A Times Editorial

Veto mine bill

Senators approved a bill that regulates mining and eliminates automobile emissions testing, but since most didn't cast an informed vote, it should be vetoed.

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 24, 2000

Sometimes it's not just what Florida's legislators do, it's how they do it.

Tallahassee Bureau Chief Lucy Morgan recently provided Times readers a textbook example of that reality when she reported that during the waning minutes of the session that ended May 5, the Senate approved a bill that takes away the authority of local governments to regulate blasting at rock mines.

The merit of that change, which places the responsibility of regulation and enforcement with the state Fire Marshal's Office, is debatable. Good arguments exist on both sides. Problem is, the debate never happened. The bill became law without discussion, because it was hidden as an amendment to another bill (Senate Bill 772), and introduced when the Senate's computers were not working and no paper copies were available for review. Only one senator voted against it, and it appears almost all the others did not know what they were voting on.

To make matters worse, it turns out the amendment was written by a lobbyist for a mining interest, and it also includes a clause that eliminates automobile emissions testing in six counties.

It's scary to know that laws sometimes are passed without adequate comment by the public or their elected representatives. But it's downright frightening for it to happen without our lawmakers having a clue, or apparently even a care, about what they are doing.

There may be value in assigning the regulation of mine blasting to a single state agency. On the surface, it appears to add uniformity to a process that has been handled, or too often mishandled, by county governments. In most cases, local boards do not have the expertise or the money to make enforcement of the regulations a priority. More important, they lack the will to resist the overtures of the local mining interests, who can be intimidating in the board room and at the ballot box.

On the other hand, critics of the bill fear the Legislature will be even more eager to bow to the mining lobbyists, whose campaign contribution strategy is generous and thorough. Also, opponents correctly point out that without increased funding from the Legislature to the Fire Marshal's Office, there is little hope for better enforcement.

Gov. Jeb Bush should veto this bill, if for no other reason than to force a legitimate, informed debate on the measure next year. A favorable side effect of his veto would be to send a message that Bush will not tolerate legislators who misuse the public's trust by being sneaky or ignorant.

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