by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Members of the Duval legislative delegation are in agreement on the major issues facing the 2003 session: tort reform, insurance and education.
Six house members and one senator were on a panel discussion last month before the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee.
And, warned the legislators, more problems loom if voters don’t pay attention to the impact of proposed constitutional amendments.
“Health care and insurance issues are a work in progress,” said Rep. Stan Jordan. “Education is right there. And, we have to do something about medical malpractice.”
Rep. Dick Kravitz, an insurance salesman, added, “Medical malpractice issues have to be taken up in this session. It’s a severe problem; it can’t wait until next time. There has to be a solution and the people involved should be forced to get together and come up with recommendations.”
Their comments were echoed by the others: Sen. Steve Wise, Rep. Mark Mahon, Rep. Mike Hogan, Rep. Aaron Bean and Rep. Don Davis.
Mahon said a major local issue is equity of funding. “It’s true that, if you rob Peter to pay Paul, then you’ll have Paul’s support. Well, South Florida is Paul. They’re getting something like $1.07 of each dollar and we’re getting 96 cents, and it’s because they have the votes,” he said.
“In Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties, they have something like 43 votes of the 120 in the House. There are a dozen of us; we’re outnumbered.”
Added Jordan: “When I’m in a committee meeting, I ask ‘How much is a 99-cent hamburger in Miami? The answer: same as a 99-cent hamburger in Jacksonville. Our costs are the same, so we should have more funding equity.”
The 11 proposed constitutional amendments on this year’s ballot had all recalling the passage of the “bullet train” amendment in the last general election, which may cost the state over $15 billion in unfunded revenue.
“Unless there’s a price tag tied to the amendment, it shouldn’t be brought forward. When people read the bullet train language, they thought it would unload I-94, I-4 and I-75. Well, it’s costing millions just to study it, and all it will do is hook up Tampa and Orlando.”
“What it will do is provide public transportation for South Florida,” added Bean, “and we’ll pay part of it.”
Two amendments concerned all: one that requires the State to provide prekindergarten “learning opportunities” for four-year-olds and another mandating a reduction in classroom sizes.
“These sound good,” said Hogan, “but let me say this: when I was on the [Jacksonville] City Council, I lost faith in petitions. I bet I could stand in front of Wal-Mart on Saturday afternoon and get a thousand signatures saying Donald Duck is a mouse.
“To get a constitutional amendment on the ballot, you need signatures. Things like ‘reducing classroom size’ sound great, but there’s more. Will it help? And, how will it be funded?”
Wise derided another issue that voters will face: it’s titled “Animal Cruelty Amendment” but focuses on only one segment of the animal world: pregnant pigs.
“We don’t need to address the issue of pregnant pigs in our constitution,” he said.