Gov. Rick Scott draws his highest approval ratings from Florida voters since his 2010 election, but still trails former Republican governor turned Democrat Charlie Crist by a double-digit margin in a prospective governor’s race, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll.

Forty-three percent of Floridians approve of the job Scott has done in office, compared to 44 percent who disapprove – the best marks Scott has earned and up from a low of  29 percent in May 2011.

As recently as March, Quinnipiac’s last survey, 49 percent of voters disapproved of Scott’s job performance, while only 36 percent approved.

Crist, however, would top Scott 47-37 percent if the pair meet in next year’s governor’s race, the poll showed. But for Scott, even that may be good news.

In March, Crist held a 16 percentage point lead over the Republican incumbent.

“It is an indication of how far down Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s numbers have been that he can take some solace from a poll that finds him losing by 10 points to his predecessor in the governor’s office,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

“In addition to cutting the deficit between himself and former Gov. Charlie Crist, Gov. Scott sees his tepid job approval and favorability numbers and his still-negative reelection numbers as notably improved,” Brown added.

Similarly, while his approval numbers are rising and he is looking more competitive against Crist, voters aren’t thrilled by the prospect of another Scott term.

Fifty percent of voters surveyed said Scott does not deserve to be reelected, while 35 percent would give him another shot.

As grim as that may appear, the balance, too, reflects  his best score so far on that question. Scott drew a 55-32 percent ‘no’ vote in March, Quinnipiac found.

In other possible match-ups, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, who has said repeatedly he has no plans to challenge Scott, also holds a 10 percent margin over the Republican in next year’s governor’s race.

Scott, however, holds a 42-36 percent lead over former state senator Nan Rich of Weston, the only name-brand Democrat who said she is actually running for governor.

The survey of 1,176 Florida voters was conducted June 11-16. It has a 2.9 percent margin-of-error.

Here are Quinnipiac’s findings:   http://bit.ly/13OtzGk

Rejecting nearly 15,000 pleas for a veto, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a measure speeding up executions, saying it includes protections for Death Row convicts and “does not increase the risk of execution of persons who did not commit murder.”

Scott signed the “Timely Justice Act” along with 58 other bills and vetoed two others, including a measure that would have made voters’ e-mail addresses secret, before heading to a trade mission to France on Friday.

Scott also signed into law a business-backed bill that would block local governments from enacting mandatory sick time measures.

Read Scott’s message regarding the death penalty measure here and the sick-leave pay bill here.

The Obama administration has approved Florida’s two-year-old request to move almost all of the state’s 3.3 million low-income, Medicaid patients into managed care programs, Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday.

Scott and leading Republican lawmakers have long contended that managed care will squeeze savings out of Medicaid, which this year absorbed $21 billion of the state’s $70 billion budget.

Although federal officials pay about 58 percent of the program, the pricetag for Florida taxpayers remains significant.

In its approval letter, CMS said Florida can begin the managed care conversion on a staggered, region-by-region basis no sooner than next January.

The Florida Legislature approved the managed care push in 2011. Earlier this year, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved moving thousands of nursing home and other long-term care patients into HMOs and other managed care programs as early as this fall.

“Florida is leading the nation in improving cost, quality and access in the Medicaid program. CMS’s final approval of our Medicaid managed care waiver is a huge win for Florida families because it will improve the coordination of care throughout the Medicaid system,” Scott said of the full-scale approval. “Healthcare providers can now more effectively manage chronic conditions and work with families to provide preventative treatments.”

Many health care advocates were wary of the state’s move, fearing it could lead to profit-seeking HMOs cutting corners in caring for low-income Floridians.

They cited problems with an Medicaid HMO pilot program begun in 2006 in five counties, including Broward, that was marked by widespread complaints from patients.

Florida CHAIN, a statewide health care advocacy organization based in Jupiter, had fought the conversion of traditional fee-for-service Medicaid to managed care programs.

On Friday, CHAIN said, “The focus now shifts to the state and its efforts to implement this program that will affect access to care for millions of patients in all 67 counties. The countless reports of disrupted, delayed and denied care streaming in from the original five counties are still very fresh in the minds of all stakeholders.”

CHAIN added, “Advocates will continue to monitor implementation and call on the Agency for Health Care Administration, Florida’s Medicaid agency, to put the needs of patients above the interests of companies with a strong financial incentive to limit care.”

Gov. Rick Scott and internet retailer Amazon aren’t saying much about where a company distribution warehouse could locate in Florida, part of a push to bring 3,000 jobs here by the end of 2016.

A centrally located site, with easy access to Florida highways, rail and air makes sense. So how about the Tampa area?

The Hillsborough County Commission has a June 19 agenda item dubbed the “Amazon proposal,” which is described as having “potential to create 1,000 jobs.” The item goes on to detail that Amazon, through an affiliate, is looking to establish a “wholesale trade fulfillment center” in Florida and is considering the Hillsborough site, along with others.

The Hillsborough location in South Shore Corporate Park, near Interstate 75.

Gov. Rick Scott and online retail giant Amazon announced a deal Thursday in which the company will open a Florida distribution warehouse bringing 3,000 jobs and $300 million in investment to the state.

Florida taxpayers would have to start paying 6 percent state sales tax on their internet purchases through Amazon, once the warehouse is housed in the state.

Scott said the deal, in discussion for more than a year — but which looked dead a month ago — was a sign that “we’ve turned our economy around.”

“Amazon will continue to work with Enterprise Florida on its ongoing projects which will include a return on any taxpayer investment, and we look forward to the company’s announcements as it chooses locations and creates jobs in Florida,” Scott said.

In the framework of the agreement unveiled Thursday, Scott and Amazon vice-president Paul Misener said the company will have the distribution facility open by the end of 2016. Under state law, once an online retailer has a physical presence in Florida, it must start collecting and remitting sales taxes.

Any potential political blowback on Scott — for hoisting an internet sales tax on Floridians — would apparently be pushed off until following next year’s governor’s race. Scott, who is seeking reelection, committed in 2010 to create 700,000 jobs over seven years and recently claimed to be almost half-way to that goal.

Enterprise Florida, the state’s business marketing arm, told the Palm Beach Post on Thursday that incentive money is likely to flow to Amazon as part of the deal. But those terms are still to be worked out, officials said.

Congress has been debating whether to allow states to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases their residents make with out-of-state companies. Currently, Floridians are supposed to pay taxes for online purchases, but practically the standard is not enforced unless a retailer has a physical presence in the state.

Seattle-based Amazon has made similar deals to open distribution centers in several other states, allowing governments to begin collecting sales taxes. Organizations representing traditional, brick-and-mortar retailers have been pressuring states to reach such agreements to blunt the rising influence of big, online sellers.

House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, hailed the Amazon deal as a “tremendous boost to our economy.”

Weatherford, who has sparred with Scott over health care, university tuition, and economic incentives, credited the governor with “tremendous leadership on this issue.”

“He has helped prove that Florida is open for business and our job creation climate continues to improve,” Weatherford said.

A wide-ranging transportation bill signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott fortifies a prohibition on truckers and bus drivers texting — or even talking on a cell phone, without a wireless device.

Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, said the measure (HB 7125) signed by Scott late Wednesday, aligns Florida with an existing federal ban, but is seen as giving state law enforcement more authority for enforcement.

Unlike a recent texting-while-driving ban signed by Scott that requires motorists to be stopped for other reasons before being cited, the commercial vehicle restriction is a primary law. Just seeing an interstate bus- or truck driver gabbing on a cellphone can be cause for law enforcement to make a stop.

“This is really huge,” Slosberg said. “Not only are we penalizing the drivers if they’re texting and driving. We’re penalizing the companies. And the companies are behind us.”

A first-time offense can cost a driver $500; an employer $2,750.

The federal prohibition went into effect in January 2012.  The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the measure was needed because commercial drivers who reach for or dial a cellphone while driving are far more likely to be involved in a crash.

Gov. Rick Scott is heading to Paris next week on another trade mission — this one pegged to the 50th International Paris Air Show.

Scott is back only a few weeks from a mission to Chile. And he’s been stepping-up his efforts to bring more jobs to Florida by sending letters to hundreds of business leaders in Connecticut, Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland and California urging they relocate their companies to the Sunshine State — a move one business leader tarred as “pretty blatant.”

The Paris Air Show is considered one of the world’s leading aviation and aerospace trade fair. The last air show held in 2011 attracted more than 350,000 attendees.

While there, Scott said he and Florida Commerce Secretary Gray Swope plan to meet with representatives of 40 leading aerospace and aviation companies. Florida is fourth in the nation in the number of aviation and aerospace employees.

Scott last year attended a major international air show held in Great Britain. The governor is scheduled to leave Sunday and be in Paris through Thursday.

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Wednesday a measure that should give red-light cameras runners more incentive to challenge their tickets.

The legislation (HB 7125) requires counties, cities and towns with red-light cameras to designate a local hearing officer, similar to a code enforcement magistrate, by July 1 to review appeals.

The bill, part of a 226-page transportation package, also includes a provision that will make it more difficult for local governments to issue red-light tickets to drivers caught on camera taking a right on red.

It prevents governments from issuing a fine as long as the vehicle came to a stop, even after crossing the stop line, prior to completing an allowed right turn during a red light.

Under the current law, motorists have 30 days to pay the $158 fine for a red-light camera ticket. They cannot file a challenge until that 30-day period ends, when the potential fine climbs to $264 and they can appeal in court.

Another bill (HB 347) Scott signed Wednesday will allow craft liquor distillers to sell up to two bottles of their products directly to visitors walking into their stores for tours and tastings. Brew pubs and wineries in Florida already are allowed a similar exemption to the tough system of alcohol sales that has been defended for decades by the state’s powerful lobby representing alcoholic beverage distributors.

Scott also vetoed legislation (SB 1420) that allowed doctors at Department of Children and Families (DCF) facilities to involuntarily keep patients on psychotherapeutic medications if they were considered to lack informed decision-making capacity regarding treatment.

Scott said he was troubled by a provision of the bill that shortens from five- to three-years the timeframe where criminal charges could be dismissed against an offender considered mentally incompetent to go to trial for an attempted violent felony. Scott said it wouild pose a “serious public safety risk.”

Bill Eddins, president of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association, said, “While some elements of the bill were worthy, reducing the time before charges against individuals deemed incompetent are dropped offends the rights of those who have been victims of crimes.”

Florida Democrats are taking a swipe at Republican Rick Scott over the governor’s opposition to college and university tuition increases — coming after two years of tuition hikes and higher education budget cuts on his watch.

With a little bit of PhotoShop, Democrats are mocking Scott as attempting to play a shell game with voters. For his part, Scott is looking to become the first Florida governor in two decades to claim he stopped rising tuition. But a 1.7 percent automatic cost-of-living, tuition increase set to go into effect stands in his way.

Next week, the State University System’s Board of Governors is set to approve budgets for the state’s 12 public universities.

Whether the board, whose membership includes a majority of Scott appointees for the first time, insists that schools’ offset the increase by reducing current tuition, will be one of the critical subtexts of the meeting.

It took some convincing, but proponents of Florida’s prescription drug database, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, finally persuaded Gov. Rick Scott to sign off on the program that contains Rx information for narcotics and other addictive drugs.

Scott balked because he didn’t trust that the database couldn’t be hacked or that individuals’ prescription drug info could be erroneously made public.

Now, the ACLU of Florida, which has taken Scott to court over a variety of his policies, is saying that’s exactly what’s happened, and that the drug records of 3,300 individuals has landed in the wrong hands.

The ACLU claims that the prescription drug records of 3,300 individuals were given to prosecutors and defense attorneys in six criminal cases in Volusia County.

“Somehow information that is supposed to remain private and confidential and be safely maintained in this unfortunate database made its way into third parties who have no right to it,” said ACLU of Florida attorney Maria Kayanan.

The civil rights organization is seeking more information about how the patients’ prescriptions, birthdates, addresses was made public during the court cases.

The database was created in 2009 but wasn’t up and running until 2011. Lawmakers this year agreed to allow state money to be used to fund the database, pushed by President Obama’s drug czar and others as way to help fight prescription drug abuse by preventing “doctor shopping.”

The ACLU has issued a public records request to the Florida Department of Health and to the Seminole County Sheriff’s office in search of records relating to requests made by local or federal law enforcement agencies to the Electronic Florida On-Line Registry of Controlled Substances Evaluation (E-FORSCE) database.

“It certainly looks like there were multiple breaches at multiple places. Some of them may have been unintentional. We don’t know. But the bottom line is this is so very wrong,” Kayanan said.

Gov. Rick Scott signed 34 bills Friday, including measures affecting mortgage foreclosures, landlord-tenant disputes, parental rights and even the disposition of human remains.

A pair of state agencies, the Department of Health and Office of Financial Regulation, hailed a couple measures aimed at combating Medicaid fraud and unscrupulous check-cashing firms. Most of the bills signed, however, drew only modest attention during the Legislature.

Today’s bill-signings are here: http://bit.ly/ZyPxfI

Tropical Storm Andrea already spawned eight tornadoes across the state and Gov. Rick Scott warned Thursday that as much as six inches of rain was possible before the weather system’s expected midnight exit from Florida.

Scott also tried to send an upbeat message to tourists watching the weather during a briefing at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee.

“For people coming to our state…keep your travel plans,” Scott said. “This is going to pass very quickly through our state.”

Despite the spate of tornadoes, Scott said officials had not reports of property damage. The fast-moving storm was expected make its way across North and Central Florida, bringing higher tides to the Cedar Key region of Florida’s Gulf Coast but little coastal erosion.

Scott also used his midday briefing to lash out at President Obama over federal budget cuts which could lead to furloughs and pay reductions for members of the Florida National Guard. The so-called sequestration was a deal Obama reached in 2011 with the Republican-controlled House to resolve the debt ceiling standoff.

“It doesn’t make any sense why they’re doing it this way,” Scott said.

Scott said Andrea, the first named storm of the hurricane season, gives Floridians a chance to tune-up their hurricane preparations. The governor said households should have three days of supplies on hand in event of a storm.

Bryan Koon, director of the state’s Department of Emergency Management, said, “Tomorrow, this will just be a memory for us.”

Still, the advancing storm drew warnings from the insurance industry.

“In the event of damages, insurers will be on the scene as soon as possible to adjust covered wind claims, and the National Flood
Insurance Program (NFIP) will service covered flood claims, but first and foremost, people need to be sure they are safe and that they heed all alerts,” said G. Donovan Brown, a spokesman for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

The industry said residents should attempt to minimize damage by securing loose items in their yards, like lawn
chairs, grills and other items that can cause damage if picked up by a tornado or severe windstorm.

Those in the storm’s path should also review their insurance coverage and make sure they have contact information for their agent
or insurer.

The storm is expected to slip across North Florida into Georgia, making its way up the East Coast toward New York and New England by Saturday morning.

Gov. Rick Scott’s administration pushed back Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Labor over the federal agency’s finding that 2011 changes to the state’s unemployment compensation system discriminate against minorities and the disabled.

The state’s Department of Economic Opportunity wrote to U.S. Rep. John Kline, a Minnesota Republican who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, calling for an investigation into what it claimed is the “potential politicization” of the Labor Department.

The letter from Robert Sechen, DEO’s general counsel, concluded that Labor investigators “collaborated with the political group that filed the complaint” over the state’s requirement that those seeking benefits file online and complete a skills test.

In April, the Labor Department reached an “initial determination” that the state effectively violated the civil rights of laid-off workers by installing a system difficult to navigate.

“In this case, this flawed process has resulted in a federal agency recklessly maligning the reputations of hundreds of hard-working state employees, who come to work each day to fulfill a mission of helping unemployed Floridians get back to work,” Sechen wrote Wednesday.

The DEO move seems partially inspired by the increasing focus on other agencies under President Obama, including the Internal Revenue Service, accused of political activity for targeting conservative organizations for closer scrutiny. The U.S. Justice Department also is under the microscope for seizing phone records from the Associated Press.

In the Florida case, the The National Employment Law Project, Florida Legal Services and Miami Workers Center challenged Florida’s law in 2011, charging that sweeping changes to how Florida workers must file claims denied unemployment checks to thousands of eligible Floridians.

Critics also said that workers’ frustration with the system could be aiding Scott’s goal of reducing unemployment. Some workers may abandon their job search or just leave the state, falling out of Florida’s labor market.

The state in recent weeks entered into negotiations with the federal government to reach voluntary compliance with the ruling. It also put in place remedies to make unemployment insurance available to job-seekers unable to complete online claim requirements.

But Sechen on Wednesday said Labor officials have since been trying to “coerce” the state into acknowledging “each and every finding in USDOL’s flawed investigation.” Sechen said it was time for Congress to investigate the agency he accused of using tactics ”improper, retaliatory, intimidating and…far below acceptable standards of conduct.”

Val Greenfield, an attorney with Florida Legal Services, said Wednesday that her organization has had limited contact with Labor Department investigators. Since the April finding, negotiations have been conducted solely between the state and federal officials, she said.

“We were very surprised by this letter,” Greenfield said. “We are completely unaware of any bias in this investigation. But this action is very disappointing for Florida workers.”

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a measure requiring treatment for infants born after an attempted abortion, passed unanimously by the Florida Legislature last month.

The “Infants Born Alive” bill (HB 1129) requires infants born alive after an attempted abortion to provide resuscitative care and require that they be transported to hospitals and receive emergency aid. The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, is modeled on a similar federal law also enacted by other states.

“As a father and grandfather, there is nothing more precious or special than welcoming a new child into this world and by signing this bill, we are protecting the most vulnerable among us and affirming their rights as individuals. This legislation ensures common-sense measures are taken to help care for the babies who survive abortion procedures and grants those infants the same rights as infants who are born naturally,” Scott, a Republican seeking reelection to a second term as governor, said in a statement.

Florida lawmakers unanimously approved the measure after Planned Parenthood representatives signed off on the bill. The new law also requires abortion providers to report infants born alive to the state.

Health care providers say that the chances of an infant being born alive after an abortion are extremely rare because third-trimester abortions are prohibited in Florida unless the life of the mother is in danger. Infants born before then could not survive, some abortion advocates said during testimony on the measure.

Scott, accompanied by his wife Ann and abortion opponents, signed the bill into law at the Florida Baptist Children’s Home in Cantonment. The Panhandle community is near Pensacola, home to some of the state’s most strident anti-abortion activists and the site of an abortion clinic bombing in 1984. Two abortion doctors were gunned down at clinics in Pensacola and a third abortion worker was also killed.

Florida Democrats continued Wednesday to bring the heat on Gov. Rick Scott for vetoing legislation aimed at making it easier for children of undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers’ licenses.

Several Orlando-area House and Senate Democrats gathered outside the county courthouse to blast the Republican governor for what they see as a backward step on immigration.

“This bill would have helped the diverse communities of Central Florida,” said Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando. “The governor missed an opportunity to embrace the Floridians of today.”

Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, also said that Scott’s action was in sharp contrast to the approach of the Obama administration with its support for the so-called Dream Act aimed at creating an eventual path to citizenship for undocumented residents.

“The Dream Act driver’s license bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Soto said, of the measure approved 115-2 in the House and 36-0 in the Senate. “It passed because we as a legislature understand these young Floridians receiving deferred action require a driver’s license to pursue the American Dream.

“Scott’s veto yesterday flew in the face of this fundamental belief, and has effectively denied this opportunity for thousands of young Hispanics, Haitians, and other immigrants legally here in our great state,” Soto said.

Scott is likely to draw strongest support for his action from conservative groups already wary of federal efforts to ease sanctions against illegal immigrants. The 2012 elections, marked by the Republican Party’s struggle to attract minority voters, seemed to soften the GOP-ruled Legislature’s stance on the issue.

But Scott held firm.

In his veto, Scott said the bill’s reliance on an untested federal policy was alarming. In June 2012, the Obama administration said children brought illegally to the country would not be subject to deportation under most circumstances. But Scott said standard that doesn’t carry the authority of law.

Florida already allows immigrants legally allowed to work the opportunity to receive temporary drivers’ licenses. For now, Scott said that was enough.

In his veto letter, Scott wrote, “Although the Legislature may have been well-intentioned in seeking to expedite the process to obtain a temporary driver license, it should not have been done by relying on a federal government policy adopted without legal basis.”

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Wednesday a pair of lawsuit-limiting measures long-sought by business leaders  but opposed by Democratic-allied trial lawyers.

Both bills increase the standard for expert witnesses called to testify in cases. One measure (HB 7015) signed by Scott requires Florida courts to use the same, three-part test used in the federal system to determine whether a witness called to testify can be considered an “expert” in a field.

The other bill (SB 1792) requires a doctor called to testify as an expert must practice in the same specialty as the health care provider against whom the lawsuit was filed.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce hailed the changes.

“This is an important step forward in improving Florida’s legal climate and making our state more competitive,” said Dave Hart, a chamber vice-president. “These improvements…will provide predictability in our state’s courtrooms and create stability for our businesses and entrepreneurs, so they can grow their workforce and take us down the road toward economic prosperity.”

The Florida Justice Association didn’t see it that way. Singling out the new, three-part test requirement, executive director Debra Henley said the change will cost businesses and individuals more in legal fees and other expenses tied to finding experts.

“Trials will be won not on the grounds of who has the strongest case, but rather who has the largest bank account,” Henley said.

She added, “The new law overburdens our already strained justice system. Because of this law, cases will be more
expensive and the process of seeking justice will take longer. There was not a need for this legislation as it did not create jobs and actually harms small business.”

Rick Scott vetoed legislation Tuesday that would have allowed children of undocumented immigrants to get Florida drivers’ licenses, a move likely to rattle the governor’s support within the state’s Hispanic community while bolstering his backing from conservative groups.

The measure (HB 235) had sailed easily through a Republican-controlled Legislature, which in previous years had opposed similar steps toward embracing children of those in the country illegally.

The House approved the bill this spring 115-2; the Senate 36-0, a sign to many that Florida Republicans were looking to distance themselves from the hardline themes of the 2012 elections.

Scott, however, said the bill’s reliance on a newly adopted policy of the Obama administration was alarming.

In June 2012, the administration said children brought illegally to the country would not be subject to deportation under most circumstances.

Florida already allows immigrants legally allowed to work the opportunity to receive temporary drivers’ licenses. For now, Scott said that was enough.

In his veto letter, Scott wrote, “Although the Legislature may have been well intentioned in seeking to expedite the process to obtain a temporary driver license, it should not have been done by relying on a federal government policy adopted without legal basis.”

Florida Democrats lashed out at Scott.

“Rick Scott continues to alienate and discriminate against thousands of undocumented immigrants,” said Florida Democratic Party spokesman Joshua Karp. “Instead of joining the legislature’s near-unanmous consensus around HB 235, Gov. Scott imposed his rigid ideology on Floridians — to the detriment of the young immigrants who are Florida’s future.”

Pushing a pair of strollers and pulling a red wagon, Central Florida women delivered 11,000 petition signatures Tuesday to Gov. Rick Scott, calling on him to veto legislation that would block local governments from adopting mandatory sick time benefits for workers in the community.

Organize Now, MomsRising.org and the National Council of La Raza collected the petition names delivered Tuesday. The groups are fighting HB 655, sought by Walt Disney World, Darden Restaurants and state business associations, which would stop governments from requiring companies to provide sick time to employees.

Working women say the measure affects them most, since they are frequently forced to take time off to care for sick children or other family members. The measure hasn’t been sent to Scott yet by legislative leaders. The governor hasn’t said what he thinks of the proposal.

“There are plenty of existing laws that are different, city-by-city, county-by-county…and large corporations are able to deal with that every day with no problem,” said Stephanie Porta, with Organize Now. “We think the patchwork quilt argument is one that is made up to argue against this.”

Organize Now led the effort to put an earned sick time measure on the ballot in Orange County. In turn, the prospect of voters supporting the requirement led businesses to fight back — with legislation that bars such measures from taking place in any Florida county or city.

“When my kids get sick, the last thing I should have to worry about is losing my day’s wages or worse — getting fired — when I stay home to take care of them,” said Denise Diaz, a mother of two, who lives in Orlando, and pushed a stroller loaded with petitions to Scott’s office.

About $200 million from a National Mortgage Settlement will be scattered across Florida, with cash going to domestic violence centers, Habitat for Humanity and housing subsidies for low-and medium-income homeowners and renters under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott.

“This money will help those who’ve been harmed by foreclosures in this state,” Scott said, moments before signing SB 1852. “Funding in this bill also will help various affordable housing initiatives and will help make additional affordable housing available in the Sunshine State.

“This is very great news for Florida families who are struggling to make ends meet, just like my family was when I was growing up,” he concluded.

Florida is drawing the money as part of a nationwide, $25 billion settlement reached more than a year ago between attorneys general and five big mortgage servicers. It’s taken Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Republican-controlled Legislature months to reach agreement on how to distribute the cash.

“This has been a long time coming,” Bondi said Tuesday. “We are very proud of this settlement.”

The biggest share of the money, $60 million, will go to the Florida House Finance Corp., for the state apartment incentive loan (SAIL) program, mostly to provide rentals for the elderly and developmentally disabled. Another $40 million goes to the State Housing Inititiatve Program (SHIP), also run by the FHFC, to be directed to cities and counties for renovating owner-occupied homes.

“This is a great day for Floridians and a great day for affordable housing,” said Wellington Meffert, of the FHFC.

Bondi acknowledged that the settlement didn’t steer money directly to homeowners struggling to keep homes. But she said that stemmed from the need to maintain accountability over the dollars.

“It’s hard to write checks directly out there. It needed accountability,” Bondi said. “That’s why we’re going through these various agenicies, just to make sure it’s going where it’s meant to go.”

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday began using his veto of a 3 percent tuition increase for college and university students as a money maker– for his re-election campaign.

Scott’s Let’s Get to Work fund-raising committee issued a blast email urging contributors to give at least $10 to “join us in fighting the newest tax increase on Florida families — rising tuition.” Scott’s committee has raised $4.8 million already this year, mostly from big donors.

But in recent weeks Let’s Get to Work has taken a tactical turn and has begun drawing small scale contributions from close to 400 individuals.

The rising army of grassroots givers may be part of an effort to cast the poll-challenged governor in a more favorable light, while building a volunteer base for next year’s campaign.

For more:  http://bit.ly/16E6tqz