If at first you don’t succeed, cheat!

~Elijah Barns/The Witch and Jet Splinters

The above quote comes from a series of fantasy books about the partnership between a black cat (Jet Splinters) and Jinny Lane (the witch).  Their goal?  To prevent an unscrupulous developer from building a golf course on land they consider to be sacred.  Before you ask, this is not another tell-all book by one of Donald Trump’s associates.  However, it could be a metaphor how, in January 2021, he tried to construct a false monument to himself on the sacred landscape of American democracy.  You decide whether Mike Pence would be type cast as the witch or the black cat.

Closer to home, Barns’ quote applies also to the state of Florida. Remember, Governor Ron DeSantis and the MAGA-dominated state legislature claim to be the law and order party, except of course, when the law needs a little tweaking or outright trashing to achieve their ideological priorities.  This was most evident when, on November 6, 2018, 65 percent of voters approved Amendment 4, which reads:

This amendment restores the voting rights of Floridians with felony convictions after they complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation. The amendment would not apply to those convicted of murder or sexual offenses, who would continue to be permanently barred from voting unless the Governor and Cabinet vote to restore their voting rights on a case by case basis.

For the record, the definition of criminal sentence, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University, reads, “the term of imprisonment or probation imposed on a convicted defendant for criminal wrongdoing.”  That must have been good enough for the State of Florida because there were no statutes which provided an alternative definition.  That is, of course, until passage of Amendment 4, at which time the governor and state legislature said, “The voters be damned.  We ain’t gonna let all those felons vote in our state.”  To accomplish their objective, the legislature passed and DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7066 signed in June 2019.  The act added Section 98.0751, which included the following, more expansive definition of “sentencing.”

Full payment of fines or fees ordered by the court as a part of the sentence or that are ordered are ordered by the court as a condition of any form of supervision, including, but not limited to, probation, community control, or parole.

These fees include the $50/day charged for prison stays beginning on the day of conviction and ending on the last day of the court ordered sentence, even if the inmate is subject to early release.  Since most inmates cannot pay the fee while in prison, it accrues as “a cost of incarceration lien.”  If on probation, a convicted felon may be subject to a supervision fee and required to reimburse the state for drug testing, electronic monitoring and instruction programs.  It is not hard to imagine these accrued obligations can take years, if not forever, to pay off.

Call it whatever you want, but changing the rules after a winner has been declared is cheating in my book.  This year we have a new Amendment 4, and DeSantis is at it again with the upcoming vote in November to provide a constitutional right to abortion before fetal viability.  Polling suggests the measure could garner the 60 percent majority needed for passage.  This time, DeSantis, et. al., decided not to wait until the outcome to undercut voters.

The text of the propose amendment is pretty straight forward.

Except as provided in Article X, Section 22, no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.

The exception refers to a requirement under current law that parents of a minor be notified if their child seeks an abortion unless a waiver is provided by a state court.

You must be really creative to find a way to cheat on this one.  But that did not stop DeSantis and opponents of the measure.  Under the administrative rules for constitutional referenda, the proposed amendment must be accompanied by financial impact statement which estimates potential revenues and expenses if the proposal is approved.  State law designates a panel called the Financial Impact Estimate Conference to draft the impact statement.  Florida Statute 216.138 defines the Conference members as follows.

• A representative from the Executive Office of the Governor
• A representative from the Senate’s professional staff
• A representative from the House of Representatives’ professional staff
• The coordinator of the Legislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research, or their designee 

•  A reduction of education services.
• An overall reduction in fertility rates reducing federal funding.
• A worse credit rating affecting Florida’s fiscal output.

“Yes on 4,” the organization leading the campaign to pass the amendment, has challenged the new language because Speaker Renner’s 11th hour appointment was ineligible for membership on the impact panel.  Rachel Greszler, is not a member of the House’s professional staff as required by statute.  Are you ready?  Greszler is a member of the Heritage Foundation, and according to the Washington Post, (drum roll) “a contributing author to that group’s controversial Project 2025 plan.”

So, speaking of amendments, if Elijah Barns decides to publish a subsequent volume in his The Witch and Jet Splinters saga, he may want to revise the quote to read:

If at first, you believe you are not going to succeed, cheat!

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP