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Speaker: Founding Fathers Back Preemption

beliefnet.com

House Speaker Richard Corcoran says America’s founding fathers would be squarely behind a so-called “preemption” proposal to strip local governments of their power to regulate businesses.

Tallahassee Mayor and outspoken opponent Andrew Gillum says government closest to the people governs best. But Corcoran, an attorney, cites the U.S. Constitution.

“I think our founders got it right when they set up a Constitution that basically said that the federal government exists with these enumerated powers. What’s not enumerated, all of it, belongs to the states.”

The fight would boost Gillum’s political visibility as he weighs a bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. The same is true for Corcoran, a likely Republican contender. The bill has one more committee stop before reaching the House floor.

A Miami native, former WFSU reporter Jim Ash is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.