A group of teachers, backed by the Florida Education Association, contended in the challenge that the law violated constitutionally guaranteed collective-bargaining rights and that lawmakers had given too much decision-making authority to the state Board of Education.
Florida
Texting While Driving Ban Passes Florida Legislature, But Scott Hasn’t Said He’ll Sign It
The Senate voted 39-1 in favor of a bill (SB 52) that makes it illegal to read or type texts or emails while actually driving, though it would remain legal to do it while stopped, such as at a red light. Drivers can;t be stopped for texting, however. They can only be cited if stopped for another offense.
Attempt to Rein In FPL and Progress Energy’s Ghost Construction Fees Evaporates
The changes in the nuclear cost bill establish a series of benchmarks for a utility seeking to build a nuclear power plant to follow in order to impose pre-construction fees. But the amendment also removed a provision that would have required the companies to refund money if they halted their plans.
Gov. Scott Vetoes Bill Ending Permanent Alimony After Fierce Backlash
Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill that would have ended permanent alimony and limited alimony payments based on income and the length of marriage, a victory for thousands of constituents who’d urged the governor to do just that.
Parent-Trigger Bill Fails on Tie Vote in Setback for Charters and Jeb Bush’s Foundation
In a stunning vote Tuesday, the Senate rejected on a tie vote a controversial bill that would have given parents the ability to register their wishes with a district that’s choosing how to turn around failing schools.
Bill Speeding Up Executions in Florida Passes Despite Disturbing Rate of Exonerations
Florida lawmakers gave final approval to fast-tracking executions and reducing Death Row stays, with supporters saying they want justice for victims’ families — but critics warning about executing innocent people, 24 of whom have been exonerated in Florida since 1976.
Fat Firefighters Need Not Worry: Body Mass Index Not an Issue in Florida
The Florida House rejected an amendment that would have required all firefighters to keep their Body Mass Index at 25 or under. Above that number, an individual is considered overweight.
Anthrax-Letter Threat Dispelled at Florida DMV Office in Tallahassee
The letter was said to contain anthrax was sent to the DMV’s records department on Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee, and forced the evacuation of the building until field tests found the letter not to pose any threats.
Lawmakers Seal $74 Billion Budget Deal, With Merit Teacher Pay and Medicaid Patch
Under the deal on teacher pay raises, one of Gov. Rick Scott’s top two priorities, teachers rated as “effective” would receive a raise of at least $2,500, while those rated “highly effective” would get $3,500. The raises wouldn’t be paid out, though, until June 2014.
Florida House Rejects $50 Billion in Federal Medicaid Help, Opting for Stingy Alternative
Florida’s rejection of federal aid for the expansion of Medicaid leaves the state with a bare-bones alternative to provide health care for the poor and uninsured while setting a defining marker against Obamacare and the federal vision of health care reform.
Senate Passes Bill Forbidding Local Measures That Would Ensure Sick Leave for Workers
A Florida House bill supported by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Disney and other industry and corporate groups would forbid local governments from passing living wage ordinances or require employers contracting with government to provide paid sick leave. A Senate amendment would leave those decisions to local governments.
So Long, Teeny Weeny Bean Plan: Skeletal Health Plan for Florida’s Poor Is Dying
Sen. John Thrasher says he doubts Sen. Aaron Bean’s small-budget plan for some of Florida’s low-income uninsured will get a floor vote. Bean’s plan was criticized as not much of a plan at all, as it would have cost beneficiaries more than they might have benefited.
An Ethics Bill Negotiated in Secret Heads to Gov. Scott, Preserving Lobbying Perks
The ethics bill approved by the Florida House dropped a two-year prohibition on legislators taking quasi-lobbying jobs with firms trying to influence the Legislature; it would increase the amount that each contributor can give to candidates during an election, and unlimited donations could go to political committees.
Publix’s Profitable Accommodation With Poverty: Not a Penny More for Tomato Pickers
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers has been trying for years to get Publix to join the Fair Food Coalition, in which suppliers and purchasers agree to pay the workers a penny more per pound of tomatoes picked. Publix won’t even meet with the workers.
Merit Pay Only as Lawmakers Knock Out $2,500 Across-the-Board Raise for Teachers
While granting Gov. Rick Scott $480 million he requested for education, lawmakers rejected a $2,500 across-the-board pay for teachers, tying any raises to merit pay only. The methodology for such increases has itself been controversial.
Weekend Toil: Florida Lawmakers Contend With Significant Budget Differences
Some of the highest-profile issues, from a difference over teacher pay raises to how to structure a major change in Medicaid reimbursements, remained unresolved with a Tuesday deadline looming before legislative leaders take over the negotiations.
Milestone: Flagler’s Unemployment in Single-Digits, at 9.5%, for 1st Time in 5 Years
For the first time since June 2008–almost five years–Flagler County’s unemployment has fallen back to single digits, registering 9.5 percent in March as the local economy continued to mirror the state’s and the nation’s, improving slowly but steadily.
Anti-Abortion Bills Pass Through Angry Debate As Florida Creeps Closer to Embryo Rights
After tense debate that included allegations of lying and large-scale eugenics, the House on Thursday passed a measure banning abortions meant to avoid having a baby of a particular gender or race and criminalized harm of the unborn in the act of harming or killing its mother.
Road Rage Genesis: Law Banning Texting a Long-Overdue Correction
In Florida in 2012, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were 256,443 traffic crashes and of those 4,841 were caused by a driver using some form of electronic device.
As Teachers Sue, Supportive Superintendents Criticize Evaluations Tied to Pay and Tests
Superintendents expressed frustration with the state’s teacher evaluation law during a meeting with Gov. Rick Scott a day after teachers filed suit in federal court to overturn the law, Scott himself endorsed trying to fix the provision attacked by the lawsuit, but lawmakers must carry out the fix.
Police Drones Are Banned from Florida Skies Absent a Warrant or Other Exceptions
The bill (SB 92) prevents law enforcement use of drones unless a judge has issued a warrant, or in cases where there is a “high risk of terrorist attack,” or a case of imminent danger, such as in a missing person case where the person is thought to be in immediate danger.
Duping Court Ruling, Florida Replacing Life Juvenile Sentencing With 50-Year Minimum
Legislation aimed at putting Florida in line with a U.S. Supreme Court ban on automatic life sentences for juvenile murderers cleared a House panel Tuesday, but with a 50 year minimum sentence that opponents say may keep the state’s law at odds with the court’s aim.
Revenge Porn: Florida Lawmakers Take National Lead in Battling Bullying’s New Virus
In a more lurid consequence of sexting, Florida women and girls have been targeted by revenge porn–the online posting of nude images without the victim’s consent–in several documented instances, leading the Legislature to seek to criminalize the practice as a second or third-degree felony.
Florida Voter Group Argues for a Free Speech Right to Secrecy and Unregulated PACs
The state says it is justified in requiring disclosures of information about political action committee contributions and expenditures. Plaintiffs, arguing their case before a federal appeals court Tuesday, say they should be free to express themselves on political issues without registering as a committee and filling out campaign documents.
Florida’s Foster Care System Loosening Up Restrictions While Extending Eligibility to 21
New laws reduce bureaucratic hoops for foster kids and their families who would no longer need approval for certain activities enjoyed by other kids and offer more protection to those nervous of stepping out of its protective wrap.
Online Sales Tax On Its Way, But Phone, Cable and Web Service Taxes Would Be Cut
The measure would offset the increased revenue brought in by the measure by lowering other taxes, including the communications services tax charged on phone service, cable, and satellite TV and internet connections.
“Mental Retardation” and “Retarded”
Will Be Excised from All Florida Laws
Florida lawmakers are moving toward erasing the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” from myriad state laws, as the word “retarded” has become widely viewed as offensive to people with disabilities.
Invitation to an Execution
Larry Eugene Mann was executed at Starke state prison Wednesday evening at 6 p.m. by lethal injection. I traveled to Starke with a Catholic Church group to witness the vigils–pro and con–outside the prison grounds.
Children’s Week at the Florida Capitol Contrasts With a Dearth of Kids-Friendly Bills
Bottom line: 19.2 percent of adults and 28.4 percent of children are sometimes hungry in Florida, compared to national averages of 16.1 percent for adults and 21.6 percent for children. About 21 percent of Florida children were living below the federal poverty level in 2009.
Sports Welfare’s Engines: Lawmakers Prep $60-Million Tax Break to Daytona Speedway
A measure that could land more than $60 million in sales tax rebates for the Daytona International speedway was unanimously supported by the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee on Monday, allegedly to keep the speedway “relevant.”
Florida’s Early Learning, Once a Strength, Being Revamped to Look More Like Day Care
Specific benchmarks, along with language expressing the importance of readiness programs, are removed from a proposed committee bill that emerged Thursday in Tallahassee, removing an emphasis on learning and readiness for school.
In a Shift, Sen. Bill Nelson Now Endorses Gay Marriage as an “Unalienable Right”
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson is the 51st senator to come out in favor of gay marriage. Only two Republicans have joined 49 Democrats ahead of a pair of decisions later this spring by the U.S. Supreme Court on the legality of two related measures, including the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
Charter-School Trigger Bill Passes House 68-51; Flagler’s Hutson Among Dissenters
Rep. Travis Hutson was among the Republicans crossing party lines to oppose the bill, favered by the charter-school movement, as it would let parents petition their school district to consider a turnaround option for a school that receives an “F” on the state report card for two consecutive years.
Les Jeux Sont Faits: Gov. Scott Will Sign Internet Cafe Ban
Gov. Rick Scott will sign legislation prohibiting the gaming at Internet cafés, his office said Thursday, following the Senate’s Senate’s 36-4 passage of a bill that flew through the Legislature spurred by an on-going racketeering investigation, and pushed by Sen. John Thrasher, who represents Flagler County.
Sen. Aaron Bean’s “Health Choice Plus” Plan for Florida’s Poor: Flimsier Than a Band-Aid
What kind of health coverage can you buy for $20 to $30 a month? None. That may sum up the real-world prospects for Health Choice Plus, the plan for low-income uninsured Florida adults that State Sen. Aaron Bean’s committee approved Tuesday along party lines.
Texting-While-Driving Ban Picking Up Likes As Legislature Prepares to Approve New Law
In a room full of people texting updates to and otherwise using electronic devices, a long sought measure to ban such behavior while driving was given a green light to the Florida House floor on Wednesday.
Democratic Lawmakers Complain that Gun-Control Proposals Are Being Silenced
No one expects any major gun control legislation to pass in Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature, but Rep. Cynthia Stafford said there should be at least a discussion of the issue. There hasn’t been much of one.
For Florida’s Poorest 600,000, a Stingy Health Care Proposal that Cuts to the Bone
The latest proposal to provide health care to Florida’s poorest snubs federal money while creating limited health accounts the poor may tap, but for limited services, and with burdensome conditions of employment–and premiums that most may not be able to afford.
College-Acceptance Reckoning: Costs, Debt and Deception
Student fees have been something of a known irritant for years, often criticized as a kind of stealth, second tuition imposed on unsuspecting families. But such fees are still on the rise on many campuses. There’s nothing funny about how they can add up.
Registering Your Car Will Cost $12 Less as Lawmakers Plan End to Insurers’ Tax Credit
The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday lowering motor vehicle fees in exchange for repealing an insurance tax credit, turning aside protests from the insurance industry that the measure would hurt a thriving business.
Flagler’s 10.3% Unemployment Is Lowest Since August 2008, Florida’s Matches 7.7% U.S. Rate
Flagler County’s unemployment rate fell sharply in February, to 10.3 percent–from 11 percent the previous month–and matched its lowest level since August 2008. Florida’s unemployment rate also continued to fall, matching the national rate, at 7.7 percent, in February while adding 7,800 jobs. Flagler continues to rank among the counties with the highest unemployment rate, […]
Former State GOP Leader Jim Greer Is Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Theft
Former state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in prison for essentially stealing from the party, far less than prosecutors wanted but more than Greer’s lawyer argued he really deserved.
Citing “Mismanagement and Inaction,” Nelson Blames Scott for Ongoing Mortgage Mess
Nelson said during a stop in Tallahassee that he has written the inspector general of the federal Troubled Assets Relief Fund, or TARP, to look into what he called “mismanagement and inaction by Florida officials” in administering a program called “Hardest Hit,” which was supposed to take federal money and help struggling homeowners.
In a Decision With Local Sway, Federal Court Upholds Prayers Before Government Meetings
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over all of Florida, ruled that the Lakeland City Commission’s custom of opening meetings with a prayer was constitutional, though the court sidestepped the city’s focus on Christian prayers, and its closed door to atheists, agnostics, humanists or other non-clergy representatives.
In Florida Case, U.S. Supremes Strike Down Drug-Sniffing Cop Dogs Outside of Home
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Florida v. Jardines is the second out of the state dealing with how search and seizure limits under the U.S. Constitution affect the ability of police to use sniffer dogs to find drugs.
Florida Speaker Weatherford’s Homeschool Blinders to the Poor and Uninsured
Rather than worship his homeschooling past, what Will Weatherford needs to be wondering is what Florida will be like if its 4 million uninsured citizens continue to go without health coverage, argues Rhonda Swan.
Bill To Close a Gap in Children’s Health Insurance Stalls as Tallahassee Dawdles
With a third of the annual regular legislative session already gone, a bill that would close gaps in access to health care coverage for Florida children has passed just one committee and appears in danger of not passing.
Banning Internet Cafes While Gambling on Guns
Florida is quick on the trigger to ban Internet cafes, which have never killed anyone, but is doing nothing to rein in the state’s worship of guns, while 191 people have been killed by firearms in this state alone since the Newtown massacre.
Exonerated Death Row Inmates Tell Flagler Beach Group of an Enduring Florida Injustice
In turns moving, startling and informative, a day-long workshop on the death penalty in Flagler Beach, featuring two exonerated men, urged an assembly of 60 to more actively get involved in a movement to abolish capital punishment in Florida.
Florida House Votes to Boost Campaign Donation Ceiling in State and Local Elections
The proposal cleared the chamber on a 75-39 vote, as four Democrats broke with their party to support the GOP-backed measure. The bill would boost contribution limits, allowing each donor to give $5,000 per election to a statewide candidate and $3,000 per election to local and legislative candidates.