Florida lawmakers work overtime
in an effort to reach deals on opioid treatment and human trafficking.
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Legislature careened into overtime late Friday, with House and Senate leaders failing to reach deals on high-priority issues such as a crackdown on human traffickers and new sexual-harassment rules.
Lawmakers agreed to extend the session until midnight Sunday to vote on an $88.7 billion budget, a decision necessary to comply with a 72-hour “cooling off” period mandated by the constitution.
Lawmakers late Friday did agree to put $53.5 million toward opioid-addiction treatment and prevention. The bill was held up until the final hours of the session over a fight between the House and Senate over whether to include Vivitrol among the approved drugs that could be purchased to combat addiction.
But negotiators reached a compromise to allow some funds to be used for the drug.
Agreement on other major issues remained elusive Friday night. Any issue other than the budget or tax cuts not dealt with by midnight died.
The Legislature was at an impasse over a bill to increase penalties on sex traffickers and make it easier for victims to sue their traffickers.
Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, attempted to insert the bill into another measure increasing electronic monitoring and other penalties for sex offenders who fail to register their addresses with the state. The bill also would allow victims to sue operators of hotels and motels who willfully ignore the practice — something the House objected to after opposition from the hotel industry.
“I believe it’s right to stand up for people who can’t stand up for themselves,” she said. “It’s important for them to have tools and have an opportunity to be made whole.”
But Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, objected to the move because the House removed a provision establishing a trust fund to be used for support services for human-trafficking victims. He said he feared the move would kill the sex offenders bill.
“Senator Book, you are doing the right thing, but our friends in the House are not,” he said. “Now they’re going to say they did something just for political glory.”
The House and Senate also failed to agree on how to write sexual-harassment policies throughout state government, streamlining reporting requirements and setting standards for investigations when a claim is made.
The Senate was under pressure to pass a bill to address the issue after a year of salacious stories and scandals.
Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, was forced to resign last year after it was revealed he had an affair with a lobbyist. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, resigned after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. A Senate probe confirmed many of the claims.
After the bill, SB 1628, was held up in committee for most of the session, the Senate used a
when a claim is made.
The Senate was under pressure to pass a bill to address the issue after a year of salacious stories and scandals.
Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, was forced to resign last year after it was revealed he had an affair with a lobbyist. Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, resigned after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. A Senate probe confirmed many of the claims.
After the bill, SB 1628, was held up in committee for most of the session, the Senate used a procedural move to bring it up to the floor. It was pending in the House late Friday.
The session will continue at least until late Sunday afternoon because of the requirement that lawmakers wait 72 hours to vote on the budget. They missed the Tuesday deadline that would have allowed them to adjourn on time Friday, largely because of a dispute over health care funding.
A bill that would have created a specialty license plate honoring the University of Central Florida Knights’ undefeated football season appeared to be dead late Friday. The original proposal called for the plate to read “National Champions,” but it was changed to say “2017 Undefeated Champions.”
The $88.7 billion budget includes a more than $110 per student increase in public school funding, $100 million for the Florida Forever land conservation program and $168 million in tax cuts.