Amid the sex scandals and pre-campaign political posturing by a slew of statewide candidates, Florida lawmakers will return Tuesday to Tallahassee for an earlier-than-usual annual legislative session. While there will be plenty of distractions, not to mention the usual fare of big issues and high drama, the 2018 Florida Legislature has a pretty long list of issues that affect the people on its agenda, from education and the environment to hurricanes and health care.
The only bill the Legislature is required to pass during its annual session is passing a state budget. This year, Gov. Rick Scott has proposed a record $87.4 billion budget. It’s an uncharacteristically generous budget for the governor, who appears poised to run for the U.S. Senate. But lawmakers, no doubt, will have plenty to say about what stays and what goes in the final spending package.
The environment may get some badly needed attention, now that Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, is the Senate budget chief. Bradley is pushing for a $100 million recurring annual commitment to Forever Florida, the state’s successful conservation land acquisition program, as well as another $50 million for restoration of the St. Johns River and its tributaries — the Ocklawaha and Silver rivers among them. Scott, meanwhile, has his own $220 million environmental spending package that is sure to spur plenty of debate among lawmakers.
Education, both at the K-12 and college levels, are high on Senate President Joe Negron’s priority list, so there are measures that would increase per-pupil K-12 funding to a record $7,500 per student and would expand the popular Bright Futures college scholarship program.
After years of refusing to do what is sensible, there is a good chance the Legislature will pass a no-texting law, which would make Florida the 41st state in the Union to make texting while driving a primary traffic violation, meaning police could stop you and cite you for the dangerous practice alone.
An issue that is affecting virtually every Florida community will be front and center in this year’s Legislature: opioids. While deaths are soaring as a result of opioid abuse, Scott is proposing spending $50 million on battling opioids, mostly for drug treatment programs, while the Legislature will consider a bill to limit opioid prescriptions to three days worth of pills.
While Hurricane Irma now seems like a distant memory to most Floridians, the bills for cleanup have not all be tabulated, and the Legislature will have to deal with that, which could mean cutting spending in other areas. On top of that, in the wake of the nursing home tragedy in Hollywood, lawmakers will consider legislation to require nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have adequate generators and fuel on site so if the power goes out, patients will have air conditioning and electricity.
Finally, no Florida state budget under Scott would be complete without a call for tax cuts. Once again, the governor is seeking $180 million in tax cuts, although most of the reductions are in motor vehicle-related fees and extending the back-to-school tax holiday to 10 days.