5 minutes with Dick Batchelor
Dick Batchelor, political consultant and owner of Dick Batchelor Management Group Inc., who was in the House of Representatives from 1974 to 1982
My thoughts on the bills that would pre-empt local governments from enacting stricter regulations than the state, like the fertilizer sales law: I’m very much opposed to that law. One of the strongest arguments from the League of Cities is how can a conservative Legislature pre-empt local governments from standards that are more strict? It’s puzzling. It’s something you’d expect from a very liberal Legislature.
When I was in Tallahassee, lawmakers looked at a bill in 1980 that would deregulate several industries. How that turned out: We had 700 hair stylists show up in a meeting. Frankly, there’s a panache or credibility, real or perceived, attached to being a licensed professional, and that carries a lot weight in marketing.
My thoughts on the current environment of insurance reform: They’re putting foxes in the hen house. Basically, we’ll mandate more coverage, but get rid of the oversight. There’s a lot of bartering going on right now.
Several proposed bills would give breaks to companies for adding jobs. How this compares to Gov. Scott’s goal of adding 700,000 jobs in seven years: Anything you can do to salvage any job is going to be popular. The governor said he’s going to create 700,000 new jobs. Well, if you cut NASA funding, now you’ve got to create 710,000 jobs.