With Palm Beach “Corruption” County in mind, lawmakers are moving toward stiffening local ordinances combating ethics violations.

Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres, is backing a bill that allow counties to increase the current penalties for violations of county ordinances imposing ethical standards and financial disclosure requirements from 60 days in jail to one year in jail and double the fine from $500 to $1,000 per occurance.

The Senate Community Affairs Committee signed off on Aronberg’s proposal (SB 1980) this afternoon with a 9-1 vote.

Aronberg sponsored the bill at the behest of the scandal-plagued Palm Beach County Commission, which recently established an ethics panel in the wake of a federal corruption probe that landed three former county commissioners in prison. Palm Beach County Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Boynton Beach, is the House bill (HB 1301) sponsor.

Aronberg said the measure, which would apply to all counties if it becomes law, puts teeth into local ordinances.

“Living in Palm Beach County, I’m well aware this has become a priority for the voters in my district,” Aronberg, who is running in a statewide Democratic primary for attorney general against Senate colleague Dan Gelber. “Hopefully, this will help remove our reputation as ‘Corruption County.’”

Santamaria

Damone

“He should have been here. It was disappointing,” Damone said of Santamaria.

Read more in this week’s Politics column.

Santamaria

Santamaria, who represents western-county District 6, came into office saying he was focused only on a single term. But he never unequivocally ruled out seeking reelection, and Santamaria now says he and his wife are “seriously discussing my serving a second term.”

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The Senate quietly approved a measure designed to clean up the Public Service Commission with a 39-1 vote this afternoon.

The bill (SB 1034) would make public all communications between the utilities the panel regulates and the commissioners or their advisory staff.

It would also bar commissioners or high-level staff from going to work or lobbying for the utilities for four years after they leave the PSC, double the current two-year limitation, aimed at stopping the “revolving door” between the commission and the utilities they make billion-dollar decisions about.

The bill will make certain that former commissioners and staff “will not be able to continue what they’ve done in the past and for a change our consumers will be represented,” the bill’s sponsor Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, argued.

The changes come from a 1992 grand jury report that lawmakers largely ignored designed to keep regulators and utility representatives at arm’s length.

This year’s proposal came about in the wake of reports that PSC staff and a Florida Power & Light Co. lawyer were swapping secret BlackBerry messages. Other details about questionable relationships between FPL and the commission were revealed during Juno Beach-based FPL’s proposed $1.2 billion rate hike hearing.

On the opening day of FPL’s rate increase hearing last year, Commissioner Nathan Skop revealed that the PSC’s lobbyist, Ryder Rudd, had attended a Kentucky Derby party at the Palm Beach Gardens home of FPL Vice President Ed Tancer. Rudd later quit.

Since then, the agency has struggled through investigations into BlackBerry messages exchanged between the PSC and an FPL attorney, a myriad of ethics complaints and allegations of interference from political leaders, including Gov. Charlie Crist, who threatened to not reappoint any commissioners who voted in favor of the rate hike.

The bill would also require that the commissioners behave more like judges by applying the canons of judicial conduct, including refraining from inappropriate political activity and avoiding the appearance of impropriety.

Public Service Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano is backing the proposed changes.

Recognizing Palm Beach County day today, PBC home-boy Sen. Dave Aronberg recited some facts about the state’s largest county before giving a shout-out to some county officials watching the Senate session from the East Gallery.

Aronberg, D-Greenacres, introduced PBC Commissioner Burt Aaronson as “The Godfather of Palm Beach County.”

Aaronson was first elected to the commission in 1992.

Aronberg’s intro may be considered a dubious distinction, considering that three of Aaronson’s former county commission colleagues are in prison for corruption charges.

Among the first orders of business for the five-member commission will be choosing a chairman and vice-chairman.

The ethics panel, plus representatives from the State Attorney and Public Defender offices, will sit as the selection committee for a new inspector general position. The inspector general post, modeled after one in Miami-Dade County, is the centerpiece of reforms approved Dec. 1. Applications for the inspector general’s job and for a new executive director for the ethics commission are due Friday.

The ethics panelists were chosen by a variety of groups outside county government. Read about them after the jump…..

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Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons asked utility regulators to approve Florida Power & Light Co.’s $1.2 billion rate hike, saying the utility is the county’s largest employer and needed the extra money to help the state go green.

The Public Service Commission yesterday instead slashed FPL’s rate hike to just $75 million and limited the amount of profit the Juno Beach-based utility can earn to 10 percent, far less than the 12.5 percent return on equity it sought.

“While no one - especially in the current economy - looks forward to higher electric bills, FPL’s proposed rate increase is necessary in order to make a greater investment in green technology, energy sources that will ultimately protect the consumer from uncertainties and bill fluctuations in the future,” Koons wrote in a letter to commissioners on Jan. 5 expressing his personal opinion on the rate case.

FPL President Armando Olivera said the company will immediately halt modernization projects at its Riviera Beach and Cape Canaveral power plants and cease moving forward with most of its efforts to build two new nuclear reactors at its Turkey Point facility.

He said the projects could have brought 20,000 new jobs to Florida over the next five years.

Our Jennifer Sorentrue reports that Palm Beach County commissioners this morning approved a one-year moratorium on approving new pain-management clinics amid concerns that drugs are being dispensed with insufficient controls.

A recent Palm Beach Post investigation found that more than 30 such clinics have opened in the county since 2007. Among the people running pain businesses are convicted drug dealers, serial criminals and former addicts, according to a review of county, state and federal records.

Libertarian commission candidate Karl Dickey blasted this morning’s 6-0 vote, saying commissioners are “punishing the many for the actions of a few. Whereas we understand some pain-management clinics have abused the system, it is outrageous for the county government to ban the ability of legitimate clinics from opening.”

Dickey is the only announced challenger to Republican Commissioner Steven Abrams.

Read Dickey’s entire statement after the jump…..

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Lawmakers are preparing to start a 10-day session on rail issues that in part could keep Tri-Rail on track.

The 49-page bill legislators will consider includes an extra $13 million to $15 million a year for Tri-Rail that’s been operating at a deficit since its inception two decades ago.

That’s “probably as good as we could get right now,” said Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons, who is also chairman of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority that oversees Tri-Rail.

That’s a big deal for leaders in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties where Tri-Rail runs. Federal officials have threatened to ask the counties to give back more than $200 million if Tri-Rail service is cut back as officials there have threatened.

Tri-Rail is paid for by the state, rider fares and the three counties in which it runs - Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade.

But the commuter line used by 15,000 riders daily has operated in the red by about $15 million every year.

Leaders in the three counties say they don’t have the money to make up the deficit and state lawmakers have refused to grant them the $2 rental car surcharge (also known as a tax) they’ve sought to cover their losses.

Now, state lawmakers are willing to fork over $13 million to $15 million a year to keep Tri-Rail on track to prove to federal lawmakers that Florida is serious about commuter rail. That way, the state will have a better chance at getting some of the $8 billion in stimulus money for high-speed rail projects.

The money will come from gas taxes and other fuel fees and should qualify as a “dedicated funding source” federal officials are seeking, Palm Beach County Commissioner Jeff Koons said.

“I think we ended up in the middle in the sense that we didn’t get our funding source but then a reallocation of those dollars is probably as good as we could get right now,” Koons said.

Fresh off vacation, Palm Beach County Commission Chairman Burt Aaronson said a casino might be just the boost the embattled Glades region needs.

“It is something to think about,” he said.

Aaronson, a cruise maven and tourism booster, also said the county should do more to help bring slots to the Palm Beach Kennel Club. The club, he said, has been at a “disadvantage” since state lawmakers allowed Broward’s parimutuel facilities to have slots. (more…)

Eliot

During a discussion on ethics reform, Commissioner Jeff Koons said: “If people are going to make public comment on it, I wish, if they don’t like us intellectually or don’t like us emotionally, T.S., but we’ve done a good job of generating this….”

Koons

“That’s a legal term,” Koons said.

Later, when members of the public commented on the proposed inspector general ordinance, Jason Shields said: “And to Commissioner Koons, remember, if you don’t like this, well, T.S.”

Former Commissioner Mary McCarty's booking photo

The reforms include a new ethics code, a five-member ethics commission and creation of a new inspector general’s office to investigate public officials and contracts. Much of the debate over the last few months has focused on how much of a role the corruption-besmirched commission should play in choosing and approving the inspector general.

After today’s preliminary vote, a final vote on the ethics reforms is scheduled for Dec. 15.

The Florida Supreme Court rejected Gov. Charlie Crist’s request for a statewide grand jury to look into corruption.

Crist’s request did not meet the “minimal requirements” necessary to determine that a grand jury is needed, the high court ruled today, by failing to specify what crimes or wrongs occurred and where they took place.

Crist last month petitioned the court to empanel a statewide grand jury to focus on public corruption in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties and the judicial circuit that includes Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties.

The assignment - that the panel investigate public corruption from bribery to other seemingly unrelated crimes such as child pornography and drug offenses - sets forth a “monumental task” so broad as to possibly be untenable, former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan, a veteran of anti-corruption efforts in Miami-Dade County, said when Crist filed the petition.
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Taylor

Read in this week’s Politics column about Taylor’s proposal for the county’s planned ethics commission.

Aaronson

“Have you ever been convicted of a felony for violation of any state or federal law or regulation: If so, give details.”

Read about it here.

State Attorney Michael McAuliffe and Palm Beach County commissioners today urged the school board and local governments to put themselves under the scrutiny of a proposed corruption-fighting inspector general.

School board Chairman Bill Graham said the school board is “conceptually on board” but wants to examine details.

The discussion came as county commissioners, school board members, state lawmakers and municipal officials held a joint meeting.

With five elected officials jailed on federal charges since 2006, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said local politicians will feel the wrath of voters if they don’t approve reforms.

“If anybody says ‘No, we don’t want to do it,’ your constituents are going to tell you you’d better do it because there’s another election coming up. And anybody that doesn’t want to join in possibly won’t be an elected official the next time around.”

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Ostrov

Ostrov’s also interested in Palm Beach County Commissioner Jess Santamaria’s seat if Santamaria decides not to seek reelection next year. Santamaria has said he’ll announce his 2010 plans shortly after the new year. Democrat Elissa Pearl has opened a campaign for Santamaria’s seat.

Palm Beach County officials and leaders of a consortium of groups pushing for ethics reform say they’re near agreement on a package of reforms that include creating an independent inspector general’s office and an ethics commission.

One key element is a sort of ethical pay-to-play system for hiring the inspector general.

The original county proposal called for an independent panel to select the watchdog and the county commission to cast a final up-or-down vote on the nominee. Critics said the commission’s role would discourage the school board and other public entities from agreeing to come under the inspector’s scrutiny. The latest plan would allow any other entity to have a vote on the inspector if it contributes at least 25 percent of the inspector’s budget.

Read the complete story here.

Burdick raised another $15,004 between July 1 and Sept. 30, bringing her total to $44,222 so far. Brandenburg raised $600 in the quarter and has collected $2,350 overall.

Burdick’s haul included a $250 check from Koons.

Koons, who’s maintained a neutral posture in the race, was asked if his contribution constituted an endorsement of Burdick.

“Not per se,” Koons answered. But, he added, “Paulette does have the skill sets to be a good county commissioner.”