Last year in the 2000 session, groups of legislators got together in sufficient strengths to pass legislation which would, in fact, abolish the regents. The ten university presidents, initially, unanimously opposed the legislation which would abolish the regents. After the legislation passed, a Task Force was appointed to implement the plan approved by the Legislature. When it seemed inevitable that the Task Force, appointed and backed by the political leadership of the state, would approve the governance plan passed by the Legislature, the university presidents reversed their position to support the proposal. Neither would Florida universities have to be subjected to the sort of political intrusion and inappropriate actions such as that described above.
Legislators are politicians, no different in Florida than in other states.
Their primary interest is in what can be done for their districts or groups of constituents. That is why there is great need for a body like the regents, made up of prominent citizens, who have a statewide perspective and interest rather than that of a local area or institution. Such a body must examine the university level needs for the entire state and determine how these can best be met with a minimum of costly, unnecessary duplication and overlapping. It is understandable why such a mission can, at times, be in conflict with desires of provincial legislators who are primarily concerned with supporting their own area or university. These considerations make it abundantly clear why a governing board, such as the regents, need constitutional protection from the sort of political intrusion that can keep them from making the type of decisions that are obviously needed.