Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz blasted Gov. Rick Scott for failing to use his clout to push the House to approve a Medicaid expansion that could cover 1 million uninsured Floridians.

The U.S. congresswoman from Weston also accused House Speaker Will Weatherford and the GOP-dominated House of “slavishness ideological dogma” behind their rejection of the Senate plan crafted by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart.

“Sickness, illness and death…will be their legacy,” Wasserman Schultz told the Senate Democratic Caucus this morning.

Wasserman Schultz, a one-time Florida legislator who served in both the state House and Senate, also blamed Scott for “having a deathbed conversion” about the Medicaid expansion and failing to use his bully pulpit to push the House to pass it.

With three work days left until the legislative ends on Friday, Scott has focused primarily on his two priorities – $2,500 across-the-board pay raises for teachers and a manufacturing equipment tax break – and is scheduled to work from 8 a.m until 2:30 p.m. today, including photo opportunity for the last half hour of the day.

The final week is “the most frenzied, intense time of the entire legislative session,” Wasserman Schultz said.

“The governor and his staff should be in the trenches working the phones, working the halls, doing everything they can to pass their priorities,” she said. “It’s just demonstrative repeatedly of his utter lack of leadership.”

Scott, who is running for reelection, is “trying to have his cake and eat it, too” by publicly supporting the proposal to provide health insurance for the poor, which has broad support from voters, but doing nothing to force the House to act, Wasserman Schultz said.

“Leaders take the initiative. They don’t wait to be asked. We’ll need to elect somebody else.”

She sidestepped a question about whether former Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democrat, would be a better replacement.

“I have no idea and I’m not here to talk about that,” she said.

Wasserman Schultz also praised Florida House Democrats for “rightfully” slowing down the session with a procedural maneuver forcing all legislation to be read in full in retaliation for the GOP’s refusal to support the Senate Medicaid plan.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, who also served as governor, also appeared at the Senate Dems meeting this morning.

He congratulated them for joining with several GOP lawmakers to defeat a controversial “parent trigger” bill and a pension overhaul for state workers.

When Texas Gov. Rick Perry visited West Palm Beach last month, he and Florida Gov. Rick Scott touted low state taxes as a key to economic growth.

Perry said he wanted to “drive a conversation in this country about Red State vs. Blue State policies.”

Palm Beach Post business writer Jeff Ostrowski drives the conversation some more today with a look at job growth, unemployment and other indicators in four low-tax states — Texas, Florida, Nevada and Washington — and three high-tax states — New York, New Jersey and California.

Click here to read the red-vs.-blue analysis.

Teachers may not have to wait to get performance-based raises included in the state budget, according to Senate President Don Gaetz.

Gov. Rick Scott had wanted $2,500 across-the-board pay raises for teachers. House and Senate budget leaders this weekend agreed to $480 million for raises but with some limitations. Teachers graded “effective” will be eligible for a $2,500 pay raise, beginning in June 2014. Those rated “highly effective” would be eligible for $3,500.

Gaetz, R-Niceville, said Senate budget conforming bills due out later this week will make it clear that pay raises can be based on a “formative” teacher assessment instead of one based on student performance that won’t go into effect until 2014 and that would have held up the raises.

“In my experience as a school superintendent, we were able to evaluate students and evaluate effective teaching based not just on summative assessments at the end of a school year but based on formative assessments as we go along,” Gaetz, a former Okaloosa County superintendent, told reporters late Tuesday afternoon.

“As far as I’m concerned, teachers who earn their increases in pay ought to be able to get them as soon as school districts develop a plan to do so, collectively bargain that plan with their unions, submit the plan to the commissioner of education and have it confirmed,” he said.

Gaetz blamed Scott for the delay.

“We simply followed the governor’s proposal as to the timing of the pay increase…But I’m sure that the governor didn’t mean to unnecessarily delay the pay increase,” he said. “My hope is we ought to go forward and give Florida teachers the pay increase that they deserve especially because we have a pay increase…which is based on performance.”

A texting-while-driving ban hit a rough patch Tuesday after the Florida House agreed to sharply restrict law enforcement’s access to phone records.

The amendment, pushed by Rep. Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, was approved 73-46. But many text-ban supporters said the timing of the provision threatens the bill as lawmakers race toward the legislative session’s scheduled Friday finish.

Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, also warned that the change in the bill (CS/SB 52) also would eliminate the possibility of prosecuting anyone for texting behind the wheel.

“From a policy standpoint, this really takes away the ability of the prosecutor to prove the case,” Waldman said.

Oliva’s amendment prohibits a motorist’s cell phone records from being used by prosecutors, except in a case involving a crash resulting in death or personal injury. The Senate approved the legislation two weeks ago on a 36-0 vote.

But with the session winding down, the bill – with the new House provision — must go back to the Senate for approval.

Oliva defended his amendment as aimed at safeguarding the rights of Floridians.

“It only speaks to civil liberties,” Oliva said. “It does nothing to the core functions of the law.”

Under the legislation,  texting while driving would be a secondary offense. Motorists could be ticketed only if law enforcement officials stopped them for another reason.

A ticket could cost first-time offenders $30, plus court costs. But the bill includes exemptions allowing people to use phones to check maps, use voice-commands or listen to the radio through their phones.

Drivers also could text while stopped at a light, under the legislation. Talking on a cell phone would not be restricted.

Florida would become the 40th state in the nation with a text-while-driving ban, if the legislation resurfaces and is approved in the session’s closing days. Gov. Rick Scott has indicated he supports the ban.

National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and team CEO Mike Dee looked on from the public gallery as the Florida Senate signed off on a plan to help the team get taxpayer money to renovate the stadium with just days left in the 2013 legislative session.

The power players worked the Capitol in behind-closed-doors meetings with House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel; Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville; and Gov. Rick Scott before the Senate’s 35-4 vote, the last thing the Senate did before adjourning for the evening. Gaetz voted against the measure (SB 306).

Goodell said he came to Tallahassee to “demonstrate my support” for the deal, which would make the stadium eligible for tax breaks for the $350 million upgrade if Miami-Dade County voters approve. Early voting on the referendum began today.

“This is important for the NFL,” Goodell told reporters after the vote. “We all are working hard to get the stadiums improved. I think the deal that’s structured here is very intelligent and I wanted to demonstrate my support.”

The taxpayer-backed upgrades could boost Miami’s shot at hosting the Super Bowl, Goodell said.

“When you have a better facility, that’s an important element and going to improve your chances,” he said.

During debate on the measure, Sen. Rene Garcia, R-Hialeah, argued against the plan, saying it “allows millionaires and billionaires to tap into taxpayer dollars.”

Goodell said he disagrees.

“This bill is structured in such a way as to creative investment in communities and create additional revenue going forward. I think that’s a very positive thing. I think this is a very intelligently structured deal,” he said.

The stadium upgrade doesn’t guarantee a future Super Bowl because the site is selected by the 32 NFL team owners, Goodell said.

But, he said, the stadium is a major part of the application.

“That’s a big element. And this is going to clearly improve that application, which improves the chances dramatically,” Goodell said.

Under the proposal, professional sports franchises that meet certain criteria would be eligible for up to $13 million a year in tax breaks if they can demonstrate that they can generate at least that much in sales taxes and if local voters first approve. The state Department of Economic Opportunity would have to first sign off on the plan, which would then require legislative approval. Teams have to show that they will attract out-of-state tourists, and the plan would have to be reviewed every five years.

“If you don’t raise the money in the time period…you have to pay it back,” said Sen. Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando. “This is not giving anyone anything. This is telling someone you have to make money with this money and you have to give it back to the state of Florida. So I don’t see this as welfare to billionaires.”

The Dolphins stadium tax break is far from a done deal, however. The House has to also agree to the plan before the session ends on Friday, and Weatherford has expressed doubt about it. Scott has also said he wants strict safeguards included to protect taxpayers’ money.

Death Row inmates would get executed faster under a measure on its way to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.

The Senate approved the bill (HB 7083) with a 28-10 vote this afternoon despite the objections of some Democrats who said the fast-tracked process is risky.

The “Timely Justice Act,” approved by the House last week, creates shorter time frames for death penalty appeals and take away the governor’s discretion about when to order an execution.

If Scott signs the bill or allows it to become law without his approval, 13 Death Row inmates would fit its criteria, meaning the governor who has signed nine death warrants in the 29 months since he took office would have to order 13 executions within six months.

Sen. Joe Negron, the bill’s sponsor, said the changes are necessary to bring justice to victims. The average length of time between arrest and execution in Florida is 20 years, and 10 Death Row inmates have been awaiting execution for more than three decades, Negron said before the vote.

The delay makes “a mockery of the court system,” Negron, R-Stuart, said. Court and jury decisions “at some point…needs to be carried out.”

But Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, argued that speeding up the process could result in the execution of innocent people.

Twenty-four Florida Death Row inmates have been exonerated, the most of any state in the nation.

“Once the execution is completed, it’s over. There’s no going back,” Sachs, a former prosecutor, argued. “I don’t see the reason for the swiftness especially with DNA evidence that can exonerate.”

Florida is the only state in the nation that allows a simple majority of the jury on capital cases. Critics of the bill had tried to change it to require a 10-2 majority of the jury as Alabama requires. All other states with the death penalty require unanimous jury decisions.

Gov. Rick Scott joined with the state’s largest teachers’ union late Sunday to endorse the $480 million included in the state budget for pay raises — saying it will guarantee at least $2,000 hikes for teachers around the state.

The House and Senate included the same $480 million Scott had sought. But while the governor proposed $2,500 across-the-board pay raises, legislative leaders insisted the money be based on merit.

Scott and Florida Education Association President Andy Ford said the structure of the package set to be voted on Friday by the Legislature means every teachers will get at least $2,000, but that some could pull in as much as $3,500 next year. Counties will have to develop performance measures to determine the final raises through collective bargaining.

Scott said the proposal builds “on our work to implement performance pay, while also allowing school districts the flexibility to use the $480 million in new funding to give every Florida teacher a pay raise. Our teachers are some of the best in the nation
and they deserve to be rewarded for their great work.”

Ford said, ““Through the collective bargaining process, FEA remains committed to working with local school districts to develop fair, valid, reliable and transparent processes to reward the success of Florida’s teaching force. Through bargaining with local
elected school boards, the success of such classroom personnel can be financially recognized in a manner which best meets the needs of local school districts.”

 

 

With a flurry of late-hour deal-making, House and Senate budget negotiators wrapped up work late Sunday on a $74-billion-plus state spending plan.

Senate budget chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said the plan could be on lawmakers’ desks as early as Monday. Florida’s constitutionally required 72-hour cooling off period begins when the budget hits the desks, clearing the way for a likely vote early Friday — the session’s final scheduled day.

Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, were quick to praise the $1 billion boost in public school spending included in the proposal. Gov. Rick Scott had sought $1.2 billion, including $480 million to provide for $2,500-across-the-board pay raises for teachers.

Lawmakers have included the $480 million. But they teacher pay raises will be distributed based on job performance, not across-the-board, as the governor sought.

The statements by Gaetz and Weatherford seemed aimed at trying to woo Scott over to their side on the teacher package.

“This is an incredible win for the teachers and students,” Weatherford said.

Gaetz called Scott  a “constructive and strong partner” who “led the way” on the teacher proposal.

“Neither the House nor the Senate nor the governor “won” in these budget negotiations,” Gaetz said. “The winners were Florida’s teachers who will be better compensated, Florida’s students who will be taught by educators recognized and rewarded for their performance.”

 
 

 

Palm Beach State College is positioned to draw $6.5 million for its new and controversial Loxahatchee Groves campus under state budget decisions reached late Saturday by House and Senate negotiators.

Also set to be included in the state’s $74-billion-plus spending plan is about $3 million for water projects across Palm Beach County, including $1 million for utility upgrades in financially-strapped Belle Glade and $400,000 for drainage work in Riviera Beach.

“We’ve pretty much wrapped up the numbers portion of the budget,” said Senate Budget Chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart.

Negron and his House counterpart, Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, will continue efforts tomorrow to reach consensus on legislation and technical provisions needed to implement the budget for the year beginning July 1.

Lawmakers have been flush with cash this spring for the first time in seven years, and it showed in Saturday’s homestretch negotiations. When the House and Senate offered rival lists of utility projects and college and university building efforts, Negron and McKeel found money to finance them all.

Among spending getting the go-ahead is $1.3 million for environmental improvements on the Loxahatchee River and $475,000 for seagrass, reef and other work on the Lake Worth Lagoon.

But the Palm Beach State College money has the potential to have the biggest effect on the county.

PBSC has been working on getting a fifth campus for five years and, with Saturday’s budget agreement, looks close to landing state cash to accomplish that goal this year in Loxahatchee Groves.

Whatever is approved by lawmakers, remains subject to review by Gov. Rick Scott. He hinted this week that he may freely wield his veto pen after lawmakers vote on the budget — which is expected Friday, the legislative session’s final scheduled day.

PBSC spokeswoman Grace Truman earlier told the Post that school officials feel they have made a strong case for receiving state funds.

“We’ve had the money proposed before, even had it vetoed once, but when we spent $4.5 million last fall for the land, I think that showed our commitment to the new campus,” Truman said.

But a petition drive by almost 300 Loxahatchee Groves residents opposing expansion, and the commercial development it will bring, continues to cloud the site.

Opponents want the expansion put to a voter referendum. But the town clerk has ruled the petition failed to meet terms of the town charter. The clerk’s ruling is now subject of a lawsuit by a residents group opposed to the campus.

After six years without a raise, state workers will have a little more money in their pockets under salary increases signed off on by House and Senate leaders Saturday evening.

Under the plan, state employees who earn less than $40,000 will get a $1,400-a-year pay hike. Those earning more than $40,000 will see $1,000 increases. The average state worker salary in 2010 was about $48,000, but that includes highly paid employees such as university presidents and agency heads.

Senate budget chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, said the $1,400 raises, about 3 percent, will go to the bulk of the state’s nearly 100,000 workers, who he said earn less than $40,000 a year.

The deal also includes one-time bonuses based on merit and performance of between $500 and $600 for about 35 percent of state workers, Negron said.

“Both sides wanted to recognize the fact that our coworkers in state government not only here in the Capitol but all throughout Florida work hard every day. We appreciate their contribution to state government to our fellow citizens,” Negron said at a Saturday evening meeting with his House counterpart Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland.

State workers last got a pay bump in 2007 with $1,000 bonuses. Their last salary increase was a 3 percent hike the previous year.

The latest deal inched lawmakers closer towards closing out negotiations over the $74 billion budget before the session ends on Friday. Gov. Rick Scott’s spending plan had included merit-based raises only. And lawmakers still haven’t conceded to his demand for $2,500 across-the-board hikes for teachers.

Negron also did a turn-around on what was considered to be a settled item regarding license tags. Last night, the House and Senate agreed to put out to bid a contract for the tags which have been manufactured by PRIDE, a private company that uses inmates, for the past three decades. The House had wanted Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises Inc. to keep the contract.

But Saturday morning, Negron said the Senate changed its mind thanks to intense lobbying by some of his colleagues.

“One of the benefits of the conference process is it enables all of us to take a final look at each of these issues and get input from members of the conference both from those who are able to be here in person and also those who are able to talk to us by phone,” Negron said.

He said “a number of senators” called to say that PRIDE has “a long and distinguished track record of working with inmates helping them to gain employment skills, life skills and other things they will need when they complete their sentence to become productive members of society who can get and keep jobs.”

Negron didn’t elaborate about the availability of post-incarceration license tag-producing jobs.

Negron and McKeel were expected to meet late Saturday evening to discuss water and beach renourishment projects.

Gov. Rick Scott’s legislative agenda headed further into the ditch Friday night, as the Senate finally bent to the House’s will and accepted a 3 percent tuition increase for college and university students.

Scott has long opposed a tuition increase. And he had an ally in the Senate for the course of the legislative session, even as the House pushed for a 6 percent hike.

But as the two sides labored into a second weekend on differences in a $74-billion-plus spending plan, the Senate finally offered to meet the House halfway, recommending a 3 percent boost. The House accepted.

Senate Budget Chief Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and his House counterpart, Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, also agreed to $70 million for Everglades funding, settling on the Senate’s starting position and slightly more than Scott requested in his budget proposal.

Scott also continues to face a challenge from lawmakers on his bid for $2,500-across-the-board teacher pay hikes.

Negron and McKeel agreed to meet Scott’s $480 million pot of money for the raises, but they want the money distributed based on job performance and to include a larger pool of instructional personnel that would shrink what goes directly to teachers.

The two sides plan to continue talks tomorrow.

The House approved its state-financed plan Friday to extend health insurance to more than 100,000 Floridians, shunning billions of dollars available from the federal government for a more ambitious effort backed by Gov. Rick Scott and the state Senate.

The House 71-45 vote broke along party lines, with Democrats opposing the measure (CS/HB 7169) as unworkable and driven by ideological opposition to President Obama’s federal health care overhaul.

The House debated the measure for six hours over two days, with many Republicans ridiculing the promise of federal dollars as unreliable. But Democrats said the House plan was useless.

“This bill is wrapped in a beautiful box,” said Rep. Mia Jones, D-Jacksonville. “But when you open the box…it’s filled with empty promises.”

Still, Republicans said those criticizing the legislation were missing their best chance to help low-income Floridians. With the Legislature entering its final seven days, the House and Senate have deadlocked over relying on federal Medicaid dollars to cover uninsured.

“If you vote no on this bill, you are voting to deny Floridians the opportunity to buy health insurance,” said Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven.

The House proposal would extend health coverage to 115,000 parents, children and disabled Floridians living below the federal poverty line and cost state taxpayers $237 million annually.

Called Health Choices Plus, the House plan would cost low-income Floridians $300 a year, letting them choose from a variety of insurance options supplemented by $2,000 annually in taxpayer contributions.

A family of three earning less than $19,530 would qualify for coverage. But critics say out-of-pocket costs would prohibit many poor from taking part.

Unlike the Senate proposal, Health Choices Plus wouldn’t cover childless adults.

The Senate’s Healthy Florida would cover families with income up to 138 percent of the poverty level, or $26,300 for a family of three, along with single adults earning as much as $15,586. Like the House plan, it also would require those in the program to pay modest monthly fees and co-payments.

The Senate proposal positions Florida to receive $51 billion in federal aid over the next decade, while costing state taxpayers $3.5 billion. The House plan would cost Florida taxpayers more than $2 billion in the same period, while covering one-tenth of those without coverage.

Florida has almost 4 million uninsured residents, one of the largest populations in the nation.

The Senate plan has been praised by supporters for helping cover many low-income workers in the state’s tourism, health care and service industries who currently have no health insurance.

Scott this week began hinting to lawmakers that he may wield his veto pen heavily — killed coveted spending priorities, if they fail to embrace his legislative agenda.  Scott’s salesmanship on the health insurance plan, however, has been low-key.

But Rep. Jim Waldman, D-Coconut Creek, said the Republican governor should retaliate if he is sent the House health insurance proposal.

“Gov. Scott, this Legislature has failed you,” Waldman said Friday. “This House of Representatives has failed you.”

Waldman said, “You need to veto this budget and send us back here to do our job.”

Florida welfare recipients won’t be allowed to use state-issued debit cards at strip joints, liquor stores or casinos under a bill on its way to Gov. Rick Scott, who is certain to approve the measure.

The Florida Senate unanimously approved the measure with no debate this morning.

House sponsor Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness, says the bill (HB 701) is needed to comply with a federal law banning the use of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or “TANF,” at liquor stores, gambling locales or places that specialize in adult entertainment, including porn shops. Smith said needs to act before Feb. 14 or risk losing out on 5 percent of the funds for the program.

The bill (HB 701) which bans the state’s poorest-of-the-poor from using the debit cards at liquor stores, adult entertainment establishments – including porn shops – and other gaming establishments.

“This is a victory for Florida taxpayers who can now know that their hard-earned tax dollars are truly being used to help needy families get back on their feet so they can become independent and self-sufficient,” Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary David Wilkins said in a statement.

The federal “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012” requires states to maintain policies to prevent cash assistance “from being used in any electronic benefit transfer transaction in any liquor store; any casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment; or any retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment.”

TANF recipients receive debit cards, or “EBTs,” which they can use to get cash from ATMs or to make purchases. Unlike food stamps, there are no restrictions on what items can be bought with the cards.

A year before the federal law was passed, a Florida representative proposed similar restrictions in response to a television expose, later substantiated by state officials, that found that of 1.3 million transactions totaling nearly $202 million over a two-year period in Florida, about $93,000 was drawn at places with liquor licenses, strip clubs or gambling sites.

Gov. Rick Scott grumbled some and hinted Thursday at vetoing some hometown spending sought by top lawmakers if the Legislature fails to act on his legislative proposals.

Scott’s biggest pitch — drawing Medicaid dollars to expand health care for low-income Floridians — looks doomed in the House. The House also has allowed to languish Scott’s push to eliminate the sales tax for manufacturers buying new equipment.

Meanwhile, House and Senate budget negotiators also have dismissed Scott’s $2,500 across-the-board teacher pay raises. They want to hand out the dollars solely based on merit.

“In the budget, for the first time since 2006, we have a surplus. I want to make sure we spend the money well,” Scott told reporters. “So, I would expect, like I did the last two years….I want to make sure we get a good return on our investment.”

Asked if he has targeted some spending already, Scott said, “There’s a lot of projects in there. I’m going to look at them closely. Legislators, I’m sure will want to come explain some spending. I have my priorities. I want to do the right thing for this state.”

The Capitol Hill publication Roll Call says Florida Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson is mulling a run for governor in 2014, but Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin says there’s “nothing new” since Nelson told reporters in March that he had “no plans” to run.

That declaration to reporters in Tallahassee came two weeks after McLaughlin told PostOnPolitics that Nelson “cannot envision a circumstance under which he would run for governor.”

Of course, having “no plans” or being unable to “envision” something is not the same as flatly ruling out the possibility for all time.

As McLaughlin told Roll Call: “I’d say that’s true, that he’s considering it…An awful lot of people have contacted him and asked him to do so. But — and as he’s said a number of times — he presently doesn’t have any intention of running. He’s got a job to do as a senator.”

Democrats believe they have a prime opportunity to unseat Republican Gov. Rick Scott and his low approval ratings. Former state Sen. Nan Rich of Broward County has opened a campaign and there’s widespread expectation that Republican-turned-independent-turned-Democratic former Gov. Charlie Crist will open a campaign.

Police, sheriffs and other law enforcement agencies won’t be able to use drones to spy on Floridians except in special emergencies under a new law that goes into effect on July 1.

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law the “Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act” today as the bill’s sponsors – Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Rep. Ritch Workman, R-Melbourne – looked on. The new law goes into effect on July 1.

Negron, the powerful Senate budget chief and a professed libertarian, said the prohibition is necessary to protect Floridians’ privacy.

“A lot of times legislators react to events rather than set ground rules before the events occur,” Negron told reporters. “There’s an industry that wants to sell hundreds of thousands of these drones all over the country. Before they’re up in the sky hovering around monitoring people in their cars and their backyards, I think it was a good idea to say here’s the rules we’re going to have in Florida on that. I think that we’re right on time to make sure that we protect people’s privacy.”

When asked if the law is necessary, Scott said: “The real need for this is the fact that we want our own privacy. We believe in the Fourth Amendment.”

The bill includes exceptions allowing the use if:
_ The secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security decides a high risk of a terrorist attack exists;
_ Sheriffs, police or other law enforcement agencies first obtain a search warrant;
_ A law enforcement agency has reasonable suspicion that swift action is necessary to prevent imminent danger to life, such as to search for a missing child or stop the escape of a suspect.

The state’s sheriffs wanted to allow the drones to be used to monitor large-scale public events such as the Super Bowl. But Negron refused to budge on the issue.

“There’s exceptions. The House and Senate worked with law enforcement to make sure we can do the right thing in times of emergency, if there’s safety, things like that. But look, I believe in privacy,” Scott said.

Florida’s 2011 unemployment compensation law, which makes those seeking benefits file online and complete a skills test, is run so poorly it effectively discriminates against minorities and the disabled, the U.S. Department of Labor has found.

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 have denied unemployment checks to thousands of eligible Floridians.

Critics also said that frustration with the system may 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.

Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent last month, its lowest point in three years.

“The decision by the USDOL Civil Rights Center is a victory for Florida’s unemployed workers with disabilities or limited English proficiency, who have been shut out of the system by the onerous online requirements,” the workers’ organizations said Thursday in a statement.

They said the state has entered into negotiations with the federal government to reach voluntary compliance with the ruling, and put in place remedies to make unemployment insurance available to job-seekers unable to complete online claim requirements.

Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity, which oversees the unemployment compensation program, said this:

“DOL was aware of the legislative changes to the reemployment system before its passage in 2011 and provided no objection. Now a different division within DOL, in response to questionable allegations by a special interest group, is challenging those very same laws.

“ Nevertheless we are committed to working with our federal partner to ensure that Florida’s economy continues to grow.”

Gov. Rick Scott is being challenged by top lawmakers on his pitch for low-income health insurance and the lone issues he’s labeled legislative priorities — tax breaks and teacher pay.

But Scott Tuesday declined to bad mouth anyone, as the session lurches into its final two weeks.

About as threatening Scott got was in delivering a veiled hint that he’d veto the priorities of House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, which include revamping campaign finance laws and ethics changes.

But, Scoff quickly added, “I’ve been very clear…Everybody can have a successful session.”

Weatherford looms as Scott’s biggest obstacle, refusing to embrace his health insurance plan and allowing the governor’s tax break package to proceed at a glacial pace. The governor tried to use logic in convincing the House.

“We don’t have a choice about the taxes that are part of the president’s health law,” Scott said of the federal health care overhaul. “We do have a choice whether we cover individuals that today don’t have health care. I believe that while the federal government pays 100 percent, we should cover those who don’t have access to health care.”

Scott said he didn’t think he had to flex his muscles.

“The Senate president and speaker of the House know exactly where I stand on this, and I’m very hopeful that they’ll do the right thing,” he concluded.

The House has rejected a call by Scott and the Senate to enact a Healthy Florida plan that could draw billions of federal dollars to insure 1.1 million low-income Floridians. Instead, the House has recommended a more modest proposal that uses $247 million of state taxpayer dollars next year to cover 115,000 uninsured Floridians.

Scott, did, however, get slightly worked up over the House’s push for a 6 percent tuition increase for college and university students. Scott and the Senate have rejected that approach.

“I can’t believe that the House wants to increase tuition 6 percent,” Scott said. “Florida families can’t afford it….every time they raise tuition, which they’ve done for five straight years, it impacts the poorest families in our state and their ability to go to college.”

Later, Gaetz said he endorsed Scott’s handling of the delicate end-game negotiations with the House and Senate.

“I think it’s been a good approach….If he were all over us all the time, pounding away repetitively, redundantly on his issues, we’d be saying ‘he’s too heavy handed,” Gaetz said.

“I think the governor proposes, the Legislature disposes,” Gaetz added. “There’s no lack of clarity about where the governor stands at all.”

After earlier taunting Texas and attempting to tempt New York businesses to move to Florida, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday shifted his focus toward Illinois — urging businesses to buy a one-way ticket to the Sunshine State.

“My number one priority is to continue to make Florida the number one destination for business so we can continue to create jobs and opportunities for Florida families,” Scott said after sending an open letter to Illinois business. “My ‘One Way’ campaign is a great way to let businesses in Illinois, and around the world, know that they are welcome in Florida.”

In his “Dear Illinois Business Owner” letter,  Scott touted Florida’s “incredible economic turnaround.” He also said Illinois companies should look to leave home to flee high taxes and unemployment.

Here’s what Scott wrote:  Illinois letter

Budget conferees working on education — the biggest-ticket item in the state’s $74-billion-plus spending plan — effectively abandoned efforts late Monday toward reaching a final agreement.

The House’s push for 6 percent college and university tuition increases, and the Senate’s demand that state scholarship programs including Bright Futures funding avoid any cuts were among a handful of areas dividing House and Senate negotiators.

Public school funding does look generally on track to receive slighly more than a $1 billion funding increase next fall. Gov. Rick Scott had sought a $1.2 billion increase, that had initially been matched by the Senate.

“We made a good faith effort…and I thought we could get there,” said Rep. Erik Fresen, R-Miami, the House’s lead negotiator on schools, after a final round of talks yielded no overall agreement late Monday.

Scott and the Senate are rejecting any talk of tuition increases. And the House earlier reduced its 6 percent demand to 4 percent — only to ratchet its tuition proposal back up to 6 percent in its final offer as it sought agreement in other education areas.

Fresen’s counterpart, Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said the two sides had settled plenty of lesser matters. But big policy differences still divide lawmakers.

Next stop: Budget chairs, Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, and Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, will take a stab at the work for a few days, beginning tomorrow evening. They’ll have a chance to rope into their deal-making a wide range of spending differences in environmental, economic development and health and human service programs.

Lawmakers have to button-up the budget by early next week for the session to conclude on time, May 3.