Former Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli won't run for Ag Commissioner

@ByKristenMClark

Previously expected to run for state agriculture commissioner in 2018, former House Speaker Steve Crisafulli announced Monday that that campaign isn't in the cards for him.

"After much consideration and prayer, I have decided not to run for Commissioner of Agriculture in 2018," Crisafulli said in a statement shared on social media. "I plan to remain politically active, but after years of travel to fulfill my obligations to the House Republican Conference and as Speaker of the Florida House, there is nothing I want more than to spend time with my wife Kristen and our daughters as they finish out their final years of being at home before going off to college."

Crisafulli, a Merritt Island Republican, had been a Florida House member since 2008, before finishing his legislative career as House speaker in the 2014-16 term. He left the House due to term limits, and running for agriculture commissioner had long been thought to be his next move. (His official House portrait depicts him standing next to a table with an orange on it.)

"Agriculture is a vital part of my family’s history and of Florida’s history; in order for this state to continue to prosper, agriculture must remain a significant part of our state’s economy," Crisafulli said. "Commissioner (Adam) Putnam has done an outstanding job, and his successor will need an equally deep understanding of the fundamental role agriculture plays in Florida and how to address the challenges facing the industry. I look forward to supporting our next Commissioner of Agriculture, and I have no doubt a capable field of candidates will emerge who will be dedicated to the success of this critical industry.”

Photo credit: Scott Keeler / Tampa Bay Times

Florida House, Senate 'optimistic' budget conferences could start this weekend

@ByKristenMClark

Florida House and Senate leaders are either more in sync than Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee let on just four hours ago, or he and House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran had some very productive discussions in a short period of time.

In a joint email to the state's 160 lawmakers at around 9:15 this evening, Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said they are "pleased with the progress" made by Lee, R-Brandon, and Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes.

"(We) are optimistic we will be ready to begin the budget conference this weekend," Gardiner and Crisafulli wrote. "We will update you as early as possible tomorrow, so you can make the appropriate travel arrangements."

At the close of yesterday's session, Gardiner had advised Senate appropriations members to stick around, in case budget meetings started this weekend.

But after a seven-hour Senate Appropriations Committee meeting today, Lee indicated not much progress had been made in the past 24 hours. He told reporters earlier this evening that he "hadn't really talked" to Corcoran all day, but that they'd planned to speak this evening.

House and Senate leaders have yet to release budget allocations, the next big step in the process. They need to shore up a budget no later than March 8, in order for lawmakers to vote on one before session is scheduled to end March 11.

VIDEO: Florida House members react to debate over open carry

@ByKristenMClark

Florida House members were in session until nearly 10 p.m. Tuesday night, spending much of the evening debating two high-profile gun bills: open carry and campus carry.

The open-carry bill was amended with one significant change: To allow lawmakers to carry concealed handguns in legislative sessions and official meetings. It's one of the handful of areas specified in law where licensed gun-owners can't carry concealed.

Here's what Republican and Democratic leaders had to say about that amendment following last night's session, and read our full story here about the evening's debate.

Floor votes on both the campus-carry and open-carry measures are expected this afternoon in the House.

 

Video: Here's what to watch as legislators return for annual session Tuesday

As the Florida Legislature returns Tuesday for its annual 60-day session, we take a look at the emerging flash points and hear from House Speaker Steve Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner.  

VIDEO: Florida Senate, House leaders sound off as special session ends

@ByKristenMClark

After the Legislature's special Senate redistricting session ended tonight without a redrawn map of Senate district boundaries, Republican leaders addressed the next steps and whether they could have reached a different outcome.

Read our coverage here.

Video: Legislative planning session in review

House Speaker Crisafulli to raise money for Adkins' superintendent bid

@ByKristenMClark

Add this to the list of fundraisers that Florida lawmakers will be hosting and attending when they return to Tallahassee for committee work next week:

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, is helping State Rep. Janet Adkins, R-Fernandina Beach, raise money for the next job she hopes to have: Schools superintendent in Nassau County.

The event is being held at the Governor's Club on Tuesday evening, and Crisafulli is listed as the host on the invitation.  Download TallyInviteOct6

Also planned to have campaign fundraisers in their honor this week are Republican Reps. Greg Steube of Sarasota, Heather Fitzenhagen of Fort Myers, Holly Raschein of Key Largo and Brad Drake of Eucheeanna.

Photo credit: myfloridahouse.gov

Legislative gridlock, dissension and uncertainty: Will it matter for GOP?

@PatriciaMazzei @MaryEllenKlas

The Florida House quit early. Senate Democrats sued. The state still has no budget, and no one has figured out a compromise on how to pay for healthcare.

But last week’s legislative meltdown in Tallahassee, dramatic and dysfunctional as it was, doesn’t appear to threaten the political future of Republicans who control both chambers of state government — or of anyone else in their party running for office in 2016.

Most GOP state lawmakers remain in safe, conservative-leaning districts. Democrats have only a thin bench to challenge the ones who don’t. And there’s little indication that many Floridians are aware that their state Legislature, an institution followed far less closely than Congress, is gridlocked.

“I always use my parents, who live in Orlando, as a measure — and it’s fair to say the average Floridian isn’t paying a lot of attention compared to the rest of us living in the bubble of Tallahassee,” said David Hart, executive president of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

A rundown of what happened: The House adjourned three days early, which was historically unprecedented, to protest a budget impasse and reject Senate demands to discuss Medicaid expansion under the federal Affordable Care Act. The Senate, united in rare bipartisan accord,stayed in town, passing bills to the empty chamber across the hall and accusing the House of violating the state constitution with its early exit on Tuesday.

Senate Democrats sued the House, asking the court Thursday to bring representatives back to finish their work. On Friday, the Florida Supreme Court ruled the House had violated the state constitution — but, with the midnight deadline of the regular session approaching, it was too late to call anyone back to Tallahassee.

Will any of it matter?

“I think there will be very little political fallout,” said Steve Vancore, a Democratic political consultant and pollster.

More here.

Steve Crisafulli's claim about forcing 257,000 into Medicaid

Even before the Florida House adjourned early, Speaker Steve Crisafulli laid blame for the session’s budget impasse clearly on Medicaid expansion.

In an essay printed by the Tampa Bay Times, Crisafulli wrote the Senate had "partnered with the Obama administration" to demand the expansion. But the House believed the move would drag people into a costly system that didn’t work.

"Under federal law, other low-income Floridians have access to health care subsidies to buy private insurance for less than the average cost of a wireless phone bill," said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. "In fact, if we choose Obamacare expansion, 600,000 will lose eligibility for their subsidies, of which 257,000 would be forced into Medicaid. "

Estimates say the expansion would cover more than 800,000 people, many of whom are currently uninsured. We wondered where Crisafulli was getting his numbers. Turn to Joshua Gillin's fact-check from PolitiFact Florida and see our story about other fact-checks about Medicaid expansion.

As the House adjourns early over Medicaid battle, we look at claims on the Truth-O-Meter

A battle over Medicaid expansion led the Florida House to adjourn the session three days early on Tuesday, leaving hundreds of bills dead for now including $690 million in tax cuts, a priority of Gov. Rick Scott.

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said the House will return when the Senate was ready to negotiate their budget differences but it was unclear when that would occur. They will have to come back in a special session to complete the state budget by the June 30 deadline.

Crisafulli echoed Senate budget chief Tom Lee who said Monday: "There's no possible hope for getting done at this time."

The Senate agreed to remain in session, sending bills symbolically to the House where they will die.

The House opposed the expansion of the health care program for the poor while the Senate advocated for a version of it, creating a major rift between the two GOP-dominated chambers. Scott, once a supporter of Medicaid expansion, opposed it this session and threatened to sue the federal government over it. (He officially announced that he filed the suit Tuesday afternoon.)

The federal government is offering billions if Florida expands Medicaid, paying 100 percent of the expansion at first and gradually downshifting to 90 percent in later years. The program currently eats up a sizable portion of the state budget.

While there was a long list of hot issues this session -- including whether to allow guns on college campuses and K-12 schools and a proposal for online voter registration -- in the end the feud over Medicaid was what brought the Legislature screeching to a halt.

Here’s a look back at some of our claims related to Medicaid expansion from PolitiFact Florida.