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Pinellas lawmakers challenge charter amendments

Early edition

By WILL VAN SANT
Published December 20, 2006

A dispute among members of the Pinellas County legislative delegation may doom changes to the county charter that voters approved in November.

For the changes to be heard and approved in Tallahassee, members of the legislative delegation, which was shaken up in the recent elections and now boasts several former city officials, need to sponsor them as bills.

But two out of three representatives in the Huse have declined to support the bills. And it has been difficult to secure sponsorship from state senators.

The charter amendments on the ballot were then and remain the focus of a lawsuit between a coalition of Pinellas cities that oppose them and county leaders who support them.

Two charter amendments that voters approved would make it more difficult for cities to annex unincorporated land, but require special acts of the State Legislature to take effect.

A third measure, which was not put before the electorate in November, but is supported by the county, also requires action by the legislature. That measure would allow voters to repeal the charter in its entirety.

According to County Commissioner John Morroni, he approached newly elected House Representatives Janet Long, Ed Hooper and Peter Nehr.

Morroni said Long and Hooper each committed to sponsoring one of the three measures, and Nehr said he would sponsor the remaining one if leaders in Tarpon Springs, where he was once a city commissioner, approved.

In recent days, Long said she was contacted by Nehr, who told her he and Hooper would not be sponsoring any of the bills.

“It disturbed me,” Long said. “I ran my campaign on the will of the people. And that’s what I care about.”

Nehr said he and Hooper had decided against sponsoring any of the charter amendment bills because of remarks made by Circuit Court Judge Robert Beach.

At a recent hearing in the legal battle between the cities and county advocates of the amendments, Beach argued against the delegation moving forward with any bills because it could disrupt mediation between the parties.

Also, Beach pointed out that at some later date the charter changes could be found unconstitutional.

“What am I going to do, go against the judge’s wishes?” said Nehr, who argues there is no reason the delegation could not wait until mediation or when the courts resolve the dispute before taking action.

“That’s an excuse,” said County Commissioner Susan Latvala, who was on the committee that developed the proposed changes. “The people have spoken.”

Supporters of the amendments may be out of luck, as today is the delegation’s deadline for submitting local bills for the group’s consideration.

And a new rule the Pinellas legislative delegation adopted this year requires not only a House, but also a State Senate sponsor before the group considers supporting a bill.

According to county officials, support among senators for moving ahead has been difficult to obtain, and the chairman of the delegation, Rep. Tom Anderson, opposes hearing any of the proposed bills during this year’s Legislative Session.

“I am very frustrated,” Latvala said. “I do not understand how elected officials think they know better than the citizens what is best for the county at large.”

[Last modified December 20, 2006, 21:43:38]