Thanks to Governor DeSANTIS for his latest veto of one of our Florida State Senator TRAVIS HUTSON's monstrous raving looney bills -- S 620.
DeSANTIS's very first veto in 2019 was of another hare-brained HUTSON bill, which would have banned bans on plastic straws.
I agree with Miami Beach Mayor Daniel Saul Gelber, former State Senate Democratic Leader, praising DesANTIS for this veto.
Too bad DeSANTIS did not veto another HUTSON bill, which attacks our right to elect Soil and Conservation District members.
DeSANTIS and HUTSON are political allies, barnacles on the underbelly of the ship of state.
The fact that DeSANTIS has twice vetoed HUTSON's special interest bills speaks volumes.
To Senator HUTSON: Knock it off. The feds indict corrupt Florida public officials who abuse the public trust. Ask Scott Maddox, Corrine Brown and Andrew Gillum.
The link to DeSANTIS' veto message is not currently working.
From Florida Bar Journal:
DESANTIS VETOES BILL TO ALLOW BUSINESSES TO SUE LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR REDUCED PROFITS
Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed a measure that would have let businesses sue a local government if a new ordinance reduced profits by 15% or more.
Dubbed the “Local Business Protection Act,” SB 620 by Sen. Travis Hutson, R-Palm Coast, cleared the Senate 22-14 on January 27. It cleared the House 69-45 on March 9.
The measure would have allowed businesses to sue a city or county that enacted an ordinance or charter amendment that reduced profits by 15% or more, per location, within the jurisdiction.
The bill exempted emergency measures but would have allowed businesses to seek damages for up to seven years of lost profits.
In his veto message, DeSantis said the bill’s language was too broad, and criticized its failure to compensate businesses impacted by emergency ordinances. The latter was a reference to DeSantis’ vehement opposition to federal COVID-19 health mandates.
DeSantis said he agrees with the bill’s premise.
“Local governments do overstep their authority and unreasonably burden businesses through policies that range from the merely misguided to the politically motivated,” he wrote.
However, DeSantis said the bill’s language was “broad and ambiguous” and could lead to “unintended and unforeseen consequences and costly litigation.”
Local governments warned the measure would hamstring their ability to regulate growth and make other tough decisions.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, a former House Democratic leader, said he rarely agrees with DeSantis, but praised him for vetoing the bill.
“Some businesses may not like it, but we’re trying to balance the needs of our citizens and protect their quality of life,” Gelber said.
Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Plant City, sponsored the companion, HB 569.
From Florida Politics:
Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoes local business ‘protection’ bill
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Politics
June 24, 2022
Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed SB 620 on Friday, a top priority of Senate President Wilton Simpson which sought to punish local governments for passing laws detrimental to local businesses.
Dubbed the “Local Business Protection Act,” SB 620 would have allowed a business to sue a city or county if they pass an ordinance that would reduce their profit by 15% per location within the city or county. The business could’ve been awarded damages for the cost of their lost profits for up to seven years.
In his veto letter, DeSantis said the bill would have had unintended consequences because it was too broad, and noted the measure didn’t apply to emergency orders issued by local governments. DeSantis pushed back against several local governments’ emergency orders related to COVID-19 during the pandemic.
“Incredibly, this bill exempts compensating businesses due to ‘emergency’ orders of local government,” DeSantis wrote. “However, the broad and ambiguous language of the bill will lead to both unintended and unforeseen consequences and costly litigation. Because of this, the better approach is to enact targeted preemption legislation when local governments act in a way that frustrates state policy and/or undermines the rights of Floridians.”
The bill passed 22-14 in the Senate and 69-45 in the House, mostly along party lines with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. But six House Republicans joined Democrats voting against the measure: Reps. Thad Altman, Melony Bell, Sam Killebrew, Patt Maney, Jim Mooney, and David Smith. One Senate Republican, Sen. Jeff Brandes, also voted against it.
Environmental groups had pushed for a veto from DeSantis, arguing the bill would make it nearly impossible to enact water quality measures.
“Implementing & enforcing water quality standards are critical steps for protecting our waterways & manatees,” the group Save the Manatees posted on Twitter on Thursday. “Under SB 620, local programs addressing water quality issues are at risk. Urge Gov DeSantis to protect (Florida’s) natural resources by vetoing SB 620.”
The loudest calls for a veto came from animal welfare groups, which are concerned the bill will prevent local governments from passing bans on so-called “puppy mills,” by prohibiting the sale of cats and dogs at retail pet stores.
Groups like the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals argue dogs kept to breed puppies for retail sale are housed in poor conditions without property veterinary care and mostly in cages.
House records show lobbyists for Petland, a retail pet store with 13 locations in Florida, signed up to lobby for the House version of the bill, HB 569.
POLITICO Florida reporter that House bill sponsor Rep. Lawrence McClure, said Friday the solution is to have more targeted preemption legislation when needed.
“It’s not like we’re having philosophical differences here (with the Governor),” the Dover Republican said during an interview. “Conceptually we all agree we don’t want legal Florida businesses being displaced in any way by local governments.”
From Tallahassee Democrat/USA Today Network:
DeSantis vetoes lawsuit measure, siding with local governments over ally Wilton Simpson
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a measure that critics warned could have led to scores of costly lawsuits against city and county governments when local regulations hurt a company’s bottom line.
The legislation (SB 620) vetoed Friday marked a rare moment when the Republican governor sided with local governments and environmental groups who had opposed the measure over some of his staunchest allies, including Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and state’s Retail Federation.
DeSantis, though, found a way to needle both sides.
In his veto letter killing the provision set to take effect July 1, DeSantis recalled his hostility to COVID-19 restrictions imposed by cities and counties during what was viewed as the height of the pandemic.
“Local governments do overstep their authority and unreasonably burden businesses through policies that range from the merely misguided to the politically motivated,” DeSantis wrote. “Indeed, this was illustrated by the bizarre and draconian measures adopted by some local governments during COVID 19, necessitating the state to overrule these edicts…”
Critics said it would hurt taxpayers:Businesses gain power to fight local governments under measures passed by Florida Senate
What DeSantis didn't like:Amid rising COVID-19 counts, Florida cities find ways to sidestep Gov. DeSantis’ policies
But DeSantis ultimately agreed with opponents, concluding that, “the broad and ambiguous language of the bill will lead to both unintended and unforeseen consequences and costly litigation.”
A Simpson priority
The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Travis Hutson, but was a priority of Simpson, now a DeSantis-endorsed Republican candidate for the Cabinet post of Agriculture Commissioner. It allowed any business operating in Florida for at least three years to claim legal damages if a county or city enacts or amends a provision that causes a reduction of at least 15% of the company’s profits.
The company would have to notify the local government within 180 days of an ordinance’s enactment that it was harmed, submit documents backing the claim, and ask for a settlement offer. Businesses could have legal fees paid by the city or county if they prevail.
During legislative debate, Bob McKee with the Florida Association of Counties called the measure a “tax bill.
“Local governments will have to tax their homeowners and businesses to pay these business damages and attorneys’ fees,” he warned.
Critics: Bill would discourage action
If such a law was already in place, organizations fighting the legislation said the heightened risk of facing lawsuits would have discouraged cities from enacting ordinances that stopped “pill mill” pain clinics which fed the state’s opioid crisis, internet cafes doubling as illegal gambling sites, limits on bar hours and even septic-to-sewer conversions underway in many communities.
“This is a clear victory for local leaders and their constituents,” said 1000 Friends of Florida President Paul Owens, whose organization made fighting SB 620 a top priority.
Florida TaxWatch, the business-backed research group, even put a ballpark estimate of $905 million as the bill’s potential cost to local government, certain to be borne by taxpayers.
“In an already exceptionally litigious state like Florida, it would have resulted in an influx of financially motivated and malicious lawsuits,” said Dominic Calabro, TaxWatch president and CEO.
He added, “Local government’s only response would have been to either increase taxes or reduce services, and in both cases, this bill would have hurt hard-working taxpayers across the state.”
John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @JKennedyReport
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