TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida House spent more than an hour Tuesday asking questions about alimony reform before giving the legislation a tentative green light, but it was all for naught.
The bill’s Senate sponsor, State Sen. Joe Gruters, pulled the legislation from consideration hours later once it became clear the bill would not survive the Senate Rules Committee, saying it will likely come up again next year.
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During divorce proceedings, children often become weapons in legal fights as parents bargain for more or less time with them in exchange for more or less in the way of alimony payments from their spouses.
The legislation shelved Tuesday would have set a presumption that parents share their children equally. The time-sharing component of the bill, which was not part of the Senate’s version, gave rise to dozens of questions on the House floor.
“There is a parent who is an active addict,” State Rep. Emily Slosberg said. “This would presume that 50/50 is in the best interests of the child?”
State Rep. Alex Rodrigues, who sponsored the House version of the bill, said that would not be the case. Instead, he said, the court would still have a role to play when it comes to custody and alimony.
“Like in any other court case, you prove that and the judge will determine, is that parent able to care for their child or not?” Rodrigues said.
Under the current law, judges have 17 factors to consider with custody, including whether there’s a history of abuse, neglect or drug use.
“The judge will still have to abide by those seventeen to twenty factors,” Rodrigues said.
Though the time-sharing component was not part of the Senate version of the bill, it is what led the reform to be vetoed the first time it passed in 2013.
The legislation would also cap the length of alimony payments to half the length of the marriage, but a last-minute amendment would increase the duration of alimony for any marriages that lasted longer than 20 years.
“The judge may order alimony for up to 75 percent of the marriage rather than (50 percent) in the underlying bill,” Rodrigues said.
Though spirited, the discussion became a moot point by Tuesday afternoon once it was apparent it would not get past a Senate committee.
It’s unclear whether the House will try to restart discussion of the legislation on Wednesday.