Florida lawmakers pare list of vetoes to override

TALLAHASSEE -- As Florida legislators meet Tuesday in a one-day special session to restore into law a handful of bills vetoed by Gov. Charlie Crist, they have agreed to remove two controversial items as a concession to both Gov.-elect Rick Scott and a bipartisan group of doctors and legislators.

Incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, agreed Monday to drop their attempt to override Crist's veto of a bill that would allow doctors to repackage and distribute prescription drugs to workers' compensation patients because the controversial issue would be better left to next year's regular session.

The new leaders also will not pursue a measure to remove the Department of Management Services from the governor's office and place it under the Florida Cabinet, whose members are independently elected, because Scott said he wants to reorganize the agency.

``He campaigned on the issue of reform and reorganizing government and, frankly, I think he's entitled to that opportunity,'' Cannon said of Scott.

Scott met privately with Haridopolos on Saturday during the Florida State University football game and urged lawmakers not to override the DMS veto. Scott campaigned on cutting millions of dollars in state government expenses to finance deep property tax cuts.

The Department of Management Services, which handles most state government contracting and building management, is expected to be one agency where Scott hopes to find deep savings.

``You're going to see, I hope, the governor and Legislature as much as possible [work] in concert,'' Haridopolos said. ``When the governor-elect expressed concerns about our veto override, he was given every consideration.''

Legislators will convene Tuesday first to swear in House and Senate members for the next two-year term of the Florida Legislature. They will then meet for a half-day special session to take up seven veto overrides.

Lawmakers will also take up three new bills: a measure to authorize rebates to consumers who purchased solar-energy and high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning units; a message to Congress in support of Medicaid reform; and a proposal to hold off on a new septic-tank testing rule.

GOP STRENGTH

The session is an opportunity for Republican leaders to flex their newfound muscle after winning veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate on Nov. 2. It is also a show of force against Crist, who bucked their party and ran unsuccessfully as an independent for U.S. Senate.

``We want to make sure tomorrow goes as smoothly as possible, and we wanted to pick bills that we thought were in unison with everyone, Democrats and Republicans alike,'' Haridopolos told reporters Monday.

But some Democrats and environmentalists say Republican leaders are intentionally leaving one controversial bill on the table. The measure, HB 1565, would allow lawmakers to ratify any administrative rule that would cost small businesses a total of $200,000 a year or $1 million over five years. Cannon and Haridopolos see it as a way to restore legislative authority over policy.

Environmentalists argue that the measure will effectively put a stop to all agency rule-making -- from water-protection standards to economic-development programs -- because most state-issued rules will have a cumulative cost when implemented.

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