What's the real cost of Florida's special legislative sessions?

Yahoo

29-01-2025

We have several topics to cover today, including a look at a new bill that could help businesses impacted by Orlando's seemingly never-ending road construction projects. Also a look at what the Michelin Guide food folks don't want you to know about their pay-for-play awards. And some final words from Orlando's recently departed entertainment legend, Bob Snow.
But first, a few notes about the dumpster-fire special session going on in Tallahassee right now where GOP legislators and Gov. Ron DeSantis are feuding, calling each other names and rushing to pass legislation that keeps changing and which they don't seem to even fully understand.
A lot of readers want to know how much all this chaos costs. Well, it varies from year to year, but WESH-Channel 2 did a solid analysis, concluding that over the last two decades, the average special session in Florida costs taxpayers about $50,000 a day.
However, I'd argue the real cost isn't that dollar amount, which is relatively small in the grand scheme of things. It's the damage politicians do by hastily passing laws that they haven't fully vetted.
See, special sessions are often staged for one of two reasons — either as political theater so politicians can act like they're doing something or because they want to ram through legislation they hope constituents won't thoroughly dissect. (A recent special session on insurance 'reform' was an example of both — a big show meant to make you think they were taking action when they were really giving insurance companies what Donald Trump described as 'biggest insurance company BAILOUT to Globalist Insurance Companies, IN HISTORY.')
You got conned. Home insurance costs still rising in Florida | Commentary
In the case of this week's special session on immigration, lawmakers frantically switched up their already-last-minute legislation after President Trump weighed in, saying they now want to spend a half-billion tax dollars and automatically apply the death penalty to some crimes that don't involve murder. None of this stuff was fully vetted, contemplated or analyzed for constitutionality. But they did want everyone to know that they'd named the bill 'TRUMP Act.'
Listen, DeSantis and GOP legislators may be feuding with each other to try to establish dominance. But it's clear that only one person's opinion really matters these days in Republican politics: Donald Trump. This is his show. Everyone else is just a bit player or an order-taker.
One thing I like about the Michelin Guide dining honors is that they provide deserved attention to local restaurants offering stellar products. The restaurant business is a tough one, and talented, hard-working chefs deserve all the accolades they can get.
Still, it's worth remembering that some talented chefs all over America don't get these awards — simply because nobody paid Michelin to hand them out.
Want a Michelin review? Get ready to pay. Visit Florida & Visit Orlando are coughing up $500k | Commentary
Remember, as this column detailed a few years ago, the reason Michelin is handing out awards in Florida is because this state's tourism leaders paid Michelin to do so — more than $1 million in tax money funneled through Visit Florida, Visit Orlando and similar organizations.
The point: These awards aren't always given to the best restaurants in America. They're often given to restaurants in places that paid Michelin to come offer reviews.
So if you see other parts of the country that have no Michelin-starred restaurants, it doesn't necessarily mean none are worthy. It might just mean that leaders there weren't willing to cough up enough tax dollars.
Last year, I wrote about how I believed businesses that had their bottom lines wrecked by lengthy road construction projects deserved compensation.
Well, now two Democratic legislators from Orlando — where road projects are notorious for lasting a year or more — have filed a bill that would do just that.
As the Sentinel reported earlier this week, the bill filed by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith and Rep. Anna Eskamani would provide grants of up to $25,000 and loans of up to $100,000 to businesses that could prove their revenues had been negatively impacted.
The bill obviously still needs vetting. But lawmakers from other parts of the state have filed similar bills in the past — and for good reason. Roadwork is certainly needed from time time to time. But small business owners who have invested their life savings into something deserve some relief from obstructions that devastate their bottom lines through no fault of their own.
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And finally, a lot has already been said about the passing of Orlando entertainment pioneer Bob Snow, who created the Church Street Station experience that was the center of Orlando's nightlife decades ago.
Snow stepped out of the limelight in recent years. But he never stopped caring about the community. In fact, when I learned of his passing, I remembered a note he sent me years ago when Orlando's economy was worsening for workers. Costs of living were skyrocketing, and wages in Central Florida's tourism-based economy weren't keeping up.
That's when Snow wrote to say that he believed much of the responsibility fell on the shoulders of employers — like him. He said he believed employers should offer incentive and profit-sharing programs for everyone 'from general managers to dishwashers.' He said it not only helped hard-working employees make ends meet, but gave employers happier, healthier and more productive workers.
'Free enterprise isn't free,' he said. 'You must feed it every day.'
Rest in peace, Bob.
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