"Jeb!"'s Tax Cut and Spend Budget

Lucky "Jeb!". He does nothing, except preside over several hurricanes and a housing boom (that he had absolutely nothing at all to do with) and the money flows in; the extra cash is a mere "windfall generated by the state's housing boom and two years of record sales tax collections, boosted by hurricane reconstruction." "Budget Surplus A Gift To Taxpayers".

Against that background, "Gov. Jeb Bush sent legislators a $71 billion spending plan for the state that calls for large tax cuts, more money for schools and millions to help the state recover from hurricanes." "Gov. Bush: Tax less, spend more". See also: "Governor proposes $2 billion to build schools", "Governor's budget packed with tax cuts, breaks", "Governor's budget has tax breaks, $2 billion for school construction", "Last Bush budget boosts education, hurricane spending", "Bush's Final Budget Includes A Record $1.5 Billion Tax Cut", "Last Bush budget will help schools" and "Governor proposes something for everyone".

The political dimension: "Bush proposes $70.8B budget It's 7 percent bigger, but governor says his plan remains based on 'conservative principles.'"

Details: "The Bush Budget". See also "Other budget highlights".




"Stifling citizens"

"The Legislature seldom likes dealing with citizen initiatives to amend the Florida Constitution. Many lawmakers display irritation with voter efforts to "meddle" in state business. They don't directly blame voters, of course -- that would be political suicide. So they gripe about "special interest groups" who promote citizen-backed amendments and "activist courts" that hold lawmakers' feet to the fire in honoring voters' wishes." "Stifling citizens".




Nelson Wipes the Floor With Harris

"Sen. Bill Nelson raised twice as much money during the final three months of 2005 as Rep. Katherine Harris did, but her finance chairman said Wednesday that recent high-profile GOP endorsements should bolster her fund-raising efforts. Nelson, D-Fla., raised $2 million during the final quarter for a total of $10.2 million for the year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission. Harris, a Republican from Sarasota who plans to challenge Nelson's reelection in November, raised just over $1 million in the quarter and more than $2.3 million for the year." "Nelson raises twice as much as challenger Harris in quarter". See also "Nelson Leads Harris 8 To 1 in Money", "Harris' Senate bid struggles to raise money" and "Harris lags well behind Nelson, in money raised for Senate race".




"Gay Marriage" Ban Flops

"Backers of a proposal to change the constitution to ban gay marriage fell short Wednesday as the deadline passed for garnering enough support to get the amendment on this year's ballot." "Gay marriage ban not on ballot".




"Drilling Deal" Proposed

"Florida Sens. Mel Martinez and Bill Nelson announced Wednesday they would support oil and gas exploration in a small portion of the eastern Gulf of Mexico in exchange for a permanent drilling ban in most of the region." "Bill would permanently ban drilling in most of east gulf". See also "2 senators propose drilling deal", "Fla. senators' proposal limits offshore drilling" and "Senators seek broader protection from offshore drilling". The SPT's argues that the "Legislation introduced by Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez would keep drilling farther from our beaches than any proposal so far." See also "Great if it works".




GOoPer Cat Fight

"Gallagher's stock trades fuel intra-party fight".




Scripps Threats

"Apparently, state legislators can't stand by during The Scripps Research Institute site debate. So they resort to empty threats, the latest from House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City." "More static on Scripps".




Imagine That

"Charter schools don't cure all ills".




Bankrolling the Family Man

"[A] 527 group called the Conservative Education Network began running pro-Tom Gallagher radio ads three months ago". The Buzz tells us who they are:

The Conservative Education Network raised $80,250, nearly all of it in big soft-money denominations of $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000. The leading donors were South Florida insurers that are part of Richard Parrillo's United Auto personal-injury insurance empire. (United Auto's lobbyists before the Legislature and the Cabinet, Mike Colodny and Fred Karlinsky, are supporters of Gallagher's campaign). Other leading CEN contributors are part of Joe Anderson's road-building firms, including Anderson Columbia of Lake City and Suwannee American Cement of Branford. Those firms are also supporters of Gallagher's bid for governor.

"Tracking Gallagher's 527 Money".




Death Penalty

"Bush acknowledged Wednesday that Florida's death penalty is likely on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court can rule on issues raised by two death row inmates whose executions were blocked in the last week." "Death warrants on hold".




Privatization Follies

Troxler: "If this jail is run like a business, customers should worry".




"Selective Aim"

"Getting more folks involved in democracy is always a noble idea. But if that's really the goal, you'd assume that the state would also be passing out voter-registration forms in more of the offices it actually runs." Good point. "What kind of registration efforts are in place, for example, at the state's Health Department offices, which serve tens of thousands of people? 'Nothing at all,' said Health Department spokesman Fernando Senra. So what's the difference here? Well, the Health Department serves many poor people. And minorities. In other words: a lot of Democrats.". "Taking selective aim at new voters".




"Jeb!" Snookered by TK

"Did Gov. Bush help FSU recruit a top high school player?" ("What Wetherell didn't tell Bush is that Rolle [the recruit] also was being heavily recruited by Miami and Florida.")




Good Luck

"Make shareholders pay some FPL upgrade cost".




Crist Supporter Predicts Crist Will Win

"Veteran Strategist Stipanovich Handicaps Republican Primary For Governor" (via The Buzz).




Broward GOoPers Heart Chain Gang Charlie

"Following the lead of local parties in Pasco and Pinellas counties, the Broward Republican executive committee is throwing its support to Charlie Crist. We assume George LeMieux, the Crist campaign's chief of staff and former Broward GOP chairman, may have been helpful with this." "Broward REC Backs Crist".




Silly Ric

"To U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, getting $2,000 in freebie parking at Orlando International Airport last year is no big deal: 'It's silly to think you're going to buy a congressman or a senator with free parking.'" "Freebie math".