(The following story by Dan Tracy appeared on the Orlando Sentinel website on April 16, 2009.)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The SunRail commuter train that would run through Central Florida stalled in a state Senate committee Wednesday, costing the $1.2 billion project precious time as the legislative session nears its final, frantic weeks.
That’s the same position the train found itself in last year, when the Legislature finished without voting on it.
SunRail backers were confident they could win early passage this year, citing endorsements from Gov. Charlie Crist and leaders in both legislative chambers. But the train hit opposition from the start — just as it did Wednesday in the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee.
The legislation (SB 1212) appeared set to move through the seven-member panel on a 4-3 vote. But senators ran out of time, due largely to a series of amendments offered — and eventually defeated, after procedural moves — by opponents Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Ronda Storms, a Tampa-area Republican.
The abrupt end of the two-hour session triggered boos from some of the 73 people — ranging from Central Florida officials and lobbyists to anti-tax protesters — who had asked to speak at the hearing. That prompted SunRail sponsor Lee Constantine, R- Altamonte Springs, to chasten the crowd, saying, “Hey, stop.”
A clearly angry committee Chairman Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, scheduled an unusual Saturday session, from 1 to 6 p.m., to take testimony.
“I am not going to deny any one of those individuals the chance to speak,” he said.
Despite Wednesday’s delay, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer — a leading SunRail supporter — said he was not upset to leave town without the bill moving forward.
“It’s poised to pass, as it has been…. Actually, it’s very positive,” he said.
Dyer insisted he was not worried about running out of time, arguing that very few bills have passed during this session, which has been marked mostly by legislators scrambling to find money in a budget-slashing year.
‘This is a bad bill’
But Dockery contends SunRail is in bad shape. She maintains she has 26 votes lined up in the 40-member Senate to kill it should it reach the floor.
“This is a bad bill,” she said.
It’s widely assumed the SunRail bill will pass the House, as it did last year. House Speaker-designate Dean Cannon, R- Winter Park, is the muscle behind it.
But even getting an up or down vote on the Senate floor could be problematic. The bill is still scheduled to go through the Ways and Means Committee, taking up more time and pushing the train even closer to the scheduled May 1 end of the session, where it could be lost in the frenetic bill-trading that dominates the final hours.
But Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, remained confident.
“The reality is this is going to the floor and you’re going to have a debate…. And then we’ll see where it goes,” he said.
The amendments filed Wednesday by Dockery and Storms were intended to disrupt the deal between CSX Corp., which owns the tracks running through Orlando, and the state Department of Transportation. DOT has agreed to spend $432 million to buy the tracks, improve CSX’s rail facilities in the middle of the state and build a new rail yard in Winter Haven.
Dockery has said these plans will reroute too many freight trains through her hometown of Lakeland. She also calls the state’s deal a “giveaway” to the rail company and argued that a proposed $200 million insurance policy — to be purchased jointly by the state and CSX to pay victims of rail accidents — is too generous to CSX.
“Nothing,” she said, “is coming out of CSX’s pockets.”
Dockery and Storms tried more than 10 times to change that insurance policy. One proposal would have forced private contractors who would build the system to provide their own insurance, rather than the state. Another would have made CSX solely responsible for accidents in the Winter Haven rail yard.
“All these amendments are tweaking the nose of DOT or CSX enough to make the deal go sour,” Constantine said.
The amendments failed, largely because of parliamentary maneuvering by Sen. Alex Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, that required them to get at least five votes. But they’re certain to come back if the bill makes it onto the Senate floor.
CSX spokesman Gary Sease said he could not comment on the amendments: “This is coming at a sensitive time. We’re trying not to affect the debate one way or another.”
AFL-CIO opposed
Among those who signed up to speak Wednesday were more than two dozen anti-tax protesters and union officials who oppose SunRail.
The AFL-CIO has called SunRail “government-sanctioned union busting” because a private contractor would operate and maintain the train and its 61.5-mile corridor between DeLand and Poinciana. That company would not have to hire union workers.
Most CSX blue-collar jobs, such as signalmen, are unionized. As many as eight signalmen could lose their jobs if SunRail becomes a reality, though they would have to be offered other CSX jobs within Florida or be paid six years of severance.
Still, the union objections resonate strongly with Senate Democrats. SunRail sponsors, though, hope to attract votes of South Florida Democrats through a deal with Sen. Chris Smith, D- Fort Lauderdale, to allow a $2-a-day surcharge on rental cars if a county commission and county voters approve. Smith hopes to use that money for South Florida’s Tri-Rail commuter line.