Over complaints that it was an attempt to undermine legal challenges to the Legislature’s redistricting proposals, the House Judiciary Committee approved a measure Thursday giving lawmakers complete immunity from civil cases dealing with their legislative duties.
The panel approved the measure on a 13-5 vote, with Democratic Rep. John Julien of North Miami Beach joining committee Republicans in what was otherwise a party-line vote.
Under the measure, lawmakers would be immune from any civil action surrounding state business, though they could still be called to testify in criminal matters. Staff members would also be immune and could not waive their immunity without the permission of the lawmaker they were working for at the time or the presiding officer.
Republicans painted the measure (HB 7123) as a response to a series of efforts to subpoena lawmakers in civil cases challenging legislative actions. Earlier this month, a federal judge swatted down attempts to compel testimony from four lawmakers and two staffers in a challenge to the state’s election law; an attempt in state court to force Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg and an aide to testify in a tax lawsuit involving Broward County and online travel firm Expedia is still pending.
“There’s no reason for us to be silent and just say, ‘Leave it to the judiciary to figure this out on an ad-hoc basis,’ when we have the perfect capability of saying what we believe the state of the law is,” said Rep. Larry Metz, R-Yalaha, who sponsored the committee bill.
But Democrats saw something more insidious: An attempt to keep lawmakers from having to testify as redistricting cases begin to wind their way through the court system. At least one challenge has already been filed to the congressional maps drawn by the Legislature in the once-a-decade process, with another expected shortly; the legislative maps are headed to the Florida Supreme Court in the first stage of another legal showdown.
“One word describes this bill: outrageous,” Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, said in a statement issued following the vote. The league plans to file suit against the congressional maps. “This bill takes the smoke-filled rooms of state government and puts a clear billboard across the door: ‘Citizens May Not Enter.'”
Opponents said the measure would be particularly harmful to any attempt by voters to challenge the maps under the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts standards approved in a 2010 referendum, because those amendments rely heavily on the intent of lawmakers when drawing the maps.
Rep. Richard Steinberg, D-Miami Beach, said the timing of the bill countered Republican assertions that it was unrelated to the redistricting legislation.
“This has everything to do about redistricting,” Steinberg said. “Are we going to respect the will of our constituents? Are we going to respect the constitution of our state?”
On party lines, the committee shot down an amendment that would have carved redistricting out of the broader legislative immunity, which even Democrats said is generally important.
“This is the moment where we could depoliticize this bill,” said Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, when lawmakers were considering the redistricting amendment.
But Metz said it would “open a Pandora’s Box” to begin setting aside which issues legislators could and couldn’t be compelled to testify about.
“There are many, many ways that legislative intent can be ascertained,” Metz said.
The bill still has to go through the House Rules and Calendar Committee before landing on the House floor.
Brandon Larrabee
