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By DARA KAM
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 22, 2017......... One case involved a tiny horse track where an employee waved a red rag to start a "race" between two aging nags.

Another centered on whether pari-mutuels could continue to offer popular "designated-player" poker-style games at card rooms throughout the state.

And a third focused on a dispute between a public hospital system and an industry giant over building a new medical center in Doral.

The cases are just a sample of the skirmishes at the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, where nearly three dozen judges weigh in on state agency actions on matters ranging from the mundane to the colossal.

In recent months, administrative law judges have sided against gambling regulators, health officials and other state agencies for exceeding their authority or failing to do their jobs correctly.

Now, lawmakers are considering giving Gov. Rick Scott the authority to appoint the judges, who would also be limited to serving a maximum of eight years --- unless they get fired by the governor.

The proposed overhaul, which has remained under the radar, would essentially give Scott control over the judges who decide whether the governor's agencies are acting properly.

Proponents maintain that the changes would instill "transparency and accountability" into the administrative hearing process, while critics contend the revamp could potentially allow agencies to run roughshod over the public.

House bill sponsor Heather Fitzenhagen, R-Fort Myers, told the House Oversight, Transparency & Administration Subcommittee this week that administrative law judges, hired by the agency's chief judge and treated as career-service employees, effectively serve lifetime terms, regardless of their performance.

"There's no turnover whatsoever. There's no accountability. There's no election process," Fitzenhagen said before the panel's 12-3 vote in favor of the measure (HB 1225). "What we're endeavoring to do here is create more transparency and accountability."

But Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, an Orlando Republican who voted against the bill, questioned whether the appointment process, and the ability of the governor to ax judges for unspecified reasons, would put a damper on the administrative judges' oversight of executive agencies.

The proposal "is going to undermine their willingness and their independence to say no to an agency," said Eisnaugle, who, like Fitzenhagen, is an attorney.