Big changes proposed for Florida’s constitution

April 21--Lisa Carlton served in the Florida Legislature for 14 years, but the former GOP state senator from Sarasota believes the work she did over the last year as member of the state Constitution Revision Commission could have a bigger impact than her entire legislative career.

"These proposals offer Floridians more change than I was ever able to do in Tallahassee," Carlton said of the eight constitutional amendments that the CRC placed on the ballot this year.

From banning greyhound racing, offshore oil drilling and workplace vaping to placing term limits on school board members and instituting new ethics requirements for public officials, the CRC -- which wrapped up its work last week -- is putting a broad range of proposals before voters.

"These are not just run-of-the-mill issues," Carlton said. "These are policy changes that dramatically affect Florida's next generation. I can't stress enough how important voter engagement is going to be."

The eight amendments include 20 distinct changes to state law.

Taken together, Carlton believes the amendments represent a significant step forward in state policy. She strongly supports the entire package, which includes a mix of proposals that have broad support and others that are more controversial. She also defended the CRC's decision to bundle proposals together.

Carlton sponsored the proposal that would ban vaping anywhere smoking currently is banned. The measure was bundled with a ban on offshore drilling.

Oil drilling and vaping are very different activities, but the proposals were linked because one is about clean water and the other is about clean air, Carlton said.

"There were proposals and good policies that we had that sort of naturally fit together," she said in defending the bundling.

Some of the bundled amendments have been criticized as a way to advance controversial ideas by pairing them with more popular proposals.

The package of K-12 education reforms, for example, pairs an effort to promote civics education with a proposal that would impose term limits on school board members and a charter school provision that would allow the state to certify charter schools, bypassing local school boards.

The charter school proposal is more controversial than the other measures. Carlton supports the idea, but critics worry about school districts losing control over charter schools.

Asked if there was any political gamesmanship involved in bundling the education initiatives, Carlton said the proposals were combined because they have "a common theme."

Some of the CRC's proposed amendments deal with issues that lawmakers have been debating for years.

The ethics reform package includes a six-year ban on lobbying by former lawmakers, something the Legislature contemplated in recent years but ultimately failed to act on. There also has been a bipartisan push for many years to allow dog tracks such as the Sarasota Kennel Club to stop racing greyhounds but maintain more lucrative poker rooms.

Having served in the Legislature, Carlton understands the politics behind many of these issues and why they struggled to advance, despite significant public support.

A recent poll found that 65 percent of Floridians support banning greyhound racing, for example, but the issue has been caught up in the broader politics surrounding gambling.

"The CRC was able to put policy above politics," Carlton said. "Which is why you see items on the ballot which are things where the public has been asking for changes for many years and the Legislature has not been able to do that for one reason or the other."

Carlton left the Legislature a decade ago.

Diving back into the process of making substantive public policy was something she enjoyed "immensely."

So could a return to elected office be in her future?

"I always look for opportunities where I can serve ... not in elected office but in some other way," she said. "There are a lot of opportunities to give back that don't involve elected office."

Buchanan slams Trump on drilling regulations

U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, is criticizing efforts by President Donald Trump's administration to roll back offshore oil drilling regulations put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Buchanan tweeted last week that "The Administration's plan to weaken safety rules put in place after the fatal explosion must be withdrawn."

The comment came on the eighth anniversary of the blown BP oil well, which was being drilled by the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. A series of safety failures led to the deaths of 11 rig workers and allowed more than 200 million gallons of oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico.

After the disaster, a federal commission recommended a number of new drilling safety rules. But in recent months "the administration has been quietly rolling back the regulations that were adopted in the wake of the disaster," according to Terry Garcia, who served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

Garcia wrote a column in USA Today this week criticizing the regulatory rollbacks.

The Washington Post wrote in December that the Trump administration eliminated "a requirement that safety and pollution prevention equipment be inspected by independent auditors certified by" the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

The Deepwater Horizon Commission had recommended the independent inspections. Garcia called the inspections a "fairly obvious" way to improve safety.

Garcia wrote that another rule adopted after the Deepwater Horizon disaster, one designed to increase the reliability of so-called "blowout preventers," is being "weakened." Garcia described blowout preventers as "the last line of defense when it comes to maintaining control of a well." The blowout preventer on the well that was being drilled by the Deepwater Horizon failed during the disaster.

"In the wake of our report, industry experts and regulators worked together to negotiate a Well-Control and Blowout Preventer Rule that would establish new safety procedures," Garcia wrote. "The process took six years and thousands of hours of consultation. Today, because of pressure from the industry, this rule is being overhauled. Many of the requirements are being weakened."

In his tweet, Buchanan called the Deepwater Horizon disaster "the worst environmental disaster in US history."

Buchanan is running for re-election and has been emphasizing positions that have bipartisan appeal, including his opposition to allowing oil drilling off the coast of Florida.

This is not the first time Buchanan has criticized Trump's approach to environmental issues. He disagreed with the president when Trump announced his intention to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord.

Buchanan raising money from oil interests

Even as Buchanan promotes his efforts to protect the environment, he is raising money from companies that have drawn scrutiny from environmentalists, including oil companies.

Buchanan collected $475,856 in the first quarter of 2018. Among his donors are political action committees run by oil company Exxon Mobil, phosphate mining giant Mosaic and Koch Industries, which includes oil, fertilizer and paper companies among its many interests.

Buchanan also raised money from U.S. Sugar executives. The company has been accused of polluting the Everglades.

Siesta Key Democrat David Shapiro, who is challenging Buchanan for the District 16 congressional seat, raised $351,723 in the first quarter and loaned his campaign $50,000 of his own money.

Shapiro's donors include Palmer Ranch developer Hugh Culverhouse, former Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida Executive Director Barbara Zdravecky and former University of South Florida President Betty Castor. Shapiro also collected $7,000 from PACs controlled by U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer, one of the top Democrats in Congress.

Shapiro's campaign could get a big lift if leading Democratic groups -- particularly the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- start investing heavily in his race. Hoyer's contributions indicate that Shapiro is on the radar of top Democrats and their affiliated groups.

Sarasota Democrat Jan Schneider, who also is running for the District 16 seat, loaned her campaign $50,000 in the first quarter, contributed $1,960 of her own money and raised another $12,115 from supporters.

Events

--The Republican Club of South Sarasota County is holding its annual Reagan Patriot Day Dinner Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Elks Lodge 2378, 401 N. Indiana Ave. in Englewood. State Rep. Julio Gonzalez, a candidate for Congress, will address the group. The cost is $30 for members and $40 for nonmembers. To RSVP call 941-539-1138 or email [email protected].

--The Nokomis Osprey Venice Area Republican Club is holding a BBQ picnic Saturday 11:30 a.m. at Maxine Barritt Park, 1800 S. Harbor Drive in Venice. State Sen. Greg Steube and Gonzalez, who both are running for the District 17 congressional seat, will address the group. The event is free for members and $5 for guests. RSVP to [email protected].

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