Closed-Door Negotiations Tarnish Special Session's Budget Decisions

Published: Oct 9, 2007

After a week of meetings but too little public debate, Florida lawmakers have agreed on where to cut $1.1 billion from the state's $71 billion budget. They'll return to Tallahassee on Friday for a final and largely party-line vote to bring it into balance.

The cuts authorized by the Republican-dominated Legislature will come mostly at the expense of schools and social service agencies. House Democrats complained to an empty chamber Friday that they were neither consulted nor kept in the loop.

Indeed, the behind-the scenes negotiations and arm twisting that took place among the governor, lawmakers and special interests kept citizens out of the loop, too.

At a time when Gov. Charlie Crist says he encourages open government, it's more apparent than ever the Legislature prefers to operate in secrecy. The state constitution doesn't allow local elected officials to talk business in private, but the Legislature is exempt.

House Speaker Marco Rubio insisted to reporters that committee meetings and public debates in both chambers shaped policy. Maybe, but since citizens weren't invited to attend the closed-door sessions, there is no telling what actually determined the final policies. You can bet special interests had more of a voice in those negotiations than regular citizens.

It's time lawmakers gave up that pass from the Sunshine Law. Voters have a right to know how their government operates.

Although budget cutting was the reason for the special session, legislators spent as much time worrying about lowering property taxes before the 2008 election. Lawmakers have until the end of the month to come up with a plan if they want to present it to voters during January's presidential preference primary.

A circuit judge threw out a poorly worded ballot initiative the Legislature approved last spring that would let voters choose between a superexemption and the Save Our Homes cap on property assessments. Now many old property-tax cutting ideas are resurfacing.

Foremost among them is "portability," which would allow homeowners to transfer the savings from the home they live in to the next one they buy. But portability does nothing to cure the huge inequities in a system where neighbors in the same neighborhood pay far different tax rates.

Other proposals include Crist's campaign plan to double the homestead exemption and Rubio's plan to get rid of property taxes altogether in favor of a higher sales tax.

We'll hear about different proposals in bits and pieces over the next few weeks as lawmakers prepare for another special session. Once again, all the decisions will take place behind the scenes.

And that's no way to produce an equitable property tax system, much less win the support of voters.