One bill would penalize local governments with stricter gun restrictions than the state. Another would muzzle doctors’ abilities to ask their patients about gun ownership.
Ron DeSantis
How Slashing Water Management Districts’ Budget 25% Endangers Our Way of Life
Allan Milledge, a former water management district chairman, asks: Do you want to jeopardize protection of our rivers, lakes, springs, and wetlands and the protection of our water supply to save an average less than $20 dollars per household per year?
Barack Obama and Rick Scott In Florida Voters’ Eyes: From Lousy to Dismal
The latest poll has Obama’s approval at just 44 percent, and Scott’s at 35 percent, with Scott’s disapproval rating doubling in two months, and 60 percent of Floridians saying Florida is on the wrong path. The poll reveals widespread dissatisfaction.
Public Money for Private Schools: Voucher Programs Set to Expand Across Florida
Several bills with enough support in the Florida Legislature would expand student eligibility for voucher programs, including making it easier for corporations to write off taxes in exchange for providing voucher money.
Conklin Calls on Flagler School Board to Sue Scott and Legislature Over Education Funding
Flagler County School Board member Colleen Conklin says the state has abdicated its constitutional responsibility to properly fund education, and wants the board to sue the state. The board will discuss the matter on April 19.
Flagler Commissioners Endorse SunRail As Gov. Scott Prepares to Derail Commuter Line
SunRail would have connected DeBary and Tampa as a commuter rail line, which the Legislature approved in December 2009. Gov. Rick Scott is likely to kill the project by summer, ending Central Florida’s brief flirtation with alternative transportation.
Merit Pay’s Trap: When Lawmakers Are Clueless About Teachers’ Classroom Realities
Jo Ann C. Nahirny, a teacher at Matanzas High School, describes the gulf between merit pay assumptions about teachers and everyday classroom realities that are beyond teachers’ control. Lawmakers appear clueless.
Gov. Scott Vows to End “Oxycontin Express,” Yet Legislature Weakens Pill Mill Regulations
Gov. Rick Scott gave no details on his assault on the “Oxycontin Express,” and a Senate committee approved eliminating a ban on doctors dispensing more than a three-day supply of drugs to patients who pay with cash or credit cards.
From Teacher Merit Pay to Charter School Expansion: Legislature Marches On
Like the swiftly-approved teacher merit pay reforms, the push to expand charter schools, including expanding preferential admittance, has the strong backing of Gov. Rick Scott, and continues to revamp education.
Gov. Scott Orders Florida’s 33 Public Hospitals Reviewed for Possible Privatization
As the former CEO of a private hospital chain, Scott was opposed to publicly-run hospitals, which he considers to have an unfair competitive advantage over the privately run sort. The commission is a first step toward privatization.