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Key lime pie aside, sometimes the big news is what didn't happen

Some of the most interesting work of the 2006 Florida Legislature was what it decided not to do.

By HOWARD TROXLER
Published May 6, 2006

When folks complain about what's in the newspaper, I sometimes answer, you should see what we don't print.

Likewise, some of the most interesting work of the 2006 Florida Legislature was what it decided not to do.

First example: Our lawmakers backed off the idea of using this November's election to challenge several recent voter decisions. For a while they sure seemed itchy to try.

Term limits, smaller class sizes, a minimum wage and tougher rules for doctors were among recent ideas passed by voters that the Legislature decided not to mess with.

In the end, the Legislature even decided not to seek the repeal of so-called pregnant pig protection for birthing sows passed in 2002.

(I say, let's keep protecting the pigs. But we can argue about that on another day.)

Second example: The Legislature decided not to try to reverse the Florida Supreme Court's landmark ruling against school vouchers.

That was a surprise. The Legislature's decision was just as big a blow to the voucher movement and Gov. Jeb Bush's legacy as the court ruling had been. In the end, enough Republicans split away to kill the idea.

Third example: Despite the recent fights in some states over gay marriage and new abortion laws, Florida's lawmakers largely steered clear of high-profile ideology, morality crusades and social-engineering bills.

Wait, there's more. The Legislature decided not to make major, seat-of-the-pants changes to the Save Our Homes property-tax cap.

It also settled for a much-reduced pilot project for tying teacher pay to test scores, instead of imposing such a dramatic idea statewide on the fly.

Some of the nonaction was especially disappointing.

The House refused to crack down on a terrible loophole over money in Florida politics - fundraising committees that allow legislators and candidates to get around the normal limits on contributions. Too bad. It is a corrupting system that will get worse.

Despite having money to spend, the Legislature wouldn't cough up a measly $15-million for the KidCare health program to cover more kids. (On the other hand, there's more than $500-million in the budget related to affordable housing, so I don't mean to make 'em sound like total Scrooges.)

And, let's see, what was that one huge issue that everybody complains about? Oh, right. Homeowners insurance and hurricanes.

They made some nips and tucks, generally along the lines of making some people pay higher premiums, and some people accept less coverage. They did manage to help the state's troubled last-resort insurance fund. But they didn't tackle any deeper causes of the problem.

Finally on this theme of things not done, I would argue that this session was not nearly as bad as some when it came to doing favors for special interests at the cost of the public good. Heck, nobody even got caught taking a fancy lobster dinner in violation of the new ethics rules!

True, there were a few pips. Billboards won more protection from those icky, awful trees. The Holy Land Experience, a biblical attraction in Orlando, won a tax break. The gun folks got to make the names of concealed-weapons owners secret. On the other hand, owners still don't get to take their guns to work. (Dang.) And an attempt to relegalize predatory auto-title loans, which easily could have passed in some years, got shot down.

What about the things they did do? After all, lawmakers passed 386 of the nearly 2,500 billed filed this year, and passed a $71-billion annual budget. As always, we won't find out until later about some of the stuff that got sneaked in at the last minute.

Here is a prediction: Two of the most far-reaching decisions came as part of bigger bills that really haven't grabbed the public's awareness yet. One pushes high-schoolers toward choosing a major as college students do. The other makes it easier to build power plants, especially nuclear, in Florida. Both of these changes will get a lot more attention as their effects are felt.

It is a small gift horse, but not to be looked in the mouth, that the Legislature repealed the tail end of the big telephone rate hikes it passed in 2003.

Oh, and the Legislature made key lime the official state pie and "In God We Trust" the official state motto. With no disrespect to the deity intended whatsoever, I would have added the words, "All Others Pay Cash."

[Last modified May 6, 2006, 21:03:02]