FICPA Members Get a Close-Up Look at the Legislative Process

Walking the halls of the Florida Capitol clad with name badges, talking points, and a keen interest in finding an available elevator, many groups visiting their lawmakers find a day in Tallahassee a bit chaotic. The FICPA approach to such a Capitol visit is simple — organize a small, representative group of leaders to effectively carry the message of thousands of FICPA members to their elected officials.

In an annual grass-roots effort, six members of the FICPA Board of Governors and Florida CPA Political Action Committee (Florida CPA/PAC) were invited to Tallahassee to shadow the FICPA Governmental Affairs team for a day during the 60-day legislative session. While not the most convenient time for a CPA to be away from his or her practice, the six members in attendance were more than happy to make themselves available on March 22-23.

In attendance were Board of Governors members Richard Berkowitz, Gary Margolis, Rhonda Mowry, Darryl Ott and Steve Stevens, and Florida CPA/PAC Trustee Joey Epstein. The participants were chosen based on a series of criteria that included consideration of the legislative district each lives in, their tenure on the Board of Governors, their experience with the legislative process, and their activity as a Key Person Contact.

Beginning on the evening of March 22, participants were swept right into a flurry of events. With the drop of the gavel, hundreds of lobbyists, legislators, staff and Capitol visitors poured out on to Adams Street near the Capitol to meet, mingle and assess the events of the day. Several restaurants and the Governor’s Club played host to events for legislators, ranging from private dinners to large gatherings of statewide organizations. Amid the end-of-the-day bustle, the six FICPA leaders and the FICPA Governmental Affairs team met with numerous members of the Legislature as they passed by. By the end of the evening, the group settled in for a dinner briefing that included a review of protocol, an update on priority legislative issues, and preparation for a day on their feet at the Capitol.

The next morning, breakfast began at 7:15 a.m. and included a quick review of the schedule and visits by 11 legislators. Many of those lawmakers who attended came to see their Key Person Contacts (KPCs) while they were in town.

Shortly after breakfast, the group headed to the Capitol for its first office visit of the day — with Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Tom Gallagher. Widely rumored to be a top Republican candidate for governor in 2008, Gallagher opened the meeting with a quick explanation of the goals of the Department of Financial Services. Serving as the first CFO under the newly created Cabinet post — a merger of the offices of Comptroller and Insurance Commissioner under a 1998 decision by Florida voters — Gallagher listened to the group as they talked about financial-related issues and other topics affecting the profession.

The next meeting, with Rep. Holly Benson, R-Pensacola, chairwoman of the House State Administration Committee, opened the group’s eyes about how the legislative process sometimes works. As the leader of a committee with a reputation as a place where many bills go to die, Benson noted that nearly 170 pieces of legislation filed in the House had been referred to her committee so far during the session. The most recent one was a bill unveiled by House Speaker Johnnie Byrd, R-Plant City, just one day earlier to repeal the 2003 Telecommunications Act — a proposal that would later cause major chaos in the House.

Moving from North to South Florida, the group met with Rep. Juan Zapata, R-Miami, the only Columbian-American ever to serve in the Florida House of Representatives. When asked about his priority legislation, Zapata quickly rattled off a summary of his bills. He also thanked the FICPA for working with him since his election in 2002, and most recently for helping to draft amendment language on a bill dealing with condominium-association audits that could have proved detrimental to the CPA profession.

The next stop was a private tour of the Senate chamber floor by Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-Palm Beach Gardens, the Senate sponsor of the FICPA’s priority piece of legislation. (Editor’s Note: Please see the cover article on page 6 for more on this legislation.) Atwater’s 45-minute tour included a summary of how legislation is moved, the daily order of business, and subtle operating differences between the House and Senate.

“Sitting in the back row in the Senate is not necessarily a bad thing,” said Atwater, referring to an arrangement in the House that provides for priority seating in the front of the chamber for leadership of the controlling party. The Senate’s approach is seating by district, with odd numbers on one side and even on the other.

As the tour ended in the Senate, the group headed across the hall for the next order of business. Unlike the empty Senate chamber floor, the House floor was bustling with activity, with nearly all 120 members present. From the public gallery above the chamber, the FICPA contingent watched as pending legislation was read, debated and voted on. The group then was asked to stand up and be publicly recognized by the entire House. Rep. Fred Brummer, R-Apopka — the only CPA currently serving in the Legislature — did the honors from his desk on the House floor.

“These FICPA members have come from around the state to observe how we pass legislation,” Brummer announced. The special welcome was followed by loud applause and an additional welcome from House Speaker Byrd.

While the tour and recognition seemed quite ceremonial, the afternoon proved a little more challenging for the FICPA’s Governmental Affairs staff. Three days earlier, Senate Bill 2720 — the FICPA’s priority piece of legislation — had been scheduled to be heard in its first Senate committee on the very day of the FICPA members’ Capitol visit.

“Never could we have orchestrated having our bill heard on the one day members were in town,” said Lloyd “Buddy” Turman, CAE, the FICPA’s CEO-executive director.

Staff was particularly concerned about the hearing because, during the 2002 legislative session, the same committee had drafted and unanimously passed a bill that would have created mandatory peer review for all work completed by Florida CPAs, including tax returns. This year, after a nearly two-hour committee meeting consisting of legislation dealing with mandatory baby-changing stations in all restaurants, issues related to condominiums, and real estate covenant issues, the FICPA’s bill was brought up as the last item on the agenda.

Fortunately, the bill passed unanimously after only a few questions. Afterward, the FICPA’s visiting members expressed their appreciation to the Governmental Affairs team for the three months worth of legwork leading up to the bill’s committee approval, as well as the numerous meetings held with members of the committee to ask for their support of the pending legislation.
“Not only am I impressed with the professionalism of our Governmental Affairs staff, but I had a great experience seeing a Senate committee in action on our bill,” said Board of Governors member and Florida CPA/PAC Trustee Steve Stevens.

Other legislators visited by the group included Senate Democratic Leader Ron Klein, D-Delray Beach; Sen. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D-Pembroke Pines; and Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne. Haridopolos noted that when he first ran for the House in 2000, the CPA profession was one of the first to support him.

In all, those FICPA members who attended the 2004 Capitol visit met with a key member of the Florida Cabinet, 18 members of the House and Senate, and numerous legislative staff; saw a piece of priority legislation for the FICPA move through a Senate committee; and went home with a better understanding of the legislative process (and a little less shoe leather).

“I’m thankful that each CPA in Florida, as well as our business and individual citizenry, continues to be well represented by our formidable proxies, Buddy and Jennifer and the entire Governmental Affairs team, in the Florida political process,” said Board of Governors member Darryl Ott of Jacksonville. “Leadership by example was amply displayed as the ‘Turman Team’ escorted us into and through several quite interesting legislative adventures.”

For more information about FICPA legislative or regulatory issues, please e-mail Jennifer J. Green, CAE, the FICPA’s Director of Governmental Affairs, at govaffairs@ficpa.org.