Lawmakers switch sides as Senate takes up rail issue

Senate votes on commuter rail legislation continued shifting like sand on Monday, with time dwindling fast for proponents to shore up support.

The special-session bill passed the House handily Monday morning on a vote of 84-25 after less than an hour of debate. If approved by the Senate, it would clear the way for construction of SunRail, a $1.2-billion commuter rail project in central Florida. Tri-Rail, a faltering commuter rail line in South Florida, would start receiving $15 million annually from a transportation trust fund, on top of the $27 million the state pays into Tri-Rail now.

As well, federal transportation officials have suggested that approving this bill could strengthen the state's application for a $2.5 billion grant to build high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando.

The bill needs 21 Senate votes to pass, but similar legislation has failed twice over the last two sessions. The bill narrowly passed its first committee stop late Monday on a vote of 5 to 4, with both supporters and opponents still predicting that they will likely prevail.

A final Senate vote could come this evening, if two-thirds of the chamber votes to expedite the process. The session is not scheduled officially to end until Friday, however.

Monday afternoon, Sen. Nancy Detert said she would probably vote for the plan, despite breaking with Senate leadership to help kill SunRail in the spring. Opponents argue that the project is a costly boondoggle and would leave taxpayers on the hook to pay damages in too many accident scenarios.

SunRail still is "not a good project," said Detert, R-Venice. But she supports the bill's proposed shift in transportation planning and funding toward mass transit and hopes the federal grant for high-speed rail will come through. "On my side of the state, the Gulf Coast, we do not want triple-deck highways like they have in Miami, and we don't want to be stuck on I-4 like you are in Orlando."

Detert was among several senators who met Monday with Gov. Charlie Crist, who is urging passage. Detert insisted that her vote change was based on policy, not political arm-twisting by either Crist or Senate President Jeff Atwater.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, who also voted against SunRail in the spring, said that he, too, will vote yes this time.

As chairman of a policy committee, he is reluctant to "embarrass" Atwater, but that's not the reason he is voting yes, he said. "I'm voting for it because I do believe we need a rail policy. We need alternative forms of transportation."

The legal liability portion of the SunRail bill has improved somewhat, he said. "It's not as good as I would have liked to have had," but "we've got to start somewhere."

Bennett's and Detert's votes are big losses for Sen. Paula Dockery, a friend and ally of both senators. Dockery, R-Lakeland, is SunRail's fiercest opponent who argued at length against it in committee until a fellow Republican complained about "filibustering."

But she gained a former SunRail backer, Sen. Carey Baker, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner and is backed by the group, Ax The Tax.

Dockery appeared Monday with the members of the group, led by Doug Guetzloe, a hard-charging conservative activist from Orlando.

Meeting with the governor on Monday wasn't enough to sway Sen. Durell Peaden. "It was a great meeting. I told him I wasn't going to vote for it."

Peaden, R-Crestview, said his constituents desperately need roads, not rail elsewhere in the state.

Still uncommitted: Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville who, like Peaden, is concerned about the lack of direct benefit for his district. Oelrich has voted no in the past.

Sen. Evelyn Lynn said Monday she will probably vote no. Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, voted no in the spring but said last week that she was waiting to see what, if any, changes were made to the bill. Monday, she said it did not sufficiently address her concerns about rail safety.