Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, and Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, publicly urged Gov. Rick Scott to sign into law a bill (SB 718) revamping the state’s alimony laws.

“You have to be able to move on. Divorce sucks anyway. And Florida law shouldn’t make it suck worse,” Workman told reporters at a press conference this morning.

Workman said Scott is expected to receive the bill today. Scott will have seven days to act on the bill, which would become law without his signature if he does not veto it before then.

Groups on both sides of the issue – the Family Law section of the Florida Bar and Florida Alimony Reform – have launched dueling petitions asking Scott to veto or sign the bill. The Family Law section opposes the measure, saying it puts women – who are more likely to receive alimony – at a disadvantage. The alimony reform proponents have been trying for years to get the law changed because they say current law is unfair and forces some spouses to pay alimony for life to their exes even if they have been married a short time. More than 2,200 people have signed online petitions asking for the veto compared to about 6,000 in favor.

Workman said he is not concerned that Scott will veto the bill but “want to make sure this bill has a fair shot of being signed” and that the governor reads nearly 6,000 stories sent to him from families supporting the changes.

“I hope he can see that laws need to be updated. They need to be gender-neutral. They need to be blind to the sex of the individual and they need to be fair and just,” he said.

Stargel, who said she has been married for 29 years, said she sponsored the bill because she saw “a system that was abusive” to both spouses.

“What we’ve done is put in a framework that makes it fair for everybody,” she said.

The measure effectively does away with permanent alimony and eliminates alimony for people married less than 11 years. Florida Department of Health statistics for the past five years show that the average length of marriage in Florida that end in divorce last less than 10.5 years.

The measure would also:
_ Generally prevent alimony payments from lasting longer than one-half the length of the marriage.
_ Set a formula for alimony payments based on the income of the payer and the length of the marriage.
_ Allow ex-spouses who retire to end or reduce alimony.
_ Give judges now responsible for determining the amount of alimony discretion only in special circumstances.

The House approved a watered-down version of what began as a rewrite of the state’s alimony laws but still contains provisions critics say are biased in favor of the bread-winning spouse.

The measure (HB 549) originally would have completely done away with adultery as a consideration for alimony payments and reduced the amount and length of time divorced spouses could receive the support.

The version approved Thursday does away with permanent alimony and allows a judge to take adultery into accounty when determining payments but only to the extent the cheating “significantly depletes” material assets or caused a significant reduction in one spouse’s salary.

Rep. Ritch Workman, who sponsored the bill, said the changes make Florida law more fair.

“It’s there to assist one spouse after a divorce,” Workman, a Melbourne Republican who is divorced, said during floor debate. “Alimony should be gender-neutral…All this bill does is ensure that alimony is blind to the sex of the ex-spouse and is non-punitive.”

The bill creates a presumption that both parties will have a lower standard of living after the break-up and it would allow changing or ending alimony payments to be retroactive, meaning the person receiving alimony could end up owing their former spouse.

Delray Beach Democratic Rep. Lori Berman, a lawyer, called the bill “unfairly biased” in favor of the bread-winner in a divorce.

The House approved the measure, opposed by the Florida Bar Family Law Section, with an 83-30 vote. A similar Senate measure (SB 748) supported by the Bar still has at least one more committee stop before heading to the floor.