Adam C. Smith: "You might have seen Gov. Rick Scott recently talking to you in a TV ad — "We are expanding our industries, investing in our ports, making a record commitment to you, devoting more resources to education'' — and wondered if he's running for office again."

That's the plan, but not right away. Scott, 62, has told several top Republican fundraisers that he's interested in running for U.S. Senate. It would be in 2018, when Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson's third term ends, rather than in 2016, when a potentially open U.S. Senate seat is enticing plenty of politicians and Scott will still be in the middle of his second term.

Meanwhile, "Eyeing Senate bid, Lt. Gov. Lopez-Cantera must decide whether to stay or go."

Jeb! used his family company pension plan to avoid paying taxes on $350,000 a year

"In the tax returns he released Tuesday, GOP presidential candidate Jeb Bush reported large deductions for payments to 'pension and profit-sharing plans.' The payments averaged $350,000 a year for the past five years." "Pension Plan Cut Jeb Bush’s Taxes."

The week ahead

"The week ahead in state government."

Florida's Ties to Four Declaration Signers

Kevin Derby: "Think Florida has no connection to the Declaration of Independence? Actually Florida played a large role in the lives of four of the signers, three of whom celebrated the first Independence Day in Florida on July 4, 1781." "Florida's Odd Ties to Four Declaration of Independence Signers."

Scott makes anger level rise

The Sun Sentinel editors: "Scott's vetoes make anger level rise."

Jeb! obfuscates lucrative and potentially controversial business dealings

"Jeb Bush says he released 33 years of tax returns this week because he wants to be the most transparent candidate to run for president in 2016. But if that’s really the case, why is he continuing to obfuscate some of his most lucrative and potentially controversial business dealings he had before announcing his candidacy, like his work as an “adviser” for investment bank Lehman Brothers?" "Jeb Bush’s Big Lehman Brothers Problem."

"Bush essentially is an employee of his wealthy donors"

From Washington Post: Shortly after Jeb Bush left the Florida governor’s office in 2007, he established his own firm, Jeb Bush & Associates, designed to maximize his earning potential as one of the country’s more prominent politicians."

Shortly after Jeb Bush left the Florida governor’s office in 2007, he established his own firm, Jeb Bush & Associates, designed to maximize his earning potential as one of the country’s more prominent politicians.

Tax returns disclosed this week by the Republican’s presidential campaign revealed that the business not only made him rich but also provided a steady income for his wife and one of his sons. . . .

The returns show that the company set up a generous and well-funded pension plan now rare in corporate America, allowing Bush to take large tax deductions while he and his wife built up their retirement portfolio. . . .

[A] review of the filings shows that more than a third of his company’s income was from sources that his campaign has largely declined to disclose. . . .

The full scope of Bush’s clientele remains shielded from public view.

The Sun Sentinel's Jac Wilder VerSteeg writes that Jeb Bush "released tax records showing that he has earned about $29 million since leaving office, mostly from speaking and consulting fees."

Wilder VerSteeg points out that "Bush is neither a scintillating speaker nor a business genius. Bush commands those high fees because of his family's longtime links to government — federal and state."

"Wealthy and privileged folks didn't pay to hear and consult with Bush, they paid to stroke the president's son, the president's brother and a potential presidential candidate."

As he released his tax returns, Bush attempted to compare his situation with that of a regular taxpayer. "I paid the government more than one in three dollars that I earned in my career," he said. "Astounding. I think I speak for everyone, no matter your tax rate: We need to get more money back in your pocket and less in the federal kitty."

Poor Jeb. The government only let Bush keep about $19 million that very rich and privileged people paid him. And he vows to overturn the policies of President Obama, who used government to save jobs during the Great Recession and now wants to use government [via changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act] to literally put more overtime money into exploited workers' pockets.

You'd think Bush would be grateful to government for the leg up it has given him. But Bush essentially is an employee of his wealthy donors. They — not middle class Americans — will command his loyalty and gratitude.

Scott continues to get wealthier

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott, a multimillionaire former businessman who dipped into his own fortune last year to help his re-election campaign, continues to get wealthier." "Gov. Rick Scott's net worth grows to $147 million."

"Bruising political battle split GOP-led House, Senate and Scott"

"After a bruising political battle that split the GOP-led House, Senate and Gov. Rick Scott, lawmakers are back home, with a government shutdown averted, tax cuts passed and hospitals avoiding deep funding cuts."

But bitter resentment remains, and the feud could affect Florida residents in many ways, as lawmakers next year again consider slashing taxes, expanding health coverage and increasing education and environmental funding.

The $1 billion approved by Washington for the Low Income Pool, a voluntary Medicaid program paying hospitals for care for the poor and uninsured, is a more than a 50 percent cut of what was projected, and it will fall to $600 million next year.

That means lawmakers will look for more state funds to prevent steep cuts to hospitals, making it harder to boost education spending and cut taxes — two perennial priorities of Scott.

Scott's Position on Cuba could Poison Tampa Area for GOP

"President Barack Obama is steaming ahead with his plan to normalize relations with Cuba after announcing Wednesday his plan for the United States and Cuba to open embassies in each other's capital. But hold on -- don't for a minute expect Florida Gov. Rick Scott to climb on board." "Could Gov. Scott's Position on Cuba Poison Tampa Area for GOP?."

Really?

"Rubio to Obama: Walk away from Iran talks."

"Words of wisdom"

The Tampa Trib editors "wish Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican leaders in the Florida House would consider the words of Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a conservative who opposed Obamacare and who, much like Scott, has focused on tax cuts and creating a business-friendly environment." "Words of wisdom from Ohio about health-care expansion."

Jeb's one percenter blues

"Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush earned $7.4 million in 2013 and has paid an average federal income tax rate of 36 percent over the past three decades, according to tax returns released by his campaign on Tuesday. . . . Bush's average federal tax rate puts him in the top 1 percent of taxpayers, who paid an average of 30.2 percent between 1981 and 2011, according to figures from the Congressional Budget Office." "Since 1981, Jeb Bush paid an average tax rate of 36 percent."

To which, Jeb whinges, "I paid the government more than one in three dollars that I earned in my career," he said. "Astounding. I think I speak for everyone, no matter your tax rate: We need to get more money back in your pocket and less in the federal kitty."

Teacher runs for State House

"Orange County teacher Sean Ashby, a Democrat, has opened a campaign account to challenge freshman state House Republican Rep. Rene "Coach P" Plasencia, who is seeking to swap Central Florida seats next year." "Orange County teacher to run for state House."

Stars and bars

"On many fronts, Hillsborough seeks to put Confederacy behind it."

Need for independent redistricting panel

The Palm Beach Post editors: "Partisan gerrymandering is an ever-growing stain on congressional and legislative maps. The U.S. Supreme Court, according to its 5-4 decision Monday upholding an Arizona law creating an independent redistricting commission with the power to draw lines for congressional districts, would appear to agree." "Redistricting ruling affirms need for independent panel."

"Bush "rising nationally" in new poll"

"A new CNN poll of the 2016 presidential race has former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) "rising nationally," the news station reported Wednesday." "Jeb Bush is surging in a new GOP poll."

A "Turkey" to one person . . .

"Tax watchdog: Gov. Scott’s budget vetoes let some ‘turkeys’ slip through cracks."

Castor leads renewal of relations with Cuba

The Tampa Trib editors argue that "President Barack Obama is justified in trying to thaw relations and bolster U.S. influence in the island nation. The latest step in that effort came Wednesday when Obama announced a deal had been reached to open embassies in each other’s capitals, perhaps as early as July 20."

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, who has pushed for renewed Cuban relations, says, “An embassy in Havana will enable us to effectively promote American interests, protect and assist American citizens traveling to Cuba, and increase engagement with the Cuban people. An embassy is not a gift to a foreign country, but represents a sign that two countries are committed to deepening bilateral relations.”

To Replace Murphy

Kevin Derby: "On Thursday, attorney Jonathan Chane joined the Democratic field running in the crowded race to replace U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., in Congress. Murphy is running for the U.S. Senate in 2016." "Attorney Jonathan Chane Joins the Democratic Field Running to Replace Patrick Murphy in Congress."

Oops?

Joe Henderson: "Florida’s total of 25 overturned death sentences leads the nation since executions resumed in 1973."

Paul Hildwin, for instance, was sentenced to die in 1986 for the murder in Hernando County of Vronzettie Cox. He was released about a year ago after almost 30 years on death row. The Florida Supreme Court said new DNA evidence “completely” discredited the state’s case against him.

Hildwin’s was the fourth death sentence overturned by the state’s highest court in little more than a year after new evidence surfaced. Nationwide, there have been more than 150 death row reversals.

Lots of people argue that the state needs to kill these guys faster to reduce the population. If the death penalty is administered quickly, maybe the reality of what can happen will sink in more quickly.

That’s certainly an argument Bondi would make. Part of me agrees with her.

But the better half of me wonders about the ones prosecutors and juries got wrong.

Most people assume everyone sentenced to die is guilty, but the numbers show that isn’t true.

Unless prison workers start slipping hacksaw blades and power tools to death row inmates, they aren’t going anywhere. So, frustrating as it can be, we simply have to be sure.

What does the state say if it’s wrong?

Oops?

Deportation dead enders

"GOP presidential candidates may want to temper the hard-line stance toward immigration reform embraced by the far right if they want to make it to the top of the ticket next year, according to a recent poll touted by a variety of current and former Hispanic elected officials from Miami on Thursday."

A recent survey of voters in the early primary and caucus states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina found that, at most, one in five GOP voters supported deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Support for the issue drops even more among likely general-election voters in 10 key battleground states, including Florida, according to the poll conducted by Burning Glass Consulting and The Partnership for a New American Economy, a bipartisan group of business leaders and mayors who support immigration reform.

He has said he 'worked my tail off' to succeed. As an announced candidate, Bush soon will be making financial disclosures that will reveal recent business successes and show a substantial increase in his wealth since he left office as Florida governor in 2007, individuals close to the candidate told The Post."

But records, lawsuits, interviews and newspaper accounts stretching back more than three decades present a picture of a man who, before he was elected Florida governor in 1998, often benefited from his family connections and repeatedly put himself in situations that raised questions about his judgment and exposed him to reputational risk.

He has been involved in myriad business ventures dating back to the early 1980s, taking time out to run for governor three times, winning the first of two terms in 1998. He has brokered real estate deals in Florida, arranged bank loans in Venezuela, marketed industrial pumps in Thailand, wholesaled shoes in Panama, promoted a building-materials company to Mexican interests and advised transnational financial services firms. He sat on more than a half dozen corporate boards. Since leaving office in 2007, Bush’s income has soared from speeches, service on corporate boards, consulting and managing investments for others. . . .

“The only documented allegations come down to the fact that he did business with people that later turned out to be deadbeats and crooks,” said Tom Feeney, who was on the ticket as lieutenant governor during Bush’s 1994 campaign.

Bush’s business activities and missteps have been widely covered over the years, by the Miami Herald, the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times, the Wall Street Journal, Mother Jones magazine and other publications, along with books by political scientists and journalists.

Bush declined to be interviewed for this article.

"Miller Ready for a Senate Run?"

Jeff Henderson: "Is Longtime Congressman Jeff Miller Ready for a Senate Run?"

Amendment 1 supporters shouldn't get hopes up

Nancy Smith: "Environmental groups looking for Amendment 1 redemption from the courts probably shouldn't get their hopes up." "Amendment 1 Lawsuit Has History Against It."

"Floridians will be able to keep their Obamacare"

Nice to know that "more than 100,000 Central Floridians will be able to keep their Obamacare health insurance, because their subsidies aren't going away." "Local providers 'relieved' after SCOTUS ruling on subsidies."

Fracking

The Tampa Trib editors: "The real dirt on fracking."

130 new laws

"The state’s record-setting budget goes into effect on Wednesday, along with 130 other new laws that were produced by the Legislature this year in the regular and special sessions and signed by Gov. Rick Scott." "New Laws Kick In This Week: Body Cameras, Drones, Abortion, Traffic Tickets, Secret Recordings, Flags."

Jeb! grubs for wingnuts

Kevin Derby: "Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., turned to former Gov. Luis Fortuño, R-PR, to rally the troops for his presidential campaign this weekend and go after former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, the favorite for the Democratic nomination." "Jeb Bush Turns to Luis Fortuño to Go After Hillary."

Trump's latest wife stands with Jeb!

"Donald Trump's wife wants him to lay off Jeb Bush."

“He promised that he would punish the constituents of those legislators who disagreed with him, and he kept his promise,” Okaloosa County Republican Sen. Don Gaetz told the News Service of Florida.

Scott gutted $15 million for a new downtown Orlando campus for the University of Central Florida, a project vital to Senate President Andy Gardiner, who opposed the governor on the issue of Medicaid expansion. He also vetoed $2 million Gardiner sought to improve water quality in Winter Park.

“It is unfortunate that the messaging strategy needed to achieve the governor’s political agenda comes at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our state,” Gardiner wrote in a statement.

Scott infuriated Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam by slicing $1.6 million budgeted to raise the salaries of workers who fight forest fires, while leaving raises for some other state workers in place. That includes, as Putnam wryly noted to reporters, “... the helpful people who take your driver’s license photo.”

Putnam, remember, publicly challenged how Scott handled the firing of former Florida Department of Law Enforcement head Gerald Bailey.

And don’t invite state Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican, to the same party as the governor.

“Thirteen sessions in the Florida Senate. I’ve never seen anything like this,” Latvala wrote on Twitter.

Weekly Roundup

"Weekly Roundup: Not So Lazy Days of Summer."

Jeb's bad week

"Trump gains on Bush in New Hampshire among Republicans, poll finds." And he's shooting himself in the foot with this: "Jeb Bush rejects post-Charleston calls for stricter gun control laws."

Curbelo one of a handful of Republicans to applaud same-sex marriage decision

"In a swing district in South Florida, a freshman congressman and his Democratic challenger expressed support on Friday for the Supreme Court’s decision making same sex marriage the law of the land."

U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., will be a top Democratic target in 2016 and the freshman congressman was one of a handful of congressional Republicans to applaud the decision. Along with U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., who has been a key ally to his 2014 and 2016 efforts, Curbelo was one of the rare Florida Republicans who backed the ruling.

“I am pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of marriage equality,” Curbelo said on Friday. “This decision illustrates a significant shift towards creating a more accepting and understanding future. This decision is a celebration of freedom and reaffirms the very rights in which our nation was founded.”

Florida’s fight over uninsured continues

"The Supreme Court ruling on Obamacare reduces pressure on Florida lawmakers to create a state exchange." "Florida’s feud over the uninsured to continue after ruling."

"Miami journalists grovel before the entrenched power of the Cuban-American right"

Arturo Lopez Levy: "The Washington Post revealed what would have been old news if Miami journalists didn't grovel every day before the entrenched power of the Cuban-American right. In Florida, and especially in Miami, Rubio has twisted the truth for decades without anyone questioning him." "Why Senator Rubio's Lies Matter."

Expect "a 'ferocious and expensive' Republican primary" to replace Rubio

"Marco Rubio’s presidential aspirations are energizing the Florida political scene, sparking a scramble for his U.S. Senate seat that, in one analyst’s words, will produce a 'ferocious and expensive' Republican primary."

For now, things are relatively quiet on the Democratic side. U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy of Jupiter has formally launched a campaign and is picking up some heavyweight endorsements — among them former Gov. Charlie Crist, former state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Pam Keith, an attorney and former judge advocate in the U.S. Navy from North Palm Beach, also has filed on the Democratic side but is a political newcomer.

Others whose names have surfaced as possible Democratic candidates include Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, former Florida House Minority Leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach and U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson of Orlando. . . .

Only U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis of Ponte Vedra Beach has declared he is a candidate on the Republican side, and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera of Miami said he will make a campaign announcement July 15.

But the list of those considering joining the fray or being urged to is substantial.

It includes U.S. Reps. Curt Clawson of Bonita Springs, David Jolly of Indian Shores, John Mica of Winter Park, Jeff Miller of Chumuckla and Dennis Ross of Lakeland; former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker; State Sens. Anitere Flores of Miami and Don Gaetz of Niceville; former state Senate President Mike Haridopolos of Melbourne; former U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV of Fort Myers; former Florida Attorney General and U.S. Rep. Bill McCollum of Longwood; and Commissioner of Agriculture and former U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow.

Pay to play

"The Florida State Board of Trustees on Friday learned FSU scholarship athletes will start receiving $4,500 to $6,000 apiece annually, as part of the NCAA-allowed 'cost of attendance' stipend."

The athlete stipends were among the highlights of the trustees’ wide-ranging quarterly meeting at FSU’s Turnbull Center.