Gov. Rick Scott called the corporate tax break “a huge victory” for Floridians that would help businesses create more jobs, though there is little evidence that such tax breaks spur job creation, and some evidence that the tax breaks are closer to corporate welfare.
Florida Legislature
Scott’s Prison Privatization Scheme Dies
In a rebuke to Gov. Rick Scott, a bipartisan coalition of senators bucked the chamber’s Republican leadership Tuesday and rejected a proposal to privatize several prisons on a 19-21 vote.
Burden To Prove Medical Malpractice Gets Heavier, But ER Doctors Get No Immunity
Florida lawmakers are making it more difficult for lawyers to prove medical malpractice in broad gains against lawsuits for health care providers, but a proposal to make ER doctors immune to lawsuits was dropped.
School Prayer Bill Clears House Hurdle as Florida Legislature Appears Poised to Bow
Local school boards would be responsible for enabling prayer measures. Should it become law, the bill would make Florida an outlier state with regard to school-prayer permissiveness and almost certainly trigger court action.
Florida Redistricting War Changes Front,
From Legislature to Courtroom, as Suits Fly
Within moments of the Senate approving the plan on a bipartisan, 32-5 margin, the Democratic Party announced that several voters working with the party had filed a lawsuit challenging the maps on the grounds that they violate the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts amendments approved by voters last fall.
Florida House Approves $69.2 Billion Budget Heavy on Cuts on 79-38, Party-Line Vote
The $69.2 billion budget plows an addition $1 billion to education, but slashes other services to plug a nearly $2 billion shortfall, such as lowering the age at which the state ends a subsidy for former foster children from 23 to 21.
K-12 Education Would Get a $1.2 Billion Boost, Higher Ed Would Be Slashed By $400 Million
The proposed increase–and higher ed decrease–comes as Gov. Scott has vowed to veto any budget that does not significantly increase education spending, even though lawmakers are trying to close a nearly $2 billion shortfall without raising taxes.
Bill Requiring Property Tax Revenue to Pay For Charter School Construction Advances
Supporters say the measure creates more parity between charter schools and other public schools. Opponents slammed the measure as corporate welfare that would provide tax dollars to the private operators of charter schools — despite the fact that supporters of charter legislation said years ago that they would not ask for capital outlay dollars.
In a Break, College Presidents Draw a Line Against Universities Over Tuition Increases
Breaking with their counterparts at the state’s universities, presidents at a handful of Florida colleges urged lawmakers to be cautious about any moves that could push tuition upward again.
Florida’s Casino Bill “Dead for This Year”
A controversial bill to allow mega-resort casinos in Florida appears dead this year, after the House sponsor scrapped a vote Friday by a subcommittee that likely would have rejected the idea.