The Political Whore

Florida, in light orange-yellow on the Dept of Energy map, above, joins some other states without renewable portfolio standards to require renewable energy production.

By Rick Kriseman
CL Green Community

Cross-posted from the Daily Loaf.

We are long overdue for a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) in this state (a regulation that requires the increased production of energy from renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal). According to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, we are not only the most populous state without one, but we are joined by the likes of Alabama, Mississippi, and several other states not known for their progressive agendas.

In 2008, Gov. Charlie Crist signed legislation which required the Public Service Commission (PSC) to develop a renewable portfolio standard by February 1, 2009, which then had to be adopted by the legislature before being implemented.
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By Lorna Bracewell
PoHo contributor

This just in from Securing Our Children’s Rights (SOCR), a Tampa-based lobbying group organized to secure, protect and preserve equal rights for children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents in Florida:

Securing Our Children’s Rights, Inc. (SOCR), is pleased to announce HB 3 – Adoption, for the 2010 legislative session, introduced by Representative Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, that is a full repeal of Florida’s ban on adoption by its gay and lesbian citizens. Senator Nan Rich has a companion bill in drafting at this date.

Governor Crist has declared Wednesday, July 22, 2009 as Explore Adoption Day and we must contact Governor Crist and the legislature to Explore Adoption by repealing the ban.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
WHO: Governor Charlie Crist (850) 488-7146 or email to Charlie.Crist@myflorida.com

House Speaker Larry Cretul 850-488-1450 or 352-873-6564 or email to Larry.Cretul@myfloridahouse.gov

Senate President Jeff Atwater 850-487-5100 or 561-625-5101 or email to atwater.jeff.web@flsenate.gov

Your Florida Representative – www.myfloridahouse.gov

Your Florida Senator – www.flsenate.gov

THE ASK:
Please ask the Governor to support the repeal of the adoption ban on gay Floridians and ask him to encourage the legislative leadership to pass the repeal.

Please ask the House Speaker and the Senate President to support the repeal and encourage Committee hearings for the bills.

Please ask your representative and senator to support the repeal, and to become a co-sponsor.

Here are your fun facts and talking points, courtesy of SOCR:

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That is the hope of legislators, who saw Gov. Charlie Crist sign a bill on Thursday that will curtail the practice of state workers who go through a state retirement DROP program, only to resurface with their same jobs 30 days later, giving them a pension and a salary.

You may recall the controversy earlier this year when Hillsborough Planning Commission chief Bob Hunter did just that, drawing attention from 10 Connects’ investigative reporter Mike Deeson and support from a group of activists, including PoHo’s own Kelly Cornelius.

From the Fort Myers News-Press:

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said the bill he and Rep. Robert Schenck, R-Spring Hill, sponsored during the 2009 legislative session is specially appropriate in these tough budget times. Fasano said it is not fair that some high-paid public officials arrange to draw their pensions and continue working.

The law won’t take effect until July 1, 2010, so employees who retire before then will still be allowed to return to work after 30 days and keep their pensions. But the new statute will require a six-month break in service, which Fasano said will prevent elected big shots from “double dipping.”

“The six-month ban on re-employment will put a stop to the abuse of this system by elected officials, and judges in particular,” said Fasano. “Those individuals will not be able to take a six-month break from their elected or appointed positions. It will also keep senior management from ‘retiring’ and coming right back to their old positions at a higher salary, since their position will have to remain unfilled for six months.”

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Sidestepping critics who say it won’t solve Florida’s pill-mill problem, Gov. Charlie Crist signed long-fought legislation Thursday designed to crack down on clinics and doctors who dole out excessive narcotic painkillers — mainly in South Florida.

The law will force pain clinics, pharmacies and doctors selling pain drugs to log every prescription into a statewide computer database, where the medical officials and police can detect drug dealers and addicts who go from office to office amassing hundreds of pills a day.

Also, the law gives state regulators new powers to inspect and closely oversee clinics owned by investors, a segment of the business that police identify as a blatant source of illegal narcotic pills.

“I’m thrilled,” said Tina Reed, a Davie mother whose adult son used to be an addict and runner for a dealer, and who had been part of a coalition lobbying for the bill (SB 462). “It may not be a perfect bill but the fact is we have a database established that we can work on. We’re not cured of this crisis, but it’s a step in the right direction.”

Read the full story.

Should local governments have spent your tax dollars in campaigns for referenda such as the Penny for Pinellas?

Senate Bill 216 is now law, and its top advocate, St. Petersburg state Sen. Charlie Justice is pretty happy about it. SB 216 bans local governments from spending tax dollars to educate voters about referenda, a process that is both defended by government as a necessary means of explaining tricky civic issues and criticized by those who say it is merely advocacy campaigning with taxpayer money.

I’ve got both sides of the issue on it. First, Justice, who issued this statement upon Gov. Charlie Crist signing the bill:

Read the rest of this entry »

Big Oil’s offshore drilling scheme appears to be making a comeback. A start-up political group is looking to gather petition signatures and put the idea on the ballot, bypassing the politically sensitive Legislature.

From the Fort Myers News-Press:

Claiming that offshore drilling is the answer to the nation’s addiction to foreign oil, conservative activists are gearing up a constitutional drive to lift Florida’s 20-year-old ban.
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Sponsors of the drive, FloridaOil.org, are exploring a unique approach to getting around what has long been considered the third rail of Florida politics, one so charged that a last-minute attempt in the Legislature this spring quickly died when Senate President Jeff Atwater, a Republican from North Palm Beach, put his foot down.

“Atwater proved that we can’t rely on the Legislature,” said the group’s chief organizer, Dan Baldauf of Bradenton. “Legislators actually prefer that we do it this way, because it helps them keep their hands clean.”

This sounds like it is more about folks who want to procure some spending cash from the oil and gas companies than a legit movement with any legs. The story notes that the group has raised just $2,000 so far but expects a lot more once it attracts the attention of the oil-producing companies.

Although carefully worded polls will show support for offshore drilling, this is a big loser at the ballot box.

Cristina Silva has a great story over at Bay Buzz about how the St. Petersburg City Council has a letter queued up to go to Gov. Charlie Crist urging a veto of SB 216, a good-government bill by local Sen. Charlie Justice.

Upshot is that city officials want to keep the ability to spend your money to tell you how to vote on city referenda or other issues. They say this bill is overly broad and could result in local elected officials getting arrested, they say. It is on the St. Petersburg City Council agenda for Thursday’s meeting, so if you can go and tell them to stuff it, that might be a good idea.

Download the draft letter in .pdf format after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, I know, it is a wonky issue. SB 360. Most Floridians don’t give a crap about growth management. Just get the economy going and cut my taxes to near nothing while boosting public services, parks and investments in infrastructure, they figure.

Right.

But Charlie Crist’s cowardly signing Monday of the bill that the St. Petersburg Times says sets back Florida’s growth management by 20 years. He didn’t have a public signing, opting instead for a 5 p.m. news release from his flacks. How shameful not only to do the wrong thing but to hide like a guilty 5-year-old while doing it.

How do you sign a “growth management” bill that even the wildly pro-growth Hillsborough County Commission opposes???

Signing SB 360 leaves Crist’s legacy as a popular governor who didn’t fight the tough fights and who made his decisions on a matrix of how many influential Floridians and/or voters would love him for it. On that scale, SB 360 had lots of upside (campaign contributions for his Senate campaign in 2010) and no downside (the handful of environmentalists and planners who give a crap about such things doesn’t amount to enough to elect the local dog catcher).

And this man wants to be our next U.S. senator? What a chickenshit.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo Credit: kwalk628 Flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

No ceremonial photo-op for this signing, probably because nobody wants to see the Governor bending over for special interests but in my opinion that is exactly what he did by signing SB 360. This bill guts Florida’s growth management laws (yes, we had some) and everyone but special interests and their politicians are against it.

The only good news? This should be exactly what we need to get Florida Hometown Democracy approved by the voters in 2010.

By George Niemann
PoHo contributor and UCAN-Hillsborough activist

I got an invitation to attend a Town Hall Capital Update Meeting being hosted by District 62 Rep. Rich Glorioso in Plant City. Now some of you may be saying to yourselves, “That’s not my district, I don’t care what he has to say.”

Ah, but you should care what he has to say and here’s why.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo credit: amerune at Flickr.com

OR

Photo credit: Daquella Manera at Flickr.com                   YOU DECIDE!

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

As if the past dirty deeds and developer-driven agendas of many of our Hillsborough County commissioners wasn’t proof enough (yes, we mean you Team Sprawl) now the Florida Legislature has shown you exactly why we need Florida Hometown Democracy (FHD). FHD is a citizen-driven initiative that would allow voters to make growth decisions instead of leaving it in the greased and dirty hands of politicians. To help make the case for FHD, there is this year’s legislative session.

Where to begin?

Read the rest of this entry »

Dan Waite e-mailed me to tip me off to his first effort to make and post a political video, and it is a good one, explaining how Senate Bill 360 that is on Gov. Charlie Crist’s desk is a bad one.

Watch the full video after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

A  piece in the Times from Senator Mike Bennett-R who spawned SB 360 (a bill that dismantles growth management), shares his idea of smart growth as it is titled For smart Fla growth. OK, Mr. Bennett, I guess that depends on what your definition of smart is. He says in part:

The bill promotes growth in dense urban areas by removing the state required costs of transportation concurrency and the duplicative development of regional impact (DRI) process within those areas.

(Nimby translation: Developers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for more growth by having to pay for infrastructure; that is what you taxpayers are for.)

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor

photo by shioshvili flickr.com

You heard me. Hillsborough Commissioners under the threat of a teetering bond rating voted for automatic annual increases for water rates that total to 1.72 percent for FY 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor and R-LAND activist

Nice going-away present, Guv. According to this article, The Suntanned One sounds like he is going to sign SB 360 the ill-conceived bill that guts what little growth management we do did have. Maybe he didn’t get that opposition email from our County Commission yet, huh? Unless he switches teams last minute it sounds like we are screwed. Read the rest of this entry »

Bill sponsor J.D. Alexander

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Who in the Florida Legislature voted to make water use approval easier to get and take away wetlands permitting from local officials by giving it to a five member statewide board while also eliminating any power from the public by having closed meetings? Why, everyone, that is who.

Read the rest of this entry »

photo by .res flickr.com

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

After months of hounding from activists and even early coverage in both papers including this editorial in the Trib dated Feb 21st, 2009 the Hillsborough County Commission finally weighs in on Senate Bill 360, a bad revamp of Florida’s growth-management safeguards. This is a bill that everyone (except developers and their politicians) thinks is a bad idea. The bill’s sponsor is Mike Bennett -R of Bradentucky Bradenton. So, after two months of Legislative Session where the bill sailed through committees and was voted on twice on the floor in the House and three times in the Senate and eventually passed on the last day of Session, our commission, at the urging of Commissioner Mark Sharpe decide to discuss it.  You would have thought they were being asked to consider…..gasp…… domestic partnership benefits or something considering the discussion. Some of them acted surprised or feigned ignorance about the content of the bill citing that things change minute by minute in bills in Tallahassee and while that is true the bigger truth is that the main things in the bill that everyone was screaming about, transportation concurrency and no reviews for DRIs (big ass subdivisions) have been in the bill since the beginning as noted in this Feb 20th article by Mariella Smith. Read the rest of this entry »

From the Associated Press:

Legislative negotiators agreed on what Gov. Charlie Crist called a “great” deal to expand gambling at Seminole Indian casinos Wednesday, some six hours after their talks were on the brink of collapse.

Both sides made concessions. The House accepted a broader gaming expansion than many of its members wanted. The Senate agreed to less than it had been pushing for.

The agreement has the potential to generate millions of dollars for state coffers that have been shrinking due the faltering economy.

From March on Politics:

Negotiations between the state House and Senate over how much to expand gambling in Florida appear to be at an impasse, despite pressure from Gov. Charlie Crist for the two sides to reach an agreement.

As he did yesterday, Crist took the unusual step of showing up for a meeting of the negotiators that just concluded, a way of demonstrating his concern and pushing the two sides to reach an agreement. Also attending were tribal leaders and their representatives.

But he can’t have been encouraged with what he saw: The top House negotiator, state Rep. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, accusing the Senate of “going backward” in the negotiations and then stalking out of the room as the meeting adjourned, with a closing comment that suggested there might be no more meetings.

A 360 of flip-flops … get it? (photo: Katy Warner/flickr.com)

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Well, my earlier post on who voted in support of SB 360 (a gutting of growth management laws) caused quite a stir, and as Wayne already reported and corrected on that post, State Sen. Victor Crist actually changed his last vote on the growth management bill from yes to no. I do apologize that I did not find that change online before submitting that post. I spoke with Crist himself Tuesday afternoon regarding the issue. He wanted to make sure I understood the process so I will share his explanation with you as well. Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Well, for one the now State Sen. Victor Crist, who has an eye on Ken Hagan’s county commission seat in a game of musical sprawlers and  just voted to throw Hillsborough under the bus by gutting what meager growth management laws we do have. Yep, he voted YES on the deplorable bill SB 360 denounced by environmentalists, smart growth advocates and anyone with two brain cells that touch (who aren’t in the pockets of developers).

[EDITOR'S UPDATE: Legislative records show that Crist changed to a "No" vote on the bill. In an interview with PoHo, Crist said he was off the floor in a budget conference meeting during the vote in question and another Senator "voted his button," a fairly common practice in the Legislature. Crist said he noticed the yes vote and changed it by the end of the day. More from Crist in the comments section. The Senate floor vote record is here.]

Remember that in 2010 when we have the “special election“ experts think is going to occur for Hagan’s seat. I didn’t know anything about Crist one way or the other before this, but voting yes on SB 360 tells me all I need to know. Looks like some of his constituents aren’t all that happy with him either regarding past issues. You can contact Crist here and tell him what you think.

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Looks like maybe Dr. Richard Garrity might be a PoHo fan because my post questioning his activities as Executive Director of the EPC Wednesday morning wasn’t up very long at all before I heard from several sources regarding emails he sent listing documents regarding his recent activities. Coincidence? I don’t think so. Read the rest of this entry »

Swine, errrr, H1N1 flu worries will keep kids out of three public schools in Hillsborough County this week, after students reported symptoms that health officials believe are from the fast-spreading influenza.

From ABC Action News:

An 18-year-old male student at Freedom High School and an 11-year-old male student at Wilson Middle School are among the latest suspected cases of the H1N1 virus reported to the Florida Department on Health.

Both schools will be closed starting Monday, and will not reopen until next week. Liberty Middle School will also close, since it shares its cafeteria with Freedom High School, officials said.

Students are being asked to stay home and avoid public places like shopping malls or movie theaters.

None of the five Hillsborough victims of the flu have been hospitalized, and all are recovering.

For better or for worse (and there are some who say it bodes poorly for efforts to get rail transit here in Tampa Bay), but Orlando’s five-year effort for a light-rail system using CSX freight tracks appears finally dead.

A floor vote in the Senate yesterday that could have helped switch more votes to its side failed. From the pro-SunRail Orlando Sentinel:

SunRail proponents could try to bring up the measure again today – the last day of the regular session – but its chances of success are low because it would take 27 votes to do so.

“It’ll take some maneuvering to get it done. I think the forces of evil have won,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

He was among the dozens of supporters who tried in vain to corral the 21 votes necessary for SunRail to prevail. But he lost two members of the Central Florida delegation: Sens. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, and Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach.

And despite the support of Republican Gov. Charlie Crist and numerous Central Florida business leaders, 15 Republicans voted against the measure.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 60th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Ordinarily, today would be the last day of the session; however, the House and Senate have not passed a budget for the 2009-2010 Fiscal Year. Therefore, later today, both the House and Senate will vote to extend session into next week. Essentially, both houses have decided the only bill next week will be the budget, so today will be the last day of major policy votes.

The House and Senate are still meeting in Session today to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Bills heard “on the Floor” are on first placed on a “Special Order Calendar” where they are read (for the second time), debated, and amended. Bills taken up on Special Order move to “3rd reading.” The Florida Constitution requires bills to be read three times before a chamber can pass the bill.

Here are the highlights from their Calendars:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 59th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The House and Senate are still meeting in Session today to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Bills heard “on the Floor” are on first placed on a “Special Order Calendar” where they are read (for the second time), debated, and amended. Bills taken up on Special Order move to “3rd reading.” The Florida Constitution requires bills to be read three times before a chamber can pass the bill.

Here are the highlights from their Calendars:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 58th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The House and Senate are still meeting in Session today to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Bills heard “on the Floor” are on first placed on a “Special Order Calendar” where they are read (for the second time), debated, and amended. Bills taken up on Special Order move to “3rd reading.” The Florida Constitution requires bills to be read three times before a chamber can pass the bill.

Here are the highlights from their Calendars:

Read the rest of this entry »

Sen. Dan Gelber, a candidate for the U.S. Senate and a Democrat, warns of a rumor to that regard. From his Twitter account earlier today:
Read the rest of this entry »

Not to surprising but the tone was amazing. Today in the Florida House of Representatives, Republicans led a hog-slaughtering of Florida’s growth management laws and opened vast areas of rural property to sprawl by approving its version of the controversial SB 360.

The bill was so bad that the Republican governor’s top growth management official, Tom Pelham, said yesterday that it would “seriously undermine Florida’s growth management laws.”

And that pissed off Republican leaders:

Read the rest of this entry »

By Kelly Cornelius
PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist

Since bad bills like SB 360, legislation to weaken severely growth management laws, and other developer dreams are still alive and well in Tally at the last hour, I wondered what our eight paid lobbyists for Hillsborough County are doing with their time. As legislators attempt to rob a fund to clean up polluted water sources from petroleum leaks (one is in my neighborhood). I wondered where Hillsborough’s Environmental Protection Commission is. I am still wondering. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 57th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Today is the deadline for having the state budget completed. The Florida Constitution requires the final budget be available to legislators and the public for 72 hours before they legislature can officially vote on it. With the 2009 Regular session scheduled to end on Friday, the budget must be “on the desk” before 11:59 tonight. Media reports have indicated that will not happen.

However, the House and Senate are still meeting in Session today to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Bills heard “on the Floor” are on first placed on a “Special Order Calendar” where they are read (for the second time), debated, and amended. Bills taken up on Special Order move to “3rd reading.” The Florida Constitution requires bills to be read three times before a chamber can pass the bill.

Here are the highlights from their Calendars:

Read the rest of this entry »

I will be joining a panel discussing the accomplishments/lack thereof in the 2009 Florida Legislature on Fox 13’s Your Turn show with Kathy Fountain. Phone or e-mail your questions in, yourturn@wtvt.com or call 813-875-8255 or 800-826-4434 (according to the Fox website.)

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 56th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The last week of the 2009 Regular Legislative Session has arrived. The House and Senate are meeting in Session today to consider passage of bills that have completed the committee process. Bills heard “on the Floor” are on first placed on a “Special Order Calendar” where they are read (for the second time), debated, and amended. Bills taken up on Special Order move to “3rd reading.” The Florida Constitution requires bills to be read three times before a chamber can pass the bill.

Here are the highlights from their Calendars:

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a good review from the Tallahassee Democrat of just how the petroleum industry and its lobbyists sprung their 11th-hour surprise to end a 20-year ban on offshore oil drilling on the House of Representatives.

From the Democrat’s Florida Capital News website:

With a little less than an hour’s discussion, and a quick, mostly party-line vote, every conservationist’s worst nightmare was headed for the House floor. The House gave preliminary approval on Friday.

“This is like a Carl Hiaasen novel,” laments Janet Bowman, a lobbyist for the Nature Conservancy.

But unlike the colorful characters who scheme to sell out Florida’s natural wonders in Hiaasen’s works of fiction, the supporters are very real. Their ranks also include some respected names, including Martha Barnett, a former president of the American Bar Association.

Former House Speaker John Thrasher, a lobbyist who is also pushing the measure, smiles broadly and praises Cannon’s master stroke.

“He’s a rising star,” Thrasher said. “We needed to look at this, not just pull it out and have everyone just say no. It’s been amazing to see the pent-up energy for this.”

By Ben Luongo
PoHo contributor
Ben Luongo is a USF political science graduate student. He will be graduating this spring.

Florida universities face serious budget cuts if the proposed House of Representatives budget (here’s a .pdf of its appropriations) for higher education goes through. The budget would cut $500 million in basic budget support and an additional $100 million in salaries.

What does this mean for our Florida Universities?

Here is the video, after the jump

Read the rest of this entry »