The Political Whore

By State Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg
PoHo contributor
Kriseman is blogging throughout the Florida Legislature’s 60-day session.

There is certainly no shortage of blogworthy material in Tallahassee these days. The indictment of our former speaker, Rep. Ray Sansom, has been greeted by mostly silence in the Capitol, with even my Democratic colleagues preferring to focus on the business at hand rather than score easy political points. I had thought the strong language contained in the grand jury’s indictment and the damning assessment of our legislative process would temper the culture of secrecy, but that hasn’t been the case. Participation in the budget process has been restricted to just a few Republicans, a late-filed amendment to allow oil drilling in the Gulf just a few miles off our shores was heard with almost no notice given to the amendment’s likely opponents, and a broader energy package is expected to come before the full House without prior committee or council vetting.

There’s more.

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 52nd day of the 2009 Legislative session.

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:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 51st day of the 2009 Legislative session.

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 »

By Catherine Durkin Robinson
PoHo contributor
Catherine Durkin Robinson is a “feminist mother of twins” and a political blogger, working under the title Out in Left Field.

In a long list of Republicans who eschew science and reason at every turn, Gary Kompothecras, a self-proclaimed “rainmaker” with his “Ask Gary” referral hotline and TV commercials, is using his money and influence to change how our children are vaccinated.

All because his children are autistic. Otherwise, I doubt he’d give a shit.

Why do people suffer a tragedy and then turn into douchebags? (Eds. note: Or, in the case of once-comedic Jim Carrey, why do people let their spouses screw the funny out of them and replace it with nutty activism?)

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor
Jim Johnson is the creator of The State of Sunshine blog.

Today is the 50th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

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 »

Just got off a conference call arranged by a Tallahassee PR agency along with Associated Industries of Florida (a pro-business insurance interest) that was pitching heavily for a surprise move in the Florida Legislature to end a 20-year ban on offshore drilling and oil/gas exploration.

HB 1219’s explosive provisions came up all of a sudden, in the last two weeks of the session, clearly a strategic move to limit public discussion on the controversial issue. 20 years of protecting Florida’s beaches from oil spills could be gone in a matter of days in the blitzkrieg, but the oil production advocates on the phoner said that’s not important. What does matter is that Florida is losing out on millions in revenues from state and federal oil leases that could materialize. (And more importantly, lawmakers might miss out on the more than $1.1 million in campaign contributions that petroleum interests have made in the past 15 years.)

It’s about “hard cold cash” for the state “as opposed to political rhetoric,” said Barney Bishop, the head of AIF, who wouldn’t reveal the oil production members of his association who are pushing the legislation. “We’ve never identified who our members are. Our members just brought this idea to us. It was a unique idea. The fact that it was a 20 year [prohibition], that doesn’t mean a doggone thing. That’s really a non-issue.”

Orlando economist Hank Fishkind put the state’s proceeds at more than $1.5 billion a year for 20 years, or $31 billion.

Yes, they flat out dangled lots of cash. Want to fix your budget crisis, Florida? Just drill, baby drill. Pretty odious stuff, especially the shadowy timing of this and the use of Dean Cannon, the next speaker of the House, to introduce the bill and push it through a House council vote along party lines, 17-6. The change in state policy would allow the Cabinet to consider proposals for oil drilling from zero to 10.35 miles offshore. The federal moratorium from 10.35 miles to 200 miles out likely would fall, too, if the state lifts its ban.

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 49th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The budget conferences are not meeting yet, even with 11 days remaining in session. House and Senate leadership are having trouble agreeing on the amount of total revenue the budget will contain — the Seminole Tribe Compact, tobacco tax, stimulus funds, and other policy decisions have a significant impact on the total revenue. Until the leadership can agree on these policy issues, the budget is hanging in limbo. The Florida Constitution requires the appropriations act be on the desks of legislators 72 hours before it is finally passed. This means if they want to vote on the budget before 5 p.m. one week from Friday, the budget must be on the desks by 5 p.m. next Tuesday. It takes about a day to print the budget, so the leadership and conference committees have until Monday to agree or there won’t be a budget passed during this session.

Also today is the the last scheduled policy committee meetings in either chamber for the 2009 Legislative Session. The remaining committees, if any, will be the rules and calendar committees responsible for setting the Special Order Calendars for each chamber.

Here are the remaining highlights from today’s agendas:

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The Republicans have gone back to their old ways when it comes to trying to regain power: rig the election process rather than appeal to the majority of voters.

This time it is a Senate bill (SB 956) that is the target of just about every voting rights and civil rights group in the state. The bill would make it harder for older voters to cast ballots (by outlawing two alternate forms of ID they often use to register and vote), make it harder to gather petition signatures for candidates and referenda, force people who move within 29 days of Election Day to cast provisional ballots and install other vote-blocking reforms in the name of voting security.

From the Times:

Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday strongly hinted that he would veto a proposed rewrite of Florida’s election laws as a broad array of grass-roots groups launched an all-out assault on the legislation.

“What is it we’re trying to cure?” Crist asked in a Times/Herald Tallahassee bureau interview. “The more opportunity you give people to vote, the better it is for democracy. So that aspect of it concerns me.”

“It always seems to me that when there may be legislation that attempts to sort of make it harder for people to do something — the people we work for — generally that’s not good,” Crist said. “I don’t look on that in a favorable light and that is true of this particular part of this legislation.” Asked if he would veto it, Crist said: “I don’t like to use the V word … but I’m not fond of that provision. It concerns me.”

The Central Florida light rail plan known either as SunRail or the CSX deal remained alive in the Florida Senate, barely slipping by an important committee vote yesterday.

The Orlando Sentinel reports:

The $1.2 billion project may need to go before another committee, or it could end up on the Senate floor for a vote that would determine its fate. With nine days left before the session’s scheduled adjournment May 1, supporters want to go to the floor soon, though it is not certain they have the 21 votes necessary to win in the 40-member chamber.

The would-be train eked out a 4-3 vote in the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee, but the swing vote – cast by Sen. Chris Smith, D- Fort Lauderdale – was less than enthusiastic.

Smith’s vote came only after sponsors allowed him to attach a local-option rental-car surcharge, a $2-a-day levy that would require approval by a county commission supermajority and a county’s voters in a referendum. South Florida legislators are hoping the tax could raise as much as $40 million to support their Tri-Rail commuter system.

SunRail has been opposed by some because it would pay hundreds of millions to CSX for 63 miles of track. Some Lakeland residents oppose it because CSX would then re-route its freight traffic hub through downtown Lakeland.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 48th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The House and Senate passed their versions of the budget last week, and will start meeting this week in a conference committee to iron out the differences. Conference committee meetings for Monday have been cancelled. Here are the remaining highlights:

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This was the man that almost all of the Republican House members didn’t want to abandon even when it was clear he done wrong. From the Miami Herald:

A grand jury Friday indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom, saying he falsely secured $6 million in taxpayer money to construct and aircraft hangar for a friend and major Republican donor.

The grand jury also indicted Bob Richburg, the Northwest Florida State College president whose school got the money and has been pursuing plans for what the college has insisted is a college emergency management operations center.

“The present system has the potential to breed corruption and create an unfair advantage for those who have money to leverage influence on the Legislature,” the grand jury report said.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 46th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The Senate passed it’s version of the budget yesterday and has a light agenda, the House will debate the budget today:

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This is why the Sunshine State will never be competitive for real hi-tech or biomed industries: as other state’s invest in higher education despite a recession, Florida treats the raw material for its future work force like dog meat. From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel:

Florida’s state universities may look dramatically different this fall, with larger classes, fewer employees and fewer courses and degrees offered to students.

The University of Florida, the state’s flagship university, unveiled a list of $108 million in possible cuts today, joining a growing number of the state’s 11 schools drafting plans to deal with Florida’s unprecedented economic downturn.

UF may lay off 378 employees, eliminate degree programs such as geological sciences and religion and force employees to give up payments for unused sick time.

The disclosure up front, that Johnnie B. Byrd Jr., the former House speaker who created the USF Alzheimer’s center in his late father’s honor, was a client of my political consulting firm.

The struggling center, long a target of those looking for a little payback against Byrd, now is looking at a zero-budget year from the state.

According to the Miami Herald:

There’s hardly a worse time to be begging the Legislature for state funding, but after getting no money last year, officials with the Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Alzheimer’s Center and Research Institute are desperately doing just that.

They’re seeking at least $5 million for the gleaming institute on the University of South Florida campus, and they warn of dire consequences if they don’t get it: losing their federal designation as an Alzheimer’s research center.

“You have no chance of getting it with no state funding,” said Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of the institute and dean of the USF College of Medicine. “They would look at a state-funded center with no state funding as a center the state doesn’t want to support.”

Looks like PoHo is going to have to pay more for his stogies as the Legislature is poised to pass a major new tax increase (Go GOP!!!) on tobacco products.

Yesterday, the Florida Senate approved the $1 increase on a pack of ciggies and a $1 an oz. increase on snuff, chewing tobacco and (gulp) cigars.

From tampabay.com:

The 39-0 vote came despite intense lobbying from Big Tobacco, a stinging letter of disapproval from Republican anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, and obvious opposition from both the governor and House Republicans.

“We think it’s a fair and equitable tax,” said Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Winter Haven, who heads the Senate budget committee.

But to Alexander the tax provides more than fairness: It raises $1 billion and is now an indispensable piece of the Senate’s $65.6 billion budget package.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 45th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The House and Senate will debate their versions of the budget today and likely pass them tomorrow. Here are some highlights:

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By State Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg
PoHo contributor
Kriseman is blogging throughout the Florida Legislature’s 60-day session.

Making headlines in Tallahassee this session is the “Consumer Choice and Protection Act,” a bill that in its current form offers neither choices or protection. You may have heard about it. It allows for a maximum rate hike, removes the regulatory power of the Public Service Commission, and generally just puts a strain on seniors, rural residents, and small businesses. Read the rest of this entry »

The controversial SunRail proposal, called the CSX deal by detractors for its purchase of 60+ miles of freight track and rerouting that freight traffic through downtown Lakeland, is set for a climactic vote in the Florida Senate today.

The bill had been stalled in the Senate for weeks, but proponents hope they have secured enough votes to pass the Transportation and Economic Development Committee. The horse trade? A $2 surtax on car rentals to help fund South Florida’s own transit system, Tri-Rail.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

“I think we’re getting close,” said [Fort Lauderdale Sen. Chris] Smith, considered the swing vote on the committee, though it’s not certain how anti-tax Republicans will view the rental-car surcharge.

And even with committee approval, SunRail still must garner 21 votes in the full Senate. That could be difficult, according to Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, the train’s leading opponent.

“The true vote on the project will be on the floor, and it will not be close,” said Dockery, who has boasted that she has lined up as many as 26 votes against SunRail.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 44th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Today is a busy day in the Legislature, with more highlights in the Senate than the House:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 43rd day of the 2009 Legislative session.

An interesting look at public policy today. The House will debate it’s version of a telecommunications overhaul, while the Senate version is on life support. Here are the highlights from today’s agendas:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 42nd day of the 2009 Legislative session.

This is Budget Week in the Florida Legislature, as both chambers will pass their respective budgets later this week. Here are the highlights for today:

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It is no surprise in tough economic times that state arts funding comes back in the crosshairs of legislators who like to ignore the economic impact of arts organizations and the less tangible impact of a creative community.

But this year’s attack is especially scary as it would zero funding for public art that is part of new government buildings. Behind the effort is Tampa Bay’s top right-winger, state Sen. Ronda Storms.

From the Times online:

Lawmakers said supporting art – envisioned to spruce up staid government buildings – is no longer an option, despite pleas by some in the arts community.

“Do I pay for art instead of paying for care for an abused kid?” asked Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, author of the repeal, who said artists have ripped her as a “Philistine” and worse. “This is an example of fat. This is a luxury.”

Florida law requires that a fraction of the cost of every new state-funded building go toward art, a half-percent up to $100,000.

Since 1979, the state has spent more than $11.5 million for 1,448 pieces of art. Over the next two years, $665,000 worth of art was planned.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Although today is the 37th day of the 2009 Legislative Session, the Florida Legislature will not meet the rest of the week.

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 36th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Today is a busy day in Tallahassee. The Senate will end its week today, and the House may as well – both houses will take a break for the Passover and Easter holidays. Here are a few interesting items:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 35th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Monday is a light day in the House, but a bit busier in the Senate. Here are a few bills worthy of interest:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 32nd day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Another light Friday in Tallahassee:

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The future of rail transit, at least in Orlando and Central Florida, hangs in the balance in the Florida Senate, where the controversial deal to buy 60+ miles of track from CSX Transportation is stalled.

Now, the word out of Tallahassee is that the bill (and SunRail’s dreams of connecting Orlando to the East Coast of Florida and eventually Tampa Bay) may be dying if not dead.

From the Daytona Beach News-Journal:

Halfway through the annual legislative session, supporters say they don’t know whether they will have enough votes to get the controversial project passed.

As an indication of the problems, two Volusia-area senators say they likely will vote against the project, and another says she is undecided.

“I think that anybody that says they’ve got locked-down, guaranteed victory or defeat is premature,” said Sen. Lee Constantine, an Altamonte Springs Republican who is sponsoring a bill that would clear the way for the 61-mile system linking Volusia and three other counties.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 31st day of the 2009 Legislative session.

As another week starts winding down, the Legislature is winding through proposed legislation. Here are some bills on agendas today:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 30th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

The 2009 Legislative Session is half-way over. There is something to be said when the “hump” day is also April Fools’ Day. Here are the highlights for today:

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Gary Fineout used to cover the Legislature until the Miami Herald laid him off. He now freelances for papers such as The New York Times and writes his own blog, and he has news of a Senate bill by our own Ronda Storms that could further gut the finances of Florida newspapers.

At issue are those government-paid legal notices that keep some dailies and weeklies, such as La Gaceta in Tampa, alive. Here’s Fineout in The Fine Print:

The measure, SB 2292, would allow local governments to place legally required public notices on a government website as opposed to printing them in newspapers. The legislation is sponsored by Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, who is pushing other bills designed to lower costs for government entities, including one that would remove requirements that money must be set aside to buy art for new state buildings.

The legislation spells out that legal notices can be placed on the Internet as long as the local government has a library or other facility where members of the public can access the Internet for free. Another requirement is that the government allow members of the public to register to receive notices by mail or e-mail.

While there is no definite revenue impact associated with the legislation, the Senate bill analysis notes that “the impact of this legislation on the newspaper industry is indeterminate but likely to be substantial.”

Ronda’s revenge against all that criticism and scrutiny she’s received from the news media?

The Sunshine State has never valued art much. Beaches and theme parks pay taxes, not pretty pictures or public sculptures. But it is short-sighted, given the many studies that show the economic impact of the arts and the value of having creatives in your community.

From TBO.com:

The Washington-based National Assembly of State Arts Agencies reports that legislative appropriations to state arts agencies fell 3.3 percent in fiscal year 2009, and the most dramatic cuts were in Florida.

During its annual appropriations survey, the assembly discovered state arts agencies lost $11.6million in state funds after four years of increases.

In Florida last year, the state spent $701,389 on public art. In the next two cycles through 2010, the state is expected to pay nearly $655,000.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 29th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

It is a busy Tuesday in Tallahassee. Legislators will be debating a range of bills, from the controversial to the mundane. Here are a few of them:

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By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 28th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

Only the House has a couple of meetings scheduled for today. Here are the quick highlights:

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By State Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg
PoHo contributor
Kriseman is guest blogging throughout the Florida Legislature’s 60-day session.

It’s halftime in the Florida Legislature. I don’t know the exact score, but I know the people of Florida are trailing. The House, in particular has shown little sense of urgency, unless we’re tackling mandatory pre-abortion ultrasounds or some other issue of importance to certain political consultants and pollsters. We’ve spent just a few hours on the floor during the first month of session, and committee meetings are quietly winding down without passage of any significant packages.

In fairness, the budget does remain the talk of the town, and serious discussions between the two chambers are reportedly beginning. Regardless, Floridians shouldn’t expect any bold ideas from their state government. It’s business as usual up here, and unless our coaches make some halftime adjustments, hardworking Floridians will endure another losing session.

By Jim Johnson
PoHo Contributor

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

Today is the 25th day of the 2009 Legislative session.

A typical Friday, with just a handful of House committees meeting. Here are a few items on agendas today:

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