To save face, and most likely in time to use it as an advertisement and talking point for her annual walk across Florida, Lauren Book then tries to revive her bill in the most Lauren Book rules possible-- by completely screwing the rules of the legislature. Looks like daddy Ron taught his daughter quite well.
I didn't believe the bill she proposed was helpful in the first place, but this odd behavior simply shows she is simply unfit to be a state senator.
For those of you still confused, yet me point this out to you. Lauren Book is the daughter of Ron Book, one of South Florida's most powerful lobbyists. He represents, among other things, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, aka the hotel insurance lobby. This created a conflict of interest. However, seeing as how this maneuver started costing her in terms of her main source of income and support, money from sex crime victims, and knowing she can't lose support for her annual march across Florida, Lauren Book came up with a face saving measure. She knew that she would not be able to get a last ditch effort to pass so she put on a performance so the sex trafficking victim-advocates would think Book was doing all she could to help them. The bill fails, and Lauren saves face while a problematic bill bites the dust, and Senator Book comes out smelling like a rose. The sex crime victims buy it hook, line, and sinker.
http://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article204274949.html
Senator’s last-ditch effort to revive human trafficking bill is successful
BY LAWRENCE MOWER
Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
March 09, 2018 08:39 AM
Sen. Lauren Book's human trafficking bill was brought back to life on Thursday, after she used a clever bit of legislative maneuvering to bring it before the Senate for a vote.
It was a dramatic turnaround for a piece of legislation that had sailed through both chambers of the Legislature, but appeared dead last week, after Book, D-Plantation, mysteriously postponed her own bill.
The bill would allow victims to sue the hotels and motels that turn a blind eye to human trafficking.
Her decision last week left trafficking victims furious and fellow lawmakers scratching their heads, wondering if Senate leadership and the powerful hotel lobby, including Disney, was working behind the scenes to kill the bill.
But on Thursday, with two trafficking survivors looking on, Book revived it in dramatic fashion.
She used an amendment to sneak the bill's language onto a different bill, a tactic that violates Senate rules.
And Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, was quick to point out that it went against the rules. The decision about whether Lee was right went to the Rules committee chair, Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers.
After a few minutes to look it over, Benacquisto came back and told her colleagues that Book's amendment did violate the rules.
But then, Lee, surprisingly, alerted Book that she had a way to veto the rules: she could call for a 2/3rds vote from her colleagues.
Lee later said in a text message that he wasn't sure if Book was aware that she could override the rule.
"I felt it was important that we follow our rules, but it's a very sensitive issue," Lee said. "I didn't want it to die without giving Sen. Book a fighting chance to pass it."
Book did ask for the 2/3rds vote, and it prevailed. Her new bill – the unrelated one with the human trafficking bill attached to it – then passed overall.
It still faces an uphill battle, however. It needs to pass the Senate again today and then pass the House.
But Book's move gave new hope to the two human trafficking survivors watching from the gallery, who had made multiple trips to Tallahassee to tell lawmakers, in public and on television, their stories.
"Two-thirds of the Senate was on our side, so it's good to know they're standing with us," said Savannah Parvu, 31, of Umatilla.
Former Seminole County prosecutor Lisa Haba, who traveled to Tallahassee multiple times to talk about how motels and hotels turned a blind eye to human trafficking, praised Book afterward.
"She has been a tremendous advocate for survivors of human trafficking," Haba said.
Linsey Ruth, who told lawmakers this session how she was trafficked by her ex-husband, also praised the senator who has sponsored the bill in the House, Rep. Ross Spano, R-Dover.
"There are a lot of really good people behind it, and we're happy to see that," Ruth said. "In our past lives, it's just been us. We've been all on our own."
ULTIMATELY, HER BILL FAILED.
https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/us/2018/march/human-trafficking-bill-killed-in-late-night-fla-senate-session
Human Trafficking Bill Killed in Late Night Fla. Senate Session
03-10-2018
CBN News
The last effort to keep a human trafficking bill alive in the Florida state senate failed Friday night when the state house decided to remove a part of the proposed measure that would have created a fund for victims.
When it was left for the senate to consider changes to the measure, Republicans said the bill should be killed because the house "did not do the right thing."
"Our friends in the House stripped that out in an attempt to say that they did something in the face of these women, all for political glory," said state Sen. Rene Garcia (R).
The senate has already passed a trust fund bill.
The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Lauren Book (D), urged lawmakers to pass the measure anyway as she gestured to three trafficking victims sitting in the gallery watching the proceedings.
"They have to drive home because they can't stay in hotels," Book said.
As CBN News has reported, the bill would have allowed sex-trafficking victims to sue hotels for turning a blind eye to the crimes taking place on their property.
Not a single Florida lawmaker voted against the proposed measure as it went through committees.
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