The latest school-prayer proposal proposal before the Florida Legislature would let local school boards adopt prayer-enabling resolutions, letting students lead audiences in prayer at games or graduations or other non-compulsory events.
Florida Legislature
Small Crowd, Loud Responses as Awake the State Demonstration Occupies Palm Coast
Some 50 to 60 protesters grabbed drivers’ attention at Palm Coast Parkway and Belle Terre Tuesday afternoon, echoing in signs much of the outrage that the Occupy Wall Street movement is making familiar across the nation.
Proposed Amendment to End Ban on Government Funding of Religion is Challenged
Proposed Amendment 7 on the 2012 ballot deletes a provision in the Florida constitution that bars government funding of religious institutions, replacing it with a prohibition against denying funds to anyone based on religious identity or belief.
Judge Casts Serious Doubt on 3% Pension Contribution by Public Employees
The 3 percent contribution and the end of cost of living adjustments to public employees’ pensions may not be legal; if reversed, the state would see an almost $1 billion hole open up. Local governments would also be affected.
Florida Lawmaker Proposes Broader GPS Tracking of Juvenile Offenders
Florida’s Juvenile Justice system eliminated its ankle-monitoring system in 2004. GPS tracking would be cheaper, but also possibly more pervasive, and paid for out of local dollars set aside for various court initiatives.
Federal Judge Calls Florida’s Drug-Testing Of Welfare Recipients Unconstitutional
Judge Mary Scriven called Florida’s requirement that welfare recipients be drug-tested a violation of 4th Amendment protections against unreasonable searches, and dismissed claims that the law would save money.
Transformers: Public Schools Want to Be More Like Charter Schools
Florida public schools, envious of the flexibility enjoyed by charter schools–and fearing a migration to charters–are launching a lobbying campaign in the legislature to relax some public school regulations like class size and school hours.
Florida Unions Looking to Reward Moderate Republicans for Support–and Influence
Following a brutal legislative session that brought them to the brink, Florida’s public employee unions are shifting strategy and rewarding moderate Republicans in hopes of re-amplifying their diminished influence in Tallahassee.
Flagler’s State Lawmakers Lend an Ear to Local Pleas in Annual Wish-Listing Ritual
Gambling regulations, state dollars for Flagler’s roads, warnings against the unintended consequences of state budget cuts and numerous more local concerns busied the nearly two-hour meeting between Flagler’s state lawmakers and local politicians, organizations and citizens.
Gov. Scott Proposes Corporate Tax Cuts Even As Florida Faces a Deficit of Up to $2 Billion
Gov. Rick Scott wants to double the corporate income tax exemption to $50,000 and eliminate the tangible tax for half of the state’s 300,000 businesses that now pay it. It’s part of his plan to eliminate all corporate taxes ins even years.
Bleak and Bleaker: State Revenue to Fall Another $2.5 Billion Over the Next 2 Years
The Legislature’s revenue estimating economists today announced a shortfall of about $1 billion for the coming year and $1.5 billion the following year. Rick Scott continues to rule out tax increases.
Florida Lawmakers Gloomily Expect $2 Billion Shortfall: The State Week in Review
As Florida Legislature budget committees met this week, gloom set in again. Medicaid costs are rising, schools need to find money, tax revenues are lagging. Gambling-industry lobbyists had a better week.
Gambling Florida: Court Says Legislature May Expand Slot Machines Around the State
In a ruling that may open the way for gambling in Florida resorts, the first District Court of Appeal said it’s up to lawmakers to decide where they allow casinos. Companies are pushing hard for the expansion of slot-machine resorts.
Bogus Students, Fake Curriculums, Ghost Schools: Florida’s Voucher Fraud Is Probed
Florida House members grilled a Department of Education official Tuesday over reports of rampant fraud and lax oversight of private schools that receive state funds through a voucher program for students with disabilities.
School Construction Money Slashed By $267 Million; Charters and Universities Affected
Traditional public schools in Flagler County no longer receive Public Education Capital Outlay dollars, which now go to charter schools, including Imagine School at Town Center. Imagine is again applying for PECO dollars.
Report Shows How Far Florida and Other States Are Scuttling Voting Rights and Turnout
Reductions in early voting days, ending voting-day address changes for registered voters, clamping down on registration drives and other new rules could make it harder for 5 million people to vote in 2012, which may be just what GOP-led legislatures passing those laws aimed for.
Florida’s Plan to Privatize 29 Prisons Halted As Judge Rules Process Unconstitutional
Leon County Curcuit Judge Jackie Fulford ruled that lawmakers violated the Florida Constitution by approving prison privatization in the fine print of the state budget rather than by changing the law explicitly.
Guns, Teen Abortions, Sexting and Bestial Misdemeanors: 29 New Florida Laws Kick In
A slew of new laws go in effect Saturday, including the NRA-inspired restriction on local governments’ gun regulations, making it a crime to have sex with animals, reducing credit card fraud and reducing teens’ abortion rights.
Much Slimmer Water Management District Approves Lower Tax Rate Imposed From Above
The St. Johns River Water Management District’s 26 percent tax reduction resulted in lay-offs of 95 people and the elimination of more jobs through buyouts and vacancies, affecting various parts of the district’s mission.
Don’t Mess With Florida: Lawmakers Leery Of Texas-Like Assembly-Line Higher Ed
Florida Senators are willing to listen to Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal to adopt the Texas model of higher education, but they don’t like students treated as customers on a university assembly line.
Audrey Gibson Wins Special Senate Election for Tony Hill’s Seat
Audry Gibson, the former Florida House member, took 62 percent of the vote in the special election. The district includes a sliver of voters in Flagler County.
Following 10-Year-Old Nubia Barahona’s Murder, DCF Seeks More State Support
The Department of Children and Families is seeking $15.8 million to strengthen its investigative abilities, and hoping to shift millions more into the child-protection program to add investigators and case workers.
Florida Teachers Union Sues the State
Over Merit Pay, Calling It Unconstitutional
The Florida Education Association says tying the state’s merit pay provision to standardized tests is unlawful because it violates collective-bargaining rights embedded in the constitution.
As Florida Teachers’ Salaries Stagnate or Fall, Superintendent Pay Is Rising
In nine Florida school districts, superintendent salaries increased by 5 percent or more in the last four years. It had gone up 3 percent in Flagler before this year’s pay cut, making it a wash.
Judge Throws Out Challenge to Fair District Amendment, Panicking Motley Incumbents
Federal District Judge Ursula Ungaro rejected the argument that the anti-gerrymandering amendment allows voters to meddle in legislative redistricting. Weird alliances between incumbent Democrats and Republicans have formed to keep fighting the voter-approved amendment.
Mandatory Virtual Classes for High School Students Bugging Cash-Strapped Districts
A new state law that requires Florida high school students to take a class online is causing cash-strapped school districts to spend millions on new computers and exacerbating the digital divide.
Banning Near-Shore Oil Drilling for Good in Florida: Proposed Constitutional Amendment Is Filed
The proposed amendment, filed Tuesday by Sen. Arthenia Joyner, matches a House version filed earlier this year by Rep. Rick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg. It would ask voters to put into the constitution a ban on exploration, drilling, extraction or production of oil in Florida waters.
Despite Raises, Average Teacher Pay Is Eroding Significantly in Flagler and Florida
Average teacher pay at the end of last year in Flagler was $48,067. Adjusted for inflation, it represents an 8.5 percent decline compared with pay in 2006. Take-home pay declined further this fall.
A 6% Tax on Bottled Water in Florida: Ormond Beach’s Sen. Lynn Revives Proposal
The bottled-water tax in Florida would pay for repairing environmental damage from trashed plastic. The water industry is opposing Ormond Beach Sen. Evelyn Lynn’s proposal.
End of State-Funded Public Broadcasting In Florida: State Board Blanks PBS Dollars
Following on the heels of Gov. Rick Scott’s veto of PBS funding earlier this year, the State Board of Education, for the first time in 35 years, refused to include funding for Florida’s 26 public television and radio stations, putting many of those stations’ future in doubt.
Florida GOP’s Vague Redistricting Schedule Playing Havoc With Election-Year Politics
Critics of the Legislature’s timeline say mass chaos could follow if lawmakers don’t approve maps soon enough to give the attorney general and the Supreme Court enough time to review the plans well in advance of the June 18 opening date for qualifying.
Florida’s Next Testing Target: Pre-K Children
David Lawrence, a leading pre-K education advocate in Florida, is winning converts to his proposal that pre-K children be subjected to standardized testing to instill rigor and accountability similar to that of K-12 programs. He says it won’t be a “baby FCAT.”
Profits of Buying Florida’s Government: Lobbyists Earn $52 Million in 2nd Quarter
Florida is hurting. Lobbyists aren’t: they increased their take from April to June to $52 million, up from $49.3 million in the same period last year.
Refusing Other Federal Health Care Aid, Florida Welcomes Abstinence-Only Cash
Florida has been against taking federal health care money until being for it–as long as it sustains abstinence-only sex classes.
Florida’s Nuclear Energy Scamming: It’s Not Rickover’s Atomic Power Program Anymore
Customers should not have to pay decades ahead of time for Florida Power & Light’s and Progress Energy’s future nuclear power plans, especially when they may not be built, argues Darrell Smith.
Gunning for Immigration Reform Again, Rick Scott Divides Business Groups
Divisive immigration reform failed during Florida’s last legislative session. Gov. Rick Scott favors another go at it, but business groups, Hispanics and immigration advocates are just as leery.
The Week Ahead in Tallahassee: Florida Cabinet, School Financing and Nukes
The Florida Cabinet meets for the first time since June 2, the Village Square takes on Florida’s post-Fukushima nuclear energy future, the State Board of Education takes on school financing. The week’s full line-up.
End of “Medicaid Tax Gimmick,” a Deficit Drag, Would Cost Florida Nursing Homes Millions
Medicaid payments to nursing homes were cut by $187.5 million this year. The end of the Medicaid “gimmick” would reduce nursing home budgets further, but help balance the federal budget deficit.
“Unsustainable” Florida Retirement System (Says Gov. Scott) Has Best Gains in 25 Years
The Florida Retirement System pension plan gained $19 billion in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. The 22 percent gain is the biggest in 25 years. The total value of the pension plan has soared to $128.4 billion, among the best in the nation.
Flagler Rep. Bill Proctor: Public University Tuition Should Go Up by More than 15% A Year
Bill proctor, the St. Augustine Republican and private-college president, says tuition increases at public universities should be greater than 15% so Florida’s tuition costs can reach the national average faster.
They Feel Your Pain: Florida Legislature Home to 51 Millionaires
Millionaires make up almost half of the 40-member Florida Senate and nearly one-third of the 120-member Florida House. Legislators are paid $29,697 a year, with presiding officers making $41,181 a year.
Water Management District Tax Rate Cut 26%, Reducing Revenue and Gutting Services
The tax bill on a $200,000 house will be $50, down from $62, but the district is laying off employees and reducing conservation, management and partnership projects in line with a new law approved by Gov. Rick Scott.
It’s Not Just Flagler: Across Florida, Schools Contend With $1 Billion Less for Education
From Broward’s elimination of 1,400 teaching positions to Marion’s reduction to a 4-day week to Duval’s cuts in sports programs, school districts have been finding various ways to make shriveled ends meet.
Why Help at Your Nursing Home Will Be More Scarce, and Other Elderly Care Retreats
Florida just rejected a federal grant that would have allowed elderly patients to get care at home instead of in nursing homes, where staffing levels may begin to drop this month, thanks to a new Florida law.
Drawing Widespread Criticism, Rick Scott Discovers the Joys of SunRail, and CSX
Gov. Rick Scott’s approval of SunRail triggered criticism from Republicans and Scott’s tea party base while sharpening a contrast with his earlier rejection of a federally funded high-speed rail initiative.
3% Pension Contributions by Public Employees Begins as Judge Rejects an Injunction
The state’s teachers union is suing over the 3 percent requirement, and was hoping to delay its implementation until the case is settled. That case is still going forward, but 3 percent contributions begin today.
Executive Overreach? Supreme Court
Considers Rick Scott’s Rule-Making Powers
In oral arguments today, justices seemed unconvinced by the case of a blind woman on food stamps. The case speaks to Scott’s rule-making power–and where the Legislature’s power ends.
Florida’s Betrayal of College Students: Sticking It to the Young, Pandering to the Old
Between Florida public universities’ tuition increasing almost 140 percent in 10 years and Bright Futures scholarship losing half their value, the state is betraying its future while pandering to older, more selfish voters.
Tuition Increases Another 15% at Florida Universities, Up 130% in 10 Years; Aid Drops
Tuition will approach $6,000 next year. For Flagler County’s 750-some students attending college on Bright Futures scholarships, that aid will cover barely half the bill, after covering it in full just a few years ago.
Adding to Mounting Legal Challenges for Scott, Public Employees Sue Over 3% Pension Hit
The class-action lawsuit is filed on behalf of 556,296 public employees, including state workers, teachers and police officers. It echoes frustrations that led the Flagler County School Board to talk lawsuit last week.