Rep. Dennis Baxley riding wave of success

Scott invited pro-life activists and lawmakers to the governor’s mansion for the ceremonial signing of a handful of anti-abortion measures — a largely unnecessary exercise since the bills had already taken effect.

But the event did serve one function: to cap state Rep. Dennis Baxley’s most successful session in Tallahassee.

The Ocala Republican, who returned to the Legislature for the first time since being ousted in a state Senate primary contest four years ago, was the primary sponsor of six bills, the maximum allowed under House rules, and one joint resolution.

Three of the seven measures he sponsored passed outright, while lawmakers adopted the Senate’s companion version of a fourth Baxley had brought forward.

Overall, the 160 lawmakers in the Legislature this spring introduced 2,374 pieces of legislation, according to the House and Senate websites. Just 245 bills that affected the state as a whole were adopted by both houses, a report by Speaker Dean Cannon’s indicates.

Prior to 2011, Baxley’s most successful year was 2006, when two of his bills passed: one for a specialty license plate and one allowing the carrying of guns in the national forests.

Here is a recap of Baxley’s work this year:

HB 501 hit closest to home, shifting revenues generated by the sale of Choose Life license plates, which promotes adoption programs, from the state to the Ocala-based Choose Life Inc. nonprofit group for distribution around Florida.

HB 1355 overhauled voting procedures in the state and has

been the most controversial. It’s been criticized by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who recently led protests against its implementation, and by various groups because, they say, it undermines the voting rights of minorities and the young. The law is being challenged in court by the American Civil Liberties Union.

HJR 1179 places on the 2012 ballot a proposed amendment to the State constitution that would prohibit taxpayer funding for abortions, except in cases of rape or incest. Although the measure mirrors a 35-year-old federal law, and even though taxpayers funded just 20 abortions between fiscal years 2008 to 2010 at a cost of just more than $3,000, Baxley had described this as an opportunity to let voters weigh in on the sanctity of life, a “foundational issue.”

SB 926, a Senate measure, mirrored a bill Baxley introduced that shielded employers from liability under certain circumstances for the actions of workers with developmental disabilities.

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Baxley, like many state lawmakers and the governor himself, emphasized jobs and the economy during his 2010 campaign and entering the session back in March.

He maintained in a recent interview that drivers to improve the state economy were present. He said they were “embedded,” for instance, in legislation that altered the state’s growth management laws, reorganized state agencies, affected trade through the state’s seaports and set how the state would spend its money.

Baxley likened it to “soil preparation” by a farmer. Now what’s necessary is time for things to sprout.

“We’re talking about changing the atmosphere,” he said. “That broad picture was how we’ve been approaching it. You don’t move the needle overnight.”

As for the social issues, Baxley noted they can be handled quickly and were important to his constituents.

“I don’t ever apologize for acting on foundational issues,” he said “Values issues don’t take a lot of time, but they do take a lot of guts.”

In an editorial in May, the Florid Baptist Witness newspaper called Baxley’s proposed constitutional amendment “the most significant pro-life victory” to emerge among a number of successes that led many in the pro-life movement to label the 2011 session historic for their cause.

Damien Filer, political director of the Tallahassee-based liberal group Progress Florida, said the fruits of Baxley’s labors will only make it harder for women to access health care and would not create a single job in Marion County.

“He has an extremist tea party agenda, and that’s who’s running the show,” Filer said. “He was a tea party extremist before it was cool, and now that it is, he’s living it up.”

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Susan MacManus, a political science professor at the University of South Florida, attributed Baxley’s run this session partly to the mindset of the leadership.

He offered bills that were already popular with much of the majority, she suggested, and noted that while the public and the media may have been focused more on economic matters, some legislative leaders were passionate about social causes.

Baxley cited a number of factors that enabled him to push through new laws: his previous experience and knowledge of the system; being one of only two House members with prior service, which positioned him as a guide and mentor to the other 40 House freshmen; and the rightward-tilt of the state Senate, something Sen. Mike Haridopolos promised before the session kicked off.

Ultimately, though, his achievements this year were about relationships, Baxley said.

Besides helping those freshmen, Baxley noted that when he had served in the House from 2001 to 2007, he had worked with Haridopolos and Cannon as well as Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, the speaker pro tem; Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, the House majority leader; and Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, who is slated to follow Cannon as speaker.

“We helped build the leadership team,” Baxley said. “Life is about relationships. Nothing is ever done alone. It’s through relationships that you can fit things together.”