After the Florida Senate passed a Medicaid bill that would accept $50 in federal funds for health care coverage, Democrats in the House moved to stall the session to protest the House GOP's refusal to budge on Medicaid. The House version does not accept federal funding and instead would use state funds and would provide inadequate coverage to only 115,000.
Two House Democrats met with Gov. Rick Scott this morning asking him to veto the budget if legislature refuses to adopt the bill, knowing that Scott favors the Senate version.
This afternoon, in protest over the House inaction, Minority Leader Perry Thurston moved to request an education bill be read in full. So for nearly a half an hour, an auto-reader droned on until the entire bill was read.
The standoff began at 2:35 p.m. when Minority Leader Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, asked the a bill on the special order calendar be "read in full." The Republican majority, which had been huddling for about an our in anticipation of the move, had the bill temporarily postponed after Democrats mustered more than the 40 votes, or one-third of the chamber, needed. Democrats did the same thing with the next bill, and Republicans again skipped over the bill.
The third time, on a bill related to instructional materials in schools, House Speaker Will Weatherford relented and allowed the 14-page bill to be read in full by an auto-reader software application the speaker's office said was called "Mary."
"There needs to be some clarity so we're going to have the bills read in full," Weatherford said.
With school children in the galleries, House leaders ordered the chamber secured and all members to their desks as a robotic, female voice began reading through the bill.
In debate, Republican sponsor refused to answer Democrats questions on the bill.
House Speaker Weatherford has taken a hard line against Medicaid expansion even though his own family were Medicaid beneficiaries when he was a child.
Another priority of Weatherford's was shot down earlier when the Senate defeated a pension overhaul bill that would have forced state employees to enroll in risky private investment plans.
As of this writing, there is no word of any compromise from the House on Medicaid. There are only a few days left in the session, and with more shutdowns like today's a distinct possibility, there could be some long hours ahead before it's all over.
