U.S. Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, chief deputy whip for House Democrats and responsible for rounding up votes for health care reform, had good news to spread Thursday on Capitol Hill.

The eagerly awaited report by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, detailing how much the final version of the bill would cost and its long term economic impacts, had arrived late the day before.

Story here.

That’s the word from Post columnist Frank Cerabino who opines that it would be “the quickest way they can rise above second-class citizenship in Florida.”

From his column:

Nothing activates state lawmakers more than pleasing the National Rifle Association. If our state lawmakers were made to wear NASCAR-style jumpsuits to display their sponsors, the NRA’s logo would be plastered all over them.

A Florida Senate panel on Tuesday approved a second year of cutbacks for the popular Bright Futures scholarships, citing declining tax collections.

But just down the hall in the Capitol, another Senate committee approved cutting tax collections further to help pay for a massive expansion of a different kind of “scholarship” — one that gives corporations tax credits for the contributions they make to a program that gives poor children vouchers to help pay for private school tuition.

“It’s sadly ironic,” said Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, a member of the Senate Higher Education Appropriations Committee considering the Bright Futures changes. “Floridians want our schools funded and fixed, not privatized.”

Story here.

From the New York Times editorial board this morning:

Some environmentalists complained that Mr. Crist paid too much and that the cost of the deal would crowd out other restoration projects.

But some of those projects — a string of underground storage wells, for instance — made little sense to begin with and none are as important as the land deal. The payout to United States Sugar and some other aspects of the deal seem excessive. But the agency can negotiate the price downward or cancel the arrangement if United States Sugar refuses to bargain or if the economy keeps tanking and the deal becomes unaffordable.

What the taxpayers need to remember is that this is a very good deal for the environment. Without an ample supply of clean, fresh water, the Everglades will never be restored to anything approaching their former vitality.

House members are going after bands of rogue pizza pitchmen that they say are targeting tourists in Central Florida by posing as pizza purveyors to gain entree into hotels.

The criminals hand out flyers with phony phone numbers and rape or steal from the unsuspecting tourists once they arrive at their hotel rooms to make their “deliveries,” Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association President Richard Maladecki told the House Domestic Security and Public Safety Committee this morning.

The proposal (PCB PSDS 10-03) would enhance penalties already on the books restricting people from putting flyers on cars in hotel or motel parking lots.

It would give law enforcement the ability to seize the cars, weapons or computers of repeat offenders who distribute the “handbills” without written permission of the owner.

And it would allow law enforcement officers to arrest potential offenders without probable cause.

The unions are up in arms over the measure because they fear it’s a way for hoteliers to keep workers from unionizing.

“There’s something else going on here other than pizza flyers. That has us very concerned,” Florida AFL-CIO spokesman Rich Templin told the committee.

And an Orlando pizzeria owner told the committee the proposal is a way for the large pizza chains to shut out small business owners like himself.

“I think that what this boils down to is that you want people to have permission to come into your facility.
At the end of the day these are private properties,” said Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami. “Would you not agree that it would be a good idea that before you walk into any private property you would have some consent before you pass out flyers?”

The measure would enhance penalties for a new law approved by lawmakers now requiring that people handing out flyers on private property get permission from the owners.

The committee approved the bill, which has several more stops before getting to the House floor.

Free speech advocates are up in arms about a House bill that would harshly penalize individuals handing out flyers on property owned by hoteliers.

The bill (PCB PSDS 10-03) would allow the seizure of cars, computers or items in cars if a person has been caught more than three times handing out fliers, such as those organizing unions.

The bill would also permit those handing out the fliers to be arrested without probable cause unless they have the written permission of the company that owns the property.

The proposal is slated to be heard in the House Public Safety and Domestic Security Policy Committee tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.

A Times/Herald analysis of IRS records shows Rubio’s spending “belies his image as an outsider riding a wave of anti-establishment fervor and gunning to knock off Gov. Charlie Crist for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination.” From the story:

• Rubio failed to disclose $34,000 in expenses — including $7,000 he paid himself — for one of the committees in 2003 and 2004, as required by state law.

• One committee paid relatives nearly $14,000 for what was incorrectly described to the IRS as “courier fees” and listed a nonexistent address for one of them. Another committee paid $5,700 to his wife, who was listed as the treasurer, much of it for “gas and meals.”

• He billed more than $51,000 in unidentified “travel expenses” to three different credit cards — nearly one-quarter of the committee’s entire haul. Charges are not required to be itemized, but other lawmakers detailed almost all of their committee expenses.

Federal prosecutors in Florida are trying to keep a serial child molester behind bars in California for crimes George Joseph England allegedly committed in Palm Beach County.

England, now 65, is accused of buying then-five-year-old Jackie Zudis from her mother in Vietnam in the early 1970s. He claimed her as his adopted daughter and kept her as a sex slave for more than a decade, authorities say.

England sexually assaulted three of her young friends, skipped out of sentencing in California and lived for years in Florida — including Palm Beach County — using the fake name of a dead baby.

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The board of the South Florida Water Management District voted unanimously to extend the closing deadline on the $536 million, 73,000-acre land deal until Sept. 30, so that a legal challenge now before the Florida Supreme Court can play out.

Story here.

A controversial measure making 911 call tapes secret passed its first test this morning over the objections of Democrats and civil rights advocates.

The measure (PCB GAP 10-3) is the brainchild of House Speaker Larry Cretul and appears on the fast-track in his chamber although Senate support appears limited.

The purpose of the bill is to spare victims of tragedies from reliving their traumas when frantic 911 calls are repeatedly broadcast on television or blogs, argued bill sponsor Rep. Rob Schenk, chairman of the Govermental Affairs Policy Committee that passed the bill with an 8-5 vote this morning.

The tapes would only be available to those who make the calls but others would have to go to court to get them. Transcripts of the tapes would be available after 60 days.

But Rep. Rick Kriseman, a St. Petersburg Democrat, objected that the transcripts are not available to the victims of the 911 calls unless they made the calls themselves.

Kriseman, a lawyer, also said automobile manufacturer Toyota may not have responded to quickly to runaway cars without the 911 tapes.

“Had it not been for the recording, the pressure that’s now being put on Toyota would not have happened. Because it was through that recording that we learned about the problem with the gas pedals and all the other associated problems. That’s a protection that we’re losing by putting this in place,” Kriseman said.

But Schenk argued that the bill is necessary to protect victims.

“It’s not about Tiger Woods and what did or did not happen on Thanksgiving with him. It’s not about any other celebrity. It is simply about when someone makes a 911 call they are generally in one of the most vulnerable states they will ever be in in their life. There is a tragedy. There is an emergency. There is something traumatic happening at that very moment. I’ll tell you just from personal experience I’ve had to make a 911 call. The events that happened during that time I will never forget. Quite frankly, I would not want to relieve that over and over again watching on TV or reading about it in the media,” Schenk said.

“That’s what this bill is about. It’s not about any celebrity. It’s not about any sensational news story you read about. It is purely about taking into consideration victims who make a 911 call, guarding them from the fact that reliving that event over and over again that was already traumatic to them.”

Schenk later refused to elaborate on the nature of his 911 call.

Michael Dolce’s impassioned but barely audible appeal to lawmakers today reaped a preliminary success for the 40-year-old West Palm Beach lawyer.

Dolce’s tried but failed for years to get the legislature to do away with the statute of limitations in cases where a child under the age of 16 was sexually molested. The former legislative aide has a personal interest in seeing the law passed, one that he shared with a spellbound Senate Criminal Justice Committee this afternoon struggling to hear the soft-spoken Dolce’s testimony.

Dolce, an attorney, prayed silently before telling the committee that he was repeatedly raped as a 7-year-old child by a neighbor in his home state of Maryland. When he was finally able to talk about the vicious crime, the statute of limitations had passed and he was unable to press charges against his molestor.

Sen. Dave Aronberg, a Greenacres Democrat, is sponsoring a bill again (SB 870) this year that would do away with Florida’s current law giving victims of certain sex offenses, including “non-forcible rape” of children age 12 and older, until they are 21 to press charges. Lawsuits must be filed before the victim reaches age 26.

But up to 70 percent of child sexual-abuse cases aren’t reported until after the deadline, Dolce told The Palm Beach Post last year.

Dolce told the committee he still suffers after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on medical and psychological treatment while his molestor walks free.

“Today, he I am 40 years old. The pain does not go away,” he said.

The committee unanimously approved the measure which has two more stops before a full vote in the Senate. Its House companion has one committee vote left after three committees previously unanimously passed it.

Lawmakers have the power to repeal the statute of limitations by legislative grace, Dolce testified.

“I urge you to do it. I have faced Satan. He does not deserve legislative grace,” Dolce said.

Dolce launched a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to lift the statute of limitations on sex crimes in the event that the legislature again fails to act. He failed to gather the 700,000 signatures by February necessary to get the measure on this year’s ballot but is shooting for 2012.

Left - House Republican Majority Leader Adam Hasner of Boca Raton displays proper attire for the chamber floor. Right - the latest thing out of L.A.

Florida House members are banned from snapping cell phone pics while they’re in the chamber under a decorum edict from House Speaker Larry Cretul.

Lawmakers were reminded this morning that they can get pictures from the staff of taxpayer-funded photographers who document each days work.

Rules Chairman Bill Galvano, who highlighted some of the finer points in the memo for lawmakers today, reminded his colleagues to wear “proper attire” and “not the latest thing out of L.A.”

They were reminded not to use cell phones in the chamber, not to vote for other members in a quorum call, to get floor props approved first and to use state laptops for state business.

“That’s about it by way of highlight on the memorandum,” Galvano said.

Democratic firm Public Policy Polling says former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio now has a 60-to-28 percent lead over Gov. Charlie Crist in their Republican U.S. Senate primary race.

Rubio’s lead is bolstered by a “staggering” 71-to-17 percent lead among conservatives, the poll says. Click here for PPP’s analysis.

Crist’s campaign was quick to label the poll “agenda-driven” and “designed to help Speaker Rubio, as they understand how easy it would be to defeat a lobbyist-politician in November.”

Gov. Charlie Crist, in his appearance on Fox News last night, insinuated that the $135 Rubio spent at a salon might have been on a back wax. (The initial issue with the expenditure, of course, was that Rubio charged it to his Florida Republican Party credit card.)

Crist said Rubio paid the party back “after he got caught.”

“Here’s something else that is really strange about that,” Crist told Greta Van Susteren. “He lists his net worth on his last financial statement as about $8,000. Yet he already said he paid back $16,000 and then another $3,000 on top of that, a total of almost $20,000. If his net worth is really only $8,000, how’s he paying back $20,000. Who’s money is he using now to do that? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s really a house of cards.”

Rubio’s campaign shot back saying he paid the $16,000 in personal expenses several years ago. The campaign also mocked the governor, saying “to Crist, being a fiscal conservative means having the right barber.”

Rubio’s press release here.

Dockery

So, while this project is being sold as Everglades restoration, it would delay actual restoration efforts by using needed money for land acquisition, while U.S. Sugar would retain the more significant tracts in the natural flow-way. Making matters worse, the deal would give U.S. Sugar an exclusive right to lease back the acreage at below-market rates for 20 years.

I’m asking board Chairman Eric Buermann to be forthcoming about the consequences, including tax increases that will be needed and opportunities that will be lost. Continuing to pursue this purchase is not just fiscally irresponsible; it is nothing short of reckless.

The New York Times profiled the deal on Sunday, concluding that the immediate beneficiaries are U.S. Sugar and U.S. Sen. George LeMieux’s former law firm, Gunster Yoakley.

U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek on Friday called for a simple majority vote and reconciliation process to approve President Obama’s health care reforms.

“We Floridians deserve an up-and-down vote on health care,” the Democratic candidate said at a campaign rally in Boynton Beach. “There can be no ‘let’s start all over again.’ We can’t move the goal post further and further away. We need health care and we need it to be affordable.”

Story here.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman filed a complaint Friday with the state’s Election Commission, accusing the Florida Republican Party of failing to file accurate finance reports with state officials.

Story here.

In a Feb. 17 memo circulated Friday the consultant said the South Florida Water Management District — the agency Gov. Charlie Crist tapped to finance the purchase — “must make some very difficult decisions,” including big cuts in operations and maintenance of its 16-county water supply and flood control system.

The reason: deficit projections of $89 million and $110 million in 2011 and 2012.

Story here.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill McCollum is bringing buddy Rudy Giuliani back to Florida for a breakfast fundraiser in West Palm Beach on March 12.

McCollum, who endorsed Giuliani in the ‘08 Republican presidential primary in Florida, is holding his $40/person fundraiser at Howley’s Restaurant on South Dixie Highway at 7:30 a.m.

“It is always nice to enjoy a good meal with friends prior to a day on the campaign trail,” McCollum writes in the invitation.

The host committee for the event includes Palm Beach County Commissioner Steve Abrams, Teresa Bailey, Marie Davis, Palm Beach Councilman Bill Diamond, Sid Dinerstein, Peter Feaman, Jay Goldfarb, Fran Hancock, Mark Hoch, Beth Kigel, Greg Langowski, Cheryl Mullings, Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits, Joe Penkala, Jonathan Satter, Tom Sliney, Ben Starling, Joy Stone and Palm Beach Shores Mayor John Workman

The Senate Commerce Committee approved, 7-3, one of Gov. Charlie Crist’s top priorities, but only after Republican Sens. Evelyn Lynn of Ormond Beach and Durell Peaden of Crestview agreed to move the measure to the next committee. Had they opposed the bill, it would have died on a tie vote.

Lynn and Peaden were critical of the bill (SB 1680), which would save Florida corporations an average of between $1,800 and $1,900 per year while the state budget writers (like Lynn, the Higher Education Appropriations chair, and Peaden, the Health & Human Services Appropriations chair) are considering deep cuts to health and human services to account for budget holes.

The bill would reduce the corporate income tax by 1 percent on the first $1 million of a company’s income. It would have a total savings for business/cost to the state of about $57.4 million.

“The amount of money a corporation will receive is really going to be so minuscule it really will have no impact,” Lynn said. “It certainly cannot bring in jobs as we would like to see. It’s not meaningful enough.

Peaden said he “probably won’t” vote for the bill if it makes it to the Senate floor.

“It’s tough when we’re sitting on these committees looking at cuts at are going to mean live and death for kids,” Peaden said.

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