State: Governor signs generic drug bill, sales tax holiday

TALLAHASSEE -- Floridians will get better access to four cheaper generic drugs, and a tax holiday this summer that will allow them to buy clothes and school supplies without having to pay sales tax.

Gov. Jeb Bush signed those measures into law Friday, along with a law that will start Florida on the road to planning a high-speed rail train that would run between St. Petersburg, Tampa, Orlando, and, eventually, Miami.

Bush also used his veto pen to kill several bills, including one that would have provided $2.5-million to fund construction and repairs at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa. In his veto letter, Bush praised the center for "outstanding research and treatment of cancer," but said federal dollars -- not state ones -- should fund research centers.

The sales tax holiday -- Florida's fourth -- runs from 12:01 a.m. July 28 to midnight Aug. 5. During those nine days, shoppers won't have to pay sales tax on many items of clothing, as long as each item costs $50 or less. Sales tax also won't be charged on school supplies that sell for $10 apiece or less.

In the Tampa Bay area, sales tax is 6 or 7 percent, depending on the county. The state Department of Revenue estimated that this year's tax holiday would save taxpayers about $28.5-million.

With a tighter budget this year, lawmakers cut the amount of the exemption in half. In the last two years, the exemption applied to each clothing item that cost $100 or less.

The tax holiday is part of a $175-million tax cut package.

Florida's new generic drug law went into effect Friday. It adds four medicines to a list of drugs that pharmacists can automatically substitute with generic equivalents. Doctors still can write "medically necessary" on the prescription to require the brand-name drug.

The list of affected drugs includes the popular brand-name blood thinner Coumadin. Du Pont Pharmaceuticals makes that drug, a blood thinner that helps prevent strokes.

Barr Laboratories wants to sell the generic equivalent, warfarin sodium. Barr has said warfarin would save seniors about $12 off their $30 monthly Coumadin cost now.

"The governor's approval brings Florida's generic substitution regulations in line with those in the majority of states," said Bruce Downey, Barr's chairman and CEO.

Barr and other proponents say the new law will save money for thousands of Floridians, many of them elderly and on fixed incomes. But opponents said Coumadin in particular is very "dose-sensitive" and automatically switching to a generic could harm patients.

"For over 20 years, Florida law has provided wide access to generic drugs while maintaining patient safety by preventing unwanted switching of critical-dose drugs," Byron Thames, head of the Du Pont-backed Florida Coalition for Patient Safety, said in a prepared statement. "Now, that safety net is gone and doctors and patients have to guard against unwanted drug switches."

The other three drugs involved are digoxin, a heart medicine; quininidine gluconate, also prescribed for heart ailments; and phenytoin, prescribed for epilepsy.

Also Friday, Bush signed a law that creates a nine-member High Speed Rail Authority that will start laying the groundwork for one of the largest public works projects to hit Florida in years.

Voters approved a November constitutional amendment that requires the state to start building the rail line by November 2003. The new authority will look at ways to fund the multibillion-dollar project.

"It probably will be a partnership between private industry and the state and federal government," said C.C. "Doc" Dockery, a Lakeland man who spent at least $2.7-million of his own money to get the high-speed rail issue on the ballot.

Legislators gave the authority $4.5-million to design the project and start wooing private investors. The authority has to give a report on Jan. 1, 2002. At that point, the Legislature will decide whether to go forward.

Bush also used his veto pen to kill one of Senate President John McKay's priorities. The bill would have set up a pilot program to diagnose learning disabilities in very young children.

In his veto message, Bush said the state already does much to diagnose and treat learning disabilities. He said the bill was unclear on the issue of parental consent, lacked a public records exemption to protect families and would force the state to buy expensive equipment.

"Many of (my) concerns are grounded on the potential for excessive intrusiveness of government in the lives of Florida's families," Bush wrote.

McKay referred calls to bill sponsor Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie.

"I wish they had looked as hard to find ways to implement the bill as they did to veto it," Pruitt said.

Sales tax holiday

For the fourth year in a row, Floridians will enjoy a "sales tax holiday" this summer. The details:

The sales-tax holiday will begin July 28 and last nine days.

The break from the state's 6 percent sales tax applies to clothes priced $50 and under and school supplies that cost $10 and less.

In years past, the tax break applied to purchases up to $100. But this was a tight budget year.

The tax break saves taxpayers $28.5-million.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk