While a three-year freeze on rates from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. expires this year, the state-run insurer is in the midst of reassessing 350,000 coastal properties with wind-only coverage, Post reporter Jeff Ostrowski writes today.

Thanks to a rate freeze that took effect in 2006 and lasts through this year, Citizens policyholders have enjoyed a respite from big jumps in their bills. But homeowners like Baker are seeing premiums soar anyway as the insured value of their property is reassessed.

…

“This is in no way a way around the rate freeze,” said Citizens spokesman John Kuczwanski. “It is an effort for us to collect premiums on the actual risk we insure.”

More here.

State Rep. Priscilla Taylor, D-West Palm Beach, is willing to give up her state House seat to represent Palm Beach County commission District 7 when Addie Greene steps down April 30.

Taylor is one of at least 11 applicants who have filled out paperwork with Gov. Charlie Crist’s appointments office. Former Boynton Beach Vice Mayor Henderson TIllman has applied, as have four people who applied for the District 4 appointment that Crist just filled with former Boca Raton mayor Steven Abrams.

Read about it here.

About 300 people showed up in front of the state Capitol today to hear Stuart Milk, left, nephew of slain gay rights leader Harvey Milk, support several gay rights bills introduced in the legislature this year. The rally with Milk, of Broward County, was organized by Equality Florida.

Two of the proposed changes he wants the legislature to approve come from Palm Beach County lawmakers.

Rep. Mary Brandenburg, D-West Palm Beach, has legislation (HB 413) that would let gay couples adopt children.

Rep. Kelly Skidmore and Sen. Ted Deutch, both Boca Raton Democrats, have companion bills (SB 2012 & HB 397) that would make it illegal to fire someone or deny them housing based on sexual orientation.

Brandenburg’s bill hasn’t received a committee hearing the past two years and probably won’t fair much better this year. Skidmore told the crowd today the gay rights bills have an uphill climb in the legislature.

A proposal from Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, to increase the tax on cigarettes from 34 cents to $1.34 per pack would generate $871 million for Florida next year, according to this estimate released Sunday.

The estimate is higher than Deutch’s estimate of about $600 million from the tax hike. And in the wake of dire budget numbers on Friday, the bigger number could increase pressure on House Republicans to support the proposal. (Support appears to be mounting in the Senate, according to this twitter from the Florida Association of Counties.)

Deutch, who wants to earmark the new money for health programs, sent out this press release this morning saying his proposal would “significantly narrow the gap in what the state collects annually from tobacco users ($430 million) versus what Florida spends on tobacco-related illnesses through the Medicaid program ($1.3 billion).”

“Everyone is looking for an acceptable recipe to address our budget crisis,” Deutch commented. “My bill is equal parts common sense and fairness, and more than 70 percent of Floridians consistently say they want this issue on the table.”

It depends on what the meaning of “received” is.

Find out how the recent one-vote Palm Beach mayor’s race could end up setting statewide precedent. Plus: Is the vaunted Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce losing its mojo? What’s U.S. Rep. Ron Klein’s explanation for not cosponsoring Big Labor’s top congressional priority? Will Art Argenio and Joe Negron — the Frazier and Ali of Treasure Coast Republican politics — beat each other up again?

Read about it here.

Palm Beach Post readers can search Gov. Charlie Crist’s 2006 campaign contributions by name, city or amount with a new online database.

Find the link to the database under the “Special Reports” tab on the right hand side of this page. Just scroll down a bit.

Boca Raton entrepreneur Hank Asher, above, is planning to pump a half-billion dollars into building to world’s most powerful computer to catch pedophiles, Post reporter Jeff Ostrowski writes today.

The venture, named “TLFO”, has attracted help from former Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth; Former Mississippi A.G. Michael Moore; the recently retired Collier County sheriff; and a former Wyoming police office and pedophilia expert.

Butterworth, who stepped down last year as head of the Florida Department of Children and Families, says he joined Asher’s team in part because sexual abuse is rampant in foster care.

“The public does not realize how severe this problem is,” Butterworth said.

Three circuit court suits in Collier and Hillsborough counties have rekindled an already hot – and increasingly public – debate about the potential dangers of pesticides on field workers, particularly pregnant women, Post reporters Christine Evans and John Lantigua write today. (The pair of reporters collected several awards for their stories about pesticide problems in Florida.)

“Quite frankly,” said Andy Rackley, a division director for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, “there’s a lot we don’t know. And that’s a concern. If a woman working in the fields gets pregnant, what is the effect on her of even the background use of pesticides? When kids are being born with birth defects, we need to answer those questions.”

The new cases, which all involve babies with birth defects, follow a lawsuit settled last year on behalf of Carlitos Candelario, pictured above, who was born in 2004 with no arms and legs.

The case was a public relations nightmare for Plant City-based Ag-Mart – several large chains, including Publix, temporarily pulled the company’s Santa Sweets grape tomatoes from the shelves. But a bulk of the company’s charges and fines in Florida and North Carolina were reduced because vague record-keeping precluded a firm ruling on which workers might have been exposed to freshly sprayed fields.

That wouldn’t be the case, maintains attorney Andy Yaffa, who represented Carlitos and is handling the new suits, if Florida did a better job monitoring pesticide use. The Department of Agriculture is notoriously understaffed when it comes to inspectors, a situation it is trying to remedy.

“You had the same inspectors doing field checks that were doing carnival ride checks,” Yaffa said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Full story here.

Former state Rep. Don Brown, R-Defuniak Springs, says in a letter in today’s Palm Beach Post that State Farm pulling out of Florida is a sign that that Gov. Charlie Crist’s property insurance plans are “unraveling.”

Those who know the world of finance say that State Farm has the money to pay claims, at least for now. But having been denied a much-needed rate increase, State Farm can’t guarantee that will be the case much longer.

So, going into this hurricane season, are you betting on the governor or State Farm to be able to bring cash to the disaster? If you’re betting on the governor, good luck. You may need a lot of it.

Meanwhile, the editorial board says Crist and the Cabinet made the argument for a national catastrophe fund last week in deciding to push for a federal line of credit to backstop the state’s hurricane catastrophe fund.

Former Boca Raton Mayor Steven Abrams will be Palm Beach County’s newest commissioner, replacing the resigned Mary McCarty, Gov. Charlie Crist announced today.

The announcement comes more than seven years after the 2001 anthrax attacks brought Abrams praise for his calm and leadership under fire, and amid an ongoing double crisis for the county – the perilous economy and the stain created by a three-year spate of corruption cases.

More here.

The owner of the collections company that contracts with nearly two-thirds of the state’s county clerks says there’s nothing wrong with his VP being married to the state clerks’ association president.

Rick Bicknell, the founder, president and CEO of S.C. Services, hired Sherri Cason seven years ago, he said, long before Cason’s husband Dewitt became president of the association.

And when he brought her on, he already had contracts with about 20 county clerks, Bicknell said. Sherri Cason is a part owner of the Lake City-based business that has contracts with counties in five other states, Bicknell said.

He doesn’t see any conflict of interest.

“We haven’t signed any new clients in Florida in three years to the best of my knowledge. So none of the contracts we currently have are any reflection of Mr. Cason being president of the clerks’ association,” Bicknell said.

House Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Sandy Adams raised the issue of the contracts at yesterday’s committee meeting. (more…)

House Criminal and Civil Justice Approps Committee Chairwoman Sandy Adams took the county clerks by surprise yesterday with a revelation they apparently knew nothing about.

Nearly two-thirds of the state’s clerks of court have contracts with a collections vendor who is married to the clerks’ association president, Adams found out.

When she questioned clerks association reps about it, they said they were unaware of the situation.

Columbia County Clerk of Court Dewitt Cason, the statewide clerks association president, also hired his wife Sherri’s business, S.C. Services and Associates Inc., to collect outstanding fines. Sherri Cason is vice president of the Lake City-based business, according to state records.

Full story here.

Last year, Democratic CFO Alex Sink forged a friendship with Republican House Speaker Marco Rubio over their shared goal of returning some of the state’s hurricane risk to the private insurance market.

This year, it sounds like Sink is the conservatives’ sweetheart again.

On Thursday, Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, opened the House Government Operations Appropriations Committee by praising her for doing “what I think is a great job.”

Hays, however, flubbed the start of the meeting when he didn’t notice Sink waiting in the room.

Later, Rep. Clay Ford, R-Gulf Breeze, tried to cover by noting that Sink was “small and delicate.”

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek will pick up another union endorsement this weekened, which is expected to come in a formal announcement from the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) in Pompano Beach on Saturday.

Meek, D-Miami, is building a campaign to replace U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez. He’s already picked up endorsements from SEIU and the United Teachers of Dade.

Other Democrats in the race are state Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami, and North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns. No Republicans have announced, but Gov. Charlie Crist is considering and House Speaker Marco Rubio has opened an exploratory committee.

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Dec. 31

“Donors have made it clear to me that they weren’t going to contribute because they weren’t happy with the leadership.”

–Florida Republican Party fundraiser Mark Guzzetta of Boca Raton explaining why he joined other top donors to call for the resignation of state party Chairman Jim Greer.
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Dec. 30

“Don’t hold your breath.”

–Paula Dockery responding to a suggestion from Bill McCollum’s campaign that her gubernatorial campaign is drawing to an close. Dockery and McCollum are facing each other in a Republican primary.
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Dec. 29

“This process moves the courts from calling balls and strikes, from creating a level playing field, into the realm of a social service agency, picking sides.”

–Palm Beach County Comptroller & Circuit Court Clerk Sharon Bock on a state supreme court order issued Monday that requires mediation on all homestead properties prior to a foreclosure hearing.

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Dec. 28

“I thought we’d get a lot of junkers, but the cars that came in are really nice.”

–Gerry Vertucci, whose Riviera Beach junk yard has a surplus of auto parts after the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program.

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Dec. 8
“They were equally painful.”

–U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park, comparing the state approval of the SunRail bill to his successful passing of a kidney stone.

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Dec. 7

“Ever since the day that I was able to read the Constitution, I’ve been pro-Second Amendment. And I’m usually the only person in the room that can protect you.”

–Republican Congressional candidate Ed Lynch during a debate last week.
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Nov. 17

“He’s come back with every strange fish there is.”

–Darrin Duchene of Palm Springs, whose son has caught a number of exotic fish, including a jaguar guapote, in a nearby pond. On Tuesday, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission poisoned the pond in hopes of killing piranhas.
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Nov. 12

“I love psychology majors and all these other folks, but when you talk about the science, technology, engineering and math industry, we have to be focused on the type of economy we have. People ask me, ‘What are you doing to produce more math majors in the state of Florida.’”

–Florida Education Commissioner Eric Smith during a rare meeting of the state groups responsible for public education. Of 49,775 bachelor’s degrees Florida awarded in 2008, just 267 were math majors.

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Nov. 3

“The only reason that I am not crying is I took a Xanax.”

–Boca Raton attorney Stuart Rosenfeldt after his law partner, Scott Rothstein, was accused of orchestrating an investment scheme that handed major financial losses to investors.

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Oct. 29

“You’re still getting killed.”

–Vice President Biden on Florida’s economy.

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Oct. 28

“They were leaving because we had not been able to give them a raise in four years.”

–Child Care Association of Brevard County Director Barbara Moore explaining why a progress report for the federal stimulus plan showed she used money to save 129 jobs at her center. The money was used to give all 129 employees a raise.

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Oct. 27

“I didn’t know his itinerary. That’s all.”

–Gov. Charlie Crist answering questions about why he did not attend any events with President Obama in Florida on Monday.
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Oct. 21

“Mr. Masilotti’s discussions with the United States produced no new leads, uncovered no previously unknown schemes, led to zero indictments, zero arrests and not a single new investigation. Instead, his information was filled with half-truths and material omissions.”

–U.S. Attorney Stephen Carlton weighing in on a request for a reduced prison sentence from former Palm Beach County Commissioner Tony Masilotti.

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Oct. 17

“It’s like putting a Band-Aid on an amputated leg.”

–UCF economist Sean Snaith reacting to news from Gov. Crist’s office that stimulus money has saved 22,000 jobs in a state with 11% unemployment for the first time since 1975.

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Oct. 16

“My concern is either they don’t think we have the expertise or they don’t think we have the integrity.”

–Port of Palm Beach Chairman Ed Oppel responding to a request from the state to halt efforts to develop an inland port.

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Oct. 15

“This enables him to take credit for what many might see as an empty gesture but one that might advance his ambitions.”

–Tony Alfieri, director of the Center for Ethics & Public Service at the University of Miami law school, about Gov. Crist’s call for a state corruption grand jury.

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Oct. 14

“Let me say this once: I am not under any investigation. My marriage is intact. My health is good and thank God the health of my family is good.”

–U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, announcing his plan to resign from Congress.

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Oct. 13

“When in doubt, don’t.”

–Former state Sen. Daniel Webster, a Republican and former House Speaker saying he won’t run against U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson, an Orlando Democrat.

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Oct. 10

“Now give Bill McCollum some credit. He’s done a very good job of making sure he always has a job. But what about jobs for everybody else?”

–Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink, a relative newcomer in Florida politics, cracking on her likely Republican opponent Bill McCollum, who has been in politics for 29 years.

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Oct. 8

“Once again our leadership skills and our statesmanship will be put to the test with this challenging budget environment.”

–State House budget chief David Rivera, R-Miami, on the $2.6 billion budget hole lawmakers face next year.

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Oct. 5

“The official misconduct charge is hanging by a thread.”

–Indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom’s attorney, Steven Dobson, after a judged dismissed key parts of the case.

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Sept. 26

“They wanted a change back in 1976. You remember? …. They got one-Jimmy Carter. Four years later, they took care of business-Ronald Reagan. It may happen again.”

–Gov. Charlie Crist predicting a one-term presidency for President Barack Obama.

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Sept. 23

“We have gone from having nothing of substance to something that is more stringent than state law and even the Miami model.”

–Palm Beach County Attorney Denise Nieman about a plan to create an watchdog unit to investigate corruption.

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Sept. 21

“I feel we have scrutinized every item.”

–Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria supporting a 14.9 percent the tax rate increase.

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Sept. 18

“We don’t use technology to circumvent the open government laws and we don’t use text messages to discuss state business.”

–Gov. Charlie Crist’s spokeswoman, Erin Isaac, describing the governor’s decision to bar his staff from sending text, PIN and instant messages from their cell phones.

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Sept. 14

“There’s nothing secret about the Sunshine team.”

–Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum answering questions about a new open government initiative.

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Sept. 9

“You lie!”

–U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., during President Obama’s speech on health care reform.

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Sept. 8

“After reading and hearing of what’s happening over at the Public Service Commission, it sounds to me like they’re ready to implode over there.”

–Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, asking for a Senate ethics investigation into possible ethics violations at the PSC.

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Aug 24

“Such inexcusable conduct undermines the public trust and confidence in the regulatory process and impugns the integrity of this commission.”

–Public Service Commission member Nathan Skop after learning the regulator’s chief lobbyist attended a Kentucky Derby party at the Palm Beach Gardens home of FPL Vice President Ed Tancer. FPL has two cases pending before the PSC worth more than $4 billion.

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Aug 24

“Whoop de do – who’s that hurting? It’s not hurting anyone.”

–Boynton Beach recreational fisherman Robert Bishop insisting he shouldn’t need a $9 fishing license to catch small fish. A new state law this year requires a license for shoreline, saltwater fishing.

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Aug 14

“Dunkin’ Donuts is pleased that the signs have been removed.”

– A company spokeswoman after the state fired Bay County Heath Department Director Mike Thomas for posting a sign reading “America Dies on Dunkin” as part of his campaign against obesity.

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Aug 13

“Maybe by divine justice it came out to a tie.”

–Palm Beach County GOP Chairman Sid Dinerstein on a failed bid to censure Gov. Charlie Crist.

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Aug 11

“We’re getting back zippo.”

–Palm Beach Councilman William Diamond recommending the town secede from Palm Beach County.
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Aug. 6

“To walk away without a compelling reason is disrespectful to the party and the people you took an oath to represent.”

–Former Republican Party of Florida Director David Johnson on U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez’s resignation.

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Aug. 6

“I don’t think so.”

–Gov. Charlie Crist
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Aug. 5

“Chris Craft is a job-killing army of one.”

–The opening salvo from National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Andy Seré after Craft, a St. Lucie County Democrat, announced his campaign to unseat U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta.

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Aug. 2

“If the editor saw me walking across Sarasota Bay on top of the water, the next day the headline would say: ‘Bennett can’t swim.”

–State Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, after being questioned about using taxpayer money to charter planes to commute to the Capital.

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July 31

“‘Cash for clunkers’ is an apt description of the kind of government Americans are getting in return for their tax dollars these days.”

–Former Jeb Bush speechwriter Albert Martinez via Twitter.
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July 24

“Hey, nobody thought Utah was going to beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, right? But it happened.”

–Designated House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders on his party’s chances of taking control of the chamber in 2010 for the first time in 14 years.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

July 14

“This is the big banana.”

–Attorney General Bill McCollum about a $2.3 million price gouging settlement announced Monday.

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July 3

“Every March, when Tallahassee comes to life, no one’s safe.”

–St. Lucie County Clerk of Courts Joe Smith about changes state lawmakers made this year in the way courts are funded.

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July 1
SMOKE ‘EM IF YOU CAN AFFORD ‘EM

–News Service Florida headline about the state tax on cigarettes increase by $1 today.
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June 24
“495 days until Election Day 2010!”

–GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum via Twitter.
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June 23

“Since the legislature is building airport hangars instead of funding FDLE, they’re a little behind.”

–Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs after being asked when a forensic exam of indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom would be completed.
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June 17

“Florida received an F-, the lowest overall grade in our survey.”

–The Heartland Institute’s Property and Casualty Insurance 2009 Report Card.

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June 14

“Hopped up out of bed, turned my swag on….”

–State Rep. Alan Williams, D-Tallahassee, sending Soulja Boy lyrics out to his Twitter followers.

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June 10

“I don’t understand it. … He’s unassailable.”

–Sean Snaith of the UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness on how Gov. Crist has maintained high approval ratings despite the state’s economic woes.

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June 4

“I guess she’s not going to be able to do it.”

– Norman Ostrau, director of FAU’s Public Ethics Academy, on former Palm Beach County Commissioner Mary McCarty’s scheduled June 17 speech on how not to behave in office.

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May 29

“Pythons are not Republican or Democrat and neither is water.”

– SFWMD Chairman Eric Buermann after touring the Everglades.

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May 24

“He’s always liked boxers, the wilder the better. But we’d never seen him wear pink before.”

– Sheree Boyd, whose son, Zachery, was pictured in pink “I Love NY” boxers during a firefight with the Taliban.

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May 22

“It’s been a remarkable job.”

–Palm Beach County stripper registrar Barbara Wilmoth.

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May 21

“In our business we pride ourselves on telling the truth.”

–Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, explaining that Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty should be fired for allegedly misleading him about an insurance bill.
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May 20

“Did you guys see my house? I’m trying to figure out if my lawn is getting mowed there.”

–President Obama during a phone call with the space shuttle Atlantis crew.

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May 19

“On the road again today with my campaign aides Mr. Garmin and Mr. Sunpass.”

–U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio via Twitter.

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May 18

“We’re going to win!”

–Republican Bill McCollum announcing his campaign for governor.

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May 15

“That’s all disgusting stuff, man…. I’m not into that kind of politics at all. I don’t want to even talk about it. I don’t want to hear about it. I don’t want anything to do with that stuff.”

–GOP U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio responding to a question about Outrage, a documentary that implies his Republican primary opponent, Gov. Charlie Crist, is gay.

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May 13

“In unique and challenging times like these, our state needs a new and different kind of leadership.”

–Democrat Alex Sink announcing her campaign for governor.

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April 22

“Do it for the children.”

–Republican Gov. Charlie Crist urging lawmakers to take $1.1 billion from the Seminole Indians of Florida for allowing blackjack, roulette and craps in their casinos.

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April 20

“My particular newspaper has called on me to make sure that I vote to do away with special-interest, state-delivered welfare to corporations. And I am going to do that.”

–Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne, before voting to remove a sales tax exemption for newspapers and magazines delivered by mail.

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April 17

“Do you want a haircut or do you want an amputation? That is your choice.”

–Rep. Alan Hayes, R-Umatilla, on House Democrats’ objections to nearly $1 billion in new fees to cover budget holes.

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April 15

“They send these kids to Iraq to fly jets, they ought to be able to play blackjack.”

–State Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Treasure Island, on why he opposes a proposal to increase the gambling age in Florida from 18 to 21.

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April 14

“My car is actually parked right outside the door. So could you let me know what time you’re leaving?”

–Democratic Rep. Audrey Gibson, a Nissan Altima owner, responding to Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton. Hasner said said he wanted lawmakers to approve a constitutional amendment for the 2010 ballot more than a 18 months before Election Day because he “might get hit by a car” leaving the Capitol.

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April 13

“I’m not going to congratulate you on bringing forth this bill. However, I am going to congratulate you on all the shots you’ve taken as you’ve brought forth this bill.”

–State Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, before voting against a bill from Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff to increase oversight on county clerk of court budgets.

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April 12

“Tell me about it!”

–U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, responding to a Boyton Beach woman who told him that she couldn’t “live with my parents in their 55-and-older community forever.”

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March 31

“Smoke ‘em, chew ‘em, dip ‘em or whatever. We have to tax ‘em. Doesn’t matter if its … smuggled in from Castro. They need to be taxed.”

–Senate Health & Human Services Appropriations Chairman Durell Peaden, R-Crestview, in explaining his support for a $1 tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco.

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March 27

“Wiggling, who knows? Wiggle, wiggle. I’m wiggling right now.”

–House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, on whether there was “wiggle room” in his chamber’s opposition to new card games at Seminole casinos.

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March 25

“We’re hoping and praying that the money will be there.”

–Senate Pre-K-12 Appropriations Committee Chairman Stephen Wise, R-Jacksonville, about the chamber’s proposed education budget.

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March 24

“Veterans have a right to run for office without being termed out. So I think we have some credence here.”

–Senate Community Affairs Committee Vice Chairman Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, before voting for a constitutional amendment that would ask voter to extend property tax breaks for disabled veterans and extend term limits.

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March 20

“We threw that away.”

–Senate Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Chairman Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, on Gov. Charlie Crist’s budget recommendations.

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March 19

“This is the slowest session beginning I have ever seen in my life.”

–Vern Pickup-Crawford, who has four decades of experience lobbying in the state Capitol, to the Palm Beach County delegation.

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March 12

“Don’t piss on me and tell me it’s raining.”

–Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, in a heated exchange about President Obama during a Senate Transportation and Economic Development meeting.

The Democratic National Committee today selected the above slogan to paste on a billboard somewhere in West Palm Beach, where Rush Limbaugh broadcasts his conservative radio show.

The announcement is the latest update in a week-long publicity stunt from the DNC, which is hoping Limbaugh’s divisive reputation helps President Obama’s approval ratings. The DNC is using the billboard today to ask for donations to help “get out the message.”

Background on the billboard here and here.

Democrats and Republicans got into a heated verbal brawl this morning over a public campaign finance bill in the Senate Transportation and Economic Development Committee.Some GOP senators railed against President Barack Obama’s reversal about taking public money to finance his campaign, just stopping short of calling the president a liar and refusing to refer to him as “president,” instead calling him “Sen. Obama” or “Candidate Obama.”

Democratic Sens. Chris Smith and Tony Hill grew fidgety as the anti-Obama rhetoric escalated but spilled over after Republican Ronda Storms refused to let the matter drop.

“I understand that some are uncomfortable with Candidate Obama’s faiilure to keep his word and those of us who did not support him calling attention to that,” Storms, R-Brandon, said. “I can completely understand they don’t want to talk about the messiah having a flaw but the messiah has a flaw.”

That pushed Smith, who previously tried to limit discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment (SJR 566) by asking for a vote, over the edge.

(more…)

Lawmakers have only to walk across the street to learn more about a revived a bill that would make it easier for dead bodies to move around the state.

They’re trying to breathe new life into a bill that’s died for the past two years dealing with museum exhibits of “plastinated” bodies, cadavers preserved by polymers that prevent decay.

Currently, Florida law restricts who can bring dead bodies into or out of the state and requires that state anatomical board sign off on the exhibits.

The proposed bills (SB 414, HB 125) would do away with board’s approval if the exhibition is at an accredited art or science museum. The museum would also be required to give the board notice of the exhibit.

Coincidentally, lawmakers are taking up the measure they failed to approve last year as the “Our Body: The Universe Within” is currently on exhibit at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science across the street from the Capitol. The museum, however, is in the process of accreditation and would not benefit from the legislation.

State Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, is in Washington, D.C., this morning slated to testify on Iranian divestment at 10 a.m. before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on International Monetary Policy and Trade.

You’ve probably bookmarked the Financial Services Committee page already. But in case you haven’t, here’s the link, which will allow you to see a Webcast of Deutch’s testimony and download a copy of his prepared remarks.
(more…)

Lawmakers have only to walk across the street to learn more about a revived a bill that would make it easier for dead bodies to move around the state.

They’re trying to breathe new life into a bill that’s died for the past two years dealing with museum exhibits of “plastinated” bodies, cadavers preserved by polymers that prevent decay.

Currently, Florida law restricts who can bring dead bodies into or out of the state and requires that state anatomical board sign off on the exhibits.

The proposed bills (SB 414, HB 125) would do away with board’s approval if the exhibition is at an accredited art or science museum. The museum would also be required to give the board notice of the exhibit.

Coincidentally, lawmakers are taking up the measure they failed to approve last year as the “Our Body: The Universe Within” is currently on exhibit at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science across the street from the Capitol. The museum, however, is in the process of accreditation and would not benefit from the legislation.