In a stunning Palm Beach Post story, we read that Florida GOP Senate leaders may subpoena "Jeb!" to have him explain under oath whether his attempt to force "tort reform" via special sessions (and waste forty thousand dollars a day in the process) is a mere "personal vendetta" for trial lawyers' opposition the Bush brothers.
Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, the Senate Rules chairman "said he may also call on the governor 'to explain his statements, which we have on tape,' at the statesman's luncheon in Orlando last week, in which Bush reportedly called trial lawyers 'the No. 1 interest group in the country that is opposed to the president... and Republican principles.' The governor also reportedly singled out trial lawyers as the major benefactor to his Democratic opponent and said they were responsible for the rising malpractice insurance premiums, which he said are forcing doctors and hospitals to limit patient services.
'It led some of us to believe this is a very personal vendetta for those of us who don't make policy decisions that way,' Lee said.
"The governor's palpable dislike of the trial lawyers has led many senators to conclude his aggressive pursuit of a $250,000 cap in repeated sessions, even though there is no agreement between the two legislative chambers, is more for political payback than virtuous policy, said Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, the Senate Republican leader."
Incompetent Nominated To Federal Appeals Court - Resident Bush has nominated an incompetent to a lifetime position on the U.S. Court of Appeals (the level just below the United States Supreme Court) that oversees Florida, Alabama and Georgia. He is incompetent, if anything, for his lack of experience; he is only 41. "With unabashed candor, President Bush's controversial nominee . . . presents himself as a deeply religious, anti-abortion conservative eager to restrain what he calls the overweening power of the federal government. At 41, Bill Pryor is young, ambitious and quick to plunge into legal crusades well beyond his home state of Alabama. For Florida -- a hotbed of legal disputes over pollution control in the Everglades, detention of Haitian immigrants, tobacco litigation, gun control and much more -- Pryor's influence in a key judicial role, if he is approved by the Senate, could have significant impact. For most federal cases in Florida, the 11th Circuit is the court of last resort."
Never Mind My Brother - On a junket to Canada to promote tourism (how nice), Gov. Bush had to sidestep "strains between his brother and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien." See "Jeb Bush stresses Canada-U.S. commonalities".
While Bush Parties In Toronto, The GOP Points Fingers In Tallahassee - "Preparing to start a second special session on medical malpractice insurance costs, a few lawmakers are starting to worry that returning to the Capitol without a clear solution costs taxpayers too much and looks bad to voters. It's a long way to the 2004 elections, but testy legislators are starting to throw blame around, with a special session set to start Wednesday amid fairly broad expectation that the House and Senate won't resolve core differences in their proposals to lower doctors' insurance costs."
In the meantime, Bush's flak spouts this pap: "fixing the problem was more important than the cost. 'If they don't solve this problem we're not going to have any doctors in the state of Florida,' said Alia Faraj." See "Lawmakers: special session unlikely to solve malpractice crisis".
Now We're Talking- "With Gov. Jeb Bush launching another round of attacks on the Florida Senate in his effort to win support for his plan to stop rising medical malpractice insurance rates, the Senate leaders are striking back with a threat to put the powerful insurance industry, and perhaps even the governor, under oath."
"Among the questions [Sen. Tom] Lee and other Senate leaders want to use their subpoena power for: Did insurers move profits around to conceal excessive profits; was there any collusion between the Florida Medical Association and the doctors who organized walkouts; and is Florida's rate-making process for medical malpractice insurers weaker than in other states?" See "Senators set to subpoena insurers".
Malpractice Crisis A Phoney Issue? "Insurance companies complain that frivolous lawsuits and high jury awards have forced them to raise malpractice premiums in Florida to among the highest in the nation. But insurance settlements filed with the state show no dramatic increase in payouts and, in fact, show a decline in claims. Still, many doctors and hospitals in Florida have limited their services, citing rising insurance rates." See "Senators set to subpoena insurers".
Privatizing Death Defense - "Florida has had more inmates removed from death row than any other state, and some say that's because the state lawyers who file appeals for condemned killers do a good job. But the state closed one of its three death-row legal offices last week. The other two could be in jeopardy. Gov. Jeb Bush proposed privatizing all three offices -- in Tallahassee, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale -- earlier this year. The Legislature agreed to close the office in Tallahassee to determine whether hiring private attorneys for death-row inmates would save the state money." See "Push to use private death-row lawyers stirs debate". The truth is, this function was privatized, not to save money, but because the state defenders were too good at exposing the state's errors.
Prison Blues - "Grappling with a $21 million budget cut, Florida's prison system faces a major upheaval affecting the jobs of hundreds of state employees and rehabilitation for thousands of inmates." See "Cuts mean hard time for prisons".
Enviromental Regs On Tap - The Miami Herald editorial board writes that "It's the job of Florida's Environmental Regulation Commission to write the rules that implement the Legislature's laws governing the state's land, air and water. Today, this body of seven appointed Floridians considers and should adopt regulations that will guide the water-quality portion of the 20-year, $8 billion Everglades cleanup." 5:57 AM
[Go to current Florida Politics site (no popup ads)]