In today’s press accounts of the legislature, it was reported that Rep. Mike Horner (R., Kissimmee) took the floor to criticize his colleage, freshman Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Ft. Walton Beach) for submitting a “strike all” amendment to Horner’s tort reform bill. The tactic is harsh, particularly for a freshman member of the House of Representatives, but it really underscores, on a day-to-day basis, the negative consequences of term limits. Of the two legislators, Horner is most senior having been re-elected once–about the normal time to learn the rules of the House. The proper way an experienced legislator might handle a “strike all” amendment is to meet with the lawmaker whose bill is being amended, and let him know what you are doing and why. You can still pursue your amendment with vigor, but this way a member is not blind sided by an amendment which essentially kills the original bill, and perhaps worse, creates a totally new and very different bill that is now moving through the chamber, without committee review. Without experience, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
