Sen. Lee Constantine, R- Altamonte Springs, has been pushing all session to advance a bill meant to strengthen protections for Florida's most important springs.
But in the special-interest mecca that is Tallahassee, a coalition of homebuilders, Orange County Commissioner Fred Brummer and Reps. Bryan Nelson, R- Apopka, and Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, have so far managed to stall the initiative.
The reason: They don't like a contentious rule that mandates replacement of septic tanks in exchange for building the last leg of the Wekiva Parkway around northwest Orlando.
Part of the 2004 Wekiva Parkway & Protection Act requires the Florida Department of Health department to impose a rule next year requiring homes with leaking septic tanks to hook up to sewer systems or to expensive "on-site" treatment systems.
Constantine has howled to anyone who will listen that his springs bill has nothing to do with the Wekiva mandates that land around the Wekiva River Basin be conserved and the rule be adopted.
But first Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, responded by bottling up the springs bill in his general government-appropriations committee. Then House lawmakers such as Hays and Nelson began trying to delay the rule indefinitely until a study on the septic systems is completed, which could be years from now.
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Lobbyists reported spending $689 in Orange County last year
County commissioners are set to debate adding more teeth to the current system during their meeting Tuesday.
"Until lobbyists feel there [are]. . . penalties for not reporting expenses, we are going to continue to see sketchy reports," said Van Church, a union lobbyist and one of the few to report any expenses last year. "What is really needed is some teeth in the enforcement."
Only six lobbyists disclosed any expenditures, the Sentinel review showed. The rest, mostly lawyers representing multiple clients, reported zero expenses.
Bertica Cabrera Morris represents five clients at the county and reported no lobbying expenses last year. She said that the wine-and-dine politicking done with other governments just doesn't happen in Orlando.
"It's not the culture," Morris said, adding that most Central Florida lobbying is done by bending the ear of staff or corralling elected officials during or before public meetings, often in their offices.
Cabrera said the real money is spent on campaign donations and by supporting or attending events and charities favored by elected leaders.
"There are ways to lobby without lobbying," she said.
Yet Commissioner Fred Brummer said many lobbyists may simply ignore the expense-reporting rules. The former state lawmaker said expanding current regulations could help.
Brummer's measure would require lobbyists to disclose in writing expenses for the project they are working on two weeks before it's voted on. On the day of the vote, lobbyists would have to verbally disclose any money they spent in the final two weeks.
His proposal also would require the principal behind the project, such as the chief executive officer of a company that hired a lobbying firm, to do the same. That would at least reveal what the company spent to hire a lobbyist, he said.
"That's going to open people's eyes," Brummer said.
Brummer also wants more frequent expense reports and to publish the numbers in commission agendas. That would make it harder to ignore the rules, he said.
Few lobbyists seemed aware of Brummer's plan. Two of the more prominent ones -- Southern Strategy Group's Oscar Anderson and Universal Orlando's John McReynolds -- both declined to comment until they could study it. McReynolds was one of the few to report anything: $224.89 on food and beverages.
County officials say no one has ever been sanctioned for not reporting expenses. They are aware of only three lobbyists ever receiving a written reprimand since the rules hit the books in 1994. That's the lightest possible sanction. The toughest: a two-year lobbying suspension.
Without clearer rules defining lobbying and tougher policing of reports, expanding the current rules might not accomplish much, said Doug Head, the former chairman of CountyWatch, a government watchdog group.
Head said lobbyists should have to list on their expense reports the contributions that they and their clients give to politicians. And more subtle forms of lobbying, such as hosting events or buying tables or tickets to gatherings where politicians are seated or expected to attend, should be included as well, he said.
"In the absence of that, it's just lace on the curtains," Head said.
David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311.