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Lobbyists ask judge to delay depositions

By LUCY MORGAN and STEVE BOUSQUET
Published May 2, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - Three of the state's best-known lobbyists have asked a federal judge to derail an attempt to take sworn statements from them in the closing hours of the legislative session.

Lawyers for Senate President Tom Lee and House Speaker Allen Bense have subpoenaed lobbyists Ron Book, Guy Spearman and Ken Plante to bring all of their financial records and testify Wednesday, Thursday and Friday - the most critical time of a legislative session scheduled to end on Friday.

"Coincidence? Maybe. And maybe not," Book said Monday.

Mark Herron, one of the attorneys representing the lobbyists, said the timing was "punitive" because lawmakers know how important the final days of a session are to lobbyists.

The interests of 134 clients of the trio would be seriously compromised if they were forced to miss the final days of the session, said L. Carl Adams, president of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists.

Lawyers for the lobbyists have asked U.S. District Judge Stephan P. Mickle to issue a protective order so they cannot be forced to testify in the final days of the session. All three say they are willing to testify at night or very early in the morning but not during the hours lawmakers are meeting.

The uproar developed Monday in a lawsuit filed by Book, Spearman and the lobbyists association. They are challenging a new law that requires lobbyists to report the fees they receive from clients.

The law requires lobbyists to report their fees for the first three months of this year on May 15. Mickle has ignored lobbyists' repeated requests to delay the reporting date until he can rule on the challenge.

Lobbyists filed the suit in state court in February but it was transferred to federal court in March at the request of legislative leaders. Last week Mickle refused to allow the case to return to state court.

"Because the last week of the session is so critical, it is not unusual for the Legislature to conduct meetings from early in the morning until very late at night on each day of the final week," Adams noted. "During the last three days of the session, the Legislature may continue meeting until midnight or beyond."

Adams said all three lobbyists have repeatedly offered to make themselves available over the past two months but lawyers for the Legislature took no action until late last week when they scheduled the depositions for this week.

Mickle did not issue an immediate ruling.

[Last modified May 2, 2006, 01:55:38]