Florida House Speaker Fast-Tracks Bill to Protect Nursing Homes Against Litigation
This past week, Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon "fast-tracked" a HB 661, a bill that would provide legal protection for nursing homes from lawsuits. A news report from the Florida Tribune is reprinted below:
Florida House Speaker Cannon gives special treatment to bills dealing with nursing home litigation and permitting
April 27, 2011
By: Bruce Ritchie
http://www.fltrib.com/
Published in The Florida Tribune
Three bills Wednesday were placed on the House calendar for second reading, bypassing committee stops despite House Speaker Dean Cannon's memo Tuesday stating there was no need to withdraw bills from committees.
Two of the bills are controversial. HB 661 provides legal protection for nursing homes from lawsuits, while HB 991 is a streamlined permitting bill that faces environmental opposition.
On Tuesday, Cannon stated in a memo that bills would not be withdrawn from committees and would not be voted on by the House if they did not clear their committee stops.
"This session, our committees and subcommittees were allotted sufficient meeting time to complete their work, obviating any need for a withdrawal process," Cannon wrote.
"If a bill has not been reported out of its final committee of reference this week, then neither that bill nor its Senate companion will be heard on the floor this Session," he said.
A spokeswoman for Cannon said the bills placed on the calendar Wednesday had not been withdrawn from committees. Rather, the House speaker referred the bills to the calendar as committee substitutes as provided under House rules, said Katherine Betta, spokeswoman for the House Speaker.
Democratic House members aren't challenging the bills on procedural grounds, said Mark Hollis, a spokesman for the House Democratic Caucus. He said the Republican leadership is controlling the pace and path of the bills.
"We will continue to monitor and look for patterns," Hollis said. "Democratic Caucus members want a full, open and public discourse on the policy issues facing the Legislature."
House Bill 661 had passed the Civil Justice Subcommittee and the Health & Human Services Committee. The bill was scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee before being placed on the calendar for second reading.
"The bill has been subject to hours of scrutiny in its committee stops," said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach and the bill's sponsor. "Probably more scrutiny than most any bill that has gotten to the (House) floor."
HB 991 had cleared three committee stops but still was to be heard by the Appropriations and the State Affairs committees before it was placed on the calendar for second reading. Environmental groups have scheduled a news conference for Thursday to voice opposition to the bill.
Patronis said he held weekly meetings with stakeholders and that the bill cleared its last two committee stops with unanimous votes. "We still got probably three more amendments on the floor to do some tweaking of the bill -- it's just the right thing to do," he said.
HB 891, by Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, would authorize school districts to restrict smoking on district property. The bill cleared two committee stops but was still scheduled to be heard by the Education Committee on Wednesday when it was placed on the calendar for second reading.
For more information about Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County home health care for seniors and other family members, contact Brian Gauthier at A Family Member Home Care (954) 986-5090 or www.afamilymemberhomecare.com.
Florida House Speaker Cannon gives special treatment to bills dealing with nursing home litigation and permitting
April 27, 2011
By: Bruce Ritchie
http://www.fltrib.com/
Published in The Florida Tribune
Three bills Wednesday were placed on the House calendar for second reading, bypassing committee stops despite House Speaker Dean Cannon's memo Tuesday stating there was no need to withdraw bills from committees.
Two of the bills are controversial. HB 661 provides legal protection for nursing homes from lawsuits, while HB 991 is a streamlined permitting bill that faces environmental opposition.
On Tuesday, Cannon stated in a memo that bills would not be withdrawn from committees and would not be voted on by the House if they did not clear their committee stops.
"This session, our committees and subcommittees were allotted sufficient meeting time to complete their work, obviating any need for a withdrawal process," Cannon wrote.
"If a bill has not been reported out of its final committee of reference this week, then neither that bill nor its Senate companion will be heard on the floor this Session," he said.
A spokeswoman for Cannon said the bills placed on the calendar Wednesday had not been withdrawn from committees. Rather, the House speaker referred the bills to the calendar as committee substitutes as provided under House rules, said Katherine Betta, spokeswoman for the House Speaker.
Democratic House members aren't challenging the bills on procedural grounds, said Mark Hollis, a spokesman for the House Democratic Caucus. He said the Republican leadership is controlling the pace and path of the bills.
"We will continue to monitor and look for patterns," Hollis said. "Democratic Caucus members want a full, open and public discourse on the policy issues facing the Legislature."
House Bill 661 had passed the Civil Justice Subcommittee and the Health & Human Services Committee. The bill was scheduled to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee before being placed on the calendar for second reading.
"The bill has been subject to hours of scrutiny in its committee stops," said Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach and the bill's sponsor. "Probably more scrutiny than most any bill that has gotten to the (House) floor."
HB 991 had cleared three committee stops but still was to be heard by the Appropriations and the State Affairs committees before it was placed on the calendar for second reading. Environmental groups have scheduled a news conference for Thursday to voice opposition to the bill.
Patronis said he held weekly meetings with stakeholders and that the bill cleared its last two committee stops with unanimous votes. "We still got probably three more amendments on the floor to do some tweaking of the bill -- it's just the right thing to do," he said.
HB 891, by Rep. Bill Hager, R-Boca Raton, would authorize school districts to restrict smoking on district property. The bill cleared two committee stops but was still scheduled to be heard by the Education Committee on Wednesday when it was placed on the calendar for second reading.
For more information about Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County home health care for seniors and other family members, contact Brian Gauthier at A Family Member Home Care (954) 986-5090 or www.afamilymemberhomecare.com.
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