With former Gov. Jeb Bush and other big-name Republicans backing Rep. Connie Mack‘s Senate bid and polls showing him with a sizeable lead over his GOP rivals, the Mack campaign says a debate of Republican candidates would only help Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

So Mack has turned down invitations from The Orlando Sentinel and The Tampa Bay Times to participate in debates with GOP rivals George LeMieux, Mike McCalister and David Weldon. And Mack has effectively said no to an invitation from Leadership Florida to participate in a July 24 Republican primary debate in Tallahassee.

“We are prepared and willing to debate Sen. Nelson and feel that at this point any such Republican primary debate exercise would only serve to benefit Sen. Nelson, which no Republican wants to see,” Mack spokesman David James said today.

(more…)

Former Gov. Jeb Bush has endorsed Rep. Connie Mack in the Republican U.S. Senate primary, Mack’s campaign announced this afternoon.

Along with Sen. Marco Rubio, who has not endorsed in the primary, Bush is the most sought-after endorsement in Florida Republican politics.

Here’s Bush’s statement, released by the Mack campaign: “Connie Mack is the principled conservative that the people of Florida deserve representing them in the U.S. Senate. Connie has the courage, conservative values, experience and determination to confront the tough issues facing our nation. We must return conservatives to the majority in the U.S. Senate. Connie is the person Floridians need in Washington working with Senator Marco Rubio to reduce our national debt and limit out-of-control spending.”

Mack has been locked in a bitter Republican primary against former appointed Sen. George LeMieux, who has repeatedly attacked Mack’s character. Former Rep. Dave Weldon and businessman Mike McCalister are also pursuing the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson.

The spokeswoman of the California-based Parent Revolution group that pushed a controversial “parent trigger” bill in Florida is going to work for President Obama’s reelection campaign as the state spokeswoman.

Linda Serrato sent an e-mail saying she’ll start for Obama’s California campaign next week.

Serrato’s going to work for the Democratic incumbent after Florida Democrats – and some moderate Senate Republicans – excoriated the measure, also backed by former Gov. Jeb Bush. The parent trigger measure quickly evolved into a contentious battle over letting parents take over failing schools, with Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich taking the lead in fighting against it.

The measure died on a tie vote on the final day of the legislative session in March (not a single Senate Democrat voted in favor of the measure and just two Dems gave it a thumbs up in the House) but not before fiery messaging from Parent Revolution and opponents of the bill, including a coalition of Florida parent groups, the PTA among them.

“I feel honored to have worked with this dedicated, energetic and scrappy team. I have been proud to be a part of Parent Revolution’s work empowering parents to organize their communities,” Serrato wrote in an e-mail message announcing her departure.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush, in a sitdown with conservative West Palm Beach-based Newsmax, says he’d “consider” accepting an invitation to be Mitt Romney‘s running mate, “but I doubt I’ll get a call.”

Bush said Sen. Marco Rubio is “probably the best” VP choice for Romney. He also spoke approvingly of several others.

Bush advised Romney to prepare for a negative campaign from President Obama, but said Romney should “stay above the fray a bit and offer a hopeful message that can lift people’s spirits.” He also said it would be “counterproductive” for Republicans to “demonize the president.”

Asked about current Gov. Rick Scott, who has had consistently low approval ratings, Bush said: “I think he’s doing fine. I don’t think he’s like the best PR person for his own governorship. But that’s fine. I mean, we all have skills. His skill is a business-like approach to government, a consistency that I think’s important, a compass that points north.

“He’s not surprising people with what he’s doing. He said exactly what he was going to do and I find it refreshing that he’s committed to doing what he said he was going to do. So I like the guy and I think as he gets more comfortable with the public side of the job he’ll get better and better politically. But I don’t even know if he cares about that, which I admire as well.”

President Obama holds a 50-to-45 percent lead over Mitt Romney in Florida, according to a new poll from the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.

PPP also tested four potential Florida running mates for Romney — Sen. Marco Rubio, former Gov. Jeb Bush, Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. Rep. Allen West — and found that only Bush would have a positive effect on the GOP ticket in Florida.

A Romney/Bush ticket would narrow Obama’s advantage to 49-46, within the poll’s 3.7 percent margin of error. The survey of 700 Florida voters was taken Thursday through Sunday.

The Obama/Joe Biden ticket holds a 50-43 lead over Romney/Rubio, a 51-40 advantage over Romney/Scott and a 50-40 lead over Romney/West.

PPP’s last Florida polls testing Obama vs. Romney showed the president with a 1-point lead in December and September.

John DeGrove, considered the father of growth management laws in Florida, has died at age 87.

DeGrove for many years directed the Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. He also an eminent scholar chair named for him in growth management and development at FAU, where he also taught political science.

As Florida’s secretary of the Department of Community Affairs from 1983 to 1985, DeGrove spearheaded the development and legislative approval of the landmark 1985 Growth Management Act and the State Comprehensive Plan. A fifth-generation Floridian, DeGrove also was one of the founding members of the state’s 1,000 Friends of Florida advocacy organization.

In 2001, on the 15th anniversary of 1,000 Friends’ founding,  then-Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet issued a resolution honoring DeGrove for his “decades of outstanding work on behalf of the people and natural resources of Florida.”

Then-U.S. Sen. Bob Graham at the time said of DeGrove, “I cannot imagine what problems would be facing our state today without your many years of wise counsel to several generations of planners and public policy leaders. There are few people in this state who have impacted each and every Floridian on a daily basis with such positive force as you.” 

The growth management laws enacted during DeGrove’s time in Florida government shaped the state until last year.

 Gov. Rick Scott, who campaigned against many of the state’s planning restrictions, signed into law legislation which eliminated state oversight of local planning, except when proposals with statewide impact are involved.

Standards for citizens challenging development projects also were toughened, giving builders more leeway to go ahead with projects they can prove will have some positive economic impact.

The legislation capped preceding three years of lawmakers chipping away at growth management provisions. Critics said the laws were overly burdensome and blunt the state’s ability to bounce back from an economic slump caused — paradoxically — by what many agree was overbuilding.

The legislation last year also eliminated the Department of Community Affairs, the main regulatory agency over development.

PALM BEACH GARDENS — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio says Mitt Romney has clinched the Republican presidential nomination and, for Romney’s rivals, “it’s time now to concede.”

Rubio, who endorsed Romney last week, also offered a familiar deflection when asked if he would want to be Romney’s running mate.

“I’m not going to be the vice president, but I do endorse Mitt Romney, who I think is going to be a great president,” Rubio said.

Romney swept Tuesday’s GOP primaries in Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia.

“What I take away from last night is what I took away last week, and that is the primary’s over. Everyone may not agree with who won, but the primary’s over,” Rubio told reporters while attending the opening of a regional Senate office here.

(more…)

Former Gov. Jeb Bush has ended his neutrality in the 2012 presidential race and declared it’s time for Republicans to get behind frontrunner Mitt Romney.

From Bush this morning:

“Congratulations to Governor Mitt Romney on his win last night and to all the candidates for a hard fought, thoughtful debate and primary season. Primary elections have been held in thirty-four states, and now is the time for Republicans to unite behind Governor Romney and take our message of fiscal conservatism and job creation to all voters this fall. I am endorsing Mitt Romney for our Party’s nomination. We face huge challenges, and we need a leader who understands the economy, recognizes more government regulation is not the answer, believes in entrepreneurial capitalism and works to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed.”

The Senate is poised to close out the 2012 legislative session with a fiery debate over a controversial measure that would let parents decide the fate of failing schools after opponents scored several victories with amendments to the “parent trigger” bill late Thursday evening.

The proposal, based on one pushed in California by the “Parent Revolution,” would allow parents to decide on a turnaround option for schools graded “F” for at least three years in a row if more than 50 percent of parents sign petitions.

The petition process received the most attention Thursday night from opponents, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans who say the signature-gathering is rife for shenanigans as experienced in California, which became the first in the nation with its “Parent Empowerment” proposition two years ago.

The parent trigger plan is backed by GOP leaders including Senate President Mike Haridopolos, Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher and former Gov. Jeb Bush. Several Los Angles-based Parent Revolution lobbyists, in the Capitol for weeks advocating for the proposal, were in the public gallery during a heated debate over the bill (SB 1718) Thursday night.

Opponents include teachers unions and a coalition of Florida parent-led groups including the PTA, also watching the two-hour debate from the gallery. The measure has already flared emotions and procedural maneuvering in the Senate.

Proponents beat down several amendments on 21-19 votes – including one that would have criminalized bribing parents to sign the petitions – indicating Friday’s vote will be close. But opponents, including Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich, said they believe they have enough votes to kill the measure on a 20-20 tie.

The anti-parent trigger group repeatedly tried to make changes to the signature-gathering process that would have put it on a par with petition-gathering requirements included in a controversial election law passed last year and signed by Gov. Rick Scott.

One change would have made it a misdemeanor to take or offer a bribe in exchange for a signature and made it a misdemeanor to falsify signatures. But opponents of that amendment called it overreaching, eliciting outrage from Sen. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale.

“Are you kidding me? We put this in an election year last year people. We did this. But now it’s overreaching. It’s undemocratic. Are you kidding me?” Smith said. The amendment was defeated on a 21-19 vote.

But Rich scored a win with an amendment requiring that signatures be valid, undoing language in the original bill sponsored by Republican Lizbeth Benacquisto of Fort Myers that would have allowed signatures submitted after the validation period to be accepted.

“If you don’t vote for this amendment, it means you condone fraud,” Rich, D-Weston, said.

Accusations of fraudulent signatures and coercion of parents are plaguing a parent trigger effort at a Mojave Desert school in California, where both sides are accusing each other of wrongdoing and a judge is considering open an investigation.

The Florida proposal would give parents a say in federal turnaround options for failing schools that include conversion into profit or non-profit charter schools or hiring for-profit management company to take them over, which critics say is part of an overall effort to privatize Florida’s public schools.

Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, failed to convince a majority to sign off on her plan requiring the charter schools to pay rent to school districts if they take over a failing school.

But she rallied enough votes to include a provision banning foreign nationals from owning or operating the charter schools.

Before the floor session wrapped up at 10 p.m., Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner railed against his colleagues for objecting to giving parents more control over poor-performing schools.

“I know it’s late. And I know everybody’s emotional. But keep in mind what we’re talking about here. We’re talking about parents that are sending their children every day to an F school. Every day to an F school,” Gardiner, R-Orlando, said. “We’ve gotten off track here a little bit…These are F schools. These are just parents. Parents that want an opportunity to have their children go to a better school. We want to put a misdemeanor on them?”

Speaking against the bill, Sen. Larcenia Bullard invoked hanging chads, fraudulent petition-gathering campaigns in which dead people’s names were signed on petitions and other horribles.

“Trigger bill is double-barrel Glock,” Bullard, R-Miami, said.

Republican Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca has decided not to run for Congress in Palm Beach-Broward District 22. That should give former state House majority leader Adam Hasner of Boca Raton a clear shot at the GOP nomination for a seat that’s been redrawn to favor Democrats.

Hasner garnered endorsements from former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio as well as U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation. West represents the district now, but is moving to new District 18 to the north.

Did the high-powered endorsements matter?

“I’d be crazy to say they didn’t,” LaMarca said. But the bigger factor, he said, was bipartisan encouragement from constituents to remain in his commission seat.

“We’ve got a lot going on here in Broward County,” LaMarca said.

Former West Palm Beach mayor Lois Frankel and Broward County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs are running in the District 22 Democratic primary.

Following a partisan skirmish, the Republican-ruled House agreed Wednesday to expand the state’s corporate tax credit scholarship program, with Democrats decrying the move for pulling dollars from the state treasury which could go to public schools.

Businesses get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donating to the program, which began in 2001 as a centerpiece of then-Gov. Jeb Bush’s push toward giving parents private school options to leave troubled public schools.

The program began by setting aside $50 million for tax credits. But the measure approved Wednesday would expand the amount available for credits to $229 million next year.

Legislation approved two years ago set in motion a sliding scale that would allow the cap to climb to $219 this year. But Democrats fiercely fought the proposed increase, which still needs to clear the Senate.

“This bill is about private schools,” said Rep. Franklin Sands, D-Weston. “Please don’t take any more money out of public schools.”

The tax credit increase comes as lawmakers set aside an additional $1 billion increase in public school spending. But critics have cautioned that the boost fails to cover the $1.3 billion reduction in school spending approved last year by Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature.

Last year’s cut brought per-pupil spending to its lowest level in six years.

But the House sponsor of the measure (CS/HB 859), Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-New Port Richey, said the tax money helps students leave “failing schools.” He rattled off state Education Department statistics that suggest student performance improves when they move to private schools.

Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said the scholarship money is a ”lifesaver” to low-income students and their families. He also lashed out at Democratic opponents.

“These kids are stuck. Condemned. And you wouldn’t even send them a lifesaver?” Baxley said.

As of November 2011, there were 1,181 schools participating in the program and scholarships were awarded to 37,578 students, records show. The scholarship amount per-student is about two-thirds what the state spends on public school students.

The corporate tax program has long proved controversial. The Palm Beach Post reported in the program’s early years that questionable organizations and storefront schools were getting scholarship money, prompting state officials to more closely monitor participating schools and collect more data on how they were using those dollars.

Students in private schools are exempt from such public school testing programs as the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). But the measure authorizes participating schools to administer state assessment tests, ordering public school districts to provide the material and whatever support the private schools need. 

 

The controversial “Parent Empowerment” proposal isn’t just causing a bipartisan kerfuffle in the Senate where critics say the measure is a cash cow for for-profit charter schools and private management companies.

But the “parent trigger” measure could also make hay for Gov. Jeb Bush’s non-profit Foundation for Florida’s Future. Bush is backing the bill, pushed by Los Angeles-based Parent Revolution and education reformer Michelle Rhee and fiercely opposed by a teachers’ unions and a Florida coalition of parent-led groups, including the PTA.

Patricia Levesque, executive director of Bush’s Foundation, sent out a blast e-mail asking supporters to contact their senators to urge them to vote for the bill. But that wasn’t all.

“Additionally, won’t you help us in our efforts to fight those opposed to parents’ rights? Please consider making a one-time contribution of $500 or $1,000 or a monthly contribution of $50 or $100 to the Foundation for Florida’s Future. With your support, we can ensure that parents have representation and more options as it relates to their child’s education,” Levesque wrote.

Levesque sent out the missive in response to a blast message from left-leaning Progess Florida condemning the bill.

According to the exchange, the forces lining up on either side of the issue range from Koch brothers to the League of Women Voters.

“Anti-public school extremists in the Florida Senate are trying to pull a fast one, and we need your help right now,” the Progress Florida e-mail began. “So, if not parent groups, who is really behind this latest attack on public schools? According to Parents Across America “model legislation based on the Parent Trigger has been written and promoted by ALEC, the shadowy organization backed by the Koch brothers that has a radical right-wing agenda.” And who profits? Not parents and students. No, the ones who profit are unaccountable corporate charter school operators who aren’t held to the same standards as public schools and don’t necessarily have the best interests of students, parents or teachers at heart.

That prompted the e-mail from Levesque:

“Yesterday, the Foundation for Florida’s Future tweeted “Conspiracy theories and outright lies—who knew #edreform would be so exciting?” This was in response to emails, like the one below, that are being sent in opposition to the Parent Empowerment Act. You will not find the vitriol in the below email surprising. Despite incredible successes over the past 10 years, those who seek to protect the status quo are as passionate as ever. This includes the League of Women Voters, AFL-CIO, Florida Education Association and local affiliates such as Fund Education Now and Save our Schools.”

The Senate is set to take up the measure on Thursday and an ugly committee meeting – along with the above exchange – set the stage for what will likely be a heated debate before a vote on Friday.

House Speaker Dean Cannon reflected on his two years leading the chamber Tuesday, as his official portrait was unveiled and fellow House members chipped in for a gift — a new shotgun for the outd00rs-loving lawmaker.

Cannon thanked his wife, Ellen, and three children for hanging with him through the demands of leadership and the turmoil of politics. His parents were credited for guiding him, and a host of fellow lawmakers for inspiring and motivating him toward policy decisions during two years of challenging budgets.

Cannon, who will leave office in November with no clear plans for future political office, praised governors he served under, Republicans Jeb Bush and Rick Scott. But he singled out another, Republican-turned-independent Gov. Charlie Crist for a special shot.

Cannon thanked, “Jeb Bush for showing me what a leader could be, Charlie Crist for showing me what a politician should not be, and Rick Scott for showing me that sometimes against the odds, the right person ends up exactly where he was meant to be.”

 

A coalition of parent-led groups, including the Florida PTA, and Democrats bashed a fast-tracked “parent trigger” proposal that would let parents at failing schools determine their fate.

The bill “has everything with laying the groundwork for the hostile, corporate takeover of public schools throughout Florida, a direct attack on public education,” Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston said at a press conference this morning.

Before the event began, Los Angeles-based Parent Revolution lobbyists handed out press releases asserting that national Democrats support the controversial measure. The California group called opponents “defenders of the status quo” and accused the Florida Education Association of invoking “new boogeymen” in “an attempt to confuse parents and political observers.” The “parent trigger” is now in place in first-in-the-nation California, Texas and Mississippi.

In those states, Democrats including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, have favored the plan. The at-time unctuous, election-year parent trigger debate is pitting teachers’ unions and parent groups against charter schools and for-profit management companies throughout the nation.

At least 20 states, including Florida, are now considering “Parent Empowerment” legislation. The business-backed, conservative American Legislative Exchange Council has crafted model bills similar to the one (SB 1718, HB 1191) now on its way to the Senate floor in Florida; the House approved an identical measure last week along partisan lines. The Florida proposal is being pushed by former Gov. Jeb Bush and his education foundation, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, and other GOP leaders.

(more…)

Unable to withdraw a controversial ‘parent trigger’ bill approved by the Florida House yesterday, Senate GOP leaders instead scheduled an early-morning meeting Saturday to hear the measure, supported by former Gov. Jeb Bush and Senate President Mike Haridopolos.

The “Parent Empowerment” (SB 1718, HB 1191) would allow parents to determine the fate of troubled schools and convert them into charter schools or turn them over to private management companies. Parents could even reject school boards’ recommendations for low-performing turnarounds.

A coalition of parent groups, including the Florida PTA, oppose the measure, saying it makes parents at low-performing schools vulnerable to lobbying by for-profit charter schools and management companies.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, was involved in a dispute in a Senate committee earlier this week. Critics of the proposal said a 4-3 vote on the bill came after the “time certain” ordered by Senate Education Appropriations Committee Chairman David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs.

But Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican close to Bush, approved the vote and tried to withdraw the bill from the budget committee, which was supposed to hold its final meeting this afternoon.

Removing the bill from a committee and sending it to the floor requires a two-thirds majority vote. Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich objected, D-Weston, objected and asked for a vote. Democrats joined with a group of Republicans led by Sen. Jack Latvala, R-St. Petersburg, to kill the withdrawal with a 20-19 vote.

That prompted Thrasher to announce an unusual, 8 a.m. Saturday morning Budget Committee meeting to take up the bill.

“I think it’s important to a lot of members that we have a hearing on it,” Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, said after the session ended shortly after noon.

Latvala said he had concerns about the measure’s fiscal impact because, with new grading formula approved by the state Board of Education this week, many more schools may be deemed failing and be eligible for the parent takeovers and become targets of the for-profit charter school industry.

“It’s going to be like union-organizing with petition cards, going to parents and getting them to sign,” the perspicacious Latvala said. “I know how the political process works and they can go out and get signatures. Then they can just add to their empires. I think it needs to be carefully looked at…It’s within our rights to require it to go through all the committees that it’s assigned to.”

But Thrasher – Latvala’s nemesis in a Senate leadership struggle – defended the measure.

“Look, parents want their kids to have a good education. And some people have a different view of where that should take place or how it should take place. And I don’t fault them for that. Any more than I fault folks who believe passionately in the public school system,” he said.

Senate budget negotiators sided Wednesday with the House and agreed to steer $30 million toward Everglades restoration this year, drawing praise from advocates for the longterm cleanup effort.

Kirk Fordham, chief executive officer of the Everglades Foundation, even held out the possibility that more cash could emerge as lawmakers continue to wrangle on a roughly $70 billion state spending plan.

“As Senate and House budget conferees continue to negotiate, with strong support from Gov. Scott, we are confident the state will begin to shift back to the historic levels of investment in Everglades restoration made during the Jeb Bush years,” Fordham said.  “Every dollar we invest on Everglades is an enormous benefit for Floridians who depend on this natural resource for their livelihoods.”

Scott has unveiled wide-ranging plans to build reservoirs, unblock flow ways, control seepage and expand man-made wetlands by 2022, as part of the restoration effort. He sought $40 million in state cash for the coming year.

Senate budget chief J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, had indicated a few weeks ago that his side planned to come up to House levels of Everglades funding, after zeroing out spending in its budget plan. The House had recommended $35 million for Everglades restoration and other work.

Gov. Rick Scott has Palm Beach Gardens-based “Place of Hope” executive director Charles L. Bender to the Florida Faith-Based and Community-Based Advisory Council.

Bender is one of eight new appointees Scott placed on the 11-member panel tasked with enlisting the aid of volunteer organizations to provide social services to Floridians. The council also makes recommendations to the governor and legislature about expanding the use of faith-based groups in government.

Place of Hope, financed in part by Christ Fellowship Church, opened more than a decade ago in Palm Beach Gardens and includes six “cottages” for foster families. Some of the state’s neediest children living in the gated community take horseback riding lessons and boating trips on the weekends.

While president, George W. Bush praised Bender for his work with foster children, calling Place of Hope a model for charitable church-state partnerships. Bender, who earned more than $213,000 as the head of the non-profit in 2010, served on a similar board under Gov. Jeb Bush a decade ago.

Bender’s group drew fire from critics of Jeb Bush’s faith-based initiatives after its link to the Department of Children and Families because the child welfare organization is so directly linked to Christianity. Place of Hope and its affiliates provide a variety of services for foster children, including transitional housing for former foster children who have aged out of the program, as well as adoption services and intervention for troubled families.

Republican Senate-turned-congressional hopeful Adam Hasner has landed the endorsement of former Gov. Jeb Bush.

The Bush endorsement could come in handy if Broward County Commissioner Chip LaMarca or some other Republican gets a notion to challenge Hasner in the primary.

Hasner, the Boca Raton resident who was state House majority leader before he was term-limited in 2010, is running in Palm Beach-Broward congressional District 22. The seat is now held by U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, who bolted to new District 18 when District 22 was redrawn with a Democratic tilt. West is also backing Hasner.

Says Bush in a statement released by Hasner’s campaign: “I am proud to endorse my friend Adam Hasner for the U.S. House of Representatives in District 22. Adam has a passion for reform and for common-sense conservative solutions, and he will take that passion to a Washington that is certainly in need of both.

“The challenges America faces grow each and every day, and we need representatives that share Adam’s commitment to principle, his dedication to government accountability and his proven record in working for his community.

“Adam served Palm Beach and Broward counties with distinction in the state legislature, and I know he will continue to do so in the U.S. House.”

Gov. Rick Scott ripped the Obama administration Friday for rejecting Florida’s application for Race to the Top education dollars, deriding the decision as stemming from the state’s refusal to accept the money “with strings attached.”

Nine states were authorized by federal officials to share $500 million in grant money aimed at accelerating  improvements in early childhood programs. California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington state will get the dollars to make strides in pre-kindergarten education.

Scott said he suspected Florida was turned down because the state did not commit to continuing programs after federal dollars expired — a move he said was aimed at avoiding making state taxpayers pick up the tab for new government services.

 ”When Florida’s application was submitted for the grant in October, we made it clear that we would not accept grant money with strings attached, additional state spending obligations, or requirements that created new burdensome regulations on private providers,” Scott said.

 ” We stuck to our principles, and unfortunately our insistence against irresponsibly using one-time dollars for recurring government programs did not win the favor of the administration in Washington,” he added.

Race to the Top, the centerpiece of Obama’s education policies, has proved a thorny issue for Republicans. In the GOP presidential field, Texas Gov. Rick Perry is a staunch opponent, while Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, is a fan.

The funding approach also supports many of the early-learning measures promoted by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and state legislative leaders.

Still, Scott defied tea party activists in October when he submitted the state’s application.  But he was lured by the prospect of winning as much as $100 million in federal cash for the state — in a year when he wants to pump-up Florida K-12 spending by $1 billion.

Scott insisted, though, that he wouldn’t go along with federal officials dictating terms for how the state spent the money.

Florida won a $700 million federal grant under the program last year, in its second attempt at landing the cash. But Scott has pushed back millions of dollars in aid tied to Obama’s health care overhaul. The state’s Tea Party Network, also openly demanded in the fall that he steer clear of the Race to the Top effort.

But for all the line-in-the-sand drawing, Scott in September agreed to some conditions in advance of the application.

At Scott’s urging, the Legislative Budget Commission accepted a $3.4 million federal grant under the Affordable Care Act to provide home visiting services to at-risk families. Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, was among those urging against the move, saying the program’s mission was murky, and he feared it could result in the state facing additional costs.

Florida cities said Monday that they are poised to make another attempt at revamping costly pension requirements that emerged under former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

The current Republican-led Legislature may be wary of antagonizing police and firefighter unions, a frequent election-year ally. But Florida League of Cities officials said they hope a pocketbook appeal might drive changes when lawmakers reconvene in January.

“Pension reform is by far the issue that has garnered the most attention,” among city leaders, said Scott Dudley, a league lobbyist. “It’s important to preserve and protect pensions into the next generation of police and firefighters.”

A report released last month by the Leroy Collins Institute gave mixed reviews on the health of pension plans in 100 Florida cities. In Palm Beach County, plans in six cities earned failing, or near-failing grades.

Boynton Beach’s police plan and Palm Beach Gardens’ police and fire pensions were among the 15 percent of municipal plans drawing F’s. Plans in Riviera Beach, Boca Raton, Jupiter, Boynton Beach and Lake Worth earned D’s in the Collins Institute analysis of  financial strength.

The League of Cities is promoting legislation (SB 910, HB 365)  that would effectively lift a standard in place since 1999 that has improved city police and fire pensions. The provision requires that growth in dollars flowing to cities from state taxes on property insurance premiums go to additional benefits for police officers and firefighters.

Cities next responded with such pension sweeteners as cost-of-living adjustments, lower retirement age, or an increased “multiplier” used in determining pensions based on years-of-service, all of which the league says have forced cities to spend an additional $460 million on pension costs since 1999.

Now, as the economic slump has put added strain on city pension investments, taxpayers are paying more in property taxes to meet the demand of the public safety providers’ extra benefits.

This pro-union law also has the tantalizing history of being the first measure enacted by Bush and Republican legislators in Florida, then the first GOP-controlled government of any state that had been part of the Confederacy.

Bush eagerly signed the measure ­- relishing the symbolism of making good in a hurry on a campaign promise made while getting the endorsement of the Florida Police Benevolent Association and Florida Professional Firefighters Association.

Bush and Republican leaders, however, are rarely thought of as being allied with unions. Indeed, Bush earlier this year co-authored an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times, decrying the financial woes of states, putting much of the blame on union contracts.

Bush’s co-writer was Newt Gingrich, now a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Matt Puckett, lobbyist for the Florida PBA, said collective bargaining negotiations can resolve some of the deeper financial issues clouding local pensions.  But he said that no legislation is needed that would go so far as to remove the insurance premium tax standard in place since 1999.

“The cities just want to have total control of those moneys,” Puckett said.