Around the State
Governor Rick Scott reaffirms the Office of Fiscal Accountability and Regulatory Reform. On Friday, Gov. Scott issued Executive Order no. 11-72, superseding Executive Order no. 11-01, which created the Office of Fiscal Accountability and Regulatory Reform. Among other duties, the office was created to review proposed and existing rules to determine if such rules unnecessarily restrict entry into a profession, adversely affect the availability of professional service to the public, unreasonably affect job creation, and impose burdensome costs on businesses. The new executive order continues the operation of the office and moves back to May 1 the date by which all state agencies must conduct a comprehensive review of existing rules and regulations, along with recommendations for repeal of any such rules and regulations. Since its establishment in January, the office has reviewed more than 11,000 existing rules and assisted agencies in identifying more than 1,000 unnecessary rules for repeal.
Florida Housing Finance Corporation announces $1 billion in foreclosure aid. Last week, the Florida Housing Finance Corporation announced the expansion of the “Hardest-Hit Fund,” a financial assistance program for unemployed or underemployed Floridians who are having difficulty paying their mortgages. Two primary assistance programs are available through the fund. The first, the Unemployment Mortgage Assistance Program, will provide up to $12,000 to pay monthly mortgage and escrowed mortgage-related expenses for up to six months, or until the homeowner can resume making mortgage payments, whichever occurs first. The second program, the Mortgage Loan Reinstatement Payment Program, will provide up to $6,000 to bring the homeowner’s past-due first mortgage current if the homeowner can show the ability to resume making payment payments. Funds provided under these two programs will be provided in the form of a zero-percent, deferred-payment loan, which may be forgiven during a five-year period.
Department of Health awards contract to begin operation of drug database, while House continues to press a dispensing ban. On Friday, the Department of Health awarded a contract to Health Information Design to begin development of the long-delayed controlled substance database. While the bill requiring the creation of the database was passed nearly two years ago, multiple issues, including funding shortfalls and a bid challenge, delayed the development of the system. Meanwhile, the House continues its alternative to the controlled substance database in the form of H.B. 7095, which, among other provisions, bans the dispensing of Schedule II and Schedule III controlled substances by physicians. The bill will be heard in the Appropriations Committee on Tuesday morning, its last committee of reference. No similar proposal exists in the Senate, where the Senate President has unwaveringly supported the controlled substance database.
Budget
House and Senate pass their respective budgets to begin the budget conference. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House and Senate passed their respective budget proposals in order to position the chambers for a budget conference during the next few weeks. Debate on the budgets occurred mainly along partisan grounds, and both budgets were passed primarily on a party-line vote. Among the issues that will be discussed in conference are employee pension contributions, affordable housing funding, and Medicaid reductions. Later on this week, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate will likely name the members who will serve on the budget conference committees, which will meet during the next few weeks to reach a compromise on the various portions of the budget.
Legislature
Procedural maneuver halts House bill regulating out-of-state expert witnesses in medical malpractice actions. The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee debated H.B. 479 by Rep. Mike Horner on Thursday, a bill that requires an out-of-state physician to obtain an expert witness certificate in order to testify regarding the prevailing standard of care in a medical malpractice action. The bill also prohibits medical malpractice insurers from unilaterally settling claims, raises the burden of proof for medical malpractice claims to “clear and convincing evidence,” and authorizes ex parte interviews of subsequent treating physicians by the defendant. An amendment offered by Rep. Scott Randolph that removed the ex parte provision in the bill was adopted on a bipartisan vote. The committee voted out the bill favorably; however, Rep. Randolph had the bill “retained” until the next committee meeting for purposes of reconsideration. Under House Rule 7.16, any member who votes on the prevailing side of a bill may unilaterally retain the bill through the next meeting of the committee. The only way to defeat this procedural move is to make a motion to report the bill immediately. As no committee member raised the motion, the bill was retained in the committee. The bill is next scheduled to be heard in the same committee on Tuesday morning.
Senate proposes to eliminate school board member salaries in favor of minimal stipends. On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Education PreK – 12 introduced a committee bill that would reduce school board member salaries to a stipend of no more than $100 per meeting. School board members would be limited to an aggregate stipend of $2,400 per year and would continue to be eligible for reimbursement for travel expenses. The sponsor of the proposal, Sen. Stephen Wise, introduced the bill by noting that Florida has the highest-paid school board members in the United States. He noted that he wanted to reduce school board member salaries to the national average, which he stated was $100 per meeting. Sen. Wise indicated that the proposal will save school districts more than $10 million annually. Predictably, representatives of school board members opposed the proposal, arguing that the proposal will discourage working individuals from serving on school boards. The bill, now numbered as SB 2172, will receive a vote next week in the same committee.
House approves Department of Economic Opportunity and economic development superfund. On Friday, the House Select Committee on Government Reorganization approved two proposals that would create a $400 million State Economic Enhancement and Development Trust Fund. The trust fund would be created from the merger of various economic development trust funds, Florida housing trust funds, and the State Transportation Trust Fund. The proposals also would create a new Department of Economic Opportunity, headed by a commissioner appointed by the governor. The department would be created by merging the Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development (otherwise known as OTTED), the Agency for Workforce Innovation, and the Department of Community Affairs. The department would contain four divisions: strategic business development, community planning and development, workforce services, and finance and administration. The broad goals of the department include promoting community revitalization and affordable housing, assisting with the coordination of community planning and development, and developing a strategic plan to recruit new businesses and expand and retain businesses in the state. Proponents of the proposals praised the streamlined approach to economic development, while opponents decried the merger of Visit Florida into the new department.
Public Policy News Alert is part of our ongoing commitment to providing up-to-the-minute information about pressing concerns or industry issues affecting our clients and our colleagues. If you have any questions about this alert or would like to discuss these topics further, please contact your Foley attorney or any of the following individuals:
G. Donovan Brown
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3362
[email protected]
Marnie George
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3398
[email protected]
Michael P. Harrell
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3373
[email protected]
Robert H. Hosay
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3382
[email protected]
Jonathan P. Kilman
Orlando, Florida
407.244.3256
[email protected]
Paul W. Lowell
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3380
[email protected]
Thomas J. Maida
Tallahassee, Florida
850.513.3377
[email protected]
Marnie George of The George Group assists Foley on a variety of government and public policy matters as a consultant.