Opinion ID: 1606890
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Act Was Validly Enacted by the Florida Legislature

Text: FAPL also claims that the Act was not validly enacted by the Legislature according to the procedural requirements of the Florida Constitution. We disagree. Two constitutional provisions are relevant here. First, article III, section 3 provides in part that, during a special session, the only legislative business that may be transacted is that business which is within the purview of the governor's proclamation or that which is introduced by consent of two-thirds of the membership of each house. See Art. III, § 3(c)(1), Fla. Const. Also relevant is article III, section 7, which provides the procedure for valid enactment of a bill. It states: Any bill may originate in either house and after passage in one may be amended in the other. It shall be read in each house on three separate days, unless this rule is waived by two-thirds vote; provided the publication of its title in the journal of a house shall satisfy the requirement for the first reading in that house. On each reading, it shall be read by title only, unless one-third of the members present desire it read in full. On final passage, the vote of each member voting shall be entered on the journal. Passage of a bill shall require a majority vote in each house. Each bill and joint resolution passed in both houses shall be signed by the presiding officers of the respective houses and by the secretary of the senate and the clerk of the house of representatives during the session or as soon as practicable after its adjournment sine die. Art. III, § 7, Fla. Const. After reviewing the journals of both chambers, we find that all the rules and requirements for enacting a bill during special session were followed. On December 5, 2005, SB 6-B was formally introduced in the Florida Senate after it received the required two-thirds vote of the membership. It was also read for the first time. Fla. S. Jour. 2 (Spec.Sess.2005). Then, on December 7, 2005, the rules were waived and it was read for the second and third times. Thereafter, SB 6-B was passed, the vote was recorded, it was ordered engrossed, and it was certified to the House. Fla. S. Jour. 33, 42 (Spec.Sess.2005). In the Florida House, on December 5, 2005, House Bill 63-B, a bill relating to the registration and reporting requirements for lobbyists, was formally introduced after receiving the required two-thirds vote. See Fla. H.R. Jour. 3 (Spec.Sess.2005). Then, on December 8, 2005, SB 6-B was read three times in the House after the rules were waived; it was also formally introduced in the House by a two-thirds vote after the bill's second reading; its passing vote was properly recorded in the House Journal; and it was enrolled, signed, and filed. Fla. H.R. Jour. 45 (Spec.Sess.2005); see also State v. Kaufman, 430 So.2d 904, 905 (Fla.1983) ([W]hen enrolled, signed, and filed, acts of the legislature are prima facie valid.). FAPL claims that the Act was not properly enacted because SB 6-B was read twice in the House before its formal introduction and only once afterwards. It asserts that the three-readings requirement, when executed in this manner, is insufficient to satisfy the constitutional requirements for enacting legislation. We find FAPL's argument unpersuasive because SB 6-B did not require a formal introduction in the House. Rather, since HB 63-B, a similar subject bill, had already been formally introduced in the House by the requisite two-thirds vote, no further introduction of SB 6-B was necessary because it fell within the purview of the subject matter of HB 63-B. Therefore, the passage of SB 6-B constituted the transaction of legislative business which was introduced by consent of two-thirds of the membership of each house. Art. III, § 3(c)(1), Fla. Const. [3] Accordingly, we answer the second question affirmatively and find that SB 6-B was validly enacted by the Florida Legislature.