opinion

Grading Florida lawmakers on the 2018 session | Our view

In January, at the start of the Florida Legislature's annual session, the Editorial Board of Treasure Coast Newspapers called on lawmakers to take action on four priorities. Here's how we graded their response.

Build the reservoir — the right way

Grade: B-

We hoped for more.

After the "Lost Summer of 2013" and toxic algae blooms that fouled the St. Lucie River in "Mean Green 2016," we wanted Gov. Rick Scott and state lawmakers to insist on the best possible solution for diverting and cleaning billions of gallons of discharges from Lake Okeechobee.

That didn't happen.

What we're getting instead is a reservoir in the Everglades Agricultural Area that's less than one-fourth the size of the original project proposed by Senate President Joe Negron, R-Palm City.

It will be a 10,100-acre, 23-foot-deep water storage area with walls of rock and earth up to 35 feet high, according to plans crafted by the South Florida Water Management District. It will hold up to 87.2 billion gallons of water and include a 6,500-acre man-made marsh known as a stormwater treatment area.

Combined with other water projects in the works, the district projects the reservoir could cut the volume of Lake O discharges by about 56 percent and the number of discharge events by 63 percent.

MORE: Reservoir plan could have been so much more, but something's better than nothing | Our view

That's less than the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee estuaries needed. Even half of the foul water the estuaries receive during the rainiest years is too much.

This project could have been far more effective if the governor and lawmakers had insisted on using more state-owned land south of Lake Okeechobee — including land the state leases to farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Nonetheless, the reservoir plan is a relative success when we consider the forces that initially opposed it.

Among those forces was the Florida Farm Bureau Federation, which in a March 2017 issue brief called the project "an expensive and radical proposal for a reservoir that would do little to reduce water discharges like the ones experienced in the summer of 2016 ..." The Florida Chamber of Commerce also expressed early skepticism.

But it passed conceptually in 2017 and plans were crafted this spring. Negron stands proudly behind the results. So proudly, in fact, that an aerial image of Lake Okeechobee is included in the top right corner of his official portrait unveiled earlier this month in Tallahassee.

The $1.4 billion reservoir project, which still must be evaluated by the Army Corps of Engineers and approved by Congress, is much less than we hoped for.

But it's more than we've ever gotten before.

Protect home rule

Grade: A

The good news, at least for now, is cities and counties can continue to have rules that protect trees and, in some cases, keep your neighbors from renting their home on weekends for fraternity parties.

These were just two regulatory powers lawmakers decided not to strip from local governments this year.

MORE: Could state pre-empt local building height restrictions?

Among the other ridiculous failed proposals in a legislative wave attacking rights of local residents to make their own laws: requiring counties to allow vehicles to back into parking spaces in government garages; requiring land within three miles of a college to be classified as inside an urban boundary, even if it's used for agriculture.

"This was one of the best years in a long time," said Cragin Mosteller, director of communications for the Florida Association of Counties, warning that some of these proposals likely will return next year.

The reality is government closest to the people is the most accessible. Local residents know what’s best for their communities. In most cases, state lawmakers have no business getting involved.

PTSD coverage for first responders

Grade: A

It's hard to believe Florida doesn't provide workers compensation benefits for first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hard to believe, but true.

Thankfully, that will change if and when Gov. Rick Scott signs Senate Bill 376 into law. The governor has until Tuesday to do so. All indications are he intends to sign the bill.

Under SB 376, which was sponsored by Florida Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, firefighters, law enforcement officers and other first responders would become eligible for PTSD treatment regardless of whether they have been treated for accompanying physical injuries.

MORE: Lawmaker shows courage with tearful PTSD plea

PTSD, an anxiety disorder that can occur after someone experiences a traumatic event (or events), is real for those who treat accident victims.

For first responders who meet one of 11 conditions, SB 376 will provide both medical and paid leave. Conditions include seeing a dead child or witnessing a homicide, according to the bill.

Rep. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, championed the House version of this legislation.

Providing workers compensation benefits to first responders diagnosed with PTSD is the right thing to do.

Protect taxpayers from rail costs

Grade: C-

House Bill 525, which would have required railroads operating high-speed passenger trains to be responsible for maintenance and improvements, was doomed from the start. In the end, local representatives were able to get into the budget a study to examine current and future rail operations.

HB 525, filed by Reps. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, and MaryLynn Magar, R-Tequesta, was important because of growing taxpayer expenses. For the proposed Brightline passenger rail service, Martin County estimated its projected costs for licenses, repairs/rehabilitation at rail crossings and land leases associated with Florida East Coast Railway and Brightline would rise from $200,000 in 2015 to more than $13 million in 2030 and $31 million by 2040.

MORE: If you dash in front of a train and get killed, how is it the train's fault?

While lawmakers had no appetite to pass a law, state Sen. Debbie Mayfield, R-Melbourne, helped ensure the state's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability do the following by Nov. 1:

Review how governments can regulate passenger rail and high-speed passenger rail operations;

Provide data relating to injuries and fatalities;

Recommend measures to increase rail safety. This includes reviews of current crossing signalization, grade crossings and separations, corridor protection, public education and awareness, and coordination with local law enforcement and emergency management officials;

Recommend other measures to improve passenger rail and high-speed passenger rail in Florida.

Such a study is no panacea. Mayfield's efforts several years ago to get the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee to review operations of the Florida Municipal Power Agency didn't initially look like one either.

But the embarrassing audit of the government power producer and provider put legislative pressure on FMPA to deal fairly with the city of Vero Beach. On Wednesday, after about 10 years of discussion, FMPA allowed the city to buy out its agency contracts and get power from Florida Power & Light Co.

Rail companies must ensure safety on and around their lines, especially when fast passenger trails start barreling through downtown communities in Florida.

Editorials of Treasure Coast Newspapers/TCPalm are decided collectively by its Editorial Board. To respond to this editorial in a letter to the editor, email up to 300 words to TCNLetters@TCPalm.com.