Q&A of the Day – Why It Takes Time for Bills to be sent to Governor DeSantis
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: Bill CS/SB 7024. I’m on the My Florida House and see this bill on 05/05/2023 has been “Ordered Engrossed, Then Enrolled”. What is the next step? How long may this take to get to the governor’s desk?
Bottom Line: Ahh yes, the parliamentary process playing out can be confusing. Some bills passed by the Legislature are quickly passed through to the governor’s desk to sign, including during the state’s legislative session, while many more take days or even weeks before they’re handed over to the governor for a final decision. The legislation today’s note is specifically referencing is the Retirement bill, which has been described as being “lifechanging” for first responder retirement benefits. The bill which passed the Legislature unanimously, would restore retirement benefits for county first responders which were lost in 2011. Specifically, firefighters, corrections officers, and sheriff’s deputies would see a restoration of retirement benefits at the pre-2011 standard for service. Until 2011, county-level first responders were fully vested with retirement benefits at 25 years of service or 55 years of age. Due to budgetary constraints during the peak of the Great Recession in Florida, the Legislature raised the threshold by five years. The vested benefits are through the Florida Retirement System. Given the significant implications for those impacted by this legislation, should it become law, which appears extremely likely, it’s understandable why you’d be anxious to see this presented to the governor for him to sign.
As noted by the listener, the last action taken on this bill was May 5th, the last day of the state legislative session, which is when it passed both chambers and was ordered “engrossed, then enrolled”. Terms that probably sound like gobbledygook. Here’s what that terminology means. In the legislative process the term “engrossed" means the bill has been amended from its language when first introduced. The term “enrolled” means it’s passed both chambers of the Legislature. Once you have the terminology down it’s actually an easy way to see the status of legislation without needing to wade through the bill’s history to determine its status. By my count, as of Wednesday, a total of 148 bills had officially been presented to Governor DeSantis for his final decision. The “Retirement bill” isn’t one of them. As for why that’s the case and as for how long this may take to get it to the governor...
Bills must be prepared for the governor to sign or to veto. The legislative process can be and often is messy. As mentioned, in the case of this bill, it was amended along the way. When that happens, the original bill is marked, with the language which is changed being first crossed out and the new language, if any, being added. Clean bills are created and presented to be governor in the way in which they would read if signed into law. This process is especially important with bills which include appropriations, as Florida’s Governor has a line-item veto, and ensuring there’s absolute clarity as to what line an item falls on could have enormous implications if used. Once completed it must be signed by the presiding officers of the respective houses and by the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives during the session or as soon as practicable after its adjournment sine die. So, there’s your guidance as to when the bill will be presented to Governor DeSantis. Under law “as soon as practicable”. On that note...
In determining why, the Retirement bill in question still hasn’t been presented to Governor DeSantis... It’s likely a function of the timing of its passage – on the last day of the session, along with the bill having been amended along the way. It’s likely to be in the final batch of bills sent to the governor – though that shouldn’t be much longer. The final step in the process is what must happen once the governor is presented with the legislation. If a bill is received by the governor while the state legislative session is still active, action must be taken within seven days. If the bill is received after the conclusion of the session, as most are, the governor has 14 days to act on the bill. Given that the law takes effect upon its signing, should it be signed, timing is of the essence for those impacted by it.