(The following story by Lloyd Dunkelberger appeared on the Lakeland Ledger website on December 7, 2009.)
TALLAHASSEE | With the Senate vote still in doubt and anti-tax groups rallying against the legislation, the House on Monday swiftly approved a bill that would create a commuter rail system in Central Florida and could help the state win federal funding for a high-speed train.
Lobbying for the legislation intensified Monday with Gov. Charlie Crist personally meeting with senators whose votes are in question. Florida’s two U.S. senators – Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican George LeMieux – wrote a joint letter saying “billions and billions of federal dollars” are at stake unless the state shows a stronger commitment to rail projects.
“I know the members are getting beat up,” said Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, who is leading the opposition to the measure.
And while the bill easily passed the House on Monday, it barely made it out of its first Senate committee.
It cleared the Senate Transportation Committee in a 5-4 vote only after the Senate president had substituted a pro-rail senator for another senator who was absent because of a heart condition. Without that substitution, the bill would have failed on a 4-4 vote.
The bill must clear two more Senate committees today before it is taken up on the floor this afternoon.
On Monday, Dockery joined Tea Party and Ax the Tax members to criticize the legislation, which will allow the state to go forward with the 61-mile SunRail commuter project in the Orlando area, to increase state funding for the Tri-Rail system in South Florida and potentially improve the state’s bid for $2.5 billion in federal funding for a high-speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando.
The SunRail debate is of interest in Lakeland because, if passed, it would likely result in the rerouting of more CSX freight trains through the city. More trains would be directed through downtown Lakeland to divert them from the commuter line.
Dockery said the state was paying too much for SunRail line, calling the $641 million acquisition of the line from CSX Transportation the “most costly” per-mile rail purchase in the nation’s history. She also slammed the provisions in the bill that would hold the state potentially liable for most accidents, although CSX will be able to run its freight trains on the line for 12 hours each day.
Doug Guetzloe, the Orlando political consultant who heads the Ax the Tax group, said the public does not support the SunRail plan and questioned its $2.6 billion price tag – which represents the initial acquisition cost as well as maintenance and operating costs over the next 30 years.
“Do we have the money for SunRail or whatever this is? Absolutely not,” Guetzloe said.
Meanwhile, Crist personally lobbied three senators on the bill. After meeting with the governor, Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, said she was inclined to support the measure, while Sen. Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, said he could not justify voting for it because of opposition from his constituents.
Detert – who opposed a SunRail measure last spring – said she wanted Florida to draw down the federal money for high-speed rail because she says it’s time for the state to start offering transportation alternatives. She also said she would not be supporting the bill if it had been a “standalone” bill for CSX.
“We don’t want to built triple-deck highways like they have in Miami in my part of the state,” said Detert. “And we don’t want to be stuck on traffic like they are on I-4.”
Earlier in the day, the bill (HB-1) sailed through the House on an 84-25 vote, with 17 Democrats and eight Republicans opposing it.
A handful of House members questioned the cost of the legislation, which allows the SunRail project to advance.
Critics said the cost was too high during difficult economic times and there were no guarantees that the thousands of jobs that could be tied to the rail projects would go to Floridians or Florida companies.
“I don’t see how we can go home and tell the people this is a good deal for Florida,” said Rep. Leonard Bembry, D-Greenville.
Supporters defended the bill as a way to establish a statewide rail policy as well as improving the state’s odds on winning federal funding for a bullet train between Tampa and Orlando.
“At the end of the day, this isn’t about rail. This is about transforming Florida’s future,” said Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral.