Gov. Rick Scott says he doesn’t read the papers. But the Republican chief executive said Monday that he took action last weekend ripped from the headlines about the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.
Scott said he ordered state emergency management officials to review safety procedures involving Florida’s five nuclear reactors housed at three power plants, including Florida Power & Light’s Turkey Point facility and another on St. Lucie County’s Hutchinson Island.
Scott and officials said Monday that they are satisfied that Florida could respond swiftly and safely to any natural disaster.
“The information I’ve received shows that across state agencies, in conjunction with federal partners and utility operators, we are prepared for an effective and rapid emergency response,” Scott said.
Rookie Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s self-imposed freeze on national media appearances ended today when he granted an interview to conservative syndicated radio talker Laura Ingraham to blast President Obama and congressional Democrats for their handling of the federal budget.
Ingraham was an early Rubio supporter back when former Gov. Charlie Crist appeared to have a lock on the 2010 GOP nomination for the Senate seat.
Since taking office with sky-high expectations and 2012 presidential ticket talk, Rubio has declined national media interview requests while making himself available to Florida outlets.
Rubio still hasn’t made a national TV appearance since being sworn in.
A measure pushed by the state’s former Republican Party chairman which creates major roadblocks on the political activity of Democratic-allied unions, was narrowly approved Monday by a Senate committee.
Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, who last year led the state’s GOP in campaigns which tightened the party’s grip on power in Florida, said the measure is designed to “empower unions,” while also severing the role of state and local governments in collecting union payroll deductions.
“I frankly don’t understand the concerns,” Thrasher said, after a parade of union representatives testified before the Senate Community Affairs Committee against the bill (CS/SB 830).
The panel approve the meaure 5-4, with Republican Sens. Paula Dockery of Lakeland and Jim Norman of Tampa joining a pair of Democrats in opposition.
“This is nothing more than an attempt to eradicate the voice of union members,” said Jeff McAdams, a union representative for the Gainesville Police Department and Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.
Gov. Rick Scott’s administration is snuffing out smoking in prisons, saying the habit cost taxpayers $9 million in smoking-related prisoner illnesses last year.
Department of Corrections Secretary Edwin Buss said in a press release this morning he’s giving inmates six months to quit before the smoking ban goes into effect. The department will offer smoking cessation programs to inmates asking for help quitting, according to the release.
Prison workers will be allowed to smoke in designated areas outside the prison fences.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, appear ready to vote against another temporary spending measure to keep the federal government running for a few weeks, saying Congress should instead pass a bill to cover the remainder of the current budget year.
Both West and Rubio voted for a Republican plan — passed by the House but rejected by the Senate — that would cut $61 billion in federal spending through Sept. 30, when fiscal 2011 ends.
“I will no longer support short-term budget plans. While attempts at new spending reductions are commendable, we simply can no longer afford to nickel-and-dime our way out of the dangerous debt America has amassed. It is time our leaders in Washington wake up and realize that we are headed for a debt disaster.”
Says West: “I make myself clear. I will not support anything less than HR 1 (the House bill with $61 billion in cuts) as it was sent forward to the Senate. Nor will I support another two week Continuing Resolution. Alexander the Great once stated, ‘Fortune favors the bold.’ The American people are looking for principled and bold leadership. I understand ‘political maneuvering’ but the time has come to engage in the battle for the fiscal responsible future of America. I shall take my position on the frontlines.”
Lawmakers eager to save money are considering merging four expressway and bridge authorities under the Florida Turnpike Enterprise – a move certain to prompt controversy but which could save $24 million, supporters said.
Road authorities in the Orlando and Tampa area would be made part of the state system, along with two Panhandle bridge authorities.
Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican, acknowledged the move was designed to stabilize his region’s Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority, currently running a $5 million deficit.
“It’s a money loser,” said Gaetz, whosaid the state could pocket staffing and infrastructure costs by consolidating the authorities. “We’re trying to find a way to help this sick puppy.”
The move also would increase the bonding power of the Florida Turnpike by $3.5 billion – allowing for more roadwork that could turn into more jobs, said Gaetz, who is spearheading the move as chairman of a Senate transportation budget panel.
Can Gaetz pull off the massive re-org? Much may depend on the political bargaining power the road authorities may hold. Orlando and Tampa’s road boards have had some powerful patrons through the years.
But Florida’s regional road authorities also usually seem only an exit ramp or two away from trouble. A grand jury two years ago accused the Orlando-area authority of making vendors face an “organized shakedown” that yielded campaign contributions for some of the region’s top elected officials.
Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Klein has joined the powerhouse Holland & Knight law firm, where he’ll be part of a “government advocacy team” that also includes former Republican Gov. Bob Martinez and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Davis.
Boca Raton attorney Klein will also be on the same team as Eric Eikenberg, who was chief of staff to former Gov. Charlie Crist and to former Republican U.S. Rep. Clay Shaw — the man Klein defeated in a nationally watched 2006 congressional race.
Klein was defeated last year by Republican Allen West and has not closed the door on the possibility of running for the seat again in 2012.
Klein said he’ll be working primarily from South Florida and will not be lobbying or registering as a lobbyist in his new job. He said he’ll provide clients advice on dealing with government, with an emphasis on health care, financial services and energy policy. Before going to Congress, Klein was a state House member and Senator for 14 years.
Palm Beach Gardens Rep. Pat Rooney said Friday he’s dropping his House sponsorship of legislation that would have required at least five state parks to have Jack Nicklaus-designed golf courses.
Florida already has more than 1,000 golf courses –tops in the nation. And Rooney, a Republican, acknowledged he’s seeking a do-over after drawing heat from critics of the legislation.
Many say the proposal would prove a waste of dwindling state cash. Environmentalists filled websites and chatboards saying golf courses don’t belong in state parks.
“Floridians spoke very clearly over the past several days on this proposal and they are the reason I’m in office,” Rooney said. “I appreciate their concerns and hope this decision allays some of their fears.”
Rooney had insisted the bill was designed to promote tourism. It emerged from discussions between Rooney, Nicklaus, a longtime Palm Beach County resident, and Gov. Rick Scott.
The only park specified in the bill to receive a Nicklaus golf course was Jonathan Dickinson State Park, not far from the golfer’s North Palm Beach home.
White House officials have opened up a new grant process for the $2.4 billion high-speed rail funds that would have been Florida’s but for Gov. Rick Scott.
Scott rejected the money, saying he feared the Tampa-to-Orlando project would have put taxpayers on the hook for cost overruns and future operational costs although state, federal and local officials repeatedly assured him that would not happen.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced today that the $2.4 billion will be available, through a competitive process, “to states eager to develop high-speed rail corridors across the United States.”
That’s good for Florida, according to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who asked LaHood to hold off giving the money to other states to give state, local and federal officials time to work out another way to get the funds without Scott’s approval.
Gov. Rick Scott has put the brakes on the $1.2 billion SunRail commuter train in Central Florida by freezing $235 million in contracts for the project until July while he decides whether to allow it to go forward.
Could give him some the upper hand with powerful GOP lawmakers who support the project, including Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander, as they craft their budget? It’s due before the legislative session ends on May 6.
Nope, Alexander said.
“Unless he had my children in handcuffs I don’t think he can get leverage on me,” Alexander said after learning of Scott’s maneuver.
Read The Orlando Sentinel’s Aaron Deslatte‘s blog about Scott and SunRail after the jump.
Bondi filed a motion with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta seeking an en banc hearing, meaning the appellate review would be held before all 10 federal judges.
The reason for her request, Bondi said in a press release, “is to avoid any unnecessary delays that may arise if a three-judge panel decides the case and then refers it for a hearing by the full 11th Circuit.”
If the court agrees to her request, the case would be heard on June 6, according to Bondi.
“This case is so significant to all Americans that it needs to be resolved as quickly as possible,” she said in the release. “If granted, the petition would allow a faster track to the Supreme Court.”
A proposed three-month tax holiday in the Panhandle for marine-related goods – including boats – is off the table.
The tax holiday was stripped by Niceville Republican Sen. Don Gaetz, the sponsor of a package (SB 248) aimed at giving an economic boost to the seven Northwest Florida counties hard hit by last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil gusher.
The proposed tax break would have saved taxpayers more than $15 million next year, according to a Senate staff analysis of the measure.
If approved by lawmakers and the governor, the Panhandle will get $10 million next year to help the region diversify its tourism- and military-based economy, with another $20 million over the next two years.
But even that money won’t go as far as the bill originally intended.
At the request of Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who was out sick during the meeting, Gaetz offered an amendment to add Wakulla County to the list of seven counties – Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton – the money is earmarked for.
The measure would also steer three-quarters of any money Florida receives from payments from lawsuits or fines related to the lawsuit – which could amount to billions of dollars – to the same eight counties.
The committee also approved memorials to Congress asking the federal government to give an income tax exemption to those who received payments from BP for losses incurred because of the oil blast.
UPDATE: Gov. Scott’s spokesman Brian Hughes said his boss never tried to return the $1 million donation to the private, non-profit Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Foundation.
“If the senator wanted an answer to his question, he should have called us,” Hughes said.
Scott “never communicated any opinion” about the grant to Purdue or the foundation, Hughes said.
“The decision is up to the foundation,” he said.
Does Gov. Rick Scott have the authority to reject a $1 million donation to a private foundation created by lawmakers to create the prescription drug database the governor opposes?
That’s what Sen. Mike Fasano, an ardent supporter of the yet-to-be-implemented Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, publicly asked Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander at a budget committee meeting this afternoon.
Fasano said he’s had no direct contact with Scott – “that’s no surprise,” he said -but had seen news reports that Scott was not interested in the $1 million Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of the highly addictive pain pills Oxycontin, offered to give to the foundation created to pay for the drug database.
“Does the governor have the right to reject that money?” Fasano asked.
Alexander diplomatically dealt with Fasano’s inquiry.
“I’m not sure,” the Lake Wales Republican, who’s had his own differences with Scott about his sale of the state’s planes, replied. “I share your concern. I certainly voted for and supported the effort to rein in the prescription drug mills.”
A House committee, with House Speaker Dean Cannon’s blessing, approved a measure yesterday repealing the drug database law enforcement officials believe is crucial in cracking down on prescription drug abuse.
Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, piled on.
She asked the committee to find out how much the state is paying to prosecute and lock up drug dealers associated with pill mills.
Senators got their first look Friday at a massive overhaul of the state’s economic development efforts — a move that consolidates a handful of agencies and industry recruiters under one person: the Commissioner of Jobs.
“There will be differences of opinion on many of these issues,” conceded Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, whose budget subcommittee held a short workshop on the bill.
The legislation ropes in some of what Gov. Rick Scott wants — a jobs czar that reports directly to him. But senators balked at some of the governor’s wishes, now contained in the bill, but seemingly doomed.
Scott wants the new Commish to have a public salary that could be enhanced by contributions from private sector companies.
Senators wheeled on that one, noting that sets up a scheme where taxpayers’ economic incentive dollars, controlled by the Commish, could be given to the companies that help pay what the bill calls, his “bonuses.”
“There’s a word that describes this, and I can only think of ‘payola,’ like they had in the record industry,” said Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn says a story in The Hill about him chatting up Joe Scarborough for the 2012 Florida Senate race is wrong.
“Rumor control: Last cycle, Joe and I talked about his interest in NY, not FL Senate race, so this story is wrong….” Cornyn said on his Twitter account this morning.
Adds NRSC spokesman Brian Walsh: “We already have plenty of great candidates looking at the Florida Senate race and we’re confident any one of them can beat Bill Nelson in 2012.”
Firefighters rescuing politicians out to give them a pay cut?
That’s part of the message in a TV ad running in the Tallahassee market launched this week by the Florida Professional Firefighters association.
“We’re fighting back – just like we fight to protect you,” a basso announcer says as firefighters combat blazes and rescue car crash victims.
The firefighters are among the unions fighting Gov. Rick Scott’s proposal that they contribute 5% of their salaries towards their retirement. That would split their pensions costs with state and local governments that now pay 100% of workers’ pensions.
A Senate committee approved a watered-down pension-reform measure yesterday. Workers who earn less than $40,000 would not have to pay anything toward their retirement; workers whose salaries top $40,000 would pay 2 percent of their paychecks up to $75,000, when the contribution rate would jump to 4 percent.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex., who heads the National Republican Senatorial Committee, tells The Hill he’s spoken twice to MSNBC Morning Joe host and former Panhandle Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough about running for Senate in Florida in 2012.
“I’d be delighted to talk to him a third time,” Cornyn said.
Freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, has opened a “leadership PAC” allowing him to raise money outside his regular congressional campaign and dispense contributions to favored candidates and otherwise boost his already considerable national profile.
The PACs are often used by aspiring House leaders to curry favor with colleagues (House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., used his PAC to contribute about $4.5 million to GOP House candidates over the last four elections) and by those with larger national political ambitions (then-Sen. Barack Obama’s Hope PAC spent more than $3.7 million in the 2006 election cycle as he laid the groundwork for a White House run).
Many members of Congress — including the three other members of Palm Beach County’s congressional delegation — have set up leadership PACs.
A key Florida Senate panel eased back Thursday on proposed changes to the state pension plan used by 655,000 teachers and government workers, setting the stage for a likely clash with the House and Gov. Rick Scott.
In a 12-1 vote, the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee agreed to exempt Florida Retirement System members earning less than $40,000 from contributing to their pensions. Those whose salaries top that would pay 2 percent of their paychecks up to $75,000, when the contribution rate would jump to 4 percent.
Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, sponsor of the measure and the committe chairman, said the new contributions could raise hundreds of millions of dollars.
But the Senate plan is certain to fall far short of the $1.3 billion Scott and the House are seeking to pull into the recession ravaged budget by making all FRS employees contribute 5 percent of their salaries.
“We tried our hardest and our best not to demonize state workers,” Ring said. “This committee does not believe state workers are the enemy.”
A House committee approved a somewhat watered-down immigration bill that would allow law enforcement officials to demand proof of citizenship during an arrest or criminal investigation and require businesses to verify that employees are in the country legally.
Judiciary Committee Chairman William Snyder, R-Stuart, sponsored the bill (PCB JDC 11-01) included several concessions to business groups and others concerned that an Arizona-style measure, among other things, would scare off tourists.
Unlike Arizona’s law, police would not be allowed to request documentation during traffic stops but would be permitted to request papers during criminal investigations or arrests or if they have a “reasonable suspicion” someone may be engaging in criminal activity.
But the modifications of Snyder’s original proposal did not appease opponents. (more…)
Where's the money? Use The Post's interactive database of who wants and who's getting federal dollars.
Use these interactive graphics to find and contact Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast legislators.
