The Political Whore

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

Jim Johnson is the creator of The State of Sunshine blog.

Today is the 8th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

There are quite a few interesting bills being heard in House and Senate Committees:

Florida House of Representatives

The Education Policy Council and the Health & Family Services Policy Council will meet jointly for a discussion and presentations on obesity initiatives.

The Civil Justice & Courts Policy Committee will hear House Bill 467 by Rep. Antiere Flores, which tweaks the child support and alimony laws. Significantly, this bill:

• Requires child support awards to end upon majority and, where appropriate, to account for revised child support guidelines based on remaining children owed support.
• Creates a rebuttable presumption that a person can earn minimum wage, and provides additional criteria for the establishment of an imputed income amount.
• Amends the child support formula to account for income tax consequences of children and their financial support.
• Allows a court to consider a situation where a child support award requires a parent to pay so much that the parent falls below the poverty line.

House Bill 879 by Rep. Adam Hasner will be heard in the Energy & Utilities Policy Committee. This bill makes electric and hybrid cars exempt from Florida’s sales and use tax.

Fellow Twitterer Rep. Scott Plakon will present House Bill 425 in the Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee. This bill streamlines the process for businesses to register with the state. “Helps economy get going by decreasing regulation,” tweeted Plakon.

Rep. Juan Zapata will present House Bill 787 in the State & Community Colleges & Workforce Policy Committee. This bill will allow Miami-Dade County to enact a ½-cent sales tax to support Miami-Dade Community College, if the voters in that county approve the tax.

For state universities, House Bill 489 by Rep. Marty Colet will be heard in the State Universities & Private Colleges Policy Committee. The bill clarifies that university boards of trustees are responsible for hiring and administering the university president, not the Board of Governors.

One of the more controversial issues this year will be heard in the PreK-12 Policy Committee: House Joint Resolution 919 by Rep. Will Weatherford. This bill proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution to change the class size requirements:

• For prekindergarten through grade 3, the maximum number of students that could be assigned to each teacher in an individual classroom is raised from 18 to 21, but the school level average cannot exceed 18 students.
• For grades 4 through 8, the maximum number of students that could be assigned to each teacher in an individual classroom is raised from 22 to 27, but the school level average cannot exceed 22 students.
• For grades 9 through 12, the calculation method is limited to the average number of students at the school level, which cannot exceed 25 students.

Florida Senate

The Senate Agriculture Committee will hear Senate Bill 448 by Sen. Nan Rich, which actually makes bestiality a crime. Apparently, despite the efforts of prosecutors in the State of Florida, persons who are actually caught in the act of sexual intercourse with an animal cannot generally be charged with or convicted of a sex-related crime — only animal cruelty.

Another controversial bill will be heard in the Community Affairs Committee. Senate Joint Resolution 1906 by Sen. Mike Haridopolos proposes an amendment to the Florida Constitution to limit state and local government revenues and require voter approval of new taxes and fees. Specifically, the changes would be:

• Replaces the existing state revenue limit based on Florida personal income growth with new state revenue limits, and creates a local government revenue limit.
• Limits property tax revenues based on changes in local growth and school enrollment changes.
• Requires excess revenues to be deposited into budget stabilization funds and provides for distribution of the excess funds.
• Authorizes voters to permit the collection of revenues in excess of the limit.
• Authorizes the Legislature and the local government governing body to approve emergency taxes by a supermajority vote.
• Prohibits state and local government from imposing new taxes, fees, assessments, or charges for services without first obtaining approval by a supermajority vote of electors voting on the issue.
• Prohibits the state and local government from incurring multi-year debts or financial obligations without adequate cash reserves.

The same committee will hear another proposed property tax amendment in Senate Joint Resolution 738 by Sen. Mike Bennett. This bill would limit the total aggregate ad valorem taxes levied by counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts on any parcel of real property to 1.35 percent of the highest taxable value of the property.

The Senate Regulated Industries Committee will hear a presentation by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) on Report No. 09-14, “Lottery Profits are Slowing with Economic Downturn; Advertising Services and Retailer Commission Rates Need to be Addressed.”

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