Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli are trying to put the bad blood that derailed last year’s legislative session behind them. the two leaders are moving quickly to approve many high-profile bills that were casualties of last year’s infighting.
On deck this week will be plans establishing a statewide water policy and measures to improve the lives of people with disabilities--all bills that failed to win approval last year because the House adjourned early after refusing to go along with the Senate’s Medicaid expansion plans:
“Members, as we look ahead over the next 60 days. I want us to double down. We will finish what we started," House Speaker Steve Crsiafulli told the chamber Tuesday. He says it’s time to start fresh. And Senate President Andy Gardiner seems ready as well.
“You have my commitment and we have the commitment of working with the Florida house, to accomplish a lot of good things, especially this week.”
But after week one, Crisafulli and Gardiner have their own agendas. For Crisafulli, it’s trying again to change the state’s pension program and steer new enrollees into 401-K style plans and working to cement the state's "sharing" economy into law.
“Florida should be a state where our regulations state welcomes innovation," he said. "If people in Orlando, Miami or Tallahassee want Chair Workman to be their Uber driver, they should be given that freedom to have him be their Uber driver.”
That's a dig at state Representative Rich Workman, who moonlighted last year as an Uber driver. Crisafulli is also asking his chamber to allow the children of legal immigrants to enroll in the state’s KidCare program. Meanwhile, Gardiner’s agenda includes trying to clear out the waiting list for the Agency for Persons with Disabilities:
“Governor, we will partner to make sure an individual who is 30 years old, and just wants to work, maybe they’ve been on the list for 10-15 years let’s make a commitment to clear that list," he said.
That list is more than 20,000 people long. Governor Rick Scott has pushed to fund serves for people deemed the most critical, but some have waited years for services that haven’t been funded. Meanwhile both sides will have to figure out how to come to agreements on Florida’s budget. The state’s healthcare bill continues to grow, and that could jeopardize lawmakers’ desire for more tax cuts.
