Judicial committee takes a pro-business slant

By Business Observer Staff
| 7:34 a.m. January 15, 2013
| 2 Free Articles Remaining!

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Medical malpractice, civil litigation and foreclosures are three likely hot topics for the Legislature in the upcoming session.

For the business community, fortunately, the politician who will lead the way when it comes to laws and policies in those areas will be one of their own: State Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, who was recently named chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee for the 2013 session.

A longtime Tampa-area homebuilder, Lee is in an unusual spot on the committee because he's an entrepreneur in a room mostly full of lawyers. Lee served in the Senate from 1996 to 2006, including a term as president, where he was an active pro-business voice. He was elected to the Senate again in November.

Lee, according to the News Service of Florida, will be mindful of how legal policies impact all citizens and businesses in Florida, not just attorneys. Lee is aware the general business community feels it's in a constant uphill fight against the powerful trial-attorney lobby.

“I'm not unfamiliar with the courts,” Lee tells the News Service. “It's going to be a steep learning curve for me, but it's not the first time I've had to go and do that.”

Lee's judicial committee chairman counterpart in the House, Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, also comes from a business background. Baxley, a funeral home owner, tells the News Service that “I tease my colleagues who are lawyers on the committee that I'm not an attorney, but I have hired and fired a bunch of them.”

The committees in both branches will be busy. Several foreclosure-related bills will be up for debate, the News Service reports. In civil litigation, meanwhile, restrictions on third-party liability, a holdover topic from 2012, will likely resurface. Medical malpractice reform proposals have also been contentious in past years.

Lee's ready to stand watch. “A lot of what the Legislature does is referee fist fights between the special interest groups,” says Lee. “This committee is probably a good example of one that has to engage in that frequently.”