A House committee Friday urged lawmakers to override former Gov. Charlie Crist’s veto last year of legislation that would revive so-called leadership funds, strengthening the hand of House and Senate leaders from both parties in raising campaign cash.

The 11-4 vote by the State Affairs Committee broke on party lines, with Democrats opposed. Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, were powerful advocates for the fund-raising accounts last year, but were snubbed by Crist.

The governor’s veto may have marked the beginning of his crumbling relationship with fellow Republicans, which concluded with him breaking with the party in April.

But Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, said the legislation is needed to improve “transparency.”

“I think the bill is long overdue in our fund-raising process,” said McKeel.

Republican leaders pushed the legislation last spring amid a fund-raising scandal at the state Republican Party.

Former GOP Chairman Jim Greer, who had been ousted only a few months earlier, was accused of badly damaging the party’s finances with his freewheeling spending and side dealing, which included allegedly secretly earmarking a portion of party funds for himself.

Leadership funds were banned 20 years ago by Florida lawmakers following newspaper reports drawing links between legislation approved and cash flowing into accounts controlled by party leaders.

The new proposal would allow legislative leaders from both parties to continue raising unlimited amounts of campaign cash. But instead of pouring the funds into the state party, they would maintain control.

Supporters, though, said the new step will result in more disclosure, because the leadership funds would be subject to campaign reporting requirements.

Ben Wilcox, of the League of Women Voters, disagreed. He testified Friday that reinstating the funds would feed a “pay to play,” environment in the Legislature.

No longer called leadership funds, the accounts would be dubbed “affiliated party committees,” under the measure (CS/HB 1207).

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BP exec Dave Rainey, head of the oil giant’s Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, held his third Facebook chat yesterday.

Rainey’s fielded questions ranging from whether the dispersants used after the April 20th Deepwater Horizon blow-out caused acid rain (he says no), what’s up with tar mats still found on beaches, including Pensacola, and oil on the Gulf of Mexico ocean floor.

The first question dealt with dozens of dead infant dolphins who washed ashore along the Gulf Coast – a six-fold increase from previous years.

“Why are the dolphins dead?” Down Hiller, who asked the first question, wanted to know.

Read Rainey’s response after the jump and the entire transcript here. (more…)

Florida is out of the running (again) for $2.4 billion for a high-speed rail system linking Orlando, Tampa and Miami, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said this morning.

A coalition of state, local and federal officials’ plan to get the federal funds – again – after Gov. Rick Scott turned down the money last month has failed, Nelson said in a statement this morning.

The plan hinged on getting Amtrak to join in as an end-run around Scott. But Amtrak officials said no.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reopened bids for the grant money last week to give Florida a second shot at drawing down the stimulus funds.

But that would have required an existing rail authority – like Amtrak – to participate. With Amtrak out of the picture, the coalition doesn’t have enough time to come up with another proposal to meet LaHood’s April 4 deadline.

Amtrak CEO Joseph Boardman said in a letter to Nelson that the federally funded train system would help out in the future, but not now. He said that Florida and Amtrak could work together to try to get some of the $8 billion included in President Obama’s budget proposal (which Congress hasn’t yet approved).

State economists are hashing out their new estimate of how much less money lawmakers have to spend this year.

Their last general revenue estimate projected the state would collect about $3.6 billion less this year in taxes and fees than last. But this morning’s estimates range from an additional $332.4 million drop – bringing the deficit to $3.9 billion – to a gain of $47.4 million that would decrease the spending gap to closer to $3.5 billion.

The three groups of economists representing the legislature’s Bureau of Economic and Demographic Research, Gov. Rick Scott and the Department of Revenue will crunch numbers throughout the day.

EDR’s initial $332.4 million in additional lost income is the highest. Scott’s office projects an extra $109.7 million drop. And the department’s was the rosiest – a gain of $47.4 million.

The average of the three – $131.6 million – would bump up the deficit to $3.75 billion.

Some 655,000 public employees would have to contribute 5 percent of their pay to the state’s pension plan, while a lucrative early retirement program would end, under legislation approved Thursday by a House panel.

But the proposed pension overhaul still does not hit school district employees, state workers, police and firefighters as hard as a more sweeping plan outlined by Republican Gov. Rick Scott.

It effectively marks a middle ground with an even more employee-friendly bill advancing in the Senate, a position Governmental Operations Vice-Chair Debbie Mayfield, R-Vero Beach, tried to drive home to dozens of union representatives packing Thursday’s hearing.

“There’s not a person on this committee who wants to hurt employees in the public sector,” said Mayfield, who promised further negotiations with all sides. (more…)

Census data released this afternoon compares Florida’s congressional and legislative districts to the ideal population from the 2010 headcount and points toward some big boundary changes before the 2012 elections.

Expect a major redraw of sprawling congressional District 16, which is represented by U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta. The district now has 14.6 percent more people in it than the ideal congressional district population of 696,345.

State Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, can expect to see a substantial shrinking of his mid-county House District 85. The district has 23.7 percent more people than the ideal House district population of 156,678.

Republican state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto’s notorious District 27, used by anti-gerrymandering activists as an example of bad boundary-drawing, has 17.3 percent more people than the ideal Senate district population of 470,033.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam can’t take over administration of free and reduced lunches in public schools won’t happen, at least for a while.

Under federal law, the state Department of Education must continue to handle the free lunches and other meals unless they get a waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture giving Putnam permission to take it over.

Fifty-six percent of Florida school children qualify for the federal lunch program – a 6% increase over hte past two years. To be eligible, a family of four must have an annual income of $28,665 or less.

Putnam proposed taking over the program so he could hook up Florida farmers and schools and get more home-grown fruits and vegetables into kiddies’ diets.

Putnam got a frosty reception from the state Board of Education when he pitched his plan to them earlier this week. The education department would have to request the waiver.

Education department staff say they’re waiting to see if lawmakers approve Putnam’s proposal before they ask the feds for permission to hand the program over to Putnam.

Vice President Joe Biden will be in Tampa next week to raise money for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson’s 2012 reelection bid, the Tampa Bay-area Creative Loafing website is reporting.

Biden’s visit follows President Obama’s recent Miami Beach fund-raiser for Nelson, who’s a high-value Republican target in 2012.

Nelson began 2011 with more than $3 million in cash on hand for his reelection bid.

Florida’s 2.9 million Medicaid patients would be steered into managed care programs across seven newly created regions under legislation approved Thursday in a party-line vote by the House Health and Human Services Committee.

Saying he was disappointed by critics who said the move put profits over people, giving private HMOs powerful control of the state’s $20 billion Medicaid budget, Chairman Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, vowed the legislation will “improve patient care.”

The House plan, divided into two bills, advanced on 12-6 votes. The Senate has its own proposal – splitting the state into 19 smaller regions, that’s still awaiting a committee vote.

But both sides are intent on installing the managed care approach.

“One thing everyone can agree on is that the status quo is not acceptable,” said Rep. John Wood, R-Haines City.

Florida’s Medicaid program is edging close to absorbing one third of the state’s roughly $66 billion budget. And ruling Republicans are intent on seeking cost savings by effectively turning the program over to private HMOs and other managed care providers.

A similar, pilot program has been in place since 2006 across five-counties, including Broward. But its drawn more criticism than savings, many lawmakers said.

“This is not ready for prime time,” said Rep. Elaine Schwartz, D-Hollywood.

“

Florida lawmakers did a U-turn Thursday on the red-light cameras they approved only last year — with a House committee approving a proposal to outlaw the devices being installed by dozens of cities.

Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-New Port Richey, told the Economic Affairs Committee the cameras intrude on the privacy rights of motorists, centering most of his argument on civil liberty issues.

Cities, including West Palm Beach, have been struggling with the new cameras. Some have not been drawing the significant revenue they’d hoped for through fine collections, with motorists successfully challenging citations in court.

West Palm Beach officials have  lately landed more of the $150 fines from motorists accused of running red lights — but only after bringing in some top shelf attorneys to represent the city in court.

“When you have these kinds of technological advantages to police, it’s just not fair,” said Corcoran, first elected last fall but already tapped to become House speaker in 2017. “Let’s repeal this bill and look at all these technological issues from the bottom up.”

Corcoran’s bill narrowly cleared the committee on a 10-8 vote — with most Republicans supporting their rising leader. Democrats were opposed, saying the cameras deserve more time to work in cities — and that they do save lives.

Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Fort Lauderdale, acknowledged Corcoran’s freedom argument. “But you don’t have the freedom to break the law,” Jenne said.

The state’s Revenue Estimating Conference projected the red light cameras would bring in roughly $100 million into the state and $75 million into local governments over two years.

The Senate’s preliminary allocation for education spending is a 2.3 percent drop from last year’s, far less than Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed 10 percent and the House’s initial 7.7 percent cuts.

Senate Pre-K-12 Education Budget Committee Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, cautioned the committee that today’s figures – a $155.67 drop from last year’s $6,813.14 per-pupil spending – are just a starting point.

“It is subject to change. It is the kind of thing we’re going to have to hope that we can maintain but understand, and I cannot emphasize enough, that these are preliminary numbers,” Simmons said.

Under the Senate plan, public schools could fare even better, Simmons said, by adding back the $554 million in federal funds districts were supposed to have stashed and savings from changes in the state’s pension plan by requiring school district employees to contribute to their retirement.

“Roughly level funding for the Senate proposal – that is under these economic circumstances a significant statement as to the belief int he importance in the investment in education by Senate President Haridopolos and Sen. Alexander,” the senate budget chief, Simmons said.

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The U.S. Census Bureau is expected to publicly release local population data for Florida this afternoon after delivering the information to Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders late Wednesday.

Check out www.palmbeachpost.com later today for updates.

The information — including information on race, Hispanic origin and voting-age population within specific geographic areas — will provide the raw material for the legislature’s once-in-a-decade redrawing of congressional districts and state legislative boundaries.

Redistricting is historically a process that produces crazy-quilt maps as parties and incumbents seek to protect their interests. But Florida voters in November approved a pair of “Fair Districts” amendments that say districts “may not be drawn to favor or disfavor an incumbent or political party” and must be contiguous and compact, while at the same time not denying minorities “the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect representatives of their choice.”

With three dozen official state symbols – including a rodeo, renaissance festival and opera program – does Florida need another?

Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, thinks so.

He’s sponsored a bill (SB 502) that would designate the barking tree frog the official state amphibian.

If lawmakers approve the move, the tiny critter – often found clinging to windowpanes and door frames – would join the official state pie (key lime), state gem (moonstone), state soil (myakka fine sand) and state animal (Florida panther).

The Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee will vote on the proposal this afternoon.

House members wrangled for hours Wednesday before the powerful Republican majority drove through legislation revamping how Florida teachers are paid, defying union officials who now may renew their fight in court.

The 80-39 vote divided strictly along party lines — with Democrats on the losing end.

“This is unquestionably a footprint in the sand moment,” said House sponsor Erik Fresen, R-Miami. “You will regret this 20 years from now if you vote against it.”

But Democrats argued fiercely against the measure (CS/SB 736) which now goes to Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who is expected to sign it into law.

Democrats blistered the proposal for outlining a merit-pay plan for teachers, but not providing any money for the new system. They also warned that with student performance key to teacher salaries, county school boards will have to divert dwindling school dollars toward more testing.

“This is the mother of all unfunded mandates,” said Rep. Scott Randolph, D-Orlando.

Senate President Mike Haridopolos wants the Sunshine State to get No. 5 billing in next year’s presidential primaries to help secure Florida’s role in selecting the 2012 GOP presidential nominee.

That would make Florida the first big state to hold a GOP primary and avoid the loss of convention delegates by skipping in front of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, as Republicans have threatened should Florida keep its current January 31 primary date.

“We’re not looking to go first or second or even third or fourth,” Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said. “Our goal is usually to be Number 1; we want to be Number 5. I’m okay with Number 5. So the idea is, how do we make us Number 5. We do not want to lose delegates, obviously.”

Haridopolos, a U.S. Senate candidate whose name will be on the ballot in the GOP primary in the fall, believes a Florida win in the presidential primary will determine the next presidential nominee, pointing to U.S. Sen. John McCain’s Florida victory in 2008.

“It makes a lot of sense that if you can win in Florida, that you can find a lot of success nationally,” Haridopolos said. “Because, candidly, I’d like to have a new president. I’m not going to support Barack Obama. I know I’m breaking news here, but I’m not going to support him for re-election.”

Senate President Mike Haridopolos is refusing to back down from his insistence that the state’s prescription drug database get up and running despite opposition from Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Dean Cannon.

A House committee last week passed a bill repealing the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program lawmakers created two years ago but yet to be implemented. A separate bill would also scrap all of the oversight of the pill mills.

“How do I say this nicely. We have a law on the books. It’s a database. If we choose not to fund it with taxpayer dollars, whatever happens there, we have secured private sector dollars,” Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, said when asked if he supports the House’s elimination of pill mill regulation. I understand how laws are passed and it has to pass both chambers. We are not going to adjust the database. We believe it’s a very good idea. I strongly believe that we have to get a handle on this…We have no interest whatsoever of scrapping that database.”

Haridopolos said he tapped his “good friend” Sen. Mike Fasano, an ardent supporter of the database who sponsored much of the legislation cracking down on pill mills, to negotiate with the House on the issue.

“We’re the pill mill capitol of the world probably. We need to stop it. We have a device that other states have used successfully…I’m very comfortable with where we’re at,” Haridopolos said.

Legislation capping legal damages for agencies providing foster care services cleared a House committee Wednesday, despite emotional testimony from opponents who said lawmakers are putting dollars ahead of the safety of children in a troubled system.

But House sponsor Scott Plakon, R-Altamonte Springs, said his proposal (HB 1019) is aimed at helping agencies better serve children, by lowering insurance costs he says spike because of “frivilous lawsuits.”

“It’s clear, there is a problem with the rates going up,” Plakon told the House Human Services Access subcommittee. “Even if they don’t do anything wrong, it’s only a matter of time before they’ll get sued.”

But critics derided the legislation, coming only a month after the death of 10-year-old Nubia Barahona and near death of her twin brother, Victor, which the state’s Department of Children & Families acknowledges stemmed from systemic failures within the agency and a private organization, Our Kids of Miami-Dade/Monroe Inc., which handled their adoption.

Our Kids could be shielded from more costly liability under the legislation, which cleared the committee on an 11-4 vote.

“This legislation is not in the public’s interest,” said Thomas Bates, a child advocate from Monticello who was raised in foster care. “It decreases the rights of foster children and it allows agencies to escape responsibility.” 

Plakon’s proposal would cap financial awards for pain and suffering at between $200,000 and $1 million, and would cap economic damages at $2 million.

Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, is sponsoring a similar bill (SB 1500). The bills also would lower the amount of liability insurance the agencies must carry from $1 million to $500,000. The measures also would hold DCF harmless from lawsuits filed against the agencies.

Gov. Rick Scott’s desire to have control over up to $300 million for economic development won’t fly in the Florida Senate, according to President Mike Haridopolos.

“The constitution’s pretty clear. It’s a check and balance. So I’m pretty sure we’re going to keep that check and balance,” Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, told reporters at his weekly Q-and-A this morning.

Currently, the governor has to get the Legislative Budget Commission to approve the pay-outs when he makes a deal with industries giving them tax credits or other incentives in exchange for bringing or expanding jobs to the state.

Scott objects that the process sometimes takes too long but Haridopolos said that system works fine as it is.

Former state House Majority Leader Adam Hasner of Boca Raton has opened an exploratory committee for a 2012 GOP bid for U.S. Senate with Republican superlawyer Cleta Mitchell handling the paperwork in Washington, a Hasner adviser confirms.

Hasner, who has spent the last month or so crisscrossing the state talking to local GOP activists and attending Lincoln Day dinners, appears poised to join a crowded Republican field hoping to unseat two-term Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson. Other potential GOP candidates include state Senate President Mike Haridopolos, former appointed U.S. Sen. George LeMieux, U.S. Rep. Connie Mack and wealthy Delray Beacher Nick Loeb.

Hasner served in the state House from 2002 to 2010. Many expected him to run for Congress or state Senate when he ran into term limits, but Hasner announced in 2009 that he’d sit out the 2010 cycle while his wife Jillian managed Meg Whitman’s campaign for governor in California.

Siding with the Ford Motor Co. and automobile manufacturers, the Senate approved a measure overturning a Florida Supreme Court decision in a “crashworthiness” case dealing with enhanced injuries in accidents.

The bill (SB 142) overturns the 2001 ruling in the D’Amario vs. Ford Motor Co. case in which the court decided that jurors cannot consider the cause of the accident when determining fault in injuries resulting not from the initial accident but from a defect in the car such as a faulty gas tank.

Sen. Maria Sachs, R-Delray Beach, said that the bill, which would apply retroactively, would let vehicle manufacturers off the hook.

“We Floridians buy these vehicles and we are led to believe that they will be safe, and safe from inherent defects that will cause secondary issues that can cause even more damage, injuries to people,” she said. “Those manufacturers should be held accountable whether it’s a tractor, a motor vehicle.”

But Sen. John Thrasher said the change would allow juries to hear all the evidence in the cases by adding the drivers in the accidents to the jury verdict form.

“When the Supreme Court is wrong, as they were in this case, it’s I think incumbent upon this legislature to either reverse the case or tell them they’re wrong in some other way,” Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, argued.

“What they decided was the jury would not be able to hear all the evidence in these types of cases.
And that’s wrong. That’s absolutely wrong,” he said.

The Senate approved the measure by a 28-12 vote, with one Democrat voting in favor and one Republican voting against.