Proctor to seek veto override

Proctor to seek veto override


From Staff
Publication Date: 06/25/09

State Rep. Bill Proctor (R-St. Augustine), sponsor of the "consumer choice" insurance bill in the House, said he plans to refile the measure soon and hopes his fellow legislators will join him in overriding Gov. Charlie Crist's veto.

"I'm hoping the leadership (in the Legislature) will give careful consideration to an override," he said.

Crist's veto of House Bill 1171 leaves "no long-range plans for adequate coverage in Florida," said Proctor.

Returning from Tallahassee on Wednesday afternoon, Proctor said he didn't have "any idea" if State Farm intended to go ahead with its threatened pull-out from the state.

"I'm hoping that they'll slow down their exit from the state, because I think this is going to put a lot of policyholders in a bad situation," he said.

State Sen. Michael S. Bennett (R-Bradenton) was the bill's sponsor in the Senate.

Proctor and Bennett said in an open letter Wednesday that they were "deeply disappointed" in Crist's decision.

The bill was supported by 85 percent of House and Senate members as well as 60 percent of Floridians, they said.

With the veto, Proctor and Bennett said, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarthy needs to explain how Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and 40 small insurers will provide "an adequate homeowners' insurance program in our hurricane-prone state."

"If some of the policies are picked up by the smaller companies, and they go bankrupt after a major storm, that becomes the responsibility of the state," Proctor said. "It will all have to be paid by assessments.

"The average person has no idea of the magnitude of the assessments we could all be liable for."


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