Florida winning race to the bottom

"Florida teachers are on their way to becoming among the worst-paid in the nation. For the 2009-10 school year, average teacher salaries in Florida fell to No. 37 among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, and estimates for 2010-11 show them falling to No. 47, according to a national report released this week." "Florida Teacher Pay Heads to the Bottom".

End running Ricky

"U.S. Rep. John Mica revealed a plan late Friday that he said could save the high-speed train from Orlando to Tampa that Gov. Rick Scott wants scuttled." "Rep. Mica announces 'rescue plan' for high-speed rail". But see "Local efforts to circumvent Gov. Rick Scott's rejection of high-speed rail funds will likely lead to a dead end, but debate over the project is creating fissures in the state's Republican Party." "High-Speed Rail Dispute Chugs Toward Tallahassee".

See also "Feds set Feb. 25 deadline for fast-rail deal", "Plans floated to keep Florida's high-speed rail money" and "As Scott digs in, rail fund alternatives are proposed".

Lobbyist luv

"Let lobbyists feed us again, says state Sen. Dennis Jones".

Rearranging deck chairs

Aaron Deslatte: "Scott's budget-balancing plan to re-direct $8.5 billion from 124 trust funds into the state's general revenue checkbook could hold broader long-term implications for the state's environment, workforce housing and scores of services ranging from restaurant inspection to professional licensing." "Scott would take 'trust' out of trust funds".

Where wingnuts go to dip their toes ...

"Ex-Sen. Rick Santorum tests presidential waters in Naples".

"Culture of corruption"

"In a scathing report released Friday night, the Florida Grand Jury blasted the Broward County School Board for a culture of corruption and reckless spending of taxpayer money." "State report blasts Broward School Board".

"Unions Aren’t to Blame"

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott also is calling for pension reform [sic] -- requiring a 5 percent employee contribution and introducing 401(k)-style plans for new workers."

Alarmed that such reforms are sprouting up across the country, public-employee unions and their Democratic allies are spoiling for a fight. The disruption in Wisconsin is part of a national strategy to halt unfavorable legislation -- apparently by any means necessary.

Though Florida is officially a "right-to-work" state, one union has demonstrated the ability to organize sizable protests by members.

Last year, the Florida Education Association mobilized teachers to pack legislative hearings and jam phone lines to protest Senate Bill 6, which would have abolished tenure in the K-12 system and tied pay to performance. Their efforts paid off when Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed the measure.

Last week's walkout by Wisconsin teachers might re-stoke the FEA's fires as GOP lawmakers resurrect education reform legislation here. Gov. Scott's pension initiatives upped the ante by including tens of thousands of additional government workers.

Whatever fiscal problems Wisconsin is — or is not — facing at the moment, they’re not caused by labor unions. That’s also true for New Jersey, for Ohio and for the other states. There was no sharp rise in collective bargaining in 2006 and 2007, no major reforms of the country’s labor laws, no dramatic change in how unions organize. And yet, state budgets collapsed. Revenues plummeted. Taxes had to go up, and spending had to go down, all across the country.

Blame the banks. Blame global capital flows. Blame lax regulation of Wall Street. Blame home buyers, or home sellers. But don’t blame the unions. Not for this recession.

"Florida has a homeboy in the Governor's Mansion"

Darryl E. Owens isn't "suggesting Scott is a racist. After all, some of his best friends, er, or least the lieutenant governor is, well, you know." "Scott's 'homeboy' stereotypes stun black lawmakers".

"This pesky little thing"

"Scott found out this week that there is this pesky little thing called the Florida Legislature as lawmakers pushed back on a couple of his decisions for the first time." "Weekly Roundup: Pesky Little Things".

And then there's that fraud thing ...

"Rick Scott: 'Everything I Have Ever Done in My Life Is Tied to Jobs'".

Cannon laff riot

"Speaking with LaHood after a meeting at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Washington, [House Speaker Dean] Cannon, a Republican, told the transportation secretary he agreed with Scott’s decision to reject the rail money, said spokeswoman Katie Betta. But Cannon told LaHood he hoped the state would be looked favorably upon for other federal projects. " "Florida speaker mends fed fences".

Toe sucker to speak to RPOFers

"Fox News' Dick Morris to speak at Bradenton Republican dinner" ("'I think Rick Scott is a criminal who belongs in jail not in the governor's office,' Morris said in an October event near Orlando.")

Selling veterans

"Charged with finding a way to trim millions from its $81 million budget, the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs is proposing taking nearly 1,000 jobs off the state rolls and creating a public corporation to run the state's six veterans nursing homes." "Veterans nursing homes could go corporate".

Lies

"Perhaps the most impassioned testimony came from Anita White, a Broward County prosecutor. She drove eight hours, she said, not just for herself, but for the many underpaid paralegals and secretaries whom she relies on to do her job. 'In one year, I have already received three pay cuts. Three!' she said, listing the state's broken promises to fully pay for her Bar dues, health and life insurance. 'And you're asking me to take another. …It is wrong, and the way you frame things, the words you use are important. People call it 'fairness,' and they call it a 'contribution.' I call it what it is. It is a tax.'"

More:

Steve Clelland, president of the Orlando Professional Fire Fighters union, said excluding new employees from the defined-benefit pension plan would create a divide in the firehouse.

"You're going to create a separate class of the fire department," he said. "It will create some resentment."

Second amendment stoopidity

"Ocala man dares girlfriend to fire; he's dead".

"Scott's jobs-killing, astoundingly reckless agenda"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Winter Park's Dean Cannon ironically finds himself the last, best hope Florida has to thwart Rick Scott's jobs-killing, pain-inflicting, astoundingly reckless agenda." "Dean Cannon's critical role".

What's wrong with Hillsborough?

"Equality Florida, a gay rights group, is objecting to the appointment of Terry Kemple, a religious conservative political activist who opposes gay rights, to the county's Human Rights Board. Nadine Smith, executive director of the organization, said in a news release that Kemple 'stands in direct opposition to everything this board is supposed to represent,' and 'has consistently opposed equal protection under the law for gay people and has advocated against the freedoms of those who don't share his particular religious views.'"

Smith cited:

• Kemple's attempts to prevent formation of gay-straight student organizations in local schools. She said the groups are to prevent bullying and harassment of gay students, but he said they're intended to "intimidate Christians or students who don't share their beliefs."

• His leadership of a boycott of Pepsico, which she said was because the company offered equal benefits for gay employees, but he said was because the company had donated money to organizations "promoting gay marriage."

• A check box on his campaign fundraising forms she said asked donors to declare "they do not support equal rights for gay people." He said it asked them to declare that they were U.S. citizens, that the contribution did not come from the proceeds of alcohol or tobacco sales or from any organization that "works to promote the normalization of homosexual activity."

"Maverick" ... oh pleeeze

"Connie Mack IV is blessed with a golden political name that would make him an instant Republican front-runner against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2012."

But even as early polls show the congressman from Fort Myers as the strongest challenge to the Democratic incumbent, in many respects he's the most unpredictable candidate eyeing the race: a fiscal conservative with a maverick streak that includes supporting stem cell research, defending WikiLeaks and denouncing Arizona's tough immigration law as Gestapo-like.

Those views could be radioactive with the tea party base, or serve as the straight-shooting authenticity many voters crave.

Scott cancels Medicaid contract

"With state lawmakers debating putting Medicaid patients into managed care programs, Gov. Rick Scott canceled this week an $18 million Medicaid contract between MedSolutions and the Agency for Health Care Administration for outpatient imaging services." "Gov. Rick Scott denies first contract".

Passing the buck

"The Florida Lottery's contributions to the state's education system have reached $22 billion. Lottery officials Friday reported the 23-year total including $1.25 billion in the 2009-10 budget year." "Fla. Lottery's education funding hits $22 billion".

has taken his war on the federal government, and Obama in particular, from the campaign trail straight into the state’s most powerful political office.

And nearly four months after Election Day, Scott acknowledged he’s still in campaign mode.

“I’m still used to running for office,” he joked during a tour of the Florida Lottery on Thursday.

“I believe in the sovereignty of the great state of Florida,” Scott said. “We’ve got to defend the rights of Floridians as citizens of this great state.”

But his devotion to the tea party and his continued focus on federal issues — health insurance, unemployment benefits, immigration and now high-speed rail — has some asking if Scott wants to run for president. ...

Scott has denied interest in the White House, saying he wants to serve a second term.

But the signs are piling up.

He beefed up the Washington, D.C., extension of the governor’s office by hiring former health care lobbyist Brian McManus, an ally of Scott’s Conservatives for Patients’ Rights group. Spencer Geissinger, Scott’s external affairs director, is considering joining the D.C. office, too.

Frequent appearances on FOX News also feed speculation.

12 years of GOP rule in Florida

"According to fourth-quarter results released Thursday, Florida continued to have the highest loan delinquency rate in the country during the end of last year with 19.3 percent of the state's home loans either in foreclosure or 90 or more days past due." "Florida leads nation with 1 in 5 behind on their mortgage, association says".

The knuckle-draggers are not resting

"From Washington to Tallahassee, Florida lawmakers scrambled Thursday to save $2.4 billion in federal money for high-speed rail that Gov. Rick Scott rejected."

In Tallahassee, a veto-proof majority of the Florida Senate rebuked Scott in a letter that urged the federal government to give the state the money Scott has refused.

“Politics should have no place in the future of Florida’s transportation, as evidenced by this letter of bipartisan support,” said the letter, signed by 26 members of the Republican-controlled Florida Senate.

“This project would create real jobs, cleaner and smarter transportation and true economic development for Floridians,” said the letter written to LaHood.

The letter was authored in part by one of Scott’s first Senate backers, Republican Paula Dockery of Lakeland, who argued that the newly created Florida Rail Enterprise could act independently of Scott because the state’s share of the rail money — $300 million — was already approved last year by a previous governor, Charlie Crist.

Late Thursday, a Florida tea party group and the conservative activist organization Americans for Prosperity[*] reached out to supporters to drum up support for Scott’s decision.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos didn’t sign the letter. “I was never a big supporter of high-speed rail,” said Haridopolos, who voted for the rail legislation package in December 2009.

Haridopolos, who is running for U.S. Senate against Nelson, did give the green light for some of his top lawmakers to sign Dockery’s letter, including Senate Republican leader Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, who pushed the rail legislation more than a year ago.

"One man’s political tunnel vision "

The Miami Herald editors: "It was imprudent for the governor to unilaterally turn down an initial $300 million in federal stimulus dollars already appropriated by the Legislature — in fact, he has no constitutional authority to do so. Florida Senate Budget Committee Chair J.D. Alexander and Senate Transportation Committee Chair Jack Latvala wondered as much, too. This is a case of the governor putting his ideology before common sense — even if it means turning down 14,000 jobs and eventually as many as 25,000 by the time the Miami leg would be completed. ... How unfortunate that one man’s political tunnel vision has sought to bury a project that just a few months ago won bipartisan support and would get Floridians to work." "Scott’s high-speed imprudence".

Scott insists he's not a crook

"Scott says sale of state planes wasn't illegal".

"Difference between ripping off the government and governing a government"

Howard Troxler writes that Scott has

simply entered his own parallel universe of right-wing/libertarian chin rubbers who see any government effort with Barack Obama's name attached to it as a Socialist/Marxist/Trotskyite/Jane Fonda/George Soros high-speed rail plot to turn the state over to Hugo Chavez.

Never mind that construction on the Tampa-to-Orlando leg of the system could have created as many as 20,000 jobs, not to mention the ripple effect of genuine economic stimulus, the very things Scott, R-Let's Get To Knee Jerk, campaigned on during his witness protection run for the governorship.

In the wake of the decision to make sure Florida remains firmly mired in the 15th century, one can't help but think if the high-speed rail funds had come from Ronald Reagan or George W. Bush, Scott would be hailing the effort as a bold, visionary, recession-busting godsend to the citizenry of the state.

Instead Scott met with tea party apparatchiks, who regarded the prospect of high-speed rail as if black helicopters were descending on Central Florida, and decided it was better to tell 20,000 potential workers to keep filling out resumes somewhere else.

Therein can be found Rick Scott's festering problem. The governor has yet to figure out there is a substantial difference between running a company that ripped off the government and actually governing a government. That's why they are called governors.

And in his first major test of fiscal accountability, Scott relied more on the ideological rantings of hysterical political spear carriers than on the larger needs of all his constituents.

It's the Governor's Office, governor — not a Fox News sweat lodge, where you seem to be spending much of your time.

RPOFer contributors dancing in the streets

"Most of the 3 million beneficiaries of Florida's Medicaid program would be placed in managed-care plans under a dramatic overhaul of the health care system for the poor now moving through the Legislature." "Bill would put most Medicaid recipients in managed care". See also "Medicaid Reform Bill Makes Committee Debut" and "Florida Senate Medicaid bill would use HMO-like plans, ban illegal immigrants from care".

Related: "Speaker calls suggestion that Florida drop out of Medicaid a "hazardous threat"" ("Cannon: 'I am always a big believer in never make a threat you are not prepared to carry through on immediately.'")

Fl-oil-duh

"The embattled head of the fund to compensate losses from last year's Deepwater Horizon oil spill will appear this morning before a House committee intent on answers." "BP claims administrator will appear before House committee".

Here's some raw political courage for you: "Bondi slams Feinberg over oil spill claims promises not kept".

"If only you yahoos knew"

Steve Otto writes that "everybody got a good laugh on Monday at the annual Governor's Day luncheon at the Florida State Fair when the Rev. Tom Scott, who is chairman of the Tampa City Council and a candidate to become the city's next mayor, asked for a little divine intervention on high-speed rail."

In front of more than 800 people, including scores of muckety-mucks including the governor, the attorney general, the agricultural commissioner, Tampa's mayor and the area's power elite, Scott wondered if the Almighty might help Gov. Rick Scott bring high-speed rail to Tampa.

Everybody giggled, even the governor. Looking back you wonder what might have been going through Scott's mind at the time. "If only you yahoos knew what I was going to do in a couple of days after I get out of here. That high-speed rail is going to end up as a carnival ride out there on the midway.''

Jobs action

"Rural County Leaders Strategize How to Get in on Jobs Action".

Arranging deck chairs

"Some of the proposals read more like an eye chart than a way to save millions of dollars." "FDOT, Other Agencies Could Be in Merge Lane".

Union busting

"[G]overnors from Nevada to Florida have been touting the need to weaken union powers and extract more money from government employees to help balance out-of-whack budgets." "Republicans challenging unions in state capitols".

A reminder to the drooling union-haters out there: under Florida's public employee bargaining law (the "PERA"), if the public employer and the union do not reach agreement, the public employer has the unilateral authority to decide all wages, hours and terms and conditions of employment. See "Ignorance".

So, stopping whining about Florida's public employee unions.

The best they can do?

"The Florida Senate has moved one step closer to letting voters decide whether to place a constitutional limit on the growth of the state budget." "Proposal to limit state revenue advances through Senate".

SunRail next?

"Scott's rejection of high-speed rail may have laid the groundwork for derailing a Central Florida commuter train."

SunRail, a planned $1.2 billion line running through four counties, doesn't have the sex appeal of a high-speed train, but it has strong political ties to state GOP leaders.

"High-speed rail was President Obama's train. SunRail is the Republicans' train," says Matthew Falconer, an Orlando-based commercial real-estate owner who ran for Orange County mayor last year.

From the "values" crowd

"Turning the screw on unemployment compensation". See also "Unemployment Compensation Reform Passes House Committee" and "Unemployment compensation bill reduces benefits".

"School funding formula scrutinized"

"Gov. Crist last year vetoed $100,000 set aside for a study of the funding formula." "Senator wants school funding formula scrutinized".

Scott to dump 1000 additional jobs

"One thousand state jobs would be eliminated under a move pushed by Gov. Rick Scott to create a public nursing home corporation for Florida veterans. Department of Veterans' Affairs interim executive director Bob Milligan vetted the proposal at the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services Appropriations Wednesday. He was joined by the Florida Health Care Association, who told the committee the private nursing home industry supports the move." "Change to veterans' nursing homes would eliminate roughly 1,000 jobs".

AIF poll shows Floridians favor dumping raw sewage

"Poll shows Floridians don't want to pay for new water quality standards".

Increasing the influence of RPOFer teabaggery

"Defenders of Florida's early primary date have a new ally with some serious clout: Marco Rubio. The freshman GOP senator told The Palm Beach Post that Florida shouldn't move its primary from January to later in the presidential election season, despite entreaties from national Republicans to abide by the RNC-mandated schedule." "Rubio backs early Florida primary".

"Little more than ideology and politics"

Beth Kassab: "Not even two months into his term, Gov. Rick Scott is already hurting his credibility as the 'CEO' governor."

He sold voters on his knack to govern Florida like a business.

We all took that to mean he would make decisions based on facts and financials after thorough due diligence.

Yet when Scott killed high-speed rail this week, he used little more than ideology and politics.

Rubio embarrasses Florida

"A legislative effort to block White House plans to expand travel to Cuba failed, but the sponsor, Sen. Marco Rubio, said he will continue to push for passage." "Rubio to press for flight restrictions to Cuba".

"That's a wobbly hook for Mr. Scott"

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board:

Scott's banking on saving money by relying more on privatized prisons. State mandate requires the six facilities run by private operators yield at least a 7 percent savings over state-run prisons.

But an Arizona Corrections Department cost study recently found it often cost more to house felons in private prisons. Similarly, a 2010 Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy report declared "there is no compelling evidence that the privatization of prisons has actually resulted in savings."

That's a wobbly hook for Mr. Scott to hang his bean-counter visor.

Tampa elections

"Early voting gets under way in Tampa's elections".

Needed: people that read books without pictures

"Florida needs 80 new trial court judges, but the state Supreme Court doesn’t expect to get them. In an opinion released Thursday, the state’s highest court noted it was fulfilling its Constitutional duty by recommending the creation of new judicial posts — 26 circuit judges and 54 county court judges." "More judges needed in Fla.".

It might have been that governors of New Jersey, Ohio and Wisconsin rejected federal funding for rail projects before Mr. Scott, earning rave reviews from Tea Party enthusiasts. No doubt they're applauding Mr. Scott in Eustis, where last week he unveiled his program-hacking budget to tea partiers.

Mr. Scott needs to do what would benefit all Florida, not what might play well before his Tea Party fans. High-speed rail would have benefited the state. So will SunRail, which Mr. Scott on Wednesday ominously said he's still "reviewing."

An adviser to Mr. Scott said the governor's budget includes money for SunRail. But Mr. Scott has suspended contracts that are needed to build the line.

If he signs off on them, he'll be getting behind a project that can get Floridians back to work — and perhaps temper the monumental blunder he's made with high-speed rail.

•Startled the governing establishment by announcing his budget proposal at a Tea Party rally in Eustis, instead of the traditional presentation before legislators and the press in the Capitol.

While he was at it, he tossed barbs at the two other most powerful state officials – the House speaker and Senate president, fellow Republicans -- for saying his tax cut proposals might not be workable.

Normally, if they're in the same party, those officials maintain a façade of unity and agreement.

•Told his staff members to boycott the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations subcommittee chaired by Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, because Fasano had pointedly questioned a staffer in a meeting. Fasano called the snub "childish" and "absolutely unprecedented" in the decorous confines of the Capitol.

•Buzzed around the state in his private plane while telling Cabinet members and legislative leaders, who normally made heavy use of the two state planes, that he's selling the aircraft and they should find their own transportation.

•Revived the tradition of an industry-funded black-tie inaugural ball, despite criticism that it was inappropriate with hundreds of thousands of Floridians unemployed.

•Installed his private lawyer, Enu Mainigi, a non-Floridian, in a Capitol office with a secretary but with no state salary, as his top adviser.

•Shrugged off whining about lack of access by the Tallahassee press corps, usually the linchpin of Governor's Office communication with the public – a fitting move for the first major statewide candidate in recent memory to refuse endorsement interviews with newspaper editorial boards.

Oh, and by the way, he announced to a gathering of the press corps shortly after taking office, he doesn't read newspapers.

Scott slams state employees

"State employees — seven years without a general pay raise, layoffs looming and a separate proposal to require them to pay 5 percent of their salaries into pensions — also face the possibility of a massive change to their health benefits." "Scott's health insurance proposal would hit state workers' wallets hard".

Cop pensions on the chopping block

"Two new state Senate bills would require state and local governments to close their traditional retirement plans to new hires, enroll all employees in 401(k)-style plans and limit retirement options."

The two proposals, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Ring, Margate Democrat and chairman of the Senate Government Accountability Committee, are intended to help local governments shore up their tottering employee retirement accounts as well as relieve the mounting financial obligation local and state governments have made to their retirees. If passed, the changes would take effect July 1.

One of the bills also requires state, school and county employees to pay into the Florida Retirement System for the first time since 1974. But rather than embrace the 5 percent contribution rate sought by Gov. Rick Scott in his budget proposal, the Senate is likely to settle on a lower number. That decision, Ring said, won’t be made until early March when the Senate budget committee decides how much to charge employees for their benefits.

VA hospital protest

"Protesters said their concerns were not so much about illegal immigrants as contractors who classify skilled workers as laborers, denying them higher pay required under federal labor law. The group also protested the use of foreign-made materials and a failure to hire veterans to build a hospital they one day may use themselves." "Protest over illegal immigrants shuts down VA Hospital site". See also "Union workers protest Orlando VA project" ("The protesters on Wednesday complained that the construction project has failed to hire union workers and veterans but has hired illegal workers. Federal agents arrested nine undocumented workers hired by contractors to work on the site last week.")

Restrictions on choice

"House bill 321, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, filed yesterday by state Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, represents the first time the Florida legislature has filed a bill to restrict abortion beyond 20 weeks. Pro-choice advocates say a national movement to pass similar bills in other states amounts to an effort to weaken Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that limited states’ abilities to restrict abortion." "Pro-choice advocates say Trujillo bill threatens to “chip away” at Roe v. Wade".

West meets with anti-Muslim group

"West meets with head of anti-Muslim group ACT! for America".

Medicaid deform

"Total HHS spending and Medicaid spending under the Scott proposal would in fact rise next year. But in the sense that the proposed funding level for Medicaid in 2011-12 would not meet the state's currently projected need, the recommendations amount to a $1.2 billion cut." "Budget Proposal Equates to Cuts in Health and Human Services". Related: "Medicaid Opt-Out on Table as GOP Rolls Out Reform Bill" and "State senator outlines plan for Medicaid reform".

"Tallahassee always knows best"

Howard Troxler: "Tallahassee always knows best. Republicans who complain about "big government" only mean big Democratic government — when they're the ones doing the bossing around, it's just fine." "Spread the nitrogen and pass the ammo".

Another - brighter than the rest of us - billionaire

"Declaring that a recall alone is not the answer, billionaire businessman Norman Braman and former charter review task force chairman Victor M. Diaz announced a slate of specific reforms aimed at changing the way Miami-Dade County government operates." "Braman outlines reforms for county government". See also "Throwdown in Miami: Mayor Faces Recall".

"Scott alienates some black lawmakers"

"Scott welcomed black legislators to lunch Tuesday at the Governor’s Mansion, but his choice of words left some feeling more alienated than ever. In discussing his own humble origins, Scott implied that all black lawmakers grew up poor."

For an hour over lunch, the lawmakers voiced opposition to Scott’s plans to end state support for two historically black colleges, to abolish a state office that helps minority-owned businesses get state contracts and to lower unemployment benefits and health care funding for the poor. They also expressed concern that Scott so far has not appointed any black agency heads and asked him to stop using the term "Obamacare."

Entrepreneurs in action

"Fred Grimm: "Sinkholes a new frontier of fraud".

See you in Havana

"Supporters of permitting charter flights between Tampa International Airport and Cuba said Tuesday they are dismayed by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's attempts to deny them and say they will continue to push to make the flights happen." "Rubio's attempt to restrict Cuba flights angers some". Related: "Rubio bill would dash TIA hopes for Cuba flights".

The Saint Petersburg Times editorial board: "U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio echoes the outdated thinking of Miami hard-liners opposed to closer relations with Cuba." "Outdated on Cuba".

Medicaid deform

"Major Medicaid reforms coming, senator says". See also "Negron previews Medicaid reform bill, pledges to not abandon ‘our most vulnerable citizens’".

Class size tinkering

"Spurned by voters who didn't want to ease class-size requirements for Florida's schools, state legislators are mulling changes to the law that would give districts more flexibility in counting students and also apply the limits to fewer classes." "Lawmakers tinkering with class size restrictions".

Scott's claim "false"

"Rick Scott says health care law is biggest tax increase in U.S. history".

'Ya reckon

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "Wrongly-convicted deserve compensation".

Choice attacks

"State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami has filed a bill based on disputed science that would limit abortion access if the age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more." "Proposed state law that would limit abortion access relies on disputed science".

Growth-management enforcers on chopping block

"Scott spoke to Department of Community Affairs employees, many of whom could be out of work if the governor carries out his proposal to place the agency's functions under the Department of Environmental Protection. He said he would do whatever he could to help them find jobs elsewhere in government. But he also said the agency, which enforces the state's growth-management laws, is part of the problem when it comes to attracting businesses to Florida." "Scott to state workers: Focus is creating private jobs". Related: "Gov. Scott gets cool reception at DCA" and "At Rally for the Rivers, advocates for environment to focus on fighting Scott's budget cuts".

Mack's "Top 10 Signs that You Are a Liberal' list"

"Mack, R-Fort Myers, chairman of the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, took aim at the Obama administration’s handling of Latin American affairs Tuesday in his opening remarks to the subcommittee. ... Mack took steps Tuesday that indicate he is getting closer to launching a Senate bid. His campaign released a 'Top 10 Signs that You Are a Liberal' list, all of which pointed to votes Nelson has cast in the Senate. Mack also hired Anne Ekern, an experienced fund-raiser who worked for the National Republican Senate Committee as well as McCollum in 2000 and Mel Martinez’s 2004 Senate campaign. " "Connie Mack Hammers Obama on Latin American Affairs".

'Glades

The Miami Herald editorial board: "Obama keeps restoration promise." "Glades money intact".

28% rate increase

"At a public hearing in Tallahassee, State Farm officials defended a 28 percent rate increase for homeowner’s insurance." "State Farm defends proposed homeowners’ insurance rate increase". See also "State Farm Customers May See 28 Percent Homeowners Insurance Increase".

Business demands the right to choke Florida's water with algae blooms

"Opposition to federal water pollution rules proposed for Florida has gone national. Seventy-six companies and organizations representing national and state business and agriculture interests outside Florida on Tuesday sent a letter to members of Congress." "Opposition to Fla. water rules goes national". Related: "Federal takeover? Legislators aren't told about Florida's role in water standards battle" and "Rep. Rooney introduces amendment to bar EPA from enforcing Florida water-quality standards".

Pawlenty in Tally

"Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a potential 2012 presidential candidate, will address Republican lawmakers at the old Capitol. Pawlenty will also take questions from lawmakers when he visits Wednesday evening. Senate President Mike Haridopolos has invited all prospective presidential candidates to meet with Florida lawmakers." "Former Minn. Gov. Pawlenty visits Fla. lawmakers".

The plan is meeting some strong resistance. Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who leads the Senate committee that oversees prison spending, last week called it "dead on arrival."

He said it made no sense to put 619 corrections officers out of work by sending convicts to privately run prisons, especially when state facilities currently have thousands of open beds. The moves would increase revenues to companies that operate private prisons, because they're paid per inmate housed.

"Why are we putting these 619 families out of work?" Fasano asked.

"Private prisons make a profit on the New York Stock Exchange," he said in an interview. "Government should not be in the business of helping companies make a profit, and that's what we're doing here."

the first three private prisons opened in Florida in 1995, according to the Department of Corrections.

Three companies with lobbyists in Tallahassee have reaped lucrative contracts by taking over state prisons and mental hospitals. One Boca Raton company, GEO Group, manages two of the state's seven private prisons and four of its seven mental-health facilities.

Corrections Corp. of America, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., runs four prisons, and Management Training Corp., based in Utah, runs one.

Those three companies are prime financiers of the Republican Party.

Bits and Pieces

Kevin Derby's "Political Bits and Pieces". See also "State Capitol Briefs".

Feel free to sleep under that overpass

"As Florida lawmakers push to contain unemployment costs, the system they are targeting already has some of the lowest benefits and participation in the nation. Florida's average weekly benefit is $232, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, making it the 47th lowest in the country. Its maximum benefit of $275 a week ranks near the bottom as well, far below the nation's other big states."

Wayne Vroman, an economist and unemployment expert with the Urban Institute:

"The problem in Florida isn't slackers," said Vroman. "The problem is there's not enough jobs to go around."

Citing low payments, low recipiency rates and tight eligibility, Vroman — and others — disputed the notion that Florida's laws favor the unemployed. Vroman called that "propaganda," saying that state lawmakers have "shown great deference" to the business lobby.

For example, when determining if a laid-off worker is entitled for benefits, the state considers how much the worker earned, not how long he held a job. And when calculating those wages, it excludes money earned during the past three months before a layoff.

The state also makes no provision for victims of domestic violence who leave an area — and quit a job — in order to escape their abuser. At least 19 other states allow those workers to collect unemployment.

"The low recipiency rate is strongly related to the fact that Florida doesn't present a very friendly face to the unemployed," Vroman said. "Almost all aspects of eligibility are more difficult."

Some version of the House and Senate bills stands a good chance of becoming law. Republicans control the Legislature, and the House bill is consistent with Gov. Rick Scott's unemployment priorities.

Vroman, however, said the measures miss the mark.

"It doesn't strike me as a good idea — not with the unemployment rate and with people hurting the way they are," he said. "They're taking a system that's not very generous and making it even less generous."

Scott "sets a new low"

"Rick Scott unveiled his budget plan last week, the sheer size of the proposed revenue reductions knocked the wind out of school officials across the state."

In Pinellas County, schools Chief Financial Officer Fred Matz said he took the numbers to Kevin Smith, the assistant superintendant for budget.

"We looked at it and we started laughing hysterically," Matz said. ...

Matz has been doing this job for more than 37 years, and says he has never seen anything like this budget plan. "It's devastating," he said. "It sets a new low."

Medicaid deform

"Sen. Mike Haridopolos Set to Roll Out Medicaid Reform Bill". Related: "Doctors won't get a pay raise this year".

Labor law experts: they "deserved the boot"

Recall this Washington Post story last wee: "Rhee's firing of 75 D.C. teachers in 2008 was improper, arbitrator says". The story has finally hit the news feeds in Orlando, where the labor law experts on the Orlando Sentinel editorial board think that, notwithstanding the arbitrator's ruling, some of the D.C. teachers unjustly fired by Rick Scott's newest BFF, Michelle Rhee, actually "deserved the boot".

(How nice of the editors to describe the destruction of a teacher's career as "the boot".)

Nevertheless, even those knuckle-draggers were forced to concede that "Rhee's shut-up-and-leave methods might have left D.C. schools on the hook. As much-needed reforms in teacher pay and tenure wend through the Legislature next month, we hope Ms. Rhee's reminder about thoroughness and fairness is a lesson well learned." "Gov's pink-slipper".

After electing Scott, who can blame 'em

"Floridians pessimistic about future, says Leadership Florida poll". More: "Survey: Floridians worried about jobs, not taxes, and are pessimistic about the future".

Fair Districts

"Cook: ‘Fair Districts’ amendments make Florida more competitive for Democrats".

Haridopolos goes after public employees

"Haridopolos wants to change both pension benefits and health insurance benefits for state workers." "Senate president: "Superior" state worker benefits need to be brought in line.".

Strange bedfellows

Howard Troxler: "Florida Supreme Court sides with a Legislature that often criticizes it".

You got a problem with that?

"State ethics officials found no evidence that the state’s pension chief violated conflict of interest laws." "Complaint dismissed against pension chief".

Nelson in for a fight

"New Mason-Dixon Poll Shows Bill Nelson Should Expect Fight in 2012".

Federal block grants cut

"State and local government across Florida received about $172 million in community development block grants for 2010-11. Tampa Bay received 12 percent, or about $21 million. In addition, the state got $81 million in grants specified for affordable housing projects, with about $10 million spent in Tampa Bay. That program would also be cut under Obama's proposal." "As Obama announces cuts in block grants, local officials calculate aftermath".

No federal handout for dredging

"President Barack Obama’s proposed budget plan did not include $75 million sought by the Port of Miami officials for a dredging project to accommodate bigger cargo ships. But Everglades restoration efforts were kept intact — at least for now." "Obama budget does not include Port of Miami project funding".

The best Rubio can do?

"On track for federal approval to launch new flights to Cuba, Tampa International Airport has hit a political speed bump. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio last week proposed an amendment to a Federal Aviation Authority funding bill that would prohibit any additional flights between the United States and countries, such as Cuba, designated as 'state sponsors of terrorism' by the State Department." "TIA would face barrier to Cuba flights with Rubio amendment".

Rail dreams

"Anxious SunRail supporters put away their Xanax over the weekend, thanks to Phillip Miller. The adviser to Gov. Rick Scott told a Senate subcommittee Thursday that the commuter train is back on track. State funding for the project is in the Department of Transportation's five-year work program, he said. And he suggested that the freeze Mr. Scott placed on SunRail contracts will thaw." "On track, again".

Whatever it takes

"Rick Scott got hit with a pitch for a Tampa-Orlando High-speed rail system from an unexpected direction at the State Fair Governor's Lunch Monday: City Council member Tom Scott, a pastor, included it in his invocation." "Tom Scott prays for governor to proceed with high-speed rail".

Welcome to Florida

"NASA's chief expressed hope Monday that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will be able to attend her husband's shuttle launch in two months amid new signs of progress for the wounded congresswoman. Astronaut Mark Kelly has said he expects his wife to be well enough to be at Cape Canaveral, Fla., for his launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, although her doctor says it's too early to say." "NASA chief: Giffords welcome at husband's launch".

Upstairs, downstairs

"The ex-governor, adjusting to life in the private sector, is preparing to move from his 21st-floor, one-bedroom condo at Bayfront Tower in St. Petersburg to a rented two-bedroom condo on the 19th floor." "Former Gov. Charlie Crist and Carole Crist make plans to live full time in St. Petersburg".

"I don't think your governor understands"

"Thirty-four states monitor pain clinics, but Gov. Rick Scott wants to repeal a Florida law that would do the same. Those who support monitoring say Scott’s decision is wrong and can lead to more deaths." "Unmonitored pain clinics may lead to more deaths, officials say".

"The 34 states that already have drug database programs say they don't have the kind of privacy problems Gov. Rick Scott fears. 'I don't think your governor understands the impact Florida's pill mills are having outside the state,' said one Kentucky official." "Rejected program works elsewhere". See also "Governor, Senate President disagree on whether Fla. needs drug database" and "Scott fires back at critics over his plan to scrap pain pill database".

One man's terrorist ...

"A federal judge is deciding whether a high-profile and politically charged perjury case against a former CIA agent will continue after defense attorneys claimed prosecutors put a covert Cuban counter-intelligence agent on the witness stand and delayed providing documents that prove his actual background." "Judge to decide if ex-CIA agent's trial continues".

The database has become a political football since Gov. Rick Scott announced last week that he wants to boot it. His call for repeal appeared to undercut Attorney General Pam Bondi's high-profile campaign against "pill mills" and elicited outrage from newspaper editorial boards darkly suggesting the governor, a former health-care executive, was playing into the hands of doctors and the pharmaceutical industry.

But Scott isn't the only one opposing the database, which is not yet operational due to a bidding dispute.

Negron, R-Stuart, told Sunshine State News: "Government has no business snooping into the medicine cabinets of citizens. The database is overly intrusive. It violates the privacy of law-abiding Floridians." ...

A growing number of Florida Republicans appear more attuned to the tea-flavored libertarianism of limited government. In one of his first acts as governor, Scott disbanded the Office of Drug Control, a Fasano initiative that was signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Crist.

Go figure

Aaron Deslatte: "Gov. Rick Scott's budget sends variety of messages". See also "Florida Watch episode No. 3: Rick Scott’s budget" and "Scott's big tax cuts don't help everyone".

Gutting justice system

"Scott’s proposed budget cuts ranging from 5 percent to more than 7 percent for various parts of the justice system come on the heels of other recent cutbacks and, if enacted, will place an even greater strain on judges, prosecutors and public defenders. Although funding has dwindled, the number of criminal and civil cases has continued to rise." "Florida’s strained justice system workers fear more cuts".

Sorry Reince

"Sorry, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Preibus. It looks more and more like Florida Republicans will ignore your insistence that Florida move its 2012 presidential primary to March or later." "Primary change?"

Wingers flip flop on Arizona-style

The Sun Sentinel editors: "Thankfully, the white-hot zeal for an Arizona-style immigration law has run up against some cold, hard reality in Tallahassee." "Immigration reform hits snags in Tallahassee".

Charter school madness

"As Gov. Rick Scott backs away for now from a push for an expanded school voucher program, former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education foundation has begun quietly circulating draft legislation that may serve as the Legislature’s template to massively expand the number of charter schools throughout the state." "Talk Begins on Charter School Expansion Plans".

U.S. Senate on Vern's radar

"U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan is reaping the benefits of finally being in the majority in the House and enjoying new prominence on the Ways and Means Committee. But don't think that means the Longboat Key Republican has taken running for the U.S. Senate in 2012 off his radar." "Buchanan for Senate?".

"Some likely gains"

Adam Smith asks what "what would be the practical effect of requiring compact districts that don't favor incumbents? Certainly no Democratic tidal wave, but some likely gains." "Compact districts in Florida could lead to gains".

Florida: the place for losers

If you thought Donna Arduin was bad ("The Real Culprit" and "Marco's Muse"), Ricky has managed to dredge up another loser, education "superstar" Michelle Rhee.

"The spokesman from Florida’s teacher’s union wondered why lawmakers were listening to her. 'It’s a little difficult to understand why she is given rock star status,' said Mark Pudlow, of the Florida Education Association."

Washington D.C. schools score at the bottom of the national Education Week Quality Counts ranking, while Florida rates close to the top. He observed that some of Rhee’s controversial efforts to fire 'ineffective' teachers have been overturned by an arbitrator after the Washington Teachers Union fought the effort.

West "vulnerable"

"Only a month on the job, U.S. Rep. Allen West has tossed out the seen-not-heard rule that new lawmakers typically follow, barreling to the top of the political insiders' lists of the most vulnerable members of Congress." "Taking a bulldog's approach".

Are these Ricky's jobs?

"Miami Beach investigates porn video shot in public".

They're the ones who have to give the news to the parents of Florida schoolchildren, to the unemployed, to rape victims and abused children and the disabled losing their services, to fired prison guards.

• A 10 percent cut in public education spending per pupil in grades K-12. (The schools might be able to get some of that back through other budget tricks.)

• Cutting 8,600 state jobs, about 7 percent of the total, with the biggest cuts in the Department of Children and Families and the Department of Corrections.

• Requiring all 655,000 state, county and school district employees to contribute 5 percent of their salary for the state pension plan.

• Big changes in the state's expensive Medicaid program, including cutting what the state will pay and turning over control to private "managed care" companies.

• Getting rid of the state agency that manages growth in Florida, the Department of Community Affairs, merging it into the Department of Environmental Protection.

• Reducing unemployment benefits for Floridians and using general tax dollars to pay off Florida's debts in that regard, instead of accepting President Barack Obama's latest offer of another federal handout.

Homeless services? Cut. Separate funds for minority business assistance, school suicide prevention, domestic violence, coastal cleanup? Eliminated. Money for university improvement, buying environmental land? Zero. ...

The bottom line is that our new governor is doing pretty much what he said he was going to do, putting the interests of Florida business above all else.

West's self-marginalization

"Allen West at CPAC says conservatives ready to see in 'a new dawn of America'". See also "West's call for slashing federal spending draws cheers from conservative activists". See also "Allen West and Pat Boone in the house at CPAC" and "Allen West: CPAC star".

A West support is concerned that he is running off a bit too much at the mouth:

Recently, Rep. West has suggested that censorship of the media is a good idea and that the risk of Sharia law in the U.S. should be investigated, referred to fellow Congressman Keith Ellison as the "antithesis of the principles on which this country was established" because he is a Muslim, and stated that perhaps District of Columbia "residents do not pay federal taxes" but would have to delve further into the constitutional issues.

"These steep education cuts cannot stand"

The Sun Sentinel editorial board: "Safe to say Gov. Rick Scott probably isn't inspiring a ton of confidence among educators. The governor released his budget last week to much angst, anxiety, protest and, well, confusion. Angst, anxiety and opposition are par for the course. Confusion? There shouldn't be any place for that. But there was."

Under the governor's plan, education funding would shrink by $2 billion. School districts in South Florida, and across the state, are bracing themselves for Armageddon.

There's a ways to go in this process. We suspect legislators will do more to, if not hold education harmless, at least to roll back the damage in rendering more judicious cuts. In a state where reforms finally are gaining traction, these steep education cuts cannot stand.

Where's the anti-choice crowd?

"Florida's prescription drug epidemic, already responsible for nearly seven deaths a day, is taking its toll on the youngest, most vulnerable in our communities: newborns. In 2009, nearly 1,000 babies born in Florida hospitals were treated for drug withdrawal syndrome. They're irritable. They don't eat well. They can spend days, even weeks, detoxing. And the number is skyrocketing." "Newborns treated for drug withdrawals skyrocket in Florida".

Rubio dissing wingnuts

"A year ago, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, Marco Rubio received a hero's welcome when he spoke to thousands of Republicans here at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference."

But when the conference reconvened last week, Rubio was nowhere in sight. Though invited to speak again, Rubio turned down the request and returned to Florida for the weekend.

Likewise, days earlier Rubio chose not to attend the first Tea Party Express Town Hall meeting in Washington, despite the pivotal role Tea Party activists in Florida played in his successful 2010 Senate campaign.

Run Jebbie! Run!

"Republicans wish Jeb Bush would run in 2012". If "Jeb!" deigns to run, it will be an earlier than expected opportunity for the traditional media to do its job and finally drive a stake into Jebbie's rotten tumor of a record.

Employment boom!

"Positions will be available for admissions, ride maintenance and back office workers. Wallace wouldn't give specifics but said pay and benefits will be competitive with other area theme parks." "Legoland to hire 1,000 people for central FL park".

One suspects pay and benefits will not be competitive with other area theme parks that are unionized.

Rail dreams

"It appears that the SunRail commuter train in Central Florida has the approval of Gov. Rick Scott after all. One of Scott's policy advisers, Phillip Miller, told a Senate subcommittee this week that a line item of more than $269 million in the governor's proposed budget was, in fact, for the $1.2 billion project." "SunRail money is there, Scott aide says".

Buchanan pisses in the wind

"While Rep. Vern Buchanan's proposal for a balanced budget amendment may not have much traction in the U.S. House of Representatives, the idea is much more popular in Sarasota, where over 200 people angry over the growing federal deficit came to one of his town hall meetings Saturday."

Buchanan, a Longboat Key Republican, has been pushing for Congress to balance the federal budget and not rely on borrowing, filing a bill last month that outlined the amendment. But it is the third time Buchanan has filed the bill in the past five years and he has never been able to secure a committee hearing on it, much less a vote.

This year, however, Buchanan has more clout than in the past. He was picked to be on the Ways and Means Committee, offering him a key role in crafting federal policy on major issues like Medicare, Social Security and taxes.

Using that as a springboard, Buchanan has indicated he wants to have a more prominent role in working on federal policies, including his call for a balanced budget.

"Florida Education Funding 101"

Tom Tryon says "welcome to Florida Education Funding 101."

The Required Local Effort is a significant component of the Florida Education Finance Program.

The FEFP is the primary source of funding for public schools, kindergarten through 12th grade.

Florida's constitution has long assigned the responsibility for funding public education to state government -- the Legislature.

In 1998, more than 70 percent of Florida voters supported amending the state constitution to declare public education a "fundamental value of the people."

The amendment further says the state's "paramount duty" is to make "adequate provision for the education of all children residing within its borders." The state is mandated, according to the amendment, to provide "a uniform, efficient, safe, secure, and high quality system of free public schools that allows students to obtain a high quality education ..."

(Note: The constitution does not give Florida authority to fulfill its paramount duty to all children living in the state by giving them or their parents vouchers to offset tuition in private schools.)

Unfortunately, the state has not made adequate provision for a high-quality education for all children -- at least not in comparison with funding in other states.

What's worse, the state's direct financial contribution to the FEFP is a paltry amount.

For instance, last year, less than 20 percent of the FEFP came from state sources, such as sales tax revenue. About 5 percent was allocated by the federal government.

The remaining 75 percent of the FEFP came from property taxes levied in each of Florida's 67 county school districts.

How can that be, since the Florida Constitution prohibits the state from levying an ad valorem property tax?

Partisan pension "report" getting play

Not surprisingly, Florida's "Fox News in print", The Daytona Beach News Journal editorial board, thinks the sadly partisan "report" by the politically compromised Leroy Collins Institute, is just dandy: "Report sheds light on local pension woes". See "Collins Institute's Partisan Pension Report".

Heaven help us

"Policies supported by Republican House members can be effective in defusing foreign threats, Rep. Connie Mack IV told a conservative audience Saturday." "Open up domestic drilling, Rep. Mack says".

"Dog paddling amid a 12% unemployment rate"

"Spokesman pooh-poohs Obama plan as Scott recommends cutting benefits." "Unemployment proposal a 'Band-aid' to Gov. Scott".

The Orlando Sentinel editorial board: "Critics say the reform chatter thinly veils a business-friendly agenda. One fueled by a corrosive meme that casts some of Florida's more than 1 million unemployed as 'slackers and malingerers' or scallywags bent on gaming the system."

Right. As if thousands are living the life of Riley on weekly checks that max out at $275. In any case, anecdotal evidence of abuse isn't sufficient justification for changes that would harm Floridians who are dog paddling amid a 12-percent unemployment rate.

Sad day

"Wildlife officials in northwest Florida are asking the public for help in finding the person who fatally shot a black bear that had been wounded before." "Black bear wounded in Nov. found dead".