As part of 2009's RLC Day at the Capitol, RLCers continued their push for a constitutional spending restraint and earned an endorsement from a formerly skeptical governor.

RLCer Sarah Lovett with Dick Armey; Sen. Mike Fasano checks out an RLC brochure

RLCers converged on Tallahassee March 17-18 for the annual grass roots lobbying event organized by RLCer and Florida Taxpayers Union president John Hallman. They started off with lunch Tuesday at the Governor's Club with former U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey of FreedomWorks, attended private meetings with legislators all afternoon and then participated in a late afternoon ‘tea party' protest on the Capitol steps against federal bailout and stimulus plans. The following morning, RLCers were back hitting legislators offices and took a break for a sign-waving protest against the Central Florida commuter rail boondoggle as well as a legislative update by James Madison Institute president Bob McClure. Everywhere they went, the group left copies of the RLC tri-fold brochure.

RLCers at the governor's office with policy advisor Christian Weiss

To cap it off, several RLCers - including Sarah Lovett, Eric Wall, Cliff Johnson, Jason Hellenberg and John Hallman -- stuck around to attend and testify in the hearing for the latest iteration of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights bill, Sen. Mike Haridopolos' Smart Cap proposal, SB 1906.

Smart Cap was the key issue in this year's lobbying effort. The Smart Cap amendment - like the Taxpayer Protection Amendment before it - would limit the growth of budgets of both state and local governments to a simple combination of population and inflation. Exceeding the cap, except under defined emergency conditions, would require putting the budget on the ballot for a up-or-down vote of the people. This is the latest version of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights idea that has passed the House in the past but has always died in the Senate.

A 'tea party' protestor emphasing the party aspect; Steve Smith and Zak Carter with Rep. Alan Hays; RLCers at the commuter rail demo, with Jason Hellenberg at front right

This year, its strongest advocate, Sen. Mike Haridopolos, is in the Senate and in line to be Senate president in 2010 if the Republicans retain control of that body. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Anitere Flores in the House.

RLCers met with all the relevant legislators, or in some cases their aides, necessary to get the bill moving. These included House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, Speaker Larry Cretul, Senate President Jeff Atwater, and other senators and representatives on the relevant committees. The RLCers also got an update from Allen Douglas of the National Federation of Independent Business, which is pushing a parallel petition effort to put the Smart Cap idea on the ballot via citizen referendum.

Notably, RLCers met with the governor's office Tuesday for a long and thoughtful session with Gov. Crist's policy coordinator for the Office of Policy and Budget, Christian Weiss. Crist had spoken positively about the idea of a spending limitation bill but had objections to the specific bills under consideration, find them too restrictive. However, at a committee hearing Wednesday afternoon, a representative of the governor appeared at Sen. Haridolopolos' committee hearing on the bill and announced the governor's change of mind. "This is what the grass roots want," he said, in an apparent reference to RLC efforts.