Democracy Wire

Week two of the 2016 Florida legislative session is over and there was action on issues of concern to Common Cause Florida. The big news this week came on Wednesday when the Florida Senate announced it would not appeal a Leon County judge’s ruling on a Senate redistricting plan.

The Florida legislature continues to prepare for the 2016 legislative session holding a final week of committee meetings. Also this week, the Florida Supreme Court upheld Circuit Judge Terry Lewis’s decision in favor of a congressional district map submitted by Common Cause Florida and the League of Women Voters of Florida. The Supreme Court’s decision means the Common Cause/League of Women Voter’s map is now the new congressional district map for Florida, barring any successful future legal challenges.

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.

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.