give rape victims full protection.
SB 1690 (Pregnancies/Terminations) by Senator Anna Cowin
will be heard on Monday evening, March 11, in Senate
Health Care. The bill that would require the Agency for
Health Care Administration (AHCA) to develop more rules
for abortion clinics in Florida. Since abortion clinics
are already licensed by the State of Florida, the ACLU
believes that there is no need for additional regulation
and consequently opposes the bill.
DRIVER'S LICENSE/IDENTIFICATION CARD
SB 520 (Driver's License/ID Card) by Sen. Ginny
Brown-Waite has passed the Senate and is in House
messages. The bill requires the Department of Highway
Safety and Motor Vehicles to require that applicants for
Florida identification cards and driver's licenses
include their country of birth as part of their
application, and submit to renewals at least every four
years. Currently, applicants must provide the usual bits
of information name, gender, social security number,
address, height but nothing like "black" or
"Irish" or "frequent vacationer in
Mexico."
The ACLU opposes the bill. What difference national
identity on a driver's license will make in law
enforcement's ability to fight terrorism or any other
kind of shadowy crime is problematical. What is clear,
however, given the South's long, shameful and not
entirely past history of highway bigotry is that
national origin is being targeted, and that prejudicial
information that never would have made it into a
database will now do so.
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS
In an unprecedented move in the war on terrorism, the US
government announced this week that it may soon allow
Florida authorities to arrest illegal immigrants deemed
threats to national security. A plan granting police
officers, sheriff's deputies and state agents INS powers
may be in place next month. Florida would be the first
state where local officers carry authority previously
held only by federal agents.
PARENTAL NOTIFICATION
The right of minors to get an abortion without their
parents' knowledge now lies with the Florida Supreme
Court, which on Monday heard the latest challenge to a
parental notification law. In oral arguments before the
Supreme Court, abortion-rights groups argued the
parental notification law violates privacy rights
guaranteed by the state Constitution and will deter
teenagers from seeking needed medical care. State
officials, who defended the law, said it ensures parents
are involved when their minor daughters are making a
serious, often traumatic medical decision while leaving
the final decision to end a pregnancy in the teenager's
hands. A decision is expected in the fall.
ASSAULT ON THE COURTS
Senate Judiciary gutted a proposal to give Governor Jeb
Bush the power to make direct appointments of Florida
Supreme Court justices and of the judges on the state's
five District Courts of Appeal, with Senate
confirmation. The proposal (SJR 162) by Senator Anna
Cowin, also would have imposed an 18-year term limit on
appellate judges. Instead, the Judiciary Committee
rewrote the measure to allow the Legislature to open
public records after investigations into allegations of
judicial wrongdoing if the Judicial Qualifications
Commission has found no probable cause.
The ACLU opposed the original bill, but took no position
on the strike-everything amendment.
GAY & LESBIAN RIGHTS
SB 924 (Dignity for All Students Act) is stalled and is
not likely to be scheduled for a committee hearing this
session. However, Florida's ban on gay adoption, already
under scrutiny in federal court, now is being criticized
by some of the politicians who made it law.
Former state Senator Elaine Bloom, working with the
American Civil Liberties Union, persuaded a former state
Senate president and US congressman, Harry Johnston, and
at least eight other former Florida legislators to sign
a statement that says they made a mistake in 1977 in
passing the prohibition. They hope to see the toughest
gay adoption ban in the country repealed.
ACLU lawyers are representing four gay men who want to
adopt and are challenging the law's constitutionality in
federal court.
ELECTIONS
Florida's 2000 presidential election fiasco damaged
democracy as badly as the September 11 terrorist attacks
hurt the nation, actor Alec Baldwin said in Tallahassee
on Thursday.
Baldwin told a Florida A&M University audience that
President Bush and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, are
hoping that a wartime "moratorium on criticizing
the government" will help Republicans in the fall
elections. He said memories of September 11 have
overshadowed public doubts about the 36-day recount of
Florida presidential ballots. He said the war makes it
hard for Bush critics to remind voters of "this
other disaster that we faced in this country -- a
disaster that ... has done as much damage to our country
as any terrorist attack could do, in some ways.
Baldwin is a board member of People for the American
Way. He also spoke at St. Mary's Primitive Baptist
Church on Wednesday night. Baldwin and other speakers
warned that voters will face new challenges this year
because legislative and congressional redistricting is
changing political boundaries.
Participants in the rally and prayer breakfast included
Senator Kendrick Meek and former Representative Tony
Hill. The two staged a sit-in at the lieutenant
governor's office January 18-19, 2000, demanding to see
Bush about One Florida. The sit-in led to a March 7
march of about 12,000 protesters on the Capitol and a
voter-registration drive that boosted black turnout by
about 65 percent in the presidential election.
IN THE CONGRESS
CHIP -- Earlier this year, through a leak to The
Washington Post, the Bush administration announced that
it would issue new regulations to permit states to cover
"unborn children" in the State Children's
Health Insurance Program (CHIP) -- a federal-state
program that provides health insurance coverage for
uninsured, low-income children. The proposed
regulation was issued this week and the ACLU put out a
news release saying that it does nothing to provide
needed health care for low-income women and children and
instead undermines reproductive rights. No regulation or
law currently on the books affords fetuses or
"unborn children" an independent status under
federal law and the ACLU believes that such treatment is
at odds with reproductive rights. The ACLU's
Reproductive Freedom Project has produced a news release
on this issue at http://www.aclu.org/news/2002/n030502a.html
.
Election Reform -- The Senate debate on election reform
legislation, which began more than two weeks ago, was
set aside this week when a motion to end debate failed.
From the beginning, Democrats and Republicans have
agreed that the federal government should provide money
to the states to replace antiquated voting machines; set
uniform national standards for voting and election
procedures; and require states to establish statewide
voter registration lists. However, the civil rights
community's insistence that the Senate remove language
that would require first time voters to produce a photo
ID with a local address has proved to be a deal breaker.
The media is reporting that members of the Senate will
continue to work on a compromise. The ACLU has an action
alert posted where activists can urge their senators to
oppose these potentially discriminatory photo ID
requirements. The action alert is available at http://www.aclu.org/action/photo107.html
.
Immigration Overhaul Bill -- Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)
held a news conference yesterday to introduce the
"Restoration of Fairness in Immigration Act."
This comprehensive legislation would restore basic
principles of fairness and justice to our immigration
laws that were undone in 1996, as well as ensuring
public scrutiny of the immigration hearings process.
More specifically, the bill would restore judicial
review of immigration decision, end retroactivity and
end mandatory and indefinite detention.
Domestic Spying Guidelines -- As you may already know,
Attorney General John Ashcroft is reportedly considering
relaxing Department of Justice guidelines that prevent
FBI spying for political purposes. In response the ACLU
has organized a sign-on letter to Mr. Ashcroft urging
him not to relax the guidelines. The letter is available
at http://www.aclu.org/congress/l030502a.html
. Additionally, the ACLU press release
is available at http://www.aclu.org/news/2002/n030702a.html
.
There remain only three weeks in the regular session.
Committee meetings are scheduled to be completed by next
week with the remaining two weeks taken up in floor
debate in both houses.
The House and Senate remain far apart, however, on the
key issues of redistricting and the budget. The Senate
proposes to eliminate several sales tax exemptions and
to increase education funding while the House and
Governor Jeb Bush consider the elimination of the tax
exemptions to be not only unnecessary, but also an
increase in taxes which they vow will not happen. Stay
tuned!
NELSON POYNTER AWARD DINNER
Reserve your seats for this year's Nelson Poynter Award
Dinner which will be held Saturday, May 4, at the Hyatt
Regency in Coral Gables (Miami), honoring longtime
Miami-Dade Public Defender Bennett Brummer. The keynote
speaker will be Anthony Romero, ACLU National executive
director. Contact Jessica Connor at jconnor@aclulf.org
for additional information or to reserve your tickets
for this special evening.
TEN COMMANDMENTS
As you probably know, the United States Supreme Court on
Monday denied certiorari in the American Civil Liberties
Union of Indiana's successful challenge to a Ten
Commandments monument at the state capital. ACLU
National posted a victory release online at http://www.aclu.org/news/2002/n022502b.html
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
It took a "ringer" to pass a bad abortion
clinic licensing bill on Tuesday that Representative
Fasano, Chair of the Healthy Communities Council,
promised to deliver for the Christian Coalition and its
Religious Right allies.
HB 1223 (Termination of Pregnancies) mandates that AHCA
create more rules for abortion clinics on top of the
existing licensing law. One of those requirements would
require reporting after each abortion performed rather
than one report at the end of each month. The bill was
fast tracked to be on the Health Communities agenda
because Tuesday was Christian Coalition Lobby Day at the
Capitol.
After hearing several speakers in opposition, the chair
called for the vote. It failed to pass on a tie.
Representative Fasano then stated that a motion had been
made to reconsider the bill. However, he did not
have the votes to reconsider it right then.
Unable to handle the situation on his own, the chair
called Speaker Feeney who assigned Representative
Maygarden to the committee for this one bill. It passed
on reconsideration. Democracy in action -- Florida House
of Representatives style!
SB 920 (Contraceptive Equity) was not heard as scheduled
on Wednesday in the Senate Health, Aging and Long Term
Care Committee. The bill is now calendared for March 5.
SB 920 by Senator Wasserman Schultz would prohibit
health insurance companies and HMOs from excluding
coverage for contraceptive prescriptions and devices.
Specifically, the bill prohibits individual & group
health insurance policies from excluding coverage of a
benefit if a determination has been made by the US Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission that exclusion of the
benefit under any employer health benefit plan violates
Title VII of Civil Rights Act, as amended by the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. The EEOC has
made such a determination in the case of contraceptive
coverage. ACLU supports the bill.
PAY EQUITY COMMISSION
SB 310 (Pay Equity Commission) is finally on the agenda
for the Senate Government Oversight Committee for next
Tuesday. Proponents have worked hard to get the bill
heard in committee this session. ACLU supports the bill.
FIRST AMENDMENT (CENSORSHIP)
HB 95 (Obscenity/Public Libraries) requires public
libraries that provide on-line computer access to
persons under 18 years of age install or make available
software or other technology that prohibits access to
obscene materials. It is available for the House
calendar on second reading. SB 392, the Senate
companion, is available for the Senate calendar on
second reading. ACLU opposes the bill.
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
HB 885 (Recitation of Declaration of Independence)
requires public school students to recite daily a
portion of Declaration of Independence to underscore its
importance in forming American charter & to reaffirm
ideals of individual liberty. The bill passed the House
Council of Lifelong Learning on Thursday and is now
ready for the House floor calendar. SB 1776, the Senate
companion, will be heard in the Education committee on
Monday. ACLU opposes the bills.
IN GOD WE TRUST
HB 915 (Schools/In God We Trust Motto) directs
superintendent of schools in each school district to
provide for the display of the motto "IN GOD WE
TRUST" in classrooms and other areas in public
school buildings. HB 915 is available for House calendar
on second reading.
THE BUDGET
There is approximately a $241 million difference in the
House and Senate Budgets for Health and Human Services,
in state dollars, which is one of the major
battlegrounds.
According to Senate Appropriations staff, the governor
has recommended $505 million in general revenue, and
while social services advocates assert that $590 million
is needed.
There has been an increase in the Medicaid caseload in
Florida because of the recession. Medicaid is
basically the last entitlement program left in our
state. $298 million is needed to meet the caseload
increase, according to social services advocates, that
is $85 million over the Governor's recommendations.
The way that the Florida Legislature is trying to meet
this need without spending additional money is to reduce
eligibility levels and eliminate optional
(non-entitlement) programs and to require premiums and
co-payments for very low-income people.
BILL TRACK
The following are some of the other bills of interest
tracked by the ACLU Legislative Office this week:
HB 805 and SB 1164 (Human Cloning Prohibition) seem to
be moving toward passage. The issue of controversy is
whether the ban also includes stem-cell research and
cell-regeneration cloning. The sponsors claim that the
intent is not to prohibit either, however, the opponents
question whether the bill language does not, in effect,
do just that.
HB 307 and SB 1138 (Student Loans) would establish a
student loan forgiveness program for assistant state
attorneys, assistant public defenders and attorneys with
the Capital Collateral Regional Counsel offices. These
bills appear to be moving toward enactment.
SB 1654 and HB 1927 (Increase in Judges) reduces the
number of new judges requested by the Florida Supreme
Court from 48 to 10.
Larry Helm Spalding ACLU Legislative Staff Counsel
Tallahassee, Florida www.aclufl.org
