A 39-member state Senate this session?

By at 27 October, 2009, 4:55 pm

In one of the first ramifications of Florida’s resign-to-run law, the state Senate might only have 39 members during the legislative session, which starts in March. And already outnumbered Democrats might be down one member. State Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, is a strong favorite to win a special election for a Palm Beach-Broward congressional seat, which is likely to be held in January or February. Because of a change in state law, pushed through by Republicans when Gov. Charlie Crist was a possible vice presidential pick, Deutch won’t have to resign his state Senate seat until he wins the gig in Congress. If he loses, he can go back to his old job. No risk. To replace Deutch (assuming he wins), the governor would still have to schedule a qualifying period for candidates to sign up, a primary and then the general election. In all likelihood, the session, which ends in early May, would be over to close to over by the time the new senator is sworn in. Jennifer Krell-Davis, spokeswoman

for the Secretary of State’s Office, said practically speaking, it takes several months to pull off a special election. The timing is “definitely going to be challenging” in terms of the session, she said. Democrats already only have 14 members in the 40-person Senate. Losing one more could endanger what clout they have and weaken their position to stop items like constitutional amendments that require super-majority votes. “We want to be at least at our full strength that we have now –at least the 14,” said Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston. Rich said she’s hoping it becomes clear that Deutch is a shoo-in for the congressional seat and he resigns early. But for Deutch, there’s no personal advantage – and at least some risk – to doing that. “This is why I don’t personally don’t care for the resign-to-run law, it allows people to have one foot in one position and one foot going for a new position,” Rich said.

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A 39-member state Senate this session?

Categories : State News




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