Florida Constitutional Crisis – Partisan Politics Fuel the Fire

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Some Democrats believe that this is all apart of Speaker Corcoran’s broader agenda and that it may even be a threat to the Florida state constitution. Rep. Sean Shaw (D-Tampa), for example, said, “Now, we may be upset. We may not like the fact that some of the decisions take time. That one we’re just going to have to take because of Article Five of the Florida Constitution. They are a co-equal branch.” He spoke as one who has not been entirely opposed to Speaker Corcoran’s war on corporate welfare but is aware of Corcoran’s conflicts with Governor Scott. The branches of government being equal is arguably the only thorn in Corcoran’s side.

Rep. Cord Byrd (R-Jacksonville) argued that the bill is perfectly fine since they are merely requesting information. “We ask the governor to provide reports to us—the governor—and the executive is a co-equal branch,” Byrd contended. “We’re merely asking the court to tell us why they are taking so long to render opinions.”

Rep. Joe Geller (D-Aventura) rebuts, “But [asking’s] not what we’re doing. This is phrased in a mandatory fashion. It says, ‘shall,’ which is us telling the court what to do without a word as to what would happen if they fail to do it.” Geller finally asks the most pivotal question of the House on the issue: