State Farm Florida spokesman Chris Neal said Gov. Charlie Crist’s veto of a bill to let the company offer unregulated rates leaves the company with no option but to pull out of the state.

“We’re just extremely disappointed,” Neal said. “We’re disappointed by the governor’s failure to approve what we felt was landmark consumer choice legislature.”

The company told Crist earlier this week it would reconsider plans to pull out of the state if he approved the bill (HB 1171).

“At this point we have no choice but to continue with that plan,” Neal said. “The only option we have at this point is to discontinue the property insurance business while we still have the financial resources to make good on our contractual obligations in Florida.”

Crist vetoed the bill saying it would provide little consumer protections and only lead to higher rates.

“This will likely result in significant and unpredictable rate increases that, during these difficult economic times, people simply cannot afford,” Crist wrote.

Read the veto letter here.

Democratic state Rep. Priscilla Taylor, one of four finalists for the gubernatorial appointment to fill a Palm Beach County commission vacancy, will make “a significant announcement regarding her political plans for 2010″ at a news conference Thursday at the county governmental center, according to an e-mail from her political consultant.

Gov. Charlie Crist does not expect to announce an appointment this week, said Eric Eikenberg, the governor’s chief of staff. Crist has interviewed Taylor, businessman Randy Johnson, Riviera Beach Councilwoman Billie Brooks and retired educator Vincent Goodman for the seat.

Regardless of whom Crist appoints, the commission seat will be on the ballot next year, so it’s possible Taylor will announce the opening a 2010 campaign.

Taylor wasn’t immediately reachable this afternoon.

Stay tuned.

A coalition that drafted an ethics pledge for corruption-tarred Palm Beach County last year will push for ballot initiatives in 2010 to create an independent government watchdog agency and establish other reforms.

If county commissioners don’t agree to let voters decide on the proposed reforms in 2010, leaders of the coalition said this morning they will begin collecting signatures to force the measure onto the ballot.

“This is an issue of political will. If this is going to be changed, it’s going to be changed by us,” said Marty Rogol, a past president of Leadership Palm Beach County who has headed the ethics reform efforts.

Rogol spoke to an ethics forum attended by about 75 people, including several elected officials.

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BOCA RATON — In his first campaign appearance in Palm Beach County since entering the 2010 race for governor, Attorney General Bill McCollum reminded a Jewish audience of his anti-terrorism credentials, called for diversifying the state’s economy and said he’s “very skeptical” of drilling for oil near Florida’s coast.

McCollum, who entered the GOP primary for governor last month after Gov. Charlie Crist announced he’s running for U.S. Senate, spoke to a Republican Jewish Coalition audience of about 60.

He was introduced by state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, who hailed McCollum for forming a task force on terrorism when he was a member of Congress in the 1990s.

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Investigators have seized former House Speaker Ray Sansom’s legislative computer in their attempt to prove that the Destin Republican illegally hid money in the state budget to build a benefactor an airplane hangar, Leon County State Attorney Willie Meggs said Tuesday.

Meggs shrugged when asked when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement would finish a forensic exam.

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

Sansom was indicted in April after a grand jury agreed that he had disguised a hangar as a $6 million college building in the budget. That item also led to indictments of former Northwest Florida State College President Bob Richburg and Destin Jet owner Jay Odom, who has given millions to Sansom and the state GOP.

Sansom has maintained his innocence. He resigned as speaker but remains a powerful member of the House leadership.

Meggs seized the computer in search of documents not already revealed by public records requests. State legislators are not bound by the same strict “sunshine” laws they impose on other officials. For example, House members don’t have to hand over emails older than 30 days.

But even that time frame does not guarantee records. The Palm Beach Post requested all of Sansom’s e-mails within one 30-day period, but the records showed an 11-day gap for which no e-mails were provided.

Public records and access has remained an ongoing issue in Sansom’s indictment. Some of the grand jury’s most penetrating remarks were saved for the state budget process. Jurors criticized the legislature for allowing the state’s operating document to be crafted by as few as two legislators behind closed doors.

Despite that criticism, Republican leaders in the House and Senate spent 10 days behind closed doors this spring hashing out details of the state’s $66.5 billion budget.

Attorneys for both Senate President Jeff Atwater and House Speaker Larry Cretul have determined that documents created in those legislative meetings are not public record, spokeswomen for the two Republicans have told the Post.

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Passing over two Republicans from his own county, House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Boca Raton, is endorsing state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, in the three-Republican primary for the seat of Senate President Jeff Atwater, who’s running for chief financial officer.

Hasner at one point was considered a likely GOP candidate for the Palm Beach-Broward seat, but opted not to run for any office in 2010 when he faces term limits.

About 64 percent of Senate District 25 voters live in Palm Beach County and about 36 percent in Broward County. Hasner’s endorsement of Broward County resident Bogdanoff comes at the expense of two Palm Beach County Republicans — state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, and Delray Beach businessman Nick Loeb.

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Wellington Councilwoman and Republican state Senate hopeful Lizbeth Benacquisto announced two more endorsements from Republican Senators today: Michael Bennett of Bradenton and Garrett Richter of Naples.

For those keeping score, that’s seven of the 26 Republicans in the Florida Senate backing Benacquisto, who’s running for the District 27 seat that Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, is leaving to run for attorney general.

The other five Senators to endorse Benacquisto are Senate President Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach, Majority Leader Alex Diaz de la Portilla of Miami, Ken Pruitt of Port St. Lucie, Don Gaetz of Niceville and Andy Gardiner of Orlando.

Former Republican state Rep. Sharon Merchant of Palm Beach Gardens, who says she’s running but hasn’t opened a campaign yet, has already lined up endorsements from three Republican Senators: Nancy Detert of Venice, Paula Dockery of Lakeland and Alex Villalobos of Miami

Bud Chiles is asking Gov. Charlie Crist to keep his promise.

The son of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles who secured an historic $11.3 billion settlement with tobacco companies, wants Crist to appoint the panel established in Florida law to oversee the endowment named after his father.

Chiles first asked Crist in December to appoint the panel after lawmakers and Crist diverted more than $350 million from the fund, then worth about $2 billion, which pays for health programs for children and the elderly.

That never happened.

Instead, lawmakers took another $700 million from the endowment, raising the total trust fund raid to more than $1 billion, as they struggled to balance the budget with a two-year $6 billion spending gap.

Bud Chiles today sent Crist a letter asking him to appoint the 16-member panel, which has apparently not met in about five years. Under Florida law, the advisory group is supposed to give recommendations about the fund to the governor by Nov. 1 each year.

Chiles said he and his lawyers considered filing a complaint but decided to bank on Crist’s goodwill instead. He thinks the legislature and Crist might not be so keen on raiding the fund in the future with the oversight the panel should provide.

“If these people aren’t doing it then whose going to protect the rights of these children that are not getting the funds?” he said.

The committee established by law to make recommendations to the governor about how to spend the state’s historic tobacco settlement has not met in more than a decade.

his latest raid on the fund brings the total taken from the endowment to over $1 billion. In 2008, Gov. Charlie Crist convinced legislators and children’s advocates to allow a withdrawal of more than $350 million from the endowment to meet a budget shortfall, then surprised advocates with a second raid on the fund that led to today’s $700 million withdrawal.

News broke last month that former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee was going to endorse Marco Rubio in the GOP U.S. Senate primary against Gov. Charlie Crist. And the official announcement was released today in a video (above).

Huckabee notes Rubio’s historic rise to House speaker and labels Rubio “the principled conservative Republican candidate” in the race. He says it’s “real easy for me to endorse Marco Rubio.”

“Marco Rubio understands that its the private sector that creates jobs and all of the ridiculous government bailouts only do one thing: create more power for government and less power for people,” Huckabee says. “Marco loves liberty.”

After more than five years, the Hometown Democracy initiative will finally go before voters statewide on next year’s 2010 ballot.

The proposed constitutional amendment, the brainchild of West Palm Beach lawyer Lesley Blackner, would give voters the final say over changes to their local comprehensive growth plans, decisions currently made by county and city commissions.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce and other business-backed organizations have waged an intense campaign to keep what they call the “Vote on Everything” initiative off the ballot, successful thwarting it from appearing in 2008.

But today’s certification by the Department of State means it certainly will be on the November ballot next year.

Read more about the growth management crusade here.

State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, picked up an endorsement this morning from Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler. Gelber and fellow Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, are competing in a primary for their party’s attorney general nomination.

Seiler and Gelber were close friends during their time together in the Florida House. Seiler said he prefers to stay out of primaries, but felt compelled to make this endorsement. “We need to make sure that Alex Sink has the right person sitting next to her on the Florida Cabinet,” Seiler wrote in his endorsement, which you can read here.

Gelber’s backers have also been excited about the endorsement last week from state Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa. They point out that Joyner is from the politically crucial I-4 corridor, she’s a long-time civil rights activist and is also the first state senator to pick sides in the battle between the two members of that chamber.

Read Joyner’s endorsement here.

Republican Marco Rubio this morning challenged Gov. Charlie Crist to a series of at least 10 debates before their GOP primary contest on Aug. 24, 2010.

From Rubio’s letter to Crist (which you can read here):

As you approach your third decade in elected office, you have fostered a reputation as a formidable fundraiser who has broken many of Florida’s fundraising records. I am sure this campaign will be no different and fully expect that I will have to work twice as hard as you to remain competitive. While we are opponents for the same office, I am also confident we can maintain a cordial and respectful debate that will help our campaigns rise above the typical 30-second commercials, slick slogans and bumper stickers that define too many of our country’s political contests.

The Republican scramble for the Palm Beach-Broward seat of Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, puts GOP heavyweights and business partners Scott Rothstein and Roger Stone in rival camps.

Attorney Rothstein – who’s raised money for the likes of Charlie Crist, John McCain and George W. Bush – is backing state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, in the Senate District 25 race.
Legendarily dapper bad boy and unabashed Nixon admirer Stone, a partner with Rothstein in a Fort Lauderdale-based consulting biz, is behind Delray Beach businessman Nick Loeb.

Stone said he’s friends with Bogdanoff but has an “antecedent” relationship with Loeb’s family, going back to the days when he and Loeb’s father were early Ronald Reagan supporters. Though he’s known as a creative hitman, Stone says that, in this race, “I’m not here to engage in negative politics.”

Bogdanoff, Loeb and state Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter, are in the GOP primary to replace Atwater, who’s running for chief financial officer

With state Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, running for attorney general and no other Palm Beach County Democrat declaring interest in running for Aronberg’s Senate seat, state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, says he isn’t ruling out the possibility of running.

Freshman state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, isn’t ruling out a 2010 run for the West Palm Beach-to-Fort Myers state Senate seat that Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, is giving up to run for attorney general.

“I’ll have to look at the numbers and see if, A, it’s a winnable seat and, B, if I have the time to do it,” Rader said today of the roughly 130-mile-long district. “Campaigning for that seat is very difficult.”

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Republican congressional hopeful Allen West hosts a fund-raiser Saturday at the Delray Shooting Center.

“In this day and age we all need to learn to protect ourselves … so come on out, practice shooting, compete and have a great time with Allen!” said a blast e-mail promoting the event — called “The Delray Shootout” — to local Republicans.

Guns and ammo will be provided, said West.

“It’s just a different twist on a fund-raiser,” said West, who’s seeking a 2010 rematch against U.S. Rep. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, after getting 45.3 percent against Klein in 2008.

There are 26 Republicans in the Florida Senate. So far, at least seven of them have taken sides in the emerging GOP primary battle between Wellington Councilwoman Lizbeth Benacquisto and former state Rep. Sharon Merchant of Palm Beach Gardens for the seat of Democratic Sen. Dave Aronberg, who’s running for attorney general.

Benacquisto has a fund-raiser in Tallahassee next week with five state Senators on the host committee: President Jeff Atwater of North Palm Beach, Majority Leader Alex Diaz de la Portilla of Miami, Don Gaetz of Niceville, Andy Gardiner of Orlando and soon-to-retire Ken Pruitt of Port St. Lucie.

Merchant has not formally opened a campaign, but Republican Sens. Nancy Detert of Venice and Paula Dockery of Lakeland say they’ll be on her team. Many insiders also predict that Sen. Alex Villalobos of Miami, who was defeated by Atwater in a GOP leadership struggle, will take sides with Merchant against Atwater’s favored candidate. Villalobos couldn’t be reached today.

After seeing three of their own go to federal prison on corruption charges in less than three years, a majority of Palm Beach County commissioners say they support creating a politically independent watchdog to monitor county government.

A county grand jury recommended such an entity in a report last month, suggesting as a model the Office of Inspector General that Miami-Dade County created after corruption scandals there in the 1990s.

Four Palm Beach County commissioners — Steven Abrams, Karen Marcus, Jess Santamaria and Shelley Vana — say they support the concept of an inspector general.

Commission Chairman Jeff Koons has said he opposes the idea. Commissioner Burt Aaronson said the idea “merits discussion” and he hasn’t taken a final position.

Commissioners are scheduled to discuss the grand jury report July 21.

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Sen. Jim King, diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer last month, is leaving the hospital cancer free, he wrote on his web page.

“Great news! A recent CAT scan tells me I will be leaving the hospital to go to a rehabilitation facility today – CANCER FREE. I consider myself one of the luckiest individuals in the medical world,” King, R-Jacksonville, wrote.

The former Senate President and long-time lawmaker underwent surgery for the cancer at the Mayo Clinic earlier this month and emerged in the 5 percent of survivors, he said.

King, an affable politician known for his proclivity for excess, said his recent experience has transformed him.

“To the people that I’ve “run with” for the last 20 plus years, this does not mean that I am coming back with a starched collar or judgmental preconceptions. I would rather be seen as an Ander Crenshaw or a Bobby Bowden. I still have many of my same views in regard to individual decision making, health privacy issues, etc., but I can assure you that the person that went in to this hospital two weeks ago today is a different person coming out. Who knows? Maybe my new “calling” will be as a survivor to give hope and to be an example of the fact that you may not be able to totally win, but you can certainly go toe to toe. My recovery period for this surgery could be as much as a year and it will be a year of some significant life style changes for me – such as no alcohol, limited diet and a reemphasis on healthy living. (I can just visualize some of you reading this and thinking – boy – is Jim ever going to be boring),” he wrote

Read the full text of King’s message after the jump or visit his web page at www.caringbridge.org/visit/senatorjimking. (more…)

The horrific deaths of two Lake Worth children at the hands of their father contributed to a change in law that broadens the information available to judges when deciding visitation rights.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law this week a measure that expands from third degree felony to first degree misdemeanor domestic violence convictions judges take into consideration when determining parental responsibility.

Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Ted Deutch sponsored the bill (SB 904) at the behest of Jennie Carter, the mother of 10-year-old Nelson and 8-year-old Crystal Camacho who died after their father, Tony, set his suburban Lake Worth home ablaze days before Christmas in 2006.

All three died in the fire. Camacho died of smoke inhalation after stabbing Crystal in the back, severing her spine and leaving her paralyzed as flames engulfed their home.

Camacho’s ex-wife Jennie Carter had requested a restraining order and supervised visitation for the children.

That was never granted.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, makes his first appearance in Palm Beach County as a Senate candidate at 11:45 a.m. Saturday. West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel is slated to appear with Meek at the courtyard outside the new City Hall and library downtown. It’s part of Meek’s effort to collect signatures to get on the 2010 ballot.

Meek is the best-known Democrat running for the seat of retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez. State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, recently dropped out of the Senate race to run for attorney general, but U.S. Rep. Corinne Brown, D-Jacksonville, has been exploring a Senate run.

Gov. Charlie Crist and former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio are running on the Republican side.