STATE SENATOR NAN RICH
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
JULY 2010
Summer Round-Up: Special Session, Re-Election Campaigns & Redistricting
The summer months are usually a time to slow down, perhaps take a vacation, and try to survive the South Florida heat. But this year, as the temperatures heat up, it seems that Florida politics are doing the same. I thought I’d take a few minutes and bring you up to date on three of the hottest political topics facing legislators this summer.
Special Session
Governor Crist has called a Special Session of the Legislature for July 20-23, in which lawmakers will consider placing a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution on the ballot that would ban drilling for oil in our state’s territorial waters. If two-thirds of lawmakers approve the proposal, it would appear on the November general election ballot, and would become law if 60 percent of Florida voters supported it.
Even before the BP disaster in the gulf, I opposed offshore oil drilling because of the dangers it poses to Florida’s beaches, which are the lifeblood of our state’s tourism-based economy. Although I think the governor’s reasons for calling a Special Session on this issue at this time have more to do with politics than public policy, I agree that banning oil drilling in Florida waters is the right thing to do. As such, I will support putting the measure on the ballot, and giving Florida voters the chance to have their say.
Redistricting
This fall, there are three proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot dealing with the redistricting process in our state. Amendments 5 & 6 (the “Fair Districts” Amendments) were put on the ballot by the signatures of 1.7 million voters, and would prevent the legislature from gerrymandering districts to favor political parties or individual incumbents. Unfortunately, the legislature also put Amendment 7 on the ballot to confuse voters, and undermine efforts to bring common sense and fairness to redistricting in Florida.
I’m happy to report that just last week, a circuit court judge agreed that Amendment 7 was confusing, and that its ballot summary was misleading to voters, and thus removed it from the ballot. There’s also a lawsuit to try to remove the Fair Districts Amendments from the ballot, and ultimately I expect both of these cases will be resolved by the Florida Supreme Court.
While I’ll keep you posted as these cases make their way through the courts, the important thing to remember is that if you want to take gerrymandering and politics as usual out of the redistricting process – VOTE YES ON 5 & 6, and NO ON 7.
Re-Election Campaigns
Of course, the fall re-election campaigns are gearing up in earnest. Last month, the qualifying deadline passed for candidates for various state and local offices, and now we know for certain who’s running and who’s not.
Because I was the only candidate to qualify for Senate District 34, I have been re-elected without opposition. I am both humbled and honored to once again have the opportunity to represent and continue serving the people of Senate District 34
I will still be busy this election season, though. Last year, I was chosen by my fellow Democratic Senators to serve as the Senate Democratic Leader for 2010-2012. Part of my responsibilities includes supervising our party’s state senate campaigns around the state. We have a number of outstanding candidates running this year, and I look forward to serving with them in the Florida Senate.
As always, I welcome your comments and questions on any issue related to Florida government. Please feel free to contact my office at (954) 747-7933 or by e-mail at rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov.
