Session of regression

A notably mean-spirited and shortsighted Florida Legislature was finishing the session late last night. Residents should be grateful it can do no more harm.

Taxpayers ultimately will end up paying a heavy price for the session's pandering to special interests, particularly its dismantling of growth management laws. The state enacted the Growth Management Act in 1985 to prevent developments from ruining neighborhoods, destroying the environment and generating costly obligations for the public.

Some streamlining of the law may have been justified, but lawmakers this year ignored the abuses — including gridlock, overcrowded schools, water shortages and crime — that result from irresponsible development and cavalierly junked the rules.

Now local governments essentially will be able to approve projects without much regard for the long-term impacts. We've seen how this works, and it's grotesque, in some cases forcing tax increases on communities.

This supposedly is being done in the name of the ailing economy. But what we'll likely get is more houses in a state with a vast oversupply of them, further lowering residents' property values. And the construction jobs that will be generated are not the type of jobs the state needs to diversity its economy.

On numerous fronts, lawmakers used the economy as an excuse to make it easy for special interests to do as they please, without concern for the public, environment or ultimate costs for taxpayers.

While loosening restraints on developers, they limited citizens' ability to challenge projects.

And getting even seemed to be a session priority. Lawmakers appeared to relish steamrolling legislation over the objections of frequent opponents such as teachers, environmentalists, government workers and voting-reform advocates.

At the same time legislators made it more difficult for the young and poor to vote, they also approved the use of "Leadership Funds" that will allow them to raise unlimited dollars from industry groups and special interests to maximize their political power.

House Speaker Dean Cannon even sought to undermine the Florida Supreme Court, which had made some decisions he didn't like.

Some of the controversial measures, such as eliminating teacher tenure or requiring public employees to pay 3 percent of their annual salary to their pensions, were justified. And sometimes there was thoughtful debate, such as the Senate's discussion on illegal immigration.

But lawmakers usually made it clear they would do as they pleased without regard for opposing viewpoints.

On their key charge of approving the state budget, lawmakers merit some credit.

They faced a daunting $3.6 billion budget deficit. Deep and widespread cuts, including a $1.35 billion — or 8 percent per student — reduction for schools, were necessary in the final $69.67 billion product.

The cuts were understandable given the state's financial plight, but make no mistake, education, medical care, research and public services will suffer.

Legislators were, for the most part, more responsible than Gov. Rick Scott, who often proposes cuts with a reckless disregard for how they will affect the people of Florida.

Without thinking of the consequences, Scott on April 1 heartlessly ordered an across-the-board rate cut for providers who serve the disabled in the wake of the state disability agency's $170 million budget deficit.

Fortunately, the Legislature agreed to fund the Agency for Persons with Disabilities' deficit, which Scott had overreacted to, and the governor agreed to reverse his decision after a public outcry.

Despite the overall state budget deficit, the Legislature managed to cut taxes. Legislators rightly ignored Scott's unrealistic call for $2.4 billion in cuts and reduced taxes by $308 million, mostly with several sales tax holidays and a modest reduction in millage for the water districts.

They wisely rejected Scott's irresponsible call for a $459 million cut in the corporate income tax and instead provided an exemption from the tax for smaller businesses that will result in a $37 million reduction.

The governor, who does understand corporate needs, believes eventually eliminating the corporate tax will bolster the economy. It's worth considering — but not when there are so many holes in the budget. Florida already has one of the lowest corporate income tax rates in the nation, and it has never been a major issue for state companies.

Lawmakers now can monitor the impact of this modest cut before approving future reductions.

Yet any applause for lawmakers should be muted. They still managed to spend more than $150 million on "turkey" projects in the districts of influential lawmakers, including Cannon.

And while the Legislature was correct not to raise taxes, it is unfortunate legislators refused to consider necessary reforms, such as eliminating unjustified sales tax exemptions and collecting sales tax on Internet or catalog purchases. Now out-of-state vendors don't have to pay the state sales tax, which gives them an advantage over the local merchants who provide jobs and contribute to the local economy.

The Legislature has its share of accomplishments, but its most enduring legacy will be that it minimized citizens' voices, inflated its own political power and made possible the return of haphazard development that nearly ruined Florida in the past.