

Bad planning


With less than a week left in this year's legislative session, time is running short for Gov. Jeb Bush and Senate President Tom Lee to make good on their pledge to radically reform the state's 20-year-old growth-management laws.

Up until now, both sure have talked a good game. The governor insisted that local government officials finally be held accountable for growth decisions. If they weren't willing to pay for the services that growth demands, he said, state law should be changed to prohibit them from approving growth. Bravo!

Mr. Lee, too, had some pretty good ideas of his own. He wanted to help communities recover from poorly planned growth decisions in the past -- with a $1.5 billion infusion of state cash. And he wanted to make it easier for local governments to impose taxes and fees to pay for growth in the future, eliminating required voter referenda for some tax increases. Bravo again!

Were the two approaches simply blended, Floridians actually might have realized some relief to overcrowded classrooms, jampacked roads and dwindling drinking-water supplies.

With a week left to negotiate a resolution, though, the prospects for meaningful reform of growth-management laws appear increasingly dim.

Bills in both the House and Senate, for example, don't require communities actually to provide services for three years after a development starts construction. And true concurrency -- for example, providing enough classroom space in nearby schools to serve new development -- wouldn't kick in for five years.

Worst of all, House Republicans are in a political tizzy over Mr. Lee's proposal to eliminate voter referenda on local tax increases to help pay for growth. For some bizarre reason, House Speaker Allan Bense and his comrades keep harping about not wanting to approve "tax increases."

What tax increases?

The Senate proposal simply would give local government officials a choice. If they can't pay for growth-related needs, they can either deny the development or find the money to pay for the services. It's no more complicated than that.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Lee want to hold local officials and developers financially accountable for their actions. The House clearly does not -- to wit, its inflammatory blather about "tax increases."

Just like the Legislature, local government officials are elected to represent the public interest. State lawmakers would be apoplectic if they had to ask voters every time they raised a tax or fee. Why should local officials be saddled with that burden?

Should the House prevail, however, all the tough talk about growth-management reforms will remain just that: Talk.

The state's current growth laws are unsustainable. The governor and Mr. Lee at least recognize that much. The House should, too.

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