PIP reform plan passes as Florida Legislature adjourns

TALLAHASSEE ? Florida lawmakers limped to the end of their 2012 session Friday night, barely salvaging a plan to reform the state's auto-insurance market after a deeply divided Senate killed a high-profile education bill and the state Supreme Court rejected newly drawn political districts.

Lawmakers wrapped up at exactly midnight on the 60th and final day of the annual session, just a couple of hours after the Senate voted 21-19 to approve a compromise plan to overhaul personal-injury protection insurance, or "PIP," the $10,000 in health insurance that all Florida drivers are required to carry. It was a victory for Gov. Rick Scott, who made reforming PIP a top priority this session, saying the current system is riddled with fraud that amounts to a billion-dollar "tax" on car-insurance policyholders.

Still, the Legislature's plan did not go as far as Scott ? or the insurance industry ? would have liked. The final package does not cap attorneys fees and gives victims up to 14 days ? rather than seven ? to seek medical treatment in order to claim benefits. It does, however, allow insurers to examine victims under oath and allows coverage for treatment from chiropractors only upon a referral.

Nonetheless, moments after the vote, Scott came on the Senate floor to congratulate Senate president Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island. He also released a statement hailing the vote as "a triumphant moment for the residents of Florida."

The vote followed more than 30 minutes of often-heated debate.

"This is a bad bill. Let's start over in special session," said Sen. Dennis Jones, a chiropractor and Republican from Seminole. "Quite frankly, what you have right now is an insurance bailout."

Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, pushed back. "We have to eliminate fraud," he said. "We cannot take a weak swing at it."

The narrow victory came just hours after a fractured Senate defeated another priority of the state's Republican leaders.

By a 20-20 vote, the Senate rejected an education bill championed by former Gov. Jeb Bush and other top Republicans that would have allowed parents of children in low-performing schools to demand sweeping changes, including having the school converted into a charter school. Backers said the so-called "parent trigger" bill, would empower parents to become more involved in their children's education; opponents called it a ploy designed to lead to more for-profit charter schools.

Eight Republican senators ? including Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, a usually reliable vote for GOP leaders ? joined with the chamber's 12 Democrats to defeat the legislation.

It was the latest in a string of legislation sought by Scott and GOP legislative leaders that was derailed this session in the Senate. The chamber was beset by turmoil through much of the session, as a small group of moderate ? and mostly term-limited -- Republican senators repeatedly bucked Haridopolos. Hard feelings also lingered within the GOP caucus following an internal feud over the 2014 Senate presidency.

Adding another cloud to the usually-festive final day: The Florida Supreme Court rejected new state Senate district maps because they did not comply with new constitutional amendments meant to prevent incumbent-favoring gerrymandering. The ruling means that lawmakers will have to return to Tallahassee next Wednesday for a special session to re-draw the Senate districts. The court did uphold new state House districts.

By mid-evening, the House had passed its $70 billion budget by an 80-37 vote, and the Senate followed, 32-8, at 11:19 p.m. The election-year spending plan, which lawmakers agreed to earlier in the week, would increase spending on public schools by $840 million ? one year after cutting school funding by $1.4 billion ? without raising any taxes.

But it slashes $300 million from state universities, reduces Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes by $350 million and eliminates nearly 5,000 state jobs ? roughly half of them in the Department of Corrections.

Despite the spending cuts, lawmakers made room for scores of earmarks in the budget, from $10 million to help Brevard County communities hard hit by the retirement of the Space Shuttle to $1.2 million to subsidize a bus line between Walt Disney World and Orlando International Airport. And perhaps the biggest hometown project of all: $39 million to make the University of South Florida-Polytechnic in Lakeland into the state's 12th university, a longtime goal of powerful Senate Budget Chairman JD Alexander, a Republican from Lake Wales.

Democrats ? who don't even have one-third of the seats in the Legislature ? said GOP leaders had failed to help the middle-class.

"It attacks our seniors. It attacks our students. It's got a bunch of turkeys," said Rep. Luis Garcia, D-Miami Beach.

The Legislature also approved Friday a sweeping economic-development package that would hand out $120 million a year in tax breaks and other incentives to favored industries and companies. The beneficiaries include video game and website developers, oil-drillers, phosphate miners, airplane owners and engine-makers and other manufacturers.

The package included a pair of broader tax cuts. One would exempt the first $50,000 of a company's profit from the state's corporate income tax, a measure sought by Scott. The other would reinstate the popular sales-tax-holiday on back-to-school clothing and supplies, scheduling for three days beginning Aug. 3.

Some bills squeezed through in the session's closing hours. Lawmakers repealed a two-year-old requirement that homeowners have their septic tanks inspected and unanimously approved a measure allowing the testing of "autonomous vehicles" to be tested on state roads. That bill was sought by tech giant Google Inc., which is developing a line of driver-less cars.

Lawmakers also signed off on tax changes sought by Verizon Communications, Comcast Corp. and AT&T that will make it easier for the company to bundle products together without breaking out their tax calculations. They increased the amount of tax credits available for businesses that underwrite a private-school voucher fund. And they repealed a state law requiring homeowners with septic tanks to pay for inspections.

In a more contentious, 26-14 vote, the Senate also sent a bill to Scott that would give state agencies authority to randomly drug test their employees.

But far more bills died, particularly in the Senate, which served as something of a legislative graveyard. Chamber leaders routinely had to pause for "quorum calls" to ensure all 40 members were present on the floor because vote margins were so close.

One bill that died was a controversial measure that would have prohibited judges from citing foreign law in divorce and family-custody disputes. Critics contended the bill was anti-Muslim.

Even before shooting down the parent-trigger bill, the Senate killed a separate measure designed to reduce the amount of publicly-subsidized "reinsurance" the state provides to property insurance companies. The legislation was a priority of Alexander, the budget chairman, who has repeatedly warned that Florida could faces a huge, unfunded liability in the event of a major hurricane.

jrgarcia@tribune.com or 407-420-5414. khaughney@tribune.com or 850-224-6214.

Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/os-legislature-sine-die-20120309,0,2482186.story?track=rss

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