State and Local Government

Welcome to POS 1112
State and Local Government

State Government Overview

In this course we will:

• Look at how Florida co-exists in a country with 49 other states.
• Look at how the people of Florida have come from diverse and rich origins.
• Find that Florida is one of the country's largest, most multicultural regions within the 50 states.
• Find that Florida operates independently, to large extent, under its own set of rules and guidelines, set forth in the Florida State Constitution.
• Compare how Florida's Constitution differs from other states' constitutions.
• We will take a look at Florida's relationship with the federal government, which we define as the concept of federalism.
• Florida's governance is intricately linked to the powers that it shares with Washington's political institutions.
• As Florida's needs and contributions change, so must this relationship with the federal government.

We will also study one of Florida’s greatest distinctions—its People.

• Florida is composed of a population that has migrated from not only other parts of the country, but also other parts of the world.
• There can be no greater resource than the tapestry that's woven by different cultures and heritages.
• We will not only focus on the origins of people who currently live in Florida, but will also look to the future, and who will be its new citizens.
• We will note how Florida's very rapid growth, current and anticipated, along with a diverse population has created an extraordinary opportunity to live in a state rich in economic and natural resources.
• However, we will find that along with this growth come challenges.
• And, we will find that along with Florida’s diversity comes conflict and the possibility that many people may be excluded from benefits that may be both deserved and earned.

State Constitutions

• Constitutions explain what benefits and protections citizens get from government, and what rights they must give up to receive those benefits.
• While the United States Constitution has been under constant review and development since our country's inception, amended 27 times in our history, little attention has been given to the other 50 constitutions in the United States.
• Constitutions, be they federal or state, not only provide a framework for government to function, they also provide a contract that obligates citizens and their government.
• As citizens, we operate under two "contracts," our federal constitution and state constitution. State constitutions differ widely. For access to the majority of state constitutions, just click on “Other State Constitutions.”

• While the U.S. Constitution is not considered a detailed document (8,700 words), many state constitutions are verbose, Georgia's contained over 583,000 words at one time. The level of complexity in state constitutions may lead to confusion for its constituents. Florida's Constitution is over 25,000 words long.
• Many states such as Maine, Nevada, and Kansas have only had one constitution in their history, while other states have had several.
• Louisiana has had 11 constitutions in its history, the most recent taking effect in January 1975.
• Florida has had six Constitutions.

Florida's Six Constitutions

1838
•56 delegates wrote Florida’s first Constitution, during a convention in St. Joseph, FL.
•This 1st Constitution provided for:
1. A bicameral legislature;
2. A one-term governor; and
3. The legislature to select the heads of governmental departments.

1861
•The Confederate Constitution
•Drafters met in Tallahassee to adopt Ordinance of Succession.
•Linked Florida to the Confederate States of America.

1863
•Adopted after the Civil War.
•Annulled succession ordinance.
•Acknowledged abolition of slavery, but restricted jury service and witness testimony to whites only unless victim was black; denied blacks and women the right to vote; and never became law because Florida came under post-Civil War military jurisdiction.

1868
• The Carpetbag Constitution, as it came to be called.
• Centralized power with the governor.
* Local leaders appointed, not elected.
• Required a public schools system, a state prison system, and other institutions.
• Required taxes to be uniform.
• Extended voting and other rights to all males.
• Allocated a seat in the State Senate and House to Seminole Indians.

1885
• Weakened executive authority by:
* Establishing an elected cabinet;
* Election of government officials;
* Reducing elected state officials’ salaries; and
* Limiting the governor to one term.
• Authorized a poll tax (lasted until 1937), that served to deny poor blacks and whites the right to vote.
• Thus far, this was the longest lasting and most amended constitution.


1968
• Florida’s Current Constitution.
• Provides for five ways to propose constitutional amendments:
1. Proposal by state legislature;
2. Proposal by citizen initiative;
3. Proposal by Constitution Revision Commission;
4. Proposal by constitutional convention; and
5. Proposal by the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

* Click on Florida’s Flag to go to Florida’s current Constitution.

American Federalism

Federalism is a system of government in which powers are divided and shared between different levels, e.g. national, state and local.

While other countries may embody the majority of their governmental powers in the hands of one central government, we in the United States have chosen to share that power between a central power, i.e. the federal government and 50 different regional groups, the states.

There are advantages to a federalist system:

• Public policy can be both tailored for local needs, as well providing guidance for issues that relate to the country as a whole.

There are disadvantages to a federalist system:

• There can be inequalities between states;
• There can be policy gaps between the federal and state governments.
• There can be endless conflict between the federal and state systems as to who shall dominate a specific area of policy.

In this contract with the Federal Government, states give up specific rights…

Click on---->

However, the Founding Fathers also found it important to guarantee certain rights to the states, exclusive of the Federal government, in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Rights that the states are guaranteed . . .

Click here:

The issue of Federalism is not however, a resolved issue. To this day, we continue to define and redefine the role of the Federal and state governments.

President Clinton issued an executive order in August 1999 attempting to reduce the problem of unfunded mandates. Executive Order 13132 of August 4, 1999Federal Register: August 10, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 153), Presidential Documents, page 43255-43259. To view this Executive Order, click on President Clinton’s picture.

Florida and Federalism:

"These are not my figures I'm quoting. They're the figures of someone who knows what they are talking about."Quote from actual Florida House debate, “House Journal.”

Florida is just one of 50 forms of state governments in the United States. As a product of federalism, every state, while still part of the same nation, may emphasize different goals, be comprised of different populations, and thereby, have different problems from one another.

Within the 50 states, Florida ranks 4th highest in population, with more than 18 million people. Only California, Texas and New York have larger populations.

Click here--->

Florida has more senior citizens (age 65 or older) than any other state.

Click here

Florida ranks in the top half (20th) in per capita income.

Click here

At the same time, Florida ranks 25th in percentage of its population below the poverty line.

Click here--->

Florida's Diverse Populations

Welcome to Florida, where everyone is from somewhere else!

• The people of Florida are, and are becoming, more diverse than ever before.
• With regard to diversity, Florida has a higher percentage of minority populations than the national average.
• While the state's Asian population is a bit lower than the rest of the country, Florida has a much higher black and Hispanic population than other states.
  
  
  
  
  
  

To see more of Florida's diverse population, go to: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/12000.html

Florida’s Diverse Origins

Railroads in Florida

• In 1834, the first railroad in Florida was built from Tallahassee to St. Marks. Pulled by mules, the rickety cars transported 50,000 bales of cotton a year to waiting ships bound for northern and European ports.
• Until the outbreak of the Civil War, short lines would be the only railroads found north of Gainesville.
• In 1861, the Florida Railroad was completed from Fernandina Beach to Cedar Key only to be destroyed by invading Union troops.
• As in other southern states after the Civil War, the construction of railroads in Florida was hampered by a lack of capital investors and corruption of those who did invest.
• The purchase of over 4,000,000 acres from disgruntled land speculators, railroad bondholders and the State of Florida would open the interior of Florida from Pensacola to South Florida to future investors.
• During the 1880s and ‘90s, Henry Plant and Henry Flagler, would proceed to construct lines along Florida’s west and east coasts, respectively. Flagler would eventually extend his line to Key West with the Overseas Railroad, an unparalleled engineering feat.
• Construction of railroads down the center of the state contributed to the 1920s Land Boom and established Florida as a destination for tourists, commercial agriculture and other industries such as phosphate and truck farming.

Click on the photograph to view the Flagler Museum website, webpage on Florida East Coast Railway history.

Slave Trade in Florida

• The slave trade began in Florida with the establishment of St. Augustine by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565. As that new military fortification was extremely isolated, these enslaved Africans usually escaped into the interior to establish their own communities or to align with the native tribes.
• The continued loss of slaves almost certainly contributed to the implementation of a more benign form of Spanish slavery.
• While the Spanish did import Africans as slaves, they often worked at a less demanding task system than did their northern brethren. Many purchased or were given their freedom as reward for acts of bravery or superior work. In addition, the Spanish encouraged slaves to the north to escape to Florida where they could be granted freedom. These new residents would later prove excellent soldiers.
• Over the next 250 years, Spanish Florida would become a haven for runaway slaves from British colonies and American States, a factor that played significantly in the acquisition of Florida from Spain in 1821. As an American territory and state, Florida would implement the American system of slavery that was in place through the Civil War.
• From 1821 through 1861, slaves would far outnumber white settlers in "Middle Florida" where cotton farms and plantations continued to prosper on the backs of slave labor.
  

View the website “Slavery in America” by clicking on the picture of the slave ship.

Citrus and Sugar Migrant Workers

• Following the Civil War, thousands of new settlers, both black and white, relocated to Florida in search of options other than "behind the plow." Over the next 30 years, the citrus, phosphate and agricultural markets would explode.
• As the population moved into the interior and further south, thousands of acres were planted in citrus and vegetables. Here seasonal harvesting formed the nucleus of a migratory work force.
• In late winter and early spring, sharecroppers from North Florida would migrate to the citrus groves to harvest the new fruit. Over time, many sharecroppers abandoned their farms and began to follow the crops exclusively.
• In the early 1900s, the draining of the Everglades opened still more land to agriculture. In the subtropical climate, sugar cane could grow in areas previously underwater. This new crop required a new type of worker, one experienced in the planting, cultivating and harvesting of sugar cane.
• New immigrants from Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti relocated to south Florida. These workers were similar to the migrant citrus worker of north and central Florida in that they were semi-nomadic as the seasonal demand for labor waxed and waned.
• Over time, Mexican farm workers would also relocate to Florida's more stable agricultural economy.
• While the railroads and boom times of the 1920s would provide the workers with plenty of work, the Great Depression of the 1930s severely limited their opportunities.
• By the 1960s, migrant workers had begun to follow national markets, returning to Florida for the citrus or vegetable season, moving on average four times a year.
  

Greek Sponge Divers

• Sponging in Florida originated in the Florida Keys, particularly Key West, in 1849. For the next 50 years, spongers used long poles to "hook" the sponges off the shallow ocean floor.
• In 1905, Greek immigrant John Cocoris realized that the use of the Greek method of deep-water sponging could be used off the coast of Tarpon Springs. He and other Greek businessmen transformed a small town into a world-renowned center for the sponge industry.
• Today, the City of Tarpon Springs embraces the Greek heritage that has made their community famous. Tarpon Springs is known as "the sponge capital of the world."
• In the 1930s, the sponge industry of Tarpon Springs was very prosperous, bringing in millions of dollars of sponges yearly. But in the 1940s, the sponge beds were contaminated and destroyed by bacteria, which led to a decline in the sponge industry. The industry was revived in the 1980s when healthy sponge beds were found.
• Now Tarpon Springs is back to being a leader in the world's natural sponge market. All aspects of the sponge industry take place in Tarpon Springs, from the harvesting of the sponge, all the way to the auctions that are held weekly at the Sponge Docks for wholesalers.

To view a website on the history of Tarpon Springs’ Sponge Industry, click on the picture to the right.

Florida Crackers

• The "Crackers" came to Florida from other southern states, most often Georgia and Alabama, and were usually of Scotch-Irish descent. They came in search of opportunity and freedom, and succeeded in creating a culture unique to Florida.
• These hardy people settled in the most isolated areas of the state and eked out an existence. They farmed small farms planted in corn and herded wild hogs and bush cattle.
• In fact, the term "Cracker" came from the sound made by the whips of the cowboys on cattle drives.
• In parts of the state, native Floridians embrace the name as a tribute to the rugged, self-sufficient pioneers that braved the wilderness of Florida.
• Through the efforts of folklorists, anthropologists and historians, the culture, traditions and contributions of these intrepid settlers has continued to be explored and documented.
  

Cuban Cigar Workers

• In Florida, Cuban trade in cigars flourished during the two centuries of Spanish rule.
  Shops of Cuban cigar makers lined the streets of St. Augustine, and to a lesser extent, Pensacola. When Florida became an American territory in 1821, many Cubans stayed and the industry continued to grow.
• As the cigar industry increased in importance, several prominent cigar merchants relocated their cigar-making shops to Key West and, later, to Tampa.
  Here the workers joined social, fraternal and cultural clubs that provided medical and retirement benefits to its members.
• At work, lectors read from books and periodicals as the workers rolled cigars by the thousands.
• By the 1890s, the small Cuban community of Ybor City in Tampa had surpassed Key West as the center of the cigar industry.
• It had become an enclave for revolutionary Cubans fighting for independence from Spain.
• One of those revolutionaries, José Martí made fiery speeches calling for an independent Cuba. His rhetoric, picked up in the national newspapers of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer fanned the flame of national discontent until the sinking of the U.S.S. Maine sparked the onset of the Spanish-American War and put Tampa "on the map."

Click on the picture of the ship to read more on the history of the U.S.S. Maine.

Florida's Diverse Populations Continued

Florida's Diverse Origins (continued)

Jewish and Northern Influences

• The first northern tourists to visit Florida arrived by steamboat and steamship in the 1880s lured by the warm winter weather. By the turn of the 20th century, Florida resort owners were actively marketing to northern residents.
• One area particularly targeted was New York. Here, Jewish motel owners in Florida advertised to northern Jews. Upon visiting, many stayed and relocated other family members.
• In Miami Beach and other cities, Jews were able to establish hotels, restaurants and other businesses. Even though they were segregated from the Gentile population, this in fact made for stronger Jewish communities that continued to grow and thrive.
• Other New Yorkers, both Catholic and Protestant also relocated to the Sunshine State during the 1920s through the 1960s.
• By the 1970s, south Florida, and particularly Miami Beach, had a distinctive northern flavor.

“Snowbirds”

• Older immigrants who come to warm sunny Florida to visit in the winter months are referred to as "Snowbirds." These snowbirds normally originate in northern states, and Canada.
• Many snowbirds decide to stay. Factors other than the weather may play a significant role in turning the "snowbird" immigrants into permanent residents.
• Florida's lack of a state income tax, as well as many restricted communities which allow only retired persons, may play a large role in why Florida's largest immigrant group can be distinguished by their age, rather than their cultural origin. Source: US Census Bureau
  

Caribbean Migration

• In the last thirty years, Miami's demographic balance has shifted radically due to an unprecedented influx of immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America.
• Between 1959 and 1980, over 625,000 Cubans fled into exile. In the eighties, hundreds of thousands of Haitians, Nicaraguans, and others from Caribbean and Latin American nations streamed into the area.
• By the end of the decade, additional thousands from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa quietly settled in Miami. Today Miamians are 21 percent black, 30 percent non-Hispanic white, and 49 percent Hispanic. (Page 101, Tina Bucuvalas, South Florida Folklife, Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1994.)
  

Mariel Boat Lift

• During 1980, from early April until late September, close to 125,000 Cuban migrants came to Florida as part of what was called the Mariel Boat Lift. Many of the boats were not seaworthy, were heavily overloaded, and were easily capsized. As a result, a number of would-be immigrants drowned, including 14 on one overloaded boat in May that year.
• As many as 1,387 boats required assistance from the United States Coast Guard.
• Short-term costs to the Coast Guard alone to maintain the operation were over $650,000 per week.
• Over 60% of the migrants were adult males, who, it was feared, were being released from Cuban prisons. While these reports were not confirmed, the rumors did create strong resentment toward the recent Cuban immigrants, particularly in South Florida, and heightened concern with regard to increases in crime.

Click the photograph to view the US Coast Guard Page on the Mariel Boat Lift. Click on the following link to view an article by David Card “The Impact of the Mariel Boat Lift on the Miami Labor Market.”

http://emlab.berkeley.edu/~card/papers/mariel-impact.pdf

Today’s Floridians

• Florida's diversity is becoming even greater today. According the U.S. Census Bureau, since 2000, Florida’s population has increased by more than 14%.

Compare this to other states: http://www.fairus.org/site/PageNavigator/facts/state_data/

• Only a small percentage of Florida's population growth has come from its domestic population.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The majority of Florida's growth is attributed to people moving to Florida from other states, followed closely by people moving from other countries.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The percentage of Floridians born in other countries is increasing a rapid rate.
• The vast majority of Florida's foreign-born population comes from the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. Recent history has shown Cuba as having been the greatest contributor to Florida's population.
• The future of the state, while still indicating a high level of immigration from Cuba, indicates that Florida's immigration may no longer be heavily concentrated in the Caribbean.

• Florida is currently the 4th most populous state in the country.
• Projections show Florida will increase to the 3rd most populous state by 2011, edging past New York.
• Education, crime, and social welfare issues are sure to become crucial in the growth and development of the state.
• Issues such as these have Floridians very concerned about growth. It is ironic that in a state where almost 20% of the population was foreign-born, March 2009 Zogby Polling results of registered Florida voters found that an overwhelming majority believe that illegal immigration is harming the state.
• The majority of respondents stated that they would support a candidate who in turn supported immigration reduction.
• While a diverse population brings with it a rich resource of culture, it also brings new challenges to a rapidly growing state.

Civil Rights

Civil Rights: Introduction

Civil Rights are defined as the rights citizens are entitled to from their government. Citizens are guaranteed equal protection to all laws, regardless of race, and regardless of state laws, under the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. All citizens are guaranteed the freedom from discrimination, the use of any unreasonable and unjust criterion of exclusion.

Civil Rights: The Case of Florida

Black Codes

• Following the defeat of the Confederacy, Florida was left with no viable legal or political system in place. Appointed to create a new state Constitution and government, the Florida General Assembly was deeply concerned with the regulation of former slaves. Newly freed blacks could no longer be controlled or punished by an owner, so new laws and regulations were put into effect.
• The new laws made loitering, vagrancy and other trivial transgressions an offense punishable by up to one year at hard labor.
• They provided no means of funding either for the creation of, or support for, schools for black children. The laws disenfranchised black men from voting.
• Lastly, other laws made it illegal for blacks to serve on juries or to sue whites.
• In all, they managed to subjugate the black population and effectively return Florida to its pre-war roles of servant and master.
  

Poll Taxes

• By 1884, the Bourbon Democrats had begun to seize control of the political reins in Florida. The Constitution of 1885 would make it possible to begin the legal disenfranchisement of blacks.
• In 1889, the Florida legislature complied and passed the poll tax laws.
• These laws put in place a tax on any black man voting, a tax to "pay for education." They also allowed for multiple ballots in multiple locations, making the voting for all or any of the Republican candidates next to impossible.
• While the multiple ballots would be replaced in 1893, the poll tax would remain in effect until 1937.

Militia/Patriot Groups

• The Southern Poverty Law Center identified 217 "Patriot" groups that were active in 1999. Of these groups, 68 were militias, four were "common-law courts" and the remainder fit into a variety of categories such as publishers, ministries, citizens’ groups and others.
• Generally, Patriot groups define themselves as opposed to the "New World Order" or advocate or adhere to extreme antigovernment doctrines.
• The listing here does not imply that the groups themselves advocate or engage in violence or other criminal activities or are racist.
• The list was compiled from field reports, Patriot publications, the Internet, law enforcement sources and news reports.

Militia or Patriot Groups as Reported by the Florida Poverty Law Center Constitutional

1. Guardians of America, Boca Raton
2. Constitution Party, Brevard County
3. Citizens for Better Government, Gainesville
4. Constitution Party, Pinellas County
5. People for Sovereignty and Restoration, Pompano Bch.
6. Southeastern States Alliance, St. Petersburg
7. Confederate States of America/Omega Group One, Tallahassee
8. Greater Ministries International, Tampa
9. Militia of Florida, West Palm Beach

Click HERE to go to the Southern Poverty Law Center website

The Klu Klux Klan

• During Reconstruction, many white Floridians resented the military presence in Florida.
• They blamed the blacks and deeply resented their newly protected privileges. Unable to find legal recourse, some whites banded together in vigilante groups such as the Ku Klux Klan.
• Often overlooked in Florida, the Klan harassed and intimidated black men and women throughout the state, particularly in the northern regions.
• Lynching, cross burnings, raids and armed assaults during election days served to effectively deter many blacks from voting.
• Following the passage of the new State Constitution and poll tax laws in the 1880s and '90s, often referred to as the “Jim Crow Laws” the activities of the Klan subsided.
• However, World War I would bring to the forefront civil rights and voting issues.
• When women won the right to vote in 1920, many black women and men would once again attempt to exercise their rights.
• By the early 1920s, the Klan was once more a serious threat to blacks.
• By the early 1950s, lynching, murders, assaults and vandalism against innocent blacks were again marring race relations in Florida.
• Today, racist beliefs are channeled through groups who may participate in the advancement of hate crimes.

Rosewood

• Until January 1923, Rosewood, a small town near Cedar Key in western Levy County, was home to about 350 African-American Floridians.
• That month, this small town became what the late Governor Chiles described as "a shadow of shame which fell across the state of Florida."

Click on the picture to read about the Rosewood incident.

The 1960s

Civil Rights activity in Florida rose in the 1960s, as did the black voting percentage, thanks in part to civil rights activists such as Harry T. Moore and C.K. Steele.

To read more about these men, click on their names.

Civil Rights: Education

Two Supreme Court cases have dominated the concepts of segregation and integration in not only Florida's educational system, but across the nation.

• 1896: Plessy v.Ferguson: Created the doctrine of "Separate but equal," that public accommodations could be segregated by race and still be equal.
• 1954: Brown v. Board of Education: Struck down the "separate but equal” doctrine as fundamentally unequal. This case eliminated state power to use race as a criterion of discrimination in law and provided the national government with the power to intervene by exercising strict regulatory policies against discriminatory actions." (Ginsburg, Lowi, & Weir; 2001, p. 201.)

Florida responded by several means: One odd example of Florida's response to the 1954 Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education was to create a separate system of higher education for black Floridians. In 1955, the Florida Community College Council established a separate system of two-year colleges. Twelve community colleges were created soley for African-American students. These colleges (see following list) continued in existence until the 1964 Civil Rights Act outlawed segregation in public education.

(For more information, consult The Magnificent Twelve: Florida's Black Junior Colleges, Walter L. Smith, 1994.)

One Florida Initiative

• In November of 1999, Governor Jeb Bush announced "One Florida" a controversial plan to change how Florida contends with affirmative action.
• The photo to the right, taken by the Tallahassee Democrat in March 2000, depicts the 25,000 to 80,000 participants who marched to the Capitol in Tallahassee in protest to the One Florida Initiative.
• There was much dissent and protest in response to the plan, and a number of websites were developed opposing the plan. Here are just three of them:

1. http://www.whoseflorida.com/one_florida.htm
2. http://aad.english.ucsb.edu/pages/florida.html
3. http://www.afrocubaweb.com/news/oneflorida.htm

In the ten years since Governor Bush's Plan was implemented, there has been much dialogue on this issue as well as many changes for the better. What began as the "One Florida" Initiative now falls under the Department of Management Services and is now know as the "Office of Supplier Diversity" or OSD. Click on the following link to visit the website.

http://dms.myflorida.com/other_programs/office_of_supplier_diversity_osd

Florida Today

Overview

In this section, we will focus primarily on the political institution within the State of Florida.

Comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate, Florida’s Legislature writes the majority of the laws under which the citizens of Florida live.

Those laws are interpreted by the Judicial branch; and

Enforced by the Executive branch.

Florida has law enforcement officials at all levels of local and state government to contend with those who do not abide by the law. We will devote attention to some of those levels and how they work together.

We will also take a look at political parties and interest groups, and see how they play a significant role in Florida's political institutions.

Florida Today

The Legislative Branch

The Structure of the Legislature

• Florida and the other 49 states are structured to mirror the Federal Government.
• Florida’s legislative branch of government writes the laws;
• Florida’s judicial branch of government interprets the laws; and
• Florida’s executive branch of government carries out the laws.
• Florida is also comprised of 67 counties and 411 cities (as of 12/31/2008), each within its own system of governance.

Click on this link to see information on Florida's 67 counties:
http://www.fl-counties.com/aboutflco/flmap.shtml

Click on this link to see information on Florida's 411 cities: http://www.flcities.com/membership/my_city_facts.asp

Click on the picture below to take a tour of Florida's Capitol Complex












The Role of the Legislative Branch

• Florida, as many other states, has a bicameral legislature.
• Bicameral means that the legislature has two parts:
  1. The House of Representatives; and
  2. The Senate.
• Some states such as Nebraska have a unicameral, or single house legislature—Nebraska established its unicameral legislature in 1934.
• The role of the legislature is to enact laws.

Legislative Session

• The Florida legislature proposes approximately 500 bills per session.
• Legislators meet for two months in Tallahassee, from the beginning of March until the end of April, limited by the Florida Constitution to 60 days.
• Legislative salaries range from nothing (New Mexico) to $79,650 (Michigan) per year.
• In states where there is no official salary, legislators are often paid on a per diem basis (i.e. Alabama Legislators earn $10 per day).
• Florida Legislators earn $31,932 as of March 2008.

(Source: http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=14840)

The Florida House of Representatives
"Mr. Speaker, what bill did we just pass?"

(Actual quote from Florida House debate, taken from the House Journal)

• The Florida House of Representatives has 120 members who serve two-year terms of office. As a result of a statewide referendum in 1992, all house members are limited to four, two-year terms of office. This limitation is commonly referred to as a “term limit.”
• The leader of the House of Representatives is called the Speaker of the House. The current House Speaker is Rep. Larry Cretul.
• Click on the picture of the Florida House of Represenatives seal above to view a list of current Florida House members.
• There is more detailed district information available on each member of the Florida House. To see information on a particular House member's district, on the member’s page click on any of the links below the member’s picture to view district maps or statistical information.

The Florida Senate

• The Florida Senate has 40 members who serve four-year terms of office.
• As a result of a statewide referendum in 1992, all house members are limited to two, four-year terms of office. This limitation is commonly referred to as a “term limit.”
• The leader of the Senate is called the President of the Senate. The current Senate President is Senator Jeff Atwater.
• To view a list of current Florida Senators, click on the picture of the Senate Chambers to the right.
• To view the information on the Senate districts, click the following link: http://www.flsenate.gov/Legislators/index.cfm?Mode=District%20Information&Submenu=2&Tab=legislators&CFID=145158751&CFTOKEN=54560340. Then choose a number from the list (district), and from this page you will see a picture of the Senator from that district, and a link to the demographic description of that district.

Legislative Committees

• The committee is the heart of the legislative process. The committee does what the Senate and the House of Representatives could not do as well by functioning as a whole.
• The committee can and should do the fact-finding groundwork.
• The formation of committees breaks down the membership into numerous small groups. Opportunity is thus afforded the Senate and the House for closer study of a bill than would be possible in debate on the floor.
• In this preliminary screening, the committee will hear from the legislator who introduced the bill. It will hear, too, from other legislators who either favor or oppose the bill.
• The committee may go outside the Legislature to learn the opinion of interested persons who may be well informed on the subject of the bill.
• The committee can subpoena for witnesses and for records. It can also use the research facilities of the Legislature to analyze the situation here and in other states.
• Citizens who wish to be heard are also allowed to speak at committee meetings. Technically, both the Senate and the House, sitting as a committee, could do all these things. But committees can and do perform the work more efficiently and thoroughly.
• The volume of business in today's Florida Legislature is considerable. It would be difficult to complete if the entire body attempted to study every bill upon its introduction.
  (Source: Florida Online Sunshine)

Committees may vote to take the following actions on a bill:

• Favorable;
• Favorable with amendments;
• Favorable with committee substitute;
• Unanimously favorable; or
• Unfavorable.
• If amendments are adopted, they still must be heard and adopted by the full legislative body.

There are basically three types of committees:

1. Standing
2. Select; and
3. Conference.
   

1. Standing Committees and Councils:

• The Senate and the House of Representatives establish standing committees for the management of their business.
• Authority of rules separately adopted by the Senate and by the House establishes them.
• The appointments of committee members, and the designation of the committee chairs and vice-chairs, are made in the Senate by its President and in the House by its Speaker.
• Proposed legislation is referred to a standing committee.
• The committee then has the responsibility of passing judgment on that legislation.
• Each committee may originate legislation within its field of expertise.
• The presiding officer refers bills to one or more committees for review.

2. Select Committees

• Select committees are those that have been appointed, or selected, to perform a specific task.
• The life of a select committee may last for a few minutes—for example, the time required for one house to notify another of its readiness to transact business on the opening day of the legislative session—or a select committee might last for years.
• The powers of each select committee are set forth in the action creating it. Some are given the authority to subpoena witnesses and open records. Some are empowered to employ counsel and clerical assistance. (Source: Florida Online Sunshine)

3. Conference Committees:

• For a bill to become an act, both houses must pass it in precisely the same words and figures. The second house frequently amends and returns the bill to the house of origin.
• In the case of significant bills, with substantial differences, the shortcut of a Conference Committee likely will be taken almost immediately. Conference committees are among the oldest of lawmaking procedures, dating back to early days of the British Parliament. In America, colonial legislatures used conference committees.
  In Congress, a conference committee was appointed on its second day, in 1789.
• A conference committee in reality is composed of separate committees from the Senate and the House of Representatives.
• As separate committees, they vote separately, not only on the final product, but also on any subsidiary questions put to a vote. A majority of each committee prevails.
• Conference committees are intended to reconcile differences. This suggests a give-and-take process because if a majority of the conferees from either house refuses to budge, the conference would be stalemated, and the bill could fail. However, this rarely happens.
• The Senate and House have the conference committee report presented on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. No amendments can be offered. Occasionally, a report will be rejected and the bill sent back to conference. Usually, however, conference reports are submitted in the waning hours of a session when the shortness of time might mean the bill would be lost or the Legislature called into an extended or special session. Thus, the committee has the pressure of time on its side.
• The Senate President and House Speaker agree upon the number of conferees. The General Appropriations Bill, by its magnitude, requires a larger conference committee. The conferees are known as managers. They generally are appointed from the committee that handled the bill but sometimes the President or Speaker will go outside the committee to select one or more conferees. Usually this occurs when the House/Senate has so amended the bill during floor consideration that the bill may no longer resemble the bill reported from the committee. Then, those who shaped the bill during floor consideration may more easily speak for the House/Senate in the conference committee. (Source: Florida Online Sunshine)

Joint Committees (can be standing, select or conference type):

• Are composed of both House and Senate members.
• Click on this link for a list of House committees: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Committees/committees.aspxaspx
• Click on the this link for a list of Senate committees: http://www.flsenate.gov/Committees/index.cfm?Mode=Committee%20Pages&Submenu=1&Tab=committees&CFID=145158751&CFTOKEN=54560340
• Click on the following link to find information on how the committee process works: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Info_Center/index.cfm?Tab=info_center&submenu=-1

How a Bill Becomes Law

"Anyone can get a good bill passed. It takes real skill to get a bad one through."

(Actual quote from Florida House debate, taken from the House Journal as cited in Dye: Politics in Florida)

• Either house may originate any type of legislation, however the processes differ slightly between houses. A legislator sponsors a bill, which is referred to one or more committees related to the bill's subject.
• The committee studies the bill and decides if it should pass, fail, or be amended.
• If passed, the bill moves to other committees of reference or to the full house.
• The full house then votes on the bill. If it passes in one house, it is sent to the other house for review. A bill goes through the same process in the second house as it did in the first.
• A bill can go back and forth between houses until a consensus is reached. Of course, the measure could fail at any point in the process. (Source: Florida Online Sunshine—see how an idea becomes a law)

Steps from Start to Finish on How a Bill Becomes Law

This is an example of a Bill that starts in the House of Representatives.

1. Legislation suggested by concerned citizen, group or legislator.
2. Bill Introduced by Representative and referred to Bill Drafting Services.
3. Bill Drafting Service either writes bill or reviews for style and files with Clerk.
4. Bill Filed with Clerk, it is numbered, printed and goes to first "reading."
5. First Reading is by publication in journal and the House Speaker assigns to committee.
6. Committee Hearings begin and the Bill is reported with the following finding and goes to calendar: favorably; favorably with amendment, favorably with committee substitute. A Bill reported unfavorably is killed.
7. The Bill goes on the Calendar--Rules Committee selects bills for Chamber consideration
8. Chamber Second Reading--Bill read for amendment.
9. Chamber Third Reading--Bill debated--Roll call vote on passage. If it is passed the bill is delivered to the Senate Secretary.
10. In the Senate the Bill is read for first time and the Senate President assigns it to a committee.
11. Committee Hearings--Bill Reported with the following finding goes to second reading– favorably, favorably with amendment, favorably with committee substitute• Bill reported unfavorably is killed.
12. Second Reading--Bill read for amendment.
13. Third Reading--Bill debated--Roll call vote on passage. If it is passed the bill is returned to the House.
14. Returned to the House--without amendment the bill goes to Enrollment. With amendments the House votes on the bill with the amendments– if the House concurs the Bill goes to Enrollment. If the House refuses to concur the bill goes to Conference Committee.

Click on the following link to see a diagram of this process: http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/FileStores/Web/HouseContent/Approved/Public%20Guide/Uploads/Documents/How%20an%20Idea%20Becomes%20a%20Law%202008-2010.pdf