Title Page
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    Members of the House of Representatives
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    November 1972
        Tuesday, November 21
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Journa



I



of the

House of Representatives



ORGANIZATION SESSION





of the
THIRD LEGISLATURE



[under the Constitution as Revised in 1968]



[Including a record of transmittal of Acts subsequent to sine die adjournment]






























































































14,>







MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Organization and Special Sessions 1972

[Democrats in roman (77) ; Republicans in italic (43)]



District



1
2
3



Part of ESCAMBIA
Grover C. Robinson, Pensacola
R. W. "Smokey" Peaden, Pensacola
Tom Tobiassen, Pensacola



OKALOOSA, parts of ESCAMBIA,
SANTA ROSA, WALTON
4 Edmond M. Fortune, Pace
5 J. G. "Jerry" Melvin, Ft. Walton Beach
6 Jere Tolton, Ft. Walton Beach
HOLMES, parts of JACKSON,
WALTON, WASHINGTON
7 Wayne Mixson, Marianna
Parts of BAY, WALTON, WASHINGTON
8 Earl Hutto, Panama City
CALHOUN, GULF, parts of BAY,
GADSDEN, JACKSON, LIBERTY
9 William J. Rish, Port St. Joe
FRANKLIN, parts of GADSDEN,
JEFFERSON, LIBERTY,
TAYLOR, WAKULLA
10 Pat Thomas, Quincy
LEON, parts of JEFFERSON,
MADISON, WAKULLA
11 Donald L. Tucker, Tallahassee
12 Carroll Webb, Tallahassee
COLUMBIA, HAMILTON, parts of
MADISON, SUWANNEE
13 Leon N. McDonald, Sr., Live Oak
CITRUS, DIXIE, GILCHRIST,
LAFAYETTE, LEVY, parts of
HERNANDO, MARION, SUWANNEE,
TAYLOR
14 Gene Hodges, Cedar Key
BAKER, NASSAU, parts of DUVAL,
UNION
15 George R. Grosse, Jacksonville
Part of DUVAL
16 Mary L. Singleton, Jacksonville
17 John R. Forbes, Jacksonville



District
18 Frank Carlucci, Jacksonville
19 Eric Smith, Jacksonville
20 Carl Ogden, Jacksonville
21 William 0. Birchfield, Jacksonville
22 Mattox Hair, Jacksonville
23 R. Earl Dixon, Jacksonville
24 Ander Crenshaw, Jacksonville

BRADFORD, CLAY, part of ST. JOHNS
25 Frank Williams, Starke



26
27



ALACHUA, parts of MARION,
PUTNAM, UNION
Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville
William C. Andrews, Gainesville



Parts of FLAGLER, PUTNAM, ST. JOHNS
28 A. H. "Gus" Craig, St. Augustine



29
30
31



VOLUSIA, part of FLAGLER
William R. Conway, Ormond Beach
Gary R. Cunningham, New Smyrna Beach
J. Hyatt Brown, Daytona Beach



Parts of LAKE, MARION
32 Kenneth H. MacKay, Jr., Ocala

Parts of ORANGE, SEMINOLE
33 Eugene C. Mooney, Fern Park

Parts of LAKE, MARION, SEMINOLE
34 Vince Fechtel, Leesburg

Parts of LAKE, MARION, SUMTER
35 Richard H. Langley, Clermont

Parts of HERNANDO, PASCO, POLK,
SUMTER
36 John R. Culbreath, Brooksville

Parts of PASCO, PINELLAS
37 Ronald R. Richmond, New Port Richey



38
39
40



Part of ORANGE
William L. Gibson, Orlando
Harvey W. Matthews, Orlando
W. E. "Bill" Fulford, Orlando







District
41 Fred Hagan, Orlando
42 William D. Gorman, Tangerine
43 Lewis S. Earle, Winter Park

Parts of BREVARD, ORANGE, SEMINOLE
44 Jack Shreve, Merritt Island
45 F. Eugene Tubbs, Merritt Island
46 Jane W. Robinson, Cocoa
47 C. William Nelson, Melbourne

INDIAN RIVER, parts of BREVARD,
OKEECHOBEE, OSCEOLA, ST. LUCIE
48 Chester Clem, Vero Beach



Parts of HIGHLANDS, OSCEOLA, POLK
Ray Mattox, Winter Haven
John R. Clark, Lakeland
Larry Libertore, Lakeland
C. Fred Jones, Auburndale

Part of PINELLAS
Mary R. Grizzle, Clearwater
S. Curtis Kiser, Dunedin
Ed S. Whitson, Jr., Clearwater
Betty Easley, Clearwater
John J. Savage, St. Petersburg
A. S. "Jim" Robinson, St. Petersburg
Richard Price, St. Petersburg
Roger H. Wilson, Seminole
Donald R. Crane, Jr., St. Petersburg

Parts of HILLSBOROUGH, POLK
James L. Redman, Plant City
John L. Ryals, Brandon
R. Ed Blackburn, Jr., Temple Terrace
Jim "Trooper Jim" Foster, Tampa

Part of HILLSBOROUGH
Terrell Sessums, Tampa
Paul W. Danahy, Tampa
Richard S. Hodes, Tampa
Guy "Butch" Spicola, Tampa
Elvin L. Martinez, Tampa

HARDEE, parts of MANATEE, SARASOTA
Ralph H. Haben, Jr., Palmetto
John Harllee, Bradenton



District
Parts of CHARLOTTE, MANATEE,
SARASOTA
73 Granville H. Crabtree, Jr., Sarasota
74 Robert M. Johnson, Sarasota

DESOTO, parts of CHARLOTTE,
HIGHLANDS, SARASOTA
75 Jim K. Tillman, Sarasota
Parts of MARTIN, ST. LUCIE
76 Charles L. "Chuck" Nergard, Ft. Pierce
Parts of MARTIN, OKEECHOBEE,
PALM BEACH
77 Jack M. Poorbaugh, Jupiter



78
79
80
81
82
83


84
85
86
87
88



Parts of BROWARD, PALM BEACH
Don F. Hazelton, West Palm Beach
Ray Moudry, West Palm Beach
William G. James, Delray Beach
David C. Clark, West Palm Beach
Jay J. Reynolds, Boca Raton
Thomas F. Lewis, North Palm Beach

Part of BROWARD
Van B. Poole, Ft. Lauderdale
Arthur H. Rude, Pompano Beach
Jon C. Thomas, Ft. Lauderdale
George Williamson, Ft. Lauderdale
Randy Avon, Ft. Lauderdale



COLLIER, GLADES, parts of
HENDRY, HIGHLANDS, LEE
89 James Lorenzo Walker, Naples



49
50
51
52


53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61


62
63
64
65


66
67
68
69
70



71
72



Parts of CHARLOTTE, HENDRY, LEE
Ted Randell, Ft. Myers
H. Paul Nuckolls, Ft. Myers

Parts of BROWARD, DADE
Tom McPherson, Ft. Lauderdale
Harold Joseph Dyer, Hollywood
John (Jack) Miller, Hollywood
Walter C. Young, Hollywood
Charles "Charlie" W. Boyd, Hollywood
Daniel B. Bass, Hollywood

Part of DADE
Elaine Gordon, Miami
Barry Kutun, Miami



90
91


92
93
94
95
96
97


98
99







District
100 George I. Baumgartner, North Miami Beach
101 Paul B. Steinberg, Miami Beach
102 Ted Cohen, Miami Beach
103 Alan S. Becker, North Miami
104 William H. Lockward, Hialeah
105 Joe Lang Kershaw, Miami
106 Gwen Sawyer Cherry, Miami
107 A. M. "Tony" Fontana, Miami Lakes
108 Charles H. Snowden, North Miami
109 Robert C. Hartnett, South Miami
110 Walter W. "Wallie" Sackett, Jr., Miami



District
111 Carl A. Singleton, Coral Gables
112 Marshall S. Harris, Miami
113 John Cyril Malloy, Miami
114 Robert C. Hector, Miami
115 Murray H. Dubbin, Miami
116 Vernon C. Holloway, Miami
117 Charles C. "Charlie" Papy, Jr., Coral Gables
118 Dick Clark, Coral Gables
119 Jeff D. Gautier, Miami
MONROE, part of DADE
120 Fred N. Tittle, Jr., Tavernier



OFFICERS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Organization and Special Sessions 1972



Speaker-Terrell Sessums



Clerk-Allen Morris



Sergeant at Arms-Philip W. LaBarge



Speaker pro tempore-A. H. Craig








THE JOURNAL OF THE FLORIDA



House of Representatives





ORGANIZATION SESSION



Tuesday, November 21, 1972


Journal of the House of Representatives for the Organization Session of the Third Legislature convened under
the Constitution of Florida as Revised in 1968, begun and held at the Capitol in the City of Tallahassee, in the
State of Florida, on Tuesday, November 21, 1972, being the day fixed by the Constitution for the purpose.



Under Rule 3.1, Allen Morris, Clerk of the preceding Session
delegated the duties of temporary presiding officer to Repre-
sentative Ralph D. Turlington, former Speaker. Mr. Turlington
called the House to order at 10:00 a.m.
The following certified list of Members elected to the House
of Representatives was received:

STATE OF FLORIDA )
)SS
OFFICE OF SECRETARY OF STATE )
I, RICHARD (DICK) STONE, Secretary of State of the
State of Florida, do hereby certify that the following Members
of the House of Representatives were elected at the General
Election held on the Seventh day of November, A. D., 1972 as
shown by the election returns on file in this office:

HOUSE DISTRICT NUMBER
1-Grover C. Robinson, III, Pensacola
2-R. W. "Smokey" Peaden, Pensacola
3-Tom Tobiassen, Pensacola
4-Edmond M. Fortune, Pace
5-Jerry G. Melvin, Fort Walton Beach
6-Jere Tolton, Fort Walton Beach
7-Wayne Mixson, Marianna
8-Earl Hutto, Panama City
9-William J. Rish, Port St. Joe
10-Pat Thomas, Quincy
11-Donald L. Tucker, Tallahassee
12-Carroll Webb, Tallahassee
13-Leon N. McDonald, Live Oak
14-Gene Hodges, Cedar Key
15-George R. Grosse, Jacksonville
16-Mary L. Singleton, Jacksonville
17-John R. Forbes, Jacksonville
18-Frank Carlucci, Jacksonville
19-Eric Smith, Jacksonville
20-Carl Ogden, Jacksonville
21-Bill Birchfield, Jacksonville
22-Mattox Hair, Jacksonville
23-R. Earl Dixon, Jacksonville
24-Ander Crenshaw, Jacksonville
1



25-Frank Williams, Starke
26-Ralph D. Turlington, Gainesville
27-Bill Andrews, Gainesville
28-A. H. (Gus) Craig, St. Augustine
29-William R. Conway, Ormond Beach
30-Gary R. Cunningham, New Smyrna Beach
31-Hyatt Brown, Ormond Beach
32-Kenneth H. MacKay, Jr., Ocala
33-Gene Mooney, Casselberry
34-Vince Fechtel, Jr., Leesburg
35-Richard H. (Dick) Langley, Clermont
36-John R. Culbreath, Brooksville
37-Ronald R. Richmond, New Port Richey
38-William L. Gibson, Orlando
39-Harvey W. Matthews, Orlando
40-Bill Fulford, Orlando
41-Fred B. Hagan, Orlando
42-William D. Gorman, Tangerine
43-Lew Earle, Maitland
44-Jack Shreve, Merritt Island
45-F. Eugene Tubbs, Merritt Island
46-Jane W. Robinson, Merritt Island
47-Bill Nelson, Melbourne
48-Chester Clem, Vero Beach
49-Ray Mattox, Winter Haven
50-John R. Clark, Lakeland
51-Larry Libertore, Lakeland
52-C. Fred Jones, Auburndale
53-Mary R. Grizzle, Clearwater
54-S. Curtis Kiser, Dunedin
55-Edmund S. Whitson, Jr., Clearwater
56-Betty Easley, Largo
57-John J. Savage, North Redington Beach
58-A. S. Jim Robinson, St. Petersburg
59-Richard (Dick) Price, St. Petersburg








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



60-Roger H. Wilson, Seminole
61-Donald R. Crane, Jr., St. Petersburg
62-James L. Redman, Plant City
63-John L. Ryals, Brandon
64-R. Ed Blackburn, Jr., Temple Terrace
65-Jim Foster, Lutz
66-Terrell Sessums, Tampa
67-Paul W. Danahy, Jr., Tampa
68-Richard S. Hodes, Tampa
69-Guy Spicola, Tampa
70-Elvin L. Martinez, Tampa
71-Ralph H. Haben, Palmetto
72-John Harllee, Bradenton
73-Granville H. Crabtree, Jr., Sarasota
74-Robert (Bob) M. Johnson, Sarasota
75-Jim K. Tillman, Sarasota
76-Charles (Chuck) Nergard, Fort Pierce
77-Jack M. Poorbaugh, Jupiter
78-Donald F. Hazelton, West Palm Beach
79-Raymond J. Moudry, West Palm Beach
80-William G. "Bill" James, Boynton Beach
81-David C. Clark, North Palm Beach
82-Jay J. Reynolds, Boca Raton
83-Thomas F. Lewis, North Palm Beach
84-Van B. Poole, Fort Lauderdale
85-Arthur H. Rude, Fort Lauderdale
86-Jon C. Thomas, Fort Lauderdale
87-George A. Williamson, Fort Lauderdale
88-Randy Avon, Fort Lauderdale
89--James Lorenzo Walker, Naples
90-Ted Randell, Fort Myers
91-Hugh Paul Nuckolls, Fort Myers
92-Tom McPherson, Fort Lauderdale
93-Harold Joseph Dyer, Hollywood
94-John (Jack) Miller, Fort Lauderdale
95-Walter C. (Walt) Young, Pembroke Pines
96-Charles W. Boyd, Pembroke Pines
97-Daniel B. Bass, Plantation
98-Elaine Gordon, Miami Beach
99-Barry Kutun, Miami Beach
100-George I. Baumgartner, North Miami Beach
101-Paul B. Steinberg, Miami Beach
102-Ted Cohen, Miami Beach
103-Alan S. Becker, North Miami Beach
104-William H. Lockward, Hialeah
105-Joe Lang Kershaw, Miami
106-Gwendolyn S. Cherry, Miami



107-Tony Fontana, Miami Lakes
108-Charles H. Snowden, Hialeah



109-Robert C. Hartnett, Coconut Grove
110-Walter W. Sackett, Jr., Miami
111-Carl A. Singleton, Coral Gables
112-Marshall S. Harris, Miami
113-John Cyril Malloy, Coral Gables
114-Robert C. Hector, Miami
115-Murray H. Dubbin, Miami
116-Vernon C. Holloway, Miami
117-Charles C. Papy, Jr., Miami
118-Dick Clark, Coral Gables
119-Jeff D. Gautier, Miami
120-Fred Tittle, Tavernier

GIVEN under my hand and the Great
Seal of the State of Florida at Talla-
hassee, the Capital, this 20th day of
November, A. D., 1972.

RICHARD (DICK) STONE
# Secretary of State


The names of the Members being called, a quorum was de-
termined to be present.


Prayer

Prayer by The Reverend W. Ray Finklea, Saint Paul's United
Methodist Church of Tallahassee:
0 Lord, our Heavenly Father, open our eyes that we
may we see that this is the day You have made. Let us re-
joice and be glad in it. Open our minds that we may
understand that this is the world You have created. Let
us use it with respect and thanksgiving. Open our hearts
that we may sense that these are the people You have
given life. Let us act with love and compassion toward one
another. As we approach our national day of Thanksgiving,
let us consciously appreciate our great and free land. And
as this legislative session begins help these representa-
tives of the people to do only those things that will en-
hance the greatest of our country. Give them keen minds
and clear insight. Help them to consider the matters be-
fore them without pride or prejudice. Allow them to act
for the good of all and not just for a few. May each one
of them seek your counsel as he ponders important mat-
ters: matters of economy, matters of social and economic
justice, matters of life and death. And, Lord, use even
their mistakes for the good of this your day, and your
world, and your people. Amen.


Pledge
The Members pledged allegiance to the Flag.


Oath taken by Members

The Members, as shown in the certificate from the Secretary
of State, came forward and took the Oath of Office prescribed
by the Constitution of the State of Florida from Chief Justice
B. K. Roberts of the Supreme Court.

Presentation of Former Members



The following former Members of the House of Representa-
tives were presented: Former Speaker, The Honorable E. C.
Rowell, The Honorable William M. Inman, The Honorable
Tommy Stevens, The Honorable Wertz Nease, and former
Speaker and Commissioner of Agriculture, The Honorable
Doyle E. Conner.



November 21, 1972








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



Election of the Speaker
The Chairman announced that nominations would now be
received for Speaker of the House of Representatives, under
Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution, for a term of two
years from this date.

Remarks by Mr. Danahy
Representative Danahy nominated The Honorable Terrell
Sessums for Speaker with the following remarks:

Mr. Speaker and my colleagues of the House of Representa-
tives.

It is an honor and a pleasure to place in nomination for your
consideration as our new Speaker, the name of my friend, T.
Terrell Sessums.

It is important during this period of transition that the
leadership of the House pass to a man who has a broad
understanding of our state government and the problems fac-
ing the people of Florida. It is important that the man who
leads us has unquestioned integrity, character and personal
honor. These years in Florida's history demand a time of no-
nonsense leadership; a time for competence; and a time for hard
work. We must have as our Speaker a man who has com-
passion and understanding not only of the state's problems-
but an understanding of the problems which face each of us
as individual Legislators.

Terrell Sessums is such a man.

It is impossible in these few moments to describe all the
rare qualities this honorable man possesses. But since his
future actions as our Speaker can best be predicted by the kind
of man he has been, and the kind of life he has led, let me
share with you a brief glimpse of that life.

Terrell was born in Daytona Beach and was graduated from
Andrew Jackson High School in Jacksonville and from the
University of Florida where he received both his Bachelor and
Law degrees. He served our nation faithfully in the United
States Air Force.

While at the University of Florida, he distinguished himself
in a way which brought honor, not only to him, personally,
but to that institution. You perhaps know he was President of
the student body, a member of Blue Key, and the Hall of Fame.
And while he was active in fraternity life and campus politics,
I suspect he would be proudest of his service as President of
Georgia Seagle Hall where so many young Florida men of
modest means have worked for their higher education in a
close knit moral atmosphere.

Terrell married a lovely lady, Neva Ann Steeves of Jackson-
ville, who will be a most gracious first lady of our House. They
have two lively young sons and a most delightful little daughter.
I don't see how they see much of Terrell-even at home, for
his civic and professional memberships are numerous, and he
takes an active leadership role in each one. The family are
regular attendants of their church where Terrell is an out-
standing lay leader.

Those of us who have served with him in committee are
impressed with his sincerity, dedication to detail and research,
patience and firmness. He is a man who is fair and decisive,
and in whom every man among us has trust.

He has trained well for his new responsibility. He has been



Speaker pro tempore and Chairman of the Higher Education
Committee and the Ad Valorem Tax Committee. His committee



assignments over the years have covered the whole range of
problems facing this state, and he has distinguished himself in
each.
I am told that, as a boy, Terrell took up hammer and saw
and helped to build the first family home in Jacksonville. He
has been a builder ever since-in his profession-in the cause
of better government-and in the affairs of his fellow man.
And so my colleagues of the House, as I place in nomination
as our new Speaker the name of Terrell Sessums, I want to
tell him for us all that we acknowledge his friendship. We
know, Terrell, that you will bring honor to this House and,
with Neva's help, you will bring greatness to this House. I
wish you Godspeed as you embark on this work which will
have such an impact on the lives of all Floridians. Thank you.
Remarks by Mr. Mixson
Representative Mixson seconded the nomination of Mr.
Sessums for Speaker with the following remarks:
Mr. Speaker, Members of the House and guests. Four
years ago I had the privilege of seconding the nomination of
Terrell Sessums for Speaker pro tempore. I had these things
to say about the gentleman, and today I believe that they
describe in even greater measure Terrell Sessums than then.
It is my pleasure and honor to second the nomination of
one of our most able leaders for Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and to indicate my enthusiastic support for
Terrell Sessums. I have long known this gentleman and appre-
ciated his abilities as a leader on the House floor. I have had
an unusual opportunity to observe his patience and persever-
ance, having served on many committees with him during these
years. Our times and our state require a man of intelligence,
a man of integrity, a man of well known and proven political
opinions. They demand a statesman. Common sense, courage,
compassion, are words descriptive of this gentleman.
He is a man deliberate in action, gentle in tone, proven in
the qualities of judgment, motivated by a spirit of service.
Modest in manner, he possesses a rare talent and ability as
an orator, a patriot, blending together the profound politician
and scholar. Everyone knows and appreciates the influence
and persuasiveness of Terrell in debate. He intelligently thinks
through and analyzes every proposition. He builds his case
logically and orderly.
He uses facts like the blows of a pile driver, pounding them
down one by one until his case rests on the solid rocks of
reason, logic and truth. He is unimpressed with any less than
sincerity or authenticity in others. Sometimes I feel that Ter-
rell would rather lose his case than to rest it on other than its
merits.
Facts, logic, order, equity, justice-these are the measuring
sticks that Terrell Sessums uses. These are his scales. I be-
lieve him to be a man who will be fair to the underprivileged-
at the upper end of our economic scale as well as at the lower
end. He understands and appreciates the American competi-
tive enterprise system. Our State asks for a man worthy of the
past and prophetic of its future. It asks for a man who has the
audacity of genius.
Mr. Chairman, for this most important position of leadership
in our beloved State, I second the nomination of a man who, in
my judgment, has the grandest combination of heart, conscience
and brains that can be found underneath the folds of her grand
old flag. I proudly second the nomination of Terrell Sessums.
Remarks by Mr. Shreve



Representative Shreve seconded the nomination of Mr. Ses-
sums with the following remarks:



November 21, 1972



3








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



Ladies and gentlemen of the House. As Speaker of the United
States House of Representatives, Henry Clay once said, "Gov-
ernment is a trust, and the officers of the government are trust-
ees, and both the trust and the trustees are created for the
benefit of the people." I know that the man we select for our
Speaker today shares that belief.

I have had the privilege of knowing Terrell Sessums since
our early days at the University of Florida. Even back then,
he was always seeking new ways to be of benefit to the people.
He served as President of his dormitory, as President of the
Debate Society, as President of State Methodist Student Move-
ment, and finally as President of the Student Body.

It was no surprise to me in 1963 when Terrell first offered
himself in service to the people of the State of Florida as
State Representative.

His record of service in this body demonstrates how well he
has executed the people's trust. Today we are imposing upon
him an even higher trust.

In previous sessions, Terrell Sessums has been a leader of
the House. Today, he becomes the leader of the House. No
longer is he one of the trusted Lieutenants assisting a Gen-
eral named Rowell, or Turlington, or Schultz, or Pettigrew.
Now it is his hand that will gavel us to order each day as
we conduct the people's business. Now it is his mind that must
finally weigh the alternatives as we seek the greatest benefit
for the people. Now it is his shoulders upon which the mantle of
leadership rests.

I am confident that with each leadership decision to be made,
Speaker Sessums will not be asking questions about personal
or party loyalty, or about regional or other special interests.
He will be asking many questions, because that is his style.
But all of these questions can be boiled down to one. Is this
the best way to execute a trust that the people have placed on
us ?

In these days when people tend to mistrust politicians, and
public officials, we have an opportunity to show the people of
the State of Florida the type of individual that we would choose
as our leader. The man we choose is Terrell Sessums.

Terrell Sessums is an honest man. Terrell Sessums is a strong
man. Terrell Sessums is a moral man. Terrell Sessums has the
qualities that we want the people of the State of Florida to know
that we respect. We are all judged, somewhat, by the people we
hold in high esteem, and by the leaders we choose.

It is with great pleasure that I rise to second the nomination
of Terrell Sessums. For I know that we will all be proud of the
judgement that we receive for our selection of Terrell Sessums
as the Speaker of our House of Representatives.

Remarks by Mr. Johnson

Representative Johnson nominated The Honorable Jim K.
Tillman for Speaker with the following remarks:
Mr. Chairman, Representative and Mrs. Sessums, ladies and
gentlemen of this House. I really believe in my heart that today
we have assembled the greatest House of Representatives in the
history of the State of Florida.

I commend to your respect and to your consideration the
leader of the "Grand Old Party" to be Speaker of this House,
Representative Jim K. Tillman. Jim Tillman has been a member



of this House since 1967, and in this six years has exhibited very
quiet, dedicated and positive leadership in everything he has



touched in Florida government. He is dedicated and untiring in
his zeal to do what is right, and to accomplish good for this
state.
I have personally known Jim Tillman for 18 years, since he
and I first worked our way through FSU together many years
ago. He has always, to my knowledge, in the time I have known
him, been a man of rockbed integrity, whose word is his bond,
whose pledge is unwaivering, whose oath is strong and he has
always dedicated himself to conservative government in the
State of Florida.
Some of the things he has done have been in the area of
agriculture, our largest industry today in this State, and one in
which he has been a leading voice over the years due to his
personal avocation of being in agriculture.
He has been a leader in the fight to have our senior citizens
properly recognized, whether it be in the area of their health
care, their living, their transportation needs, or whatever it is
that they are entitled to and have a right to in the living of their
golden days in the State of Florida. We have over one million
citizens today over 60 years old in this State. And Jim Tillman
has given them his every concern.
He has been a leader in the fight for true and honest tax
reform in the past several years, and is dedicated today to fight
for that tax reform-whether it be in the area of repeal of the
intangible tax, whether it be in the area of property tax relief
for our homeowners, whether it be in the area of some sort of
sales tax relief to our people of this State. He is dedicated to
see that the surplus we have today is effectively used to bring
about true tax relief.
Three things are required to be a Speaker: Knowledge of
government, which he has extensively through his service;
organizational ability, which he has demonstrated time and
again in this House; political savvy, which he has demonstrated
over and over, is one of his great strengths.
I have talked to several of you in the past few days who have
been pledged to the very distinguished leader of the Majority
Party about this nomination today, and I want you to know that
we are not going to hold you to your pledges. We are not going
to make this a one-on-one and call in our chips today on this
particular issue. But I do want you to know that we are serious
in letting you know of our great leader, and his ability to serve
in this capacity.
Jim Tillman has been in the White House several times this
summer, working for our President and his reelection. He met
with President Nixon in Atlanta two months ago, and he had
a conversation with Mr. Nixon in which he related that he would
probably be the leader of our party in this Legislature in the
House, and he would be nominated for Speaker of the House.
And the President smiled and said, "Jim, I'm with you, we need
you, I'm behind you 1,000%."
It is with a real sincere motivation and with a deep love that
I have for this man that I commend him to your thinking and
to your vote today as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Thank you very much.

Remarks by Mr. Gorman
Representative Gorman seconded the nomination of Mr. Till-
man with the following remarks:
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen of the House. Representa-
tive Johnson has given you a very accurate appraisal of Jim
Tillman and how eminently qualified he is to be Speaker of this



House. Mr. Tillman has energy, intelligence and determination,
as well as the tact to work with his colleagues.



November 21, 1972








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



He has demonstrated his effectiveness and legislative skill
especially in the area of criminal justice. He has worked tire-
lessly to modernize our prison system, to revitalize our parole
and probation policies, to upgrade our law enforcement, and to
fund more fully the Florida Law Enforcement Academy.
Of course, Mr. Tillman will continue his drive to improve all
aspects of law enforcement and criminal justice in Florida. I
mention this particular activity only to demonstrate that Jim
Tillman is effective and that he possesses the legislative skill to
get things done, two special qualities that a Speaker needs.
I want to emphasize Jim's conservative philosophy. As you
know, he is a strong proponent of right-to-work legislation.
Under his leadership, the drive to pass this much needed legis-
lation will continue and strengthen.
We of the Minority Party have the greatest respect and
personal regard for the nominee of the Majority Party, however,
we feel that the two party system is good for Florida and that
it is very important that the activity and dedication of the
Minority Party be part of this day as well as part of the Regular
Session.
We therefore commend Mr. Tillman to you for your considera-
tion. It is a privilege to second the nomination of my friend
Representative Jim K. Tillman for Speaker of this House.

Representatives Sessums and Tillman were the nominees for
Speaker.

The Chairman appointed Representatives Harris and Tubbs
as tellers.

When the votes were cast for Speaker, the result was:

Sessums-76



Andrews
Baumgartner
Becker
Birchfield
Blackburn
Boyd
Brown
Carlucci
Cherry
Clark, Dick
Clark, J. R.
Cohen
Conway
Craig
Culbreath
Cunningham
Danahy
Dubbin
Dyer
Mr. Sessums

Tillman-42
Avon
Bass
Clark, David
Clem
Crabtree
Crane
Crenshaw
Dixon
Earle
Easley
Fechtel



Fontana
Forbes
Fortune
Foster
Fulford
Gautier
Gordon
Grosse
Haben
Hair
Harllee
Harris
Hartnett
Hector
Hodes
Hodges
Holloway
Hutto
Jones
passed.



Gibson
Gorman
Grizzle
Hagan
Hazelton
James
Johnson
Kiser
Langley
Lewis
Malloy



Kershaw
Kutun
Libertore
Lockward
MacKay
Martinez
Mattox
McDonald
McPherson
Melvin
Miller
Mixson
Nelson
Ogden
Papy
Peaden
Randell
Redman
Rish




Matthews
Mooney
Moudry
Nergard
Nuckolls
Poole
Poorbaugh
Price
Reynolds
Richmond
Robinson, A. S.



Robinson, G. C.
Ryals
Sackett
Shreve
Singleton, C. A.
Singleton, M. L.
Smith
Snowden
Spicola
Steinberg
Thomas, P.
Tittle
Tolton
Tucker
Turlington
Walker
Webb
Williams
Young




Robinson, J. W.
Rude
Savage
Thomas, J. C.
Tobiassen
Tubbs
Whitson
Williamson
Wilson



Mr. Tillman passed.



Mr. Sessums was declared the duly elected Speaker for the
next two years.



On motion by Mr. Ogden, Representatives Redman, Dubbin,
Fortune, Jones, and Birchfield were appointed by the Chairman
as a committee to escort Mr. Sessums and his wife to the
rostrum.
The Chairman presented the Speaker's wife, Neva. Their
children, Tommy, Richard and Sandra, were also in attendance
along with Mrs. Thomas Sessums, the Speaker's mother.
Other family members present were Mr. and Mrs. Stephen
Sessums, Mr. and Mrs. John Sessums, and Mr. Robert Cornwall.
Friends present were Mr. and Mrs. Steve DiDio, Mr. and Mrs.
J. Bert Grandoff, Mr. J. Benton Stewart, Mrs. Esther Davis,
and Miss Lynn Davis.
Judge Herboth S. Ryder of the Court of Record for Hills-
borough County administered the Oath of Office to the Speaker.
The Speaker was then presented by the Chairman to the
membership.

THE SPEAKER IN THE CHAIR

Election of Speaker pro tempore

The Speaker announced that nominations would now be
received for Speaker pro tempore for a term, under Rule 1.1.

Remarks by Mr. Fulford
Representative Fulford nominated The Honorable A. H. "Gus"
Craig for Speaker pro tempore with the following remarks:
Mr. Speaker, Members of the Florida House of Representa-
tives, ladies and gentlemen. It is indeed a pleasure and a
special privilege and honor to be here today to place in nomi-
nation for the office of Speaker pro tempore of the Florida
House of Representatives the name of A. H. "Gus" Craig.
As a Freshman in the Florida House in 1966, I was honored
with an appointment to the Salt Water Conservation Committee,
and at that time to meet the then Chairman, Gus Craig. From
that meeting has evolved a very strong friendship. One of which
I am very proud.
In addition to the Salt Water Conservation Committee, Gus
Craig has been Chairman of the House Conservation Committee
and has also served as Chairman of the Natural Resources Com-
mittee. In fact, Gus has been around the Legislature represent-
ing Florida's East Coast so long that I consider him to be al-
most one of the Minorcans of early Florida's East Coast his-
tory. Gus has ably served the people of Florida, and he has
served them with dignity and honor.
I will not indulge in prolixity in my remarks, because Gus
said to cut out all the garbage today. So I won't even tell you
about the time when he voted against his own bill in his own
committee.
In this Session Gus will be fourth in seniority in the House
of Representatives. He is from St. Augustine, and has repre-
sented St. Johns and surrounding counties for twelve years,
which in the Florida politics of today is indeed a tribute to any
legislator.

Gus was born January 25, 1920, at St. Augustine, Florida,
where he still resides. He received his education at the Univer-
sity of Florida and the Cincinnati School of Embalming and
is now a funeral director in St. Augustine. It should be quite
obvious, of course, that Gus would be one of the last people
to ever let you down. Gus is married to the former Margie
Wilson of Palatka, a very lovely lady, and he has two children,
Gus III and Bonnie. He is an Episcopalian, and his hobbies are
dancing, swimming and golf. He excels in all of these, al-



though his golf cart driving is reminiscent of his former am-
bulance driving days.



5



November 21, 1972








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



For you new legislators who have not had the pleasure of
Gus' friendship nor been subjected to his flights of oratory
on the floor, or have not heard that familiar "They're gonna
snooker you if you don't watch out", or have not been intro-
duced to his ability to kill a bill on the floor, let me say that
I am proud not only to call Gus my friend, but also to place
in nomination his name as Speaker pro tempore for the Florida
House of Representatives.

Gus faces a stiff challenge as Speaker pro tern, and in aiding
the Speaker in leadership. But stiff is not a word that bothers
Gus. He is quite capable of handling this sort of thing. Gus
is a fair person and I believe every legislator that has ever
served with him will attest to this. Gus is a loyal person, and
loyalty is hard to come by these days. Gus has integrity, and
he is a man that when he says he will do something, he will
do it. Gus has devotion to duty in the House of Representatives,
and you will find him a hard-working Speaker pro tem, just as
he has been a hard-working committee Chairman. Gus Craig con-
ducts himself with dignity at all times, and such dignity makes
me proud to be a Member of the Florida House of Represent-
atives and to call Gus Craig my friend.

Above all, Gus has honor. These, then, are the ingredients
of leadership: Fairness, loyalty, integrity, devotion to duty,
dignity, and above all, honor. If you put all these words to-
gether, they won't spell A. H. "Gus" Craig. But he will be
the closest person to this combination that you're going to see
in the Legislature for a long, long time. So it is with a great
deal of pride that I place the name of A. H. "Gus" Craig in
nomination for the office of Speaker pro tempore of the Flor-
ida House of Representatives. Thank you.

Remarks by Mr. Mattox
Representative Mattox seconded the nomination of Mr. Craig
with the following remarks:
I wish to address my brief remarks primarily to the fresh-
men Members of this body. Because as Mr. Fulford has pointed
out, those of us who have served with Gus Craig over the
years don't have to be told about his many qualities and the
characteristics that make up this man's personality and his
ability to offer leadership to this body.

As a new Member of this organization, you are going to be
faced with many challenges, and many opportunities for service.
You are going to be called on to make thousands of decisions,
and vote hundreds of times. During this process, you're going
to be faced with the difficult chore of trying to determine what
is best for the people of the State of Florida. You're going to
have an opportunity to look to individuals for guidance, for
advice, and for inspiration. Gus Craig is not a perfect legis-
lator, but he is one of those rare individuals who was made to
serve in a legislative body. He is the type of individual that
you can look to for guidance, look to for advice, because he is
the type of an individual who has served in the Legislature and
about whom the highest form of compliment has been made-
that he is a man of political integrity. His word is his bond.
A man in whom you can place your trust and confidence. And
a man who will represent this body in the highest and best
sense.

That's the kind of man that we have chosen as a back-up
leader to our Speaker. So I would commend him to you as a
man to emulate in your service as you represent the people of
the State of Florida. And that you would strive in every way
to emulate the characteristics that make this man a true leader
of the House of Representatives. I will commend to you then,



as your Speaker pro tempore, a man of integrity, a man of hon-
or, and a man of his word, A. H. "Gus" Craig. Thank you.



Remarks by Mr. A. S. Robinson
Representative A. S. Robinson nominated The Honorable
John J. Savage for Speaker pro tempore with the following re-
marks:
Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the House, colleagues,
families, friends. I rise this morning, a point of great honor and
pride, to place in nomination the name of my dear friend, The
Honorable John J. Savage, as Speaker pro tempore.

Jack Savage could almost be the dean of the Florida House,
because his legislative experience predates even his service
here in the Florida House. Jack Savage served in the Kentucky
Legislature before he moved to Florida, and today is starting his
ninth year of service to the people of the State of Florida. Jack
Savage is one of those people who likes to work for the public.
I remember asking him one time, "Jack, when are you going to
move over to the Senate ?" He said, "Jim, I'm not going to
move over to the Senate, I love the House, the House is where
the action is. The people in the House are closer to the public,
and I intend to stay here and serve in the Florida House."

Jack has been the Chairman of the Pinellas County Legisla-
tive Delegation and ably serves a half million people in Pinel-
las County. He is an attorney, and a former member of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation. He is the only Minority Mem-
ber in this Legislature that has ever served as a committee
chairman, and that committee, of course, is the Standards and
Conduct Committee, more commonly known as the Ethics
Committee.

To the freshmen Members, I'd like to give you a word of
friendly advice, if I may be so presumptuous. Seek out Jack
Savage. Go and talk to him. He will answer your questions, he
will give you good advice. Because I don't know of anyone in
this Legislature that has a better working knowledge of gov-
ernment and how to get things done. He is a quiet man, he won't
take the floor very often, but when he stands up to say some-
thing, he'll tell you something that's important and he'll tell it
straight.
I'll conclude my remarks by saying that I am very proud
and very pleased, it is a great honor, to place in nomination the
name of John "Jack" Savage. Thank you very much.

Remarks by Mr. James
Representative James seconded the nomination of Mr. Sav-
age with the following remarks:
Mr. Speaker, ladies and gentlemen of the House, and guests.
I'm extremely grateful to have the opportunity this morning
to second the nomination of my friend and my colleague, Mr.
Savage.

I think those that have had the honor to serve in this body
have witnessed over the many years that Mr. Savage has
served, that he has provided the quiet, the effective, the able
leadership that is so necessary. We have watched, as his every
decision as a Member of the loyal opposition, has been in a
constructive spirit-ever mindful of the people of the great
State of Florida, and the image of this body. He has the respect
of every Member that has ever served here before, and I am
quite certain in the coming days, he will have the respect of all
of our new Members.

He is never too busy, as you have heard, to allow you to
come to his desk, to come to his office, and to be able to give
of his time and his wisdom, as we prepare today to face the



serious challenges of the coming session. We need firm, strong
leadership.



November 21, 1972








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE



It is my privilege to ask you to support, as I second the
nomination of The Honorable Jack Savage for Speaker pro
tempore.

Representatives Craig and Savage were the nominees for
Speaker pro tempore.

The Speaker appointed Representatives McDonald and Whit-
son as tellers.



When the votes were
result was:
Craig-76



Andrews
Baumgartner
Becker
Birchfield
Blackburn
Boyd
Brown
Carlucci
Cherry
Clark, Dick
Clark, J. R.
Cohen
Conway
Culbreath
Cunningham
Danahy
Dubbin
Dyer
Fontana



Forbes
Fortune
Foster
Fulford
Gautier
Gordon
Grosse
Haben
Hair
Harllee
Harris
Hartnett
Hector
Hodes
Hodges
Holloway
Hutto
Jones
Kershaw



cast for Speaker pro tempore, the



Kutun
Libertore
Lockward
MacKay
Martinez
Mattox
McDonald
McPherson
Melvin
Miller
Mixson
Nelson
Ogden
Papy
Peaden
Randell
Redman
Rish
Robinson, G. C.



Ryals
Sackett
Sessums
Shreve
Singleton, C. A.
Singleton, M. L.
Smith
Snowden
Spicola
Steinberg
Thomas, P.
Tittle
Tolton
Tucker
Turlington
Walker
Webb
Williams
Young



Mr. Craig passed.



Savage-42
Avon
Bass
Clark, David
Clem
Crabtree
Crane
Crenshaw
Dixon
Earle
Easley
Fechtel



Gibson
Gorman
Grizzle
Hagan
Hazelton
James
Johnson
Kiser
Langley
Lewis
Malloy



Matthews
Mooney
Moudry
Nergard
Nuckolls
Poole
Poorbaugh
Price
Reynolds
Richmond
Robinson, A. S.



Robinson, J. W.
Rude
Thomas, J. C.
Tillman
Tobiassen
Tubbs
Whitson
Williamson
Wilson



Mr. Savage passed.

Mr. Craig was declared the duly elected Speaker pro tempore.

On motion by Mr. Tittle, Representatives Fulford, Mattox,
and Tittle were appointed by the Speaker as a committee to
escort Mr. Craig and his wife to the rostrum.

The Speaker presented the Speaker pro tempore's wife,
Margie.

Chief Justice Roberts administered the Oath of Office to the
Speaker pro tempore.


Remarks by the Speaker pro tempore

Mr. Craig addressed the House as follows:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mrs. Sessums, Margie, Members
of the House. You know, for a few minutes there, I thought
I was going to lose that election with Whitson and McDonald
over there doing the counting on that vote. That sort of got me
scared.
But let me say that if I had lost, I couldn't have lost to a
better man than Jack Savage. He's my friend and a fine legis-
lator.



November 21, 1972



On motion by Mr. Walker, the Speaker appointed Repre-
sentatives Walker, J. R. Clark, and Crabtree as a committee to
inform the Senate that the House was convened for the purpose
of organization. The committee was excused to execute its
responsibility.



OF REPRESENTATIVES 7

Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, I am humbly grate-
ful for the honor you have conferred upon me today, and I am
aware of the responsibilities that this office carries with it.
I assure each and every one of you that I will do my very
best to serve you and the Speaker to full responsibility as
Speaker pro tem and that any time I can be of service to any
Member of this House, or my staff can be of service to you,
please do not hesitate to call on me. Thank you very much.

Presentation of Guests
The Speaker presented Circuit Judge Harold Featherstone,
former Member of the House from Dade County, and former
Senator H. Horry Hair, Jr. of Live Oak and Tallahassee, father
of Representative Mattox Hair.


Election of the Clerk

The Speaker announced that nominations would now be re-
ceived for Clerk, under Rule 1.3, for a term of two years from
this date.

Mr. Allen Morris was nominated for Clerk by Representa-
tive Redman, which nomination was seconded by Representa-
tive Melvin.

On motion by Representative Tillman, prefaced by brief
remarks, nominations for Clerk were closed.

Upon vote of the membership, Mr. Morris was declared the
duly elected Clerk. Chief Justice Roberts administered the
Oath of Office to Mr. Morris.

Committee from the Senate
A committee from the Senate consisting of Senators Fire-
stone, Gillespie, and Pettigrew was received and announced that
the Senate was convened for the purpose of organization.


Designation of the Sergeant at Arms

The Speaker announced the designation of Mr. Philip W.
LaBarge as Sergeant at Arms and requested the concurrence
of the House. On motion by Mr. Ryals, seconded by Mr. Savage,
the House agreed to the designation of Mr. LaBarge as Sergeant
at Arms. Chief Justice Roberts administered the Oath of Office
to Mr. LaBarge.

Presentation of Guests
The Speaker presented U.S. Senator Lawton M. Chiles,
former Member of the House and former Senator from Polk
County.
The Speaker presented the Honorable Wilbur H. Boyd, former
Member of the House and former Senator from Manatee County.

Committee to the Governor
On motion by Mr. Randell, the Speaker appointed Repre-
sentatives Randell, Andrews, and Grizzle as a committee to
inform the Governor that the House was convened for the
purpose of organization. The committee was excused to execute
its responsibility.

Committee to the Senate








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



Introduction of House Resolution

By Representative Dubbin-
HR 1-Org.-A resolution providing for the organization of
the House of Representatives during the Third Legislature
under the Constitution as Revised in 1968.
Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State
of Florida:
1. That the Rules of the House of Representatives adopted
for and during the Regular Session 1972 shall govern the House
for the Organization Session 1972 and thereafter with the
following specific exceptions and directions:
(a) Rule 6.1 is amended to read:
6.1-Beginning with the Organization Session, the Speaker
shall appoint the membership of these standing committees:
Agriculture and Citrus
Appropriations
Business Regulation
Community Affairs
Criminal Justice
Education
Environmental Protection
Finance and Taxation
General Legislation
Governmental Operations
Health and Rehabilitative Services
House Administration
Insurance
Judiciary
Manpower and Development
Natural Resources
Reapportionment and Elections
Retirement, Personnel and Claims
Rules and Calendar
Transportation

Each Committee shall consist of not less than five (5) nor
more than twenty-seven (27) members, one of whom shall be
designated by the Speaker as Chairman and another as Vice
Chairman. The Speaker shall, ex officio, be an additional
member of every committee.

Committees shall meet on the call of the Chairman; or, in
his absence, the Vice Chairman, or, upon the written request
of three (3) or more members of the committee to the remain-
ing members.
(b) The Committee on Rules and Calendar, as appointed by
the Speaker under the authority of this Resolution, shall pro-
pose permanent rules to the House for its consideration at the
Committee's earliest convenience.
-was read the first time by title. On motions by Mr. Dubbin,
the resolution was read the second time in full and adopted.


Address by Speaker Sessums

The Speaker addressed the House as follows:



Members of the Florida House of Representatives, Ladies and
Gentlemen:



I want to thank Justice Roberts and Judge Ryder for their
participation on this occasion. They afford great dignity to it
and all of us appreciate and are honored by their presence.
I also want to express to each and every one of you my deep
and sincere appreciation for your selection of me as Speaker of
the House. Please know that I will do my very best to justify
your trust and confidence in me and that I look forward to work-
ing with each of you, our Governor, the Cabinet and the Senate to
make our forthcoming term of office as beneficial as possible
for all of the people of Florida. In this task, I earnestly solicit
your continued understanding and cooperation.
As you know, the last few years have been years of rapid
change and transition in the government of Florida. Our
Legislature has been reapportioned, modernized and recog-
nized by independent observers as one of the best in the na-
tion. A new constitution has been adopted. The executive
branch of government has been reorganized and streamlined to
establish clear lines of authority and to fix responsibility. The
judicial branch of government has been reorganized to provide a
more understandable court system and more efficient admini-
stration of justice with non-partisan elections for all judicial
officers. A program of tax reform has been started and sub-
stantially completed to provide the people, particularly con-
sumers and home-owners with limited, fixed incomes, with tax
relief and to provide the state with a broader, more elastic
and equitable tax base. A program of property tax relief with
a ceiling or cap on excessive millage has been implemented in
conjunction with a comprehensive and meaningful program of
state revenue sharing to provide replacement and additional
revenue for local governments. Real progress has been made
to protect our environmental resources and much has been done
to improve the quality of public education at all levels.
Now the time has come to take a careful second look at many
of these programs, to learn from the experience that we have
gained in their implementation, to correct obvious mistakes and
to refine them so that they more effectively accomplish their
intended purposes. And, in counseling such review and a more
careful and deliberative legislative pace, I do not mean to sug-
gest that we should become a do-nothing legislature.
We still have many new and unfinished tasks to perform if
we are to properly serve the people. Tax reform, which has al-
ready resulted in the repeal of over 50 million dollars of burden-
some consumer and home owner taxes and the greatest fiscal
reserve in Florida's history, needs some refinement and com-
pletion-which, fortunately, can be done without any need or
pressure for new taxes.
Our programs for property tax relief must be continued and
our newly instituted program of state revenue sharing with local
governments needs to be reviewed in conjunction with the forth-
coming recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Local
Government, and improved to provide adequate replacement and
additional revenue for those local governments that really need
state assistance after making reasonable and efficient efforts to
help themselves.
Our pace-setting water resources and land management acts
will need careful implementation and our efforts to properly
protect Florida's invaluable and irreplaceable environment must
be accelerated and expedited.
Our implementation of Florida's new judicial article will need
review, possibly some correction, and continued implementation.
Consideration will also have to be given to authorizing Florida's
public defenders to represent accused persons or defendants in



misdemeanor cases, as now required by the United States Su-
preme Court, with adequate resources to do so.



November 21, 1972







JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



Comprehensive codification of our criminal statutes already
started must be completed. Also, in the field of criminal justice,
we must find and take more vigorous and effective action to
protect our people, particularly the young, from the epidemic
dangers of drug abuse.
In the field of education, we have come to the very threshold
of making Florida #1. With the proper guidance of our House
and Senate Education Committees and the Governor's Com-
mission on Education, we can finally step across that threshold.
In doing so, my experience as Chairman of the House Education
Committee over the last several years, has caused me to be-
lieve, however, that the final realization of any program of
quality education, particularly at the elementary-secondary
level, must include passage of legislation to assure a lower
pupil-teacher ratio of not more than 20 students in current
daily enrollment for each classroom teacher at the kindergarten
through the third grade levels.
These early years are of critical importance in the educational
process. The lack of a solid foundation in basic skills such as
reading, writing and arithmetic will only result in a growing
sense of boredom, frustration and failure on the part of many
students with subsequent failures or social promotions, dis-
cipline problems, drop-outs, and the high cost of remedial pro-
grams at higher levels of education. And despite some division
of authority, the overwhelming preponderance of recent evi-
dence points to a lower pupil-teacher ratio at the kindergarten
and early elementary levels as the single most effective way of
significantly increasing measurable student achievement. Com-
mon sense compels this conclusion. At the college level, a single
professor may successfully lecture to a thousand or more stu-
dents. At the kindergarten and elementary level, however, it is
difficult if not impossible for a classroom teacher to success-
fully cope with too many students. In such cases, a classroom
teacher, burdened with 30 or 40 students in current daily en-
rollment frequently becomes little more than a glorified baby
sitter attempting to facilitate some learning while preoccupied
with the greater problem of maintaining a reasonable degree of
classroom order and discipline.
The recent passage of Constitutional Amendment #4 on No-
vember 7 will make possible almost 200 million dollars worth
of additional school construction. Unfortunately, however, this
significant help will only partly meet the need for equalization
and for school construction. Thus we will need to find some
additional way to make even more money available for school
construction, particularly in those rapidly growing areas of
Florida that are still unable to catch up with their school con-
struction needs.
The State of Florida has not acted to directly increase
teachers' pay since 1968 and has left this burden with local
school districts. Consequently, I believe that the time has come
to make a reasonable increase in teachers' pay, either directly or
indirectly, that is at least adequate to meet the rapidly rising
cost of living, and to provide our local school districts with
additional help to meet this need.

Finally, in the area of public education, we are going to need
to review and perhaps refine the Educational Accountability Act
of 1971 to make it the management tool that we intended. Edu-
cational objectives recommended by the Commissioner of Educa-
tion and adopted by the State Board of Education are of critical
importance. They must be basic or ultimate educational ob-
jectives, as distinguished from process or subordinate ob-
jectives, and capable of being understood by the average college
graduate. These educational objectives must then be combined



with the proper use of an assessment system to let us know
whether we are attaining them and how our educational process



is affected by other important variables such as the pupil-
teacher ratio, the training and experience of the classroom
teacher, classroom facilities and alternative educational tech-
niques and programs. Then we will have the information that is
properly required for sound educational management and fund-
ing.

You can be sure that I am vitally and personally concerned
with other forthcoming legislative programs and that I intend to
provide this House and its committees with my recommendations
on subsequent occasions. However, I am even more concerned
with the proper organization and management of our legislative
process to assure that each and every Member will be a full and
informed participant in it in accordance with his own constitu-
tional obligations and responsibilities. To emphasize the im-
portance of legislative craftsmanship, allow me to quote former
cabinet member John Gardner:

"An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable than an
incompetent philosopher. The society which scorns excellence
in plumbing, because plumbing is an humble activity and
tolerates shoddiness in philosophy, because philosophy is an
exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good
philosophy because neither its pipes nor its theories will
hold water."

One of my most important duties and responsibilities is to
prepare and recommend changes in our House committee struc-
ture and then to designate the Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and
members of each of our House committees. Unfortunately, I
have not yet been able to complete this task and many of the
committee assignments are not ready for release today. I hope
that you will understand why it has been impossible for me to
complete all of the committees for announcement at this Or-
ganizational Session. I have met personally with many Members
of the House and it is my hope to be able to meet personally
with all before finally completing committee assignments.
In the meantime, I will be working to complete our House
committee organization and assignments by the end of the
Special Session on November 30, 1972, and will name several
Select Committees to prepare for the work of the Special
Session called by Governor Askew for Tuesday, November 28,
1972. I do not anticipate any significant change in the number
of permanent, Standing Committees and only limited, necessary
use of Select Committees to serve as ad hoc or task force com-
mittees for the accomplishment of specific purposes. In all
cases, however, it is most important to balance the abilities
and interests of the Members with our legislative needs and I
would rather do the job slowly and correctly, but without undue
delay, rather than hastily and haphazardly.

I intend to ask our Rules Committee to consider several
changes in the Rules that I believe will improve our legislative
process. One such recommendation will be to amend our Rules
to allow our Interim Committees to take final action on bills
without waiting for the start of the Regular Session in April
of next year. Other recommendations will be for an earlier cut-
off date for the filing of bills, the adoption of rules for com-
mittees and to provide the Members with earlier notice of the
Special Order Calendar. All of these recommendations are de-
signed to provide Members and the public with more advanced
information concerning legislation.

Also, I intend to schedule Interim Committee meetings at
less frequent intervals than in the past but with more actual
working time. In addition, I will be working with the Rules



Committee, the Clerk of the House and key staff to design a
daily work schedule for the Regular Session to provide more ade-



November 21, 1972



9








JOURNAL OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES



quate committee meeting time, to provide Members with more
time to read and answer their mail, to answer and make tele-
phone calls, to study bills and to maintain greater contact with
their constituents at home. In the past we have all too fre-
quently been the victims of a frantic work pace that has pre-
cluded the careful and deliberate consideration of important
pieces of legislation.
Also, starting with the Regular Session, we will have daily
television coverage over the state's educational television chan-
nels for the first time in history and by March 1, 1973, should
move into the new and more workable legislative office facili-
ties.
Now, in order to prepare for and to expedite the work of the
Special Session starting on November 28, 1972, I hereby appoint
the following Select Committees:
1. Select Committee on House Administration: John Ryals,
Chairman; William J. Rish, Vice-Chairman; Members:
Dick Clark, R. Earl Dixon, Ed M. Fortune.
2. Select Committee on Rules: Murray Dubbin, Chairman;
Lorenzo Walker, Vice-Chairman; Members: Gus Craig,
Paul Danahy, Ed M. Fortune, Bill Fulford, Jeff Gautier,
Marshall Harris, Carl Ogden, James Redman, Jack Sav-
age, Jack Shreve, Guy Spicola, Jim K. Tillman, Donald
L. Tucker, Ralph Turlington.

3. Select Committee on Capital Punishment: Jeff Gautier,
Chairman; Jack Shreve, Vice-Chairman; Members: Ed
Blackburn, Jr., Gwendolyn Cherry, Donald Hazelton,
Robert Johnson, Joe Lang Kershaw, Elvin Martinez,
Carl Ogden, William J. Rish, John Savage, Jim K. Till-
man.

4. Select Committee on Environmental Protection: Guy
Spicola, Chairman; W. E. Fulford, Vice-Chairman; Mem-
bers: Gus Craig, Murray Dubbin, John Forbes, Mary Griz-
zle, Marshall Harris, Carl Ogden, Ted Randell, Jack
Shreve, Jon C. Thomas, Jim K. Tillman.



5. Select Committee on Appropriations: Marshall Harris,
Chairman; James Redman, Vice-Chairman. Members:
George Baumgartner, Bill Birchfield, Bill Conway, Paul
Danahy, Murray Dubbin, Ed Fortune, Richard S. Hodes,
Robert Johnson, Kenneth H. MacKay, Eugene C. Mooney,
Carl Ogden, Van Poole, Guy Spicola, Fred Tittle, Ralph
Turlington.

I am asking the Chairmen of the aforementioned select com-
mittees to coordinate and schedule meetings for Monday, No-
vember 27, 1972, to consider all of the pre-filed legislation that
will be referred to them and to be prepared to report their com-
mittee findings and recommendations at the start of the Special
Session on Tuesday, November 28, 1972. In the meantime, I
will be working to complete our permanent committee organi-
zation and assignments and will be talking with a number of
you.
As Members of the Florida House of Representatives, we
inherit a great tradition of public service. We have come to this
time and to this place with the hopes, dreams and aspirations
of the people of Florida for an even better state. Let us have
pride in our membership in this House and so discharge our
duties that during the next two years the people of Florida will
share with us a deep feeling of satisfaction in our efforts for
more responsive and creative state government.



On motion by Mr. Conway, the foregoing address by the
Speaker was spread upon the Journal.

On motion by Mr. Poorbaugh, all nominating and seconding
speeches for Speaker and Speaker pro tempore were spread
upon the Journal.


Adjournment

Having completed its organization, the House of Representa-
tives, on motion by Mr. Dubbin, adjourned at 12:30 p.m. sine die.



CERTIFICATE

THIS IS TO CERTIFY that the foregoing pages numbered 1
through 10, inclusive, are and constitute a complete, true and
correct journal and record of the proceedings of the House of
Representatives of the State of Florida at the Organization
Session of the Third Legislature under the Constitution as Re-
vised in 1968, held on November 21, 1972.



Clerk
Tallahassee, Florida
November 21, 1972



10



November 21, 1972