State senators of both parties publicly mourned the enactment of H.B. 7069, a controversial charter schools bill that Gov. Rick Scott signed. | AP Photo Post-mortem: State senators grieve passage of controversial education bill

TALLAHASSEE — State senators of both parties on Friday publicly mourned the enactment of H.B. 7069, a controversial charter schools bill that Gov. Rick Scott signed the previous day.

While a Senate Republican leader apologized to school board members from around the state for his role in allowing the massive 278-page conforming bill become law, a Democrat attempted to convert anger over the measure into campaign donations for members of his party seeking legislative office.


Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala (R-Clearwater) is discouraged there are so few members of his party left in the Legislature who care about public schools, he told school board members gathered for a statewide conference in Tampa.

Latvala explained to the locally elected school officials that he felt he had to vote for the bill because he had promised Senate President Joe Negron he would support the presiding officer’s priorities. That was a condition of the deal they made when the two decided Negron would be president rather than Latvala, who would instead lead the powerful spending committee.

The Tampa Bay Times recorded Latvala’s comments during the event and published the audio on a podcast on the newspaper’s website.

“When I leave the Senate next year … I’m going to leave [Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat] and a dwindling number of people who care about public schools, particularly in my party,” Latvala said to the crowd, adding the three Republicans who voted against H.B. 7069 are “what we’ve got left of my party in the Florida Senate who will stand up on, fight on issues like this.”

And all three of them might be gone after next year, he pointed out. State Sens. Denise Grimsley, of Sebring, and René García, of Hialeah, will be forced to exit the Legislature after 2018 because of term limits. Grimsley has announced a run for state agriculture commissioner. Stae Sen. David Simmons, of Altamonte Springs, doesn't term out until 2020 but is seriously considering running for Congress next year.

“We got 20 new members of the Senate this year, 17 that came from the House, and many of them brought some of the philosophy that they learned in the House with them. So guys like me and Bill Montford are — we’re not exactly in a strong majority position anymore, you know, and I am sorry for that,” Latvala continued. “I am sorry if I let you down. I can assure you it won’t happen next year, because I’ve already explained how we’re going to do things next year.”

Negron wanted the Senate to pass H.B. 7069 — it squeaked through on a 20-18 vote — because the House had agreed to pass his signature S.B. 374, a higher education bill, in exchange. Scott signed the priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran during a triumphant event where he avoided even mentioning Negron's name after vetoing the Senate leader's pet bill.

While Latvala attempted to distance himself from H.B. 7069 in his remarks on Friday, Negron took credit for some of the more popular aspects of that bill in a statement on Thursday. He didn't attend Scott's signing event.

"H.B. 7069 contains many priorities of the Senate," he said, listing an expansion of vouchers for students with disabilities and the elimination of a high school math exam, among others.

Although Latvala’s comments suggest he believes Democrats are more likely to be pro-public schools, he doesn’t think they have a chance of taking over the chambers anytime soon.

“Republicans are going to continue running things in the Legislature for the foreseeable future,” he said. “You’ve got to figure out a way to get through to them and work with them.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Gary Farmer (D-Fort Lauderdale) has another idea: Replace them.

Farmer, who was an outspoken critic of the bill throughout the 2017 legislative session, is hoping to inspire opponents of H.B. 7069 to help Democrats get elected. In a fundraising email on Friday afternoon, he urged potential donors to start with the special election for SD-40, a Democratic-leaning, heavily Hispanic Miami district with an open seat, thanks to the resignation of former Republican Sen. Frank Artiles.

“We can’t allow these kinds of bills to float right through and be jammed down the throats of our residents, to the benefit of a few big donors,” Farmer wrote in an email sent by the Florida Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. “We can’t allow taxpayer dollars to be literally handed over to those who want to privatize education, with almost zero accountability.

“The first step in reversing this atrocity of a bill is to win the open seat in SD40, abandoned in April by Republican Frank Artiles (after he went on a racist, bigoted rant),” Farmer wrote.

The Democrats in the race are former lieutenant governor candidate Annette Taddeo, former state Rep. Ana Rivas Logan and Steve Smith, an Army veteran. They’ll face off in a July 25 primary, and then the winner will face a Republican in the Sept. 26 general election. State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz and former state Sen. Alex Díaz de la Portilla are the two GOP candidates who qualified.

One of the Republican candidates — Díaz de la Portilla — also opposes H.B. 7069. He told POLITICO Florida the bill helps charter schools “at the expense of public schools.”

Farmer’s memo is part of a new effort called “Flip Florida,” which is being led by Sen. Jeff Clemens. He is incoming minority leader, so it’s his job to lead Senate Democrat’s campaign efforts in 2018.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that state Sens. David Simmons was term limited in 2018. He is term limited in 2020.