A FlaglerLive reporter, $50 in hand, made a tour of Palm Coast’s Internet cafes, only to find most of them closed already, and a mournful atmosphere at two that were open, not long before a bill banning the small gambling halls was sent to Gov. Rick Scott Thursday.
Florida Legislature
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.
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.
Florida’s Beer and Wine Regulations’ Outdated Boon to Booze Industry
Florida’s booze industry protects its territory with seemingly sensible-sounding arguments about keeping the flow regulated, taxed and as orderly as possible. In reality, they want laws to make that flow financially safe for themselves, not for the public at large.
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.
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.
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.
House Votes 108-7 to Ban Internet Cafes; Impact in Palm Coast Will be Limited
Palm Coast at one point had nearly a dozen such businesses. Last week it had seven. This week, according to Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts, the number was down to three, as several of them closed pre-emptively.
Latest Salvo in Tallahassee’s War on Local Governments: Higher Lawsuit Limits
Under current law, the highest lawsuit payout by a local government is between $200,000 or $300,000, depending on how many people are involved in an incident — totals that would go to $1 million and $1.5 million under the House bill.
Parent Trigger Bill: A Trojan Horse of Corporate Charter Schools
The so-called parent-trigger bill does not empower parents. Rather, it empowers out-of-state corporate interests and their lobbyists to siphon Florida tax dollars away from our already underfunded public school system, argues Paula Dockery.
Parent Trigger Bill That Would Boost Conversions to Charter Schools Nearing Law
The measure would allow parents to petition their school board to adopt a specific turnaround option for any school that draws an “F” on state report cards for two straight years.
Bill Forbidding Local Governments from Passing Sick-Day Ordinances Advances
The proposed law, by Sen. David Simmons, is intended to thwart efforts to pass labor-friendly laws in local governments, since state-level labor reform is beyond reach with the anti-labor, GOP-led Florida Legislature.
Tightening Vise on Internet Cafes, Senate Panel Follows House to Ban Them in Florida
The vote moves the Senate closer to outlawing the cafes and arcades, a proposal that was approved by the House last year but never reached the Senate floor. The proposal drew concerns about the potential impact on other amusement games used by charities and amusement arcades.
Florida Legislators Have $3.5 Billion More To Play With This Year Than Last
Forecasters added $153 million in tax revenues in the budget year that ends June 30, and $106.5 million for the year that begins July 1. Even taking into account likely policy decisions and budget increases, the state could have a surplus of $1.1 billion.
Week in Review: Busting Out from Carroll to Cafes
Carroll’s political career appears all but finished. Making matters worse for the former Navy lieutenant commander, she will be remembered for her involvement with Allied Veterans of the World, a group that authorities say held itself out as a charity for veterans but actually was a gambling operation that enriched a handful of people.
Internet Cafe Ban Picks Up Steam as House Committee Closes In on “Skills” Loophole
The new law would end a gray area in state statutes used by operators of Internet cafes that the games are contests of skill and that the contests are similar to regulated sweepstakes offerings by places like McDonalds, Coca Cola, Chucky Cheese and churches.
With 1 in 5 Floridian Uninsured, Backers of Broader Coverage Want Lawmakers to Act
Although Florida lawmakers have made it known they have no intention of going along with an expansion of Medicaid under the federal health care law, legislative leaders say they’re open to crafting an alternative that would find some way to expand health care coverage to many more uninsured as the law envisions.
Florida Ethics Commissioner to Legislature: Close Loopholes in Reform Bill
Ethics Commissioner Matt Carlucci says an ethics reform bill adds teeth to previously weak enforcement, but would also open a loophole that would give politicians greater immunity from prosecution while increasing the costs of ethics cases.
Proposed Law to End Red-Light Camera Ticketing of Right Turns Advances
If they become law, the restrictions would seriously crimp the use of red-light cameras as revenue generators, as is the case in Palm Coast, where up to 52 such cameras are in place–at least for the companies operating the cameras, since Palm Coast is guaranteed revenue regardless of the number of tickets issued.
Beyond Sheriff Joe’s Tactics: Looking at Prison Reform in Florida With Fresh Eyes
Analyzing Florida’s prisons and jails is a revelation of unsustainable incarceration rates and prison-building, argues Milissa Holland, who explores more logical alternatives to end the vicious cycle of punishment and recidivism.
Sen. Thrasher Calls for Outright Shut-Down Of Internet Cafes in Wake of Scandal
Sen. John Thrasher, an influential senator who represents Flagler County, and who has sought to place a moratorium on new Internet cafes, said Wednesday that criminal allegations of racketeering and other wrongdoing in the industry should spur lawmakers to close the storefront businesses.
Risks, Cautions, But Mostly Needs as Flagler School Board Readies for Tax Referendum
The Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening will approve going to a tax referendum in June, asking voters to increase their property taxes modestly to preserve programs and add security in schools, but the proposal doesn’t have the unanimity two similar proposals had in the last three years.
Florida Senate Kills Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion, But 3rd-Way Alternative Remains
Florida lawmakers say they want to pursue an alternative plan, possibly expanding Healthy Kids, that would use federal money to help uninsured low-income people get coverage through private insurers. Democrats are not entirely opposed.
Obamacare’s 10-Year Cost to Florida: $5.2 Billion, a Fraction of Planned Expansion
The state’s share would only be a fraction of the $55 billion overall expansion cost, with the federal government paying the rest. Under the law better known as Obamacare, Washington would pay 100 percent of the expansion costs during the first three years and gradually reduce that share to 90 percent in 2020.
Tourist Draw: Special Driving Permit Rule for Canadians in Florida May Be Repealed
State lawmakers are speeding toward repealing a new law that says international visitors need special permits to drive in Florida. The law, which took effect Jan. 1, has caused a brouhaha, particularly for Canadian snowbirds who pile into the Sunshine State each winter to take a break from the cold.
“Parent Trigger” Bill Advances In Backdoor Victory for Charter School Lobby
Supporters say the proposal will improve chances for children trapped in failing schools.Opponents worry that politically savvy for-profit corporations could encourage parents to back the charter school option.
Lawmakers File Bill to Require Background Checks on All Gun Buys, Closing Loophole
Rep. Lori Berman said Wednesday that about 40 percent of gun sales are at gun shows or done on the Internet, allowing the buyer to complete the purchase without going through any background screening as would be required at a storefront gun dealership.
Lawmakers Want to Speed Up Executions of Florida’s 404 Death Row Inmates
The proposed constitutional amendment would shift power from the courts system to lawmakers to set rules about what are known as “post-conviction” appeals in death-penalty cases.
Still Unpopular as Election Approaches, Scott Slouches Left in 3rd State of the State
As Gov. Rick Scott stepped to the podium Tuesday morning for his third State of the State address — a sort of unofficial midpoint in his term — he embarked on a very different path than the ultraconservative businessman who spent his first two years trying to shake up Tallahassee.
Bill Would Require Warrant for Now-Routine Cell Phone Searches and Electronic Tracking
Currently, police can search the possessions – including the contents of a personal electronic device – of someone who is arrested. The bill would require a warrant except under certain circumstances, including scenarios related to national security and missing children.
Snubbing Scott and Billions in Federal Aid, Florida House GOP Reject Medicaid Expansion
Only a few hours after Florida’s chief economist said the state can’t afford to leave billions of federal dollars sitting on the table, the House committee on the Affordable Care Act voted to do exactly that.
Lawmakers Considering Arming Teachers and Adding Warning Shots to Stand Your Ground
Florida’s self defense law would say people can fire warning shots to fend off attackers without fear of prosecution and teachers would be able to pack heat on campus under bills now before legislators.
Proposed Law Would Curtail Palm Coast’s Ability to Convict Red-Light Camera Violators
The proposed law, by Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, would shift the burden of proof of a red-light violation to the government imposing the fine, it would eliminate citations for right-turns on red, and it would require a live, government representative at hearings to prove that a violation took place.
Repeat Folly: Florida Prepares to Boom Again By Busting Local Environmental Authority
Bills in the Florida Legislature would take away Flagler’s and other counties’ authority to ensure that development doesn’t sprawl without required infrastructure, and would virtually demolish environmental land acquisition programs. Milissa Holland argues that such bills make a mockery of local control.
Picking on Poorer Parents, Florida Targets Early-Learning “Fraud” That Doesn’t Exist
Allegations of “potential” fraud in Florida’s early learning programs have served as the basis for repeated attempts at a legislative cure – including this year – but are melting away under scrutiny by investigators.
Task Force Stands Its Ground Against Changing Florida’s Castle Doctrine Law
The panel charged by Gov. Rick Scott with reviewing the state’s ‘stand your ground’ self-defense law did not recommend any major changes to the statute, although it did make suggestions for tweaks by the Legislature in the upcoming session.
Radiation Sickness: Florida Republicans Tiring of Up-Front Utility Rates for Nukes
Four Republican senators said Thursday they will try to revamp a controversial 2006 law that has led to utility customers paying hundreds of millions of dollars for nuclear-power projects — but stopped short of calling for a total repeal.
In Major Shift, Scott Endorses Obamacare’s Medicaid Expansion, But Legislature Balks
The announcement was a dramatic move for the Republican governor, who launched his political career as an outspoken critic of President Obama’s efforts to overhaul the health-care system. The announcement also shifts the focus of the contentious Medicaid debate squarely to the Legislature, which would have to approve any expansion.
Not in Florida: Civil Union Bill Falters Ahead of a Vote That Would Have Killed It
A measure that would allow for civil unions, granting legal relationship rights to people who aren’t married, stalled Tuesday in a Senate committee in the face of a likely defeat if it had gone to a vote.
Pork’s Other End: Lobbying of Florida Legislature Tops $120 Million in 2012
Lobbyists collected at least $120 million to represent businesses and other clients before the Florida Legislature in 2012, with companies such as AT&T and the gambling industry spending heavily
Bipartisan Bill to Repeal Red-Light Cameras Advances in Florida Legislature
A bi-partisan proposal would repeal the three-year-old Florida law allowing cities to install spy-and-snap cameras. The repeal, if enacted, would again crimp the revenue of local governments such as Palm Coast, which use the cameras’ ticker revenue to supplement their general fund.
Florida Rediscovers Voting Rights as Bi-Partisan Reform Bill Advances Easily
A proposal designed to expand early voting days and limit the length of ballots unanimously passed a House subcommittee Wednesday, but Democrats warned the measure would need to change to continue to attract bipartisan support.
Gov. Scott Facing Mounting Questions From His Own Party Over Jobs Agenda, and Expenses
Gov. Rick Scott’s aggressive economic development effort is getting more legislative pushback as budget committees in both chambers questioned the direction, expense and oversight of the governor’s “jobs, jobs, jobs” agenda.
Gov. Scott, a Big-Spending Liberal? Not So Fast.
As everyone anticipated, the attack on Gov. Rick Scott by liberals has begun. No surprise there, as he is the next conservative in the cross-hairs. But at times it borders on the absurd, argues Lloyd Brown.
John Fischer’s Hate Speech
In twice calling for a return of school prayer in the last three weeks, Flagler County School Board member John Fischer did so not from good will but out of angry resentment for “special interests” and “political correctness” that he claims are standing in the way of “our rights.” He is offensively wrong, and the school board should resist his call to prayer.