State Sen. Don Gaetz didn’t mince words this morning when asked about the Florida Legislature’s failure to produce a budget on time — calling it a “dysfunctional government” and saying no one in Tallahassee is “covered in glory,” including himself.
- Background: The assessment comes after House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, confirmed Monday that lawmakers are at a stalemate over top-line budget numbers and will need additional time to pass the state’s spending plan for the next fiscal year.
“I think it’s a very disappointing session,” Gaetz told me. “I think the legislature should be ashamed of itself.”
Who to Blame? Everyone
Gaetz invoked the late Gov. Lawton Chiles to frame the problem. “Lawton Chiles said that the stool of government has to have three legs of the same size and strength. And we don’t. We have a dysfunctional government.”
When I joked with the Northwest Florida senator about whether he bore some personal responsibility—pointing out that the Legislature hasn’t managed to pass a budget on time since he returned to the Senate, Gaetz didn’t deflect.
- “Yes,” he said. “I believe that every member of the Florida Legislature owns the failure of the legislature to pass important and meaningful policy legislation and to pass on time a budget.”
He acknowledged a budget will ultimately get done but offered little comfort in that fact. “We’ll pass a budget before the Constitutionally required time to pass the budget. The Constitution says we have to pass a budget by June 30, and we will, but I think it’s very embarrassing.”
Gaetz laid the blame squarely on a poisoned relationship between the two chambers and the governor’s office. “It’s a reflection of this dysfunctionality and the mistrust that exists among and between the leaders of the houses, the two houses of the legislature, and the governor’s office.”
On his own role, Gaetz was candid: “Sure, I could have done more. I wish I could have done more.”
Damage Done
The senator said the damage extends well beyond the budget. “We have a number of important pieces of policy legislation that should have been passed into law, but weren’t—not because of policy differences largely, but because of mistrust and rancor among and between the governor and the leadership of the two houses.”
- Gaetz closed with a sobering assessment for his constituents back home. “I wish I would have a good and glowing report to make to the people of Northwest Florida, but instead, the best report I can give is that I hope we have all learned from a bad example.”
Kissell Update
I also asked if the governor’s office tried to do an end run around his committee and have the Senate confirm University of West Florida trustee Adam Kissel.
“Oh, no, no. Mr. Kissel’s file is safely in my bottom desk drawer,” Gaetz said. “Tomorrow he’ll go out with the trash.”