Broward House members have to bail on budget debate (leaving, on a jet plane)
TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida House just took a predictable, party-line vote to approve $2.3-billion in budget cuts. The final tally: 73-40, with not a single Republican or Democrat crossing party lines.
One name you won’t find on the vote board: House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands, D-Weston. In the first big vote during his term as minority leader, Sands was missing in action.
He was catching a flight back to South Florida, said House Democratic spokesman Mark Hollis.
Three other Broward County Democrats missed the vote, too: Elaine Schwartz, Joe Gibbons and Perry Thurston.
...
In a stark sign of Sands’ new leadership style, he didn’t say a single word on the House floor during six hours of debate. By contrast, the last Democratic leader, now-Sen. Dan Gelber, was a prolific speechifier.
