BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS LEON COUNTY, FLORIDA

Title: Acceptance of the 2013 Florida Legislative Session Final Report, Request to Schedule the
Board Workshop on the 2014 State and Federal Legislative Priorities for Tuesday,
December 10, 2013 from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m., and Authorization to Extend the Federal and State
Lobbying Contracts
June 18, 2013
Page 4
Board with general overview of the bills that passed during the 2013 session that could impact
local government, including Leon County (Attachment #2). The following is the Final Report on
the 2013 State Legislative Session.
Analysis:
At the beginning of the 2013 session, Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will
Weatherford pursued a single legislative agenda, named “Work Plan Florida.” This agenda
included reforms to the Florida Retirement System (FRS) pension plans, campaign finance,
higher education, elections, and ethics. As a statement to the importance of these issues, the
Senate unanimously passed a comprehensive ethics reform bill on the first day of session while
the House overwhelmingly passed a bill, which included major changes to Florida’s elections
laws. One of House Speaker Weatherford’s top priorities for this session was reforming the
Florida Retirement System (FRS), although the House and Senate had two very different ideas
on how the FRS should be reformed. Ultimately, both chambers could not reach an agreement
and both versions died in the closing weeks of session.
Another major issue this session was legislation regarding internet cafés or ‘storefront casinos’.
During the second week of session, Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll resigned her post amid
an investigation into Allied Veterans of the World for which she once did consulting work.
Prosecutors had stated that Allied Veterans had participated in a $300 million conspiracy to
launder money through illegal gambling centers under the guise of internet cafés. This
investigation and resignation gave fuel to internet café legislation and both chambers quickly
passed a bill in early April that outright bans the usage of electronic gambling devices,
effectively closing all internet cafés or forcing them to change their business practices. The bill
was quickly signed into law by the Governor and took effect upon becoming law on
April 10, 2013.
Unlike the recent years, the Legislature projected a small surplus budget for FY 2013/2014, with
an estimated increase in revenues of $1.3 billion. During the third week of session, Speaker
Weatherford announced the preliminary House budget allocations and the House began work on
the budget much earlier than in past sessions. By the sixth week of session, both chambers had
passed their respective budgets. Ultimately, both were sent to joint-conference where the House
and Senate came to an agreement during the last week of session and approved the budget on the
final day of session. This year’s budget process was less contentious than in previous years, with
both chambers working together to produce a cohesive budget. This is due in part to the budget
surplus, the first in six years.
This year’s state budget totals $74.1 billion, after more than $367.9 million in spending vetoed
by the Governor. Overall, the state's FY 2014 budget represents an increase of $4.9 billion, or
7.12 percent, over the current year. Budget issues affecting counties are explained in more detail
under the Statewide County Budget Issues section on page 19.
Page 364 of 631 Posted at 6:15 p.m. on June 10, 2013