State workers win on raise, lose on pension

Sen. Jack Latvala got his No. 1 priority, a pay raise for more than 97,000 state workers. But he wasn’t doing any fist-pumps or hip-hip hoorays for the $1,400 hike slated for most workers.

The Senate Appropriations Chair explained he went to great lengths in budget negotiations to accommodate the House to secure Senate objectives. To get the pay raise, money for a southern reservoir, and a boost in higher education funding, Latvala agreed to House plans to change state workers' pension and health benefits, charter school expansion and fewer dollars for economic development.

The negotiations forced the 2017 legislative session into overtime — an extra day of work to pass a spending plan and related bills.

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It was the related bills — so-called conforming bills — that put the House plans in motion. They spelled out how money in the 232 bills passed this session can be spent. The policy changes they contained cast a somber mood in the Senate Monday. Latvala, a 15-year Tallahassee veteran respected for his legislative skill, agreed to them but sounded like someone too willing to strike a deal.

More: Complete 2017 session coverage

“I was trying to respect our two-chamber Legislature,” the Clearwater Republican told the Senate about the trade-offs before the vote on the conforming bills.

The 2017-2018 budget deal allowed the House to commingle money and policy. The tactic sparked a late-night 2011 session meltdown, one in which Latvala played a key role when he insisted Senate tradition did not allow a vote on ideas and language that had not been heard and vetted by a Senate committee.

“If there is a fault in one of these bills (it’s on me),” Latvala told the Senate Monday afternoon. “We won’t do this again under my watch."

He cautioned, however, if the Senate rejected anything Monday then the budget deal would collapse and lawmakers would be back in two or three weeks in a special session “to do our job.”

The current spending plan pays the state's bills until June 30.

Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, reminded Latvala of his words from six years ago. Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said the lack of public debate and time to review the proposals were problematic. Latvala accepted the criticism but explained it did not fully describe the current situation.

"I agree with you. This should be a free-standing issue," Latvala said during debate on linking pension reform to a pay raise. "This is really the first year I have seen a presiding officer who was as insistent on trading and getting their way on issues that were important to them ... I thought we had to break the logjam."

While the House and Senate found agreement on how to spend $82.4 billion, three major issues remained unresolved for when committee meetings start up again in September — or sooner if Gov. Rick Scott vetos the budget and calls the Legislature back into session.

Medical Marijuana

Lawmakers failed to write a plan to implement the medical marijuana amendment. The big fight was over how many retail outlets a licensed marijuana grower could operate. The House wanted a cap at 100. The Senate had proposed a total of 10 outlets for each of the seven licensed growers.

“We could not bridge the gap and that just happens sometimes,” said Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, the Senate’s lead negotiator on medical marijuana.

Workers Comp 

A battle over attorney fees prevented lawmakers from fixing one of the business community's top priorities — workers compensation insurance rates. Businesses wanted the Legislature to address a 14.5 percent increase in rates. A Supreme Court ruling triggered the hike when justices found the current system unconstitutional. The House focused on attorney fees as a way to curb costs. The Senate refused to go along with the plan.

Gambling

The two chambers also were unable to clear up confusion over gambling regulations. Lawmakers worked on plans to revamp the industry. But talks fell apart over what to do with eight counties, Gadsden and Lee included, where voters allowed slots machines at pari-mutuels. The Senate wanted to fold on the issue and allow the machines, but the House remained opposed.

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com