Representative Eric Eisnaugle (R-Orlando), expecting to be named Speaker of the Florida House for the 2020-2021 Legislative term, has announced some reform proposals which could change the way the House does business. His reforms seek to shift more power to committee chairs and other House leaders, enabling them to set agendas and assign everything from committee membership to parking spaces. Eisnaugle is calling his ideas a “starting point for discussion” but also states, “anything less than formal, Rules-based limitations on the Speaker’s existing authority would be mere window-dressing”.

These reforms include independent election of the Speaker Pro Tem and the Majority leaders, holding these positions accountable to the members and providing a counter-balance to the power of the Speaker. Another proposed reform would be the creation of a House Oversight Committee, a standing committee made up of the Speaker, the Speaker Pro Tem, the Majority Leader and other appointees. This Committee would approve or amend administrative and committee assignments.

Under present rules, a member who upsets leadership runs the risk of losing committee assignments, office space, or anything, at the whim of the Speaker. Eisnaugle seeks to empower his committee chairmen to make decisions and manage their committees without undue influence from the Speaker. The rules would require the Speaker to seek approval from the House Oversight Committee to remove a committee chairman, thus insulating the chairs from threats or unilateral removal. He is even proposing a more meaningful role for the Minority party by permitting that person to appoint members of his own Party to the position of ranking member, without prior approval.

These proposals are outlined in a White Paper Eisnaugle published recently. He hopes these reforms will break the “pyramid of power” currently in place. By decentralizing power somewhat, he is hoping to empower members to make decisions regarding leadership on their own time and schedule, and prevent speakers or speakers-in-waiting from breaking a representative’s career. Eisnaugle is hoping these changes also break the grip of powerful special interests, who flourish when power is concentrated in the hands of just a few people. Eisnaugle summed it up this way: “This is bigger than any one policy. When you have on person making all the decisions, nothing gets vetted”.

It remains to be seen whether Eisnaugle’s reform proposals will bring back some members of his legislative class who withdrew their support from him for the Speakership earlier this year, citing dissatisfaction with the process for selecting a new House Speaker.