Lawmakers Face Divide of Loyalties

If, as appears likely, the Florida Legislature convenes a special session this week to choose the state’s 25 presidential electors, lawmakers will run headfirst into a jarring political reality: The state split straight down the middle between Al Gore and George W. Bush, but the Legislature is overwhelmingly on Bush’s side.

Many Republican lawmakers hail from areas that went for Democrat Gore, and a few conservative Democrats come from districts that backed Republican Bush. That means, if it comes to choosing delegates to the electoral college, several politicians will be squeezed between their political party and the people they represent.

“The pressure on these guys is coming from all sides and it’s tremendous,” said John French, a lobbyist who has spent 30 years here. “I just wish I had the [ulcer drug] Zantac concession for Tallahassee this week.”

The rising tension has even sloshed over into the Republican camp, whose leaders now appear less than unified about the urgency of calling a special session. State House Speaker Tom Feeney wants to summon lawmakers immediately to pass a measure locking in the slate of delegates already certified for Bush so the Texas governor wins Florida and the presidency, no matter what happens in court.

“I got my helmet on; I’m ready to go,” Feeney said last week.

But state Senate President John McKay has been a little more coy--and apparently a little more cautious. He issued a statement Saturday saying, “The Senate will not be rushed to judgment. We have only one chance to get this right.”

The two men have the power, by joint consent, to call a special session of Florida’s 160 lawmakers. If they do--and it’s more a question of when they do, observers say--legislators such as Will Kendrick are going to feel the pinch.

Kendrick, a sixth-generation Floridian, comes from the hardy stock of goat farmers and oystermen. He is a banker with a big beard, a big laugh and a rich, honey-glazed Panhandle accent.

His North Florida district leaned heavily toward Bush, but he’s a Democrat. When he ran for office this year, he took money from Democratic Party leaders, the same ones now taping their hands to beat back the Republican effort to secure the state for Bush.

“But don’t think I owe them a darn thing,” said Kendrick, a 40-year-old freshman representative. “I realized something long ago: that every man puts his pants on the same way as I do. I’m not going to let Al Gore, the Democratic Party or anybody else tell me what to do.”

Political scientists call this kind of party-constituency split “cross-pressure.” And though no one expects that the Florida Legislature would pass anything but a Republican-driven measure to help Bush, the special session promises to be great political theater, partly because of the colliding demands placed on lawmakers.

Picture street rallies, back-room power plays and political upheaval as state lawmakers--half of them freshmen--prepare to make history by injecting themselves into a presidential election.

“I was excited going into election day,” said Donald Brown, a Republican from DeFuniak Springs and one of 63 freshman House representatives. “But never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have such tremendous responsibility.”

Republicans hold all the aces in this state capital. Though Florida is home to a colorful tapestry of northern transplants, Jews, blacks, Cubans and senior citizens, the state Legislature is ruled by a monochromatic conservative bloc bent on school prayer, against abortion and for the death penalty. In 1998, when Jeb Bush, younger brother of the Texas governor, won the governor’s race, Florida became the first state in the South since Reconstruction to have a Republican trifecta of governor, state House and state Senate. Republicans now outnumber Democrats 77 to 43 in the House and 25 to 15 in the Senate.

Those numbers could be crucial if a special session is called this week. Republican lawmakers hope to pluck away a few Democrats to cobble together a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate. Several have said they are duty bound to name the Bush electors by fiat to protect Florida’s votes from being left out of the electoral college, should litigation continue.

Republicans have the votes to pass any measure they want. But with the two-thirds majority they could waive rules and speed up the process to ensure that the Bush slate of electors is cemented into law before Dec. 12, when all states must submit a list of their delegates to the electoral college. It’s not clear yet if Republican lawmakers will push to pass a resolution--which would be quicker--or a bill, which would require the governor’s signature.

Whichever way they go, Kendrick, the Panhandle Democrat, said he is willing to help.

“We’re not here to set road barriers. If the Republicans need me to speed this up, I’ll do it.”

Defections traditionally are more of a problem for the Democratic caucus in Florida than for Republicans.

While Kendrick said he would split from his party to support Bush, none of the Republicans from areas Gore carried indicated they would side with Gore.

Take Bill Andrews. He is a Republican businessman from Delray Beach in Palm Beach County, home to thousands of Gore-loving senior citizens and the infamous “butterfly ballot.”

“I know who the majority of my people wanted for president,” said Andrews, who estimated that his district favored Gore by 4%. “But do you do what’s best for your district or what’s best for the state?”

“I think,” he said, waiting a beat, “you do what’s best for the state.”

In such divisive, high-stakes partisan battles, lawmakers tend to line up behind party leaders. At least that’s what the impeachment trial of President Clinton showed in 1999. Ninety-one Republican House members came from districts that Clinton carried when he won reelection in 1996. But in the end, only five of those lawmakers broke party lines to vote against impeachment.

Feeney and McKay will be the leaders driving the troops toward legislative intervention if a special session is called.

The two are a study in opposites. Feeney, a lawyer from Oviedo, is characterized as gregarious, excitable and impulsive. McKay, a developer from Bradenton, is said to be more contemplative and mysterious.

“He is a great poker player in terms of making sure those events unfold before he shows his cards,” said GOP state Sen. Ken Pruitt of Port St. Lucie. “So nothing is going to happen until it has to happen. But philosophically, he is right on board with what has to be done if the courts don’t get it resolved.”

Their reactions to a proposed special session proclamation that their aides prepared Saturday was proof of their divergent styles. Feeney went on television to say that he would sign it.

McKay issued a written statement saying he had talked to his attorneys about the risks Republicans would face if they do not call the special session. That set the Tallahassee rumor mill churning with talk that McKay was getting skittish.

GOP allies, however, said McKay is merely biding his time.

House and Senate leaders might sign the proclamation but not convene the session for several days. Or they might begin it this week but end it without taking any action if Gore concedes.

Democratic lawmakers concede that a special session will be called and that Bush will be handed the state’s 25 electoral votes.

“It’s going to happen,” said Bob Henriquez, a Democratic representative from Tampa. “And the shame of it is, a state that went 50-50 will go to Bush by an 80-40 [House] vote.”

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How a Special Session Would Work

If the Republican leadership of Floridas part-time Legislature calls a special joint session to appoint a slate of presidential electors, the process could take a single day or several.

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BILL

Filing

Once the proclamation to hold a session is made by the House speaker and the Senate president, one or more bills and resolutions can be filed.

Each bill normally requires three readings on three separate days. But if two-thirds of the lawmakers waive that rule, a bill could be introduced and passed on the same day. On a party-line vote, Republicans would not have enough votes for a waiver.

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First Reading

Each bill would be read for the first time in each chamber on the first day of the session and then referred to a committee.

Committee

The committee could meet on the sessions first day and ready a bill for the floor.

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Second Reading

Both chambers could take up a bill on the floor, or one chamber could wait for the other to go through the process first. Legislators could offer amendments. Full-chamber discussion occurs on the bill.

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Third Reading

In a time-limited debate, members can make speeches about why it is important to pass or defeat the bill. Then they vote.

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Referral

After one chamber passes a bill, it goes to the other chamber for more debate and voting.

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Governor

If both chambers pass a bill, Gov. Jeb Bush could choose to sign it into law, veto it or let it become law without his signature after six days.

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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

This is another way of taking action. It is faster and doesn’t require the governor’s signature, but it lacks legal teeth. A resolution could be signed after two readings in each chamber.

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Party Divide

Republicans would need only a majority to pass bills and resolutions, but they lack the two-thirds majority to guarantee getting their way on procedural votes.

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Sources: Associated Press, state of Florida