The Florida Legislature is flush with good ideas.
Sen. Al Lawson’s latest involves a way to pay for wastewater treatment and help small towns and counties upgrade their sewer systems.
The Democrat from Tallahassee is proposing a 2-cent-per-roll tax on toilet paper.
“We’ve got 17 million people in this state and all of them can contribute to protecting our underground water supply,” he said.
In a Republican-dominated Legislature that doesn’t like new taxes, the idea could end up in the tank pretty quickly.
Senate President Tom Lee said he didn’t think it would get too far, but didn’t rule it out. “We’ll be getting to the bottom of it real soon,” he said.
Lawson’s been enduring plenty of jokes — bathroom humor, you might say — but he says it’s a serious issue.
Even if the proposal passes the Legislature, it would need approval from Gov. Jeb Bush. The president’s brother said if toilet paper is taxed, people might use less of it.
“That’s not necessarily a good thing,” he said.
