Today is the first day of the 2012 Legislative session. The session is meeting earlier this year due to the time lines regarding Congressional redistricting which is required every 10 years. The legislature needs to finish the new boundaries early this Spring so that the Courts have time to work out the appeals before the elections in the Fall. Redistricting this year is especially contentious because the citizens of Florida passed Amendments 5 & 6 in the Fall of 2010 requiring the legislators to draw boundaries that are contiguous and take into account natural geographic boundaries and city and county limits. Doing it this way will reduce the instances of gerrymandering where districts are drawn to benefit one political party over another. Florida was a particularly egregious violator. Districts will likely change dramatically meaning that Republican strongholds will be vulnerable. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 500,000 yet they are in the minority in the Florida Legislature and in the delegation to the US House.
The redistricting will be a policy priority of the legislature for sure with the budget close behind. Those two issues will dominate the session, legislators, and the media. There are a few other policy items that are getting some attention. The biggest of these is the expansion of gambling in the state. Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, sponsored the bill that would allow up to 3 additional resort casinos to operate in the state. The bill also creates a new statewide commission to regulate gambling in the state. It would also expand store-front gambling operations. So in the end it would be quite an expansion of gambling in the state. Proponents see dollar signs in terms of taxes, and possible job creation. Opponents worry about the image of the state as a family friendly vacation spot and the possibility of an increase in crime and gambling addiction.
Another bill getting some attention is "Caylee's Law." This bill was a result of the Casey Anthony acquittal. The House proposal would make it a felony for a parent or guardian not to tell authorities if a child is missing or dead. I can't believe this isn't the case already.
To read the Palm Beach Post article:http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
It should be an interesting 60 days. The start of a new session always brings me pangs of desire to be back in the capitol working on policy advocacy everyday. Yet I do not miss the long days and am happy to be home with my little ones at night instead of hanging out with legislators in bars. It helps that I am off to DC later this week for a conference.
See you soon.
Dr. D.
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