House Speaker Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island) sent the
120 members of his chamber home on April 28 in the middle of an impasse over
budget negotiations with the Senate. According to the Associated Press, “the
House has been adamantly opposed to expanding Medicaid to more than 800,000
Floridians, even though the Senate has proposed a plan that would allow the
state to eventually privatize Medicaid and require recipients to work or attend
school.”
The adjournment came three days before the scheduled end of
the session.
Senate Democrats, led by FAMU alumna Joyner, filed an emergency petition in the Florida Supreme Court on April 30 that claimed that the House’s early exit was illegal. They asked the court to order the House to reconvene. The official name of the case was Arthenia L. Joyner, et al. vs. The Florida House of Representatives, et al. (SC15-813).
The court decided against granting the writ. But a concurring
opinion by five of the seven justices said that “the House’s unilateral
adjournment clearly violated the Constitution.” Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and
Justices Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince, J.C. Perry, and Barbara Pariente all
signed the concurring opinion.
“While the Justices held that the Writ was not feasible, the
key question as to whether the House’s actions were unconstitutional has been
clearly answered. Their legacy has been cemented,” Joyner (D-Tampa) said on
behalf of the 13 Democratic state senators.
Florida Senate President Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando) thanked
Joyner and her caucus for filing the lawsuit against the House.
“I appreciate Leader Joyner and the efforts of her caucus to
seek a swift answer to this important constitutional question,” Gardiner said. “While
the writ of mandamus was denied because the court could not impose a practical
remedy prior to midnight tonight, a majority of the court agreed with the
Senate position that the House violated the constitution. This provides
important guidance to future presiding officers.”