Capitol Ideas: New Responsibilites
The Senate President
The term “servant leadership” was first coined and elaborated on by Robert K. Greenleaf back in the 70’s. Though espoused by management and leadership writers like Steven Covey and Ken Blanchard, the concept goes back much earlier and is one of the cornerstones of the leadership style Christ himself taught his followers. For me this philosophy of leading by example, encouraging transparency, helping others who in turn wish to help you and respecting – even learning – from people when they disagree with you on certain issues, is one of the factors that has led to the new role I will be assuming as Florida’s Senate President.
It is especially gratifying that for the first time someone from Brevard has been selected, by their peers in the Senate, for this position. But, like the campaign slogan I used back when I ran for State House, “What’s a Haridopolos?”, the Senate President is a role many don’t really understand.
What is a Senate President?
Currently there are 26 Republican and 14 Democratic Senators in the Florida Legislature. The party in the majority selects the Senate President, who then has the responsibility and the authority to appoint the chairperson of each of the Senate’s twenty-six committees, like Appropriations, Rules or Finance and Taxes. Needless to say, these decisions are not made in a vacuum or arbitrarily by me, but instead reflect a collaborative effort. Not only does the Senate President select the chairperson, but also the membership of each committee.
The makeup of these committees has far reaching implications, as the committees determine which bills will make it to the floor of the Senate for debate and for vote. Senators have the opportunity to change the wording of bills and, of equal importance it is in the committees that individual citizens have the opportunity to make comments and recommendations. Once a bill moves to the Senate floor, only elected Senators can participate directly in the debate. Based on the makeup of a committee, legislation can be quickly moved forward for consideration or lost in a legislative black hole. These committees frame the issues, which in turn get agendas for specific change front and center.
Setting the Agenda
The top priority for my term as Senate President will address the question of how do we create and retain the jobs that will give our state the stability and prosperity which enables every other legislative initiative to materialize, from education to transportation and health care. Our economy is what provides this unparalleled way of life we enjoy; it is the heart that pumps energy into every sector of our society.
Therefore it is of paramount importance that we listen to the job creators and find out from them how we can best create environments conducive to economic growth. We must discover how we can empower the individual to guide their government, rather than the other way around.
Secondly, we have to use our entrepreneurial genius to find sensible and cost effective energy solutions. Though all Americans are reeling from the unparalleled disaster in the Gulf, our international boundary only extends 12 miles off our coast. Foreign oil and exploration companies (mainly Chinese) are already negotiating with the Bahamian and Cuban government for drilling rights.
Finally, 30 percent of our state budget goes to fund Medicare. When it started it was 14 percent of the budget, but it continues to climb, while other funding priorities are, by necessity, being cut. What is more the Obama administration intends to add hundreds of thousands to the Medicare roles. To make matters worse, the State of Florida has little control over how that revenue is spent. Like the move towards welfare reform, which basically transfers authority to the state, we need a waiver from Washington to allow our state to take the wheel on this runaway train.
None of these challenges have quick or easy answers. It is in adopting a long-term, not a “1-hit wonder” perspective, that we will find lasting solutions that will not only benefit us, but the generations that will follow us.
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