by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Christmas may be in December, but members of the local business and legal communities were more interested in what the Florida Legislature was going to deliver down their chimneys rather than the guy with the white beard.
They got a glimpse of what to expect at Holland & Knight’s 2009 Florida Legislative Preview on Nov. 21 at the law firm’s Jacksonville office in the Bank of America building Downtown. Five members of Holland & Knight’s Government Advocacy Team addressed issues including water law, local government, public-private partnerships. transportation and procurement, construction law, and energy and climate change.
Garrett Blanton updated the crowd of about 40 people on the structure of the Florida House of Representatives and Senate, and while the recent election didn’t shake up the structure, the next election could provide the opportunity for a shift away from the Republican majority.
The Florida House of Representatives will see 24 of its seats emptied due to term limits and 21 of those seats are held by Republicans.
Former Duval County Commissioner and current Holland & Knight Senior Policy Advisor on Government Relations Virginia “Ginny” Myrick discussed two issues directly affecting Jacksonville, water law and local government issues.
Myrick informed the crowd that the Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida will present a list of water recommendations for the state in January and this report will help the state finish setting minimum flow levels for its bodies of water, such as the St. Johns River. The main river flowing through the River City is embroiled in debate and litigation concerning the request to withdraw 155 million gallons of water a day from the river to supply drinking water to Central Florida.
“How we got to this point in the story has been laid out in many publications and in public dialogue regarding the current litigation,” said Myrick. “The pending lawsuits have resulted in having several Northeastern Florida Counties tied up in knots, with no easy end in sight.”
No bills have been filed yet for the 2009 session regarding water law issues.
One bill that has been introduced that will affect local governments is House Bill No. 5, Firefighters and Municipal Police Officers.
“This bill will require municipalities to be responsible for any shortfalls in pension plans,” said Myrick.
This statement created a little more white in the eyes of Jacksonville City Council member Jack Webb, who attended the preview. The City’s Police and Fire Pension Fund is currently underfunded.
Karen Walker, co-chair of the firm’s Government Advocacy Team, traveled from the firm’s Tallahassee office to talk about public-private partnerships and transportation and procurement.
“We need to invest in transportation to keep Florida moving,” said Walker. “And by doing so we can create jobs and provide an economic stimulus for Florida.”
The only problem Walker saw with her statement was where the money was going to come from for this investment and she pointed to the need for public-private partnerships to help make the idea a reality.
“There has been a public outcry about losing control of the state’s toll roads to foreign companies,” said Walker. “But these companies have the experience to handle these projects. Places like Europe have already begun using these partnerships to maintain roads and I’d rather have a company that is experienced with this type of development to handle the project.”
She gave the idea a local touch by talking about the stalled First Coast Outer Beltway Project, a highway that could benefit Duval, Clay and St. Johns Counties.
“The project has been put on hold indefinitely,” said Walker, “but legislation may be sought in an effort to address a property tax issue and to revive the issue.”
Fred Dudley is a senior counsel in the firm’s Public Policy and Regulation Practice Group based in the Tallahassee office. He talked about construction law and the slow progress of “green building” practices.
“It’s going to be hard to legislate green building products because they haven’t been tested yet,” said Dudley. “We are not going to see a lot of green because of the all the red tape right now. I believe we will eventually see more and more changes to help us go green, though.”
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