Democracy Wire

Legislative report from Florida legislative interim committees in preparation for the 2016 session.

During the last week of the regular session two significant, Common Cause-supported bills were sent to the governor. One is our top priority issue, online voter registration, the other related to modest reforms of the Public Service Commission. A surprise came when the House adjourned sine die, three days early, leaving scores of bills dead for the session. The legislature will re-convene within the next to months to pass a budget, since both houses were hopelessly deadlocked, especially over the issue of Medicare expansion.

Heading into the last week of the regular session, the Legislature is expected to pass our top priority, online voter registration, two ethics bills and modest reforms to the Public Service Commission. But with the House and Senate in a deadlock over Medicaid expansion and $4B apart in the budget, anything can happen! A key question is whether the Governor will veto OVR.

With only two weeks left in the regular legislative session, the House and Senate are poised to pass online voter registration (OVR). An elections bill that would have required secondary addressing for registered voters has been amended to our satisfaction. An ethics bill that strengthens prohibitions against conflicts-of-interest has been amended to our dissatisfaction, casting a shadow over its eventual passage.

With only 3 weeks remaining in the regular Florida legislative session, both houses seem likely to pass online voter registration, although Governor Scott announced his opposition. An ethics bill is also moving forward. Common Cause joins a coalition opposing a broad public records exemption to content produced by body cameras worn by law enforcement officers.

At almost half-way through the Florida Legislative session, an important ethics bill passed the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee. The same committee also amended our on line voter registration bill onto a elections administrative package supported by the Supervisors of Elections. However, an announcement that the House Governmental Operations Committee will hold no further meetings, puts the on line voter registration bill in jeopardy.