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Lawmakers decide eight IS enough

They yank off the ballot a proposal to extend term limits to 12 years. They also back away from proposed stern restrictions on their soft-money committees.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published May 6, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - State lawmakers passed two elections bills Friday, one keeping eight-year term limits intact and another preserving their right to take unrestricted donations from special interests for committees they control.

The House approved a weakened version of a campaign finance bill that allows lawmakers to keep soliciting unlimited so-called soft-money donations. But every donation must be listed on committee Web sites within five days, and all credit card purchases must be listed, rather than a blanket listing of a payment to a credit card company.

The new disclosure rules will apply to candidates, not just incumbents. But lawmakers can continue to accept large checks from hospitals, sugar growers, insurers and other donors and spend the money on travel, pollsters, consultants and cell phones.

"If you are taking a $50,000 check, everyone in Florida is going to know it," said Rep. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, a supporter of the House bill.

The result fell far short of what the Senate had passed earlier, but senators approved it (SB 716) and sent it to Gov. Jeb Bush. "Half a loaf is better than none," said Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge.

The House bill also falls far short of a bipartisan proposal to ban lawmaker-controlled slush funds altogether. But that idea never even got a hearing in the House, even though supporters said new restrictions could have survived a constitutional challenge on First Amendment grounds.

"We could constitutionally clean up Tallahassee a little bit more. But we're declining to do that," said Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach.

Ben Wilcox of Common Cause, who has long favored limits on the committees, called the end result pretty weak. Mandatory disclosure of all donations won't make much difference, he said, because lawmakers "don't exhibit any shame about raising all this money."

The watered-down House bill passed on an 83-35 vote with only one lawmaker crossing party lines: Rep. Randy Johnson, R-Celebration, a candidate for chief financial officer, criticized the bill as too weak and voted with the Democrats.

On term limits, the House voted 103-14 to remove from the 2006 ballot a proposal to let voters decide whether to extend term limits from eight to 12 years. The action was a reversal of a vote of last year, when the House overwhelmingly favored giving voters the choice.

What changed? The voters back home have voiced their opinion loud and clear that they do not want legislators serving more than eight years.

"The voters voted for eight years," said Rep. Dudley Goodlette, R-Naples. "Whether they were right or whether they were wrong is a different issue."

"Eight is still enough," said Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, invoking the slogan of the term limits advocates who won overwhelming passage of the eight-year limit in 1992.

Rep. Baxter Troutman, R-Winter Haven, who sponsored last year's 12-year proposal, was one of the few dissenters. "It's about giving people a choice," Troutman said.

Three Tampa Bay area lawmakers voted in the minority to keep the 12-year proposal on the ballot: Reps. Tom Anderson, R-Dunedin; Bob Henriquez, D-Tampa; and Frank Peterman, D-St. Petersburg.

Steve Bousquet is at bousquet@sptimes.com or 850 224-7263.

[Last modified May 6, 2006, 02:00:14]