Tobacco law secrecy defended 05/16/98

Florida Tobacco law secrecy defended 05/16/98

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Saturday, May 16, 1998

Story last updated at 11:14 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 1998

Tobacco law secrecy defended
Chiles addresses settlement dealings

By Randolph Pendleton
Times-Union senior writer

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Lawton Chiles told a Senate committee yesterday that secrecy was justified in the passage of anti-tobacco legislation four years ago because he was fighting ''the powers of darkness.''

Chiles chided Chairman Charlie Crist for not calling him sooner to the ethics committee investigating the behind-the-scenes dealings of Florida's $11 billion settlement.

''I've been waiting for this day for a long time,'' said Chiles, adding that he had watched in frustration as accusations were made and the hearings wandered off in all directions.

The governor told reporters after his hour-long testimony that he still did not understand the purpose of the hearings.

''It beats the hell out of me,'' he said.

Some Democrats have charged that Crist, a St. Petersburg Republican, was using the hearings as a forum to grab publicity for his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

But Crist denied it and Chiles declined to question his motives.

''I'm a former senator,'' said Chiles, who served in the state and U.S. Senates. ''The committee process is available and I have used it before.''

Chiles was firm in his insistence that there was nothing wrong in sneaking measures through the Legislature removing many of tobacco's legal defenses because industry lobbyists would have killed it if they had known about it.

''It doesn't bother me a whit,'' Chiles said.

And in response to questions fromCrist, Chiles said he neither knew nor cared how the team of private lawyers for the state was picked.

''I had nothing to do with the selection,'' Chiles said.

Crist said he was shocked at Chiles' attitude about the way the law was passed and surprised that he had no knowledge about the hiring of lawyers.

''I think we have discovered the governor doesn't care much about how legislation is passed and thinks the fact there was deception is fine,'' Crist said after the hearing.

Crist said either he or the committee will issue a report with recommendations to the Senate, possibly including restrictions on contingency contracts such as the state signed with the lawyers who represented it in the suit to recover money the state had paid for treatment of Medicaid patients with smoking-related illnesses.

Some of the lawyers are now seeking 25 percent of the entire settlement. But Chiles said the percentage only applies to the $1.2 billion originally cited in the suit for recoverable Medicaid costs.

Tim Howard, a Tallahassee lawyer who is seeking a share of the legal fees although members of the team said he was just an employee, told the committee yesterday that he served the state by looking out for its interests while members of the trial team were looking out for their own.

''It is an unseemly, blood sport game for wealth and power,'' Howard said.