For decades, it was against Florida law to dye animals, including bunnies, chicks and ducklings. The law was intended to put an end to pink peeps (and other baby fowl) at one time sold for Easter basket treats but then grew up into unwanted barnyard birds.

The law, however, also got in the way of pet groomers who wanted to dye dogs for parades and competitions. So the legislature did away with the law last year, prompting protests from animal rights organizations and some Democratic lawmakers.

Now Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, is backing a move to repeal the repeal of the law and once again make it illegal to dye animals or sell colorized creatures. Sachs’ one-time opponent, former Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, included the dog-dying amendment in an omnibus agriculture bill this year.

Sachs garnered the groomer’s support by adding an exception that would allow pet owners to pamper their pets with special colors. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee approved the measure (SB 650) unanimously this morning, and a similar proposal (851), with the support of several GOP members, is ready for a House vote.

The House version of a sweeping rewrite of Florida’s Medicaid program is poised for a vote this week — the first step toward a legislative end-game with the Senate aimed at yielding a statewide managed care program for the state’s low-income poor, disabled and elderly.

At some point, the federal government is going to have to give its OK to whatever Florida lawmakers agree on.

 But House Health and Human Services Chairman Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, said it’s clear state lawmakers agree the goal is to get a handle on a program on track to absorb one-quarter of the state’s roughly $66 billion budget.

“I’m more focused on changing the Medicaid model at its core for generations to come,” said Schenck, who also said “this is a new day for Medicaid.”  (more…)

Palm Beach County Commissioner Burt Aaronson said Wednesday he thinks state lawmakers should embrace the county’s call for banning gun clips containing more than 15 rounds — especially following Arizona U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ shooting earlier this year.

But the legislation, proposed by Rep. Lori Berman and Sen. Maria Sachs,  both Delray Beach Democrats, likely faces tall odds in a Republican Legislature filled with lawmakers elected with the backing of the National Rifle Association.

“You know, a TV commentator has said, ‘the first 10 rounds, blame the person, the next 21 rounds, you should blame the law,’” said Aronson, who joined Berman and Sachs at a Capitol news conference to promote the legislation, which has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

House Bill 1335, which Representative Berman filed on Monday, limits the sale or transfer of high-volume ammunition devices with a capacity greater than 15 bullets.

 Giffords was critically wounded when accused assailant Jared Loughner, who is charged in January’s shooting near Tucson, used a high-capacity magazine to fire 31 shots in 15 seconds from a pistol he purchased legally. Six people were killed and 14 wounded. (more…)

The fate of a grand jury’s call for tougher sanctions against political corruption now goes to the politicians — with legislation pending in the House and Senate.

Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, filed legislation (SB 1484)  this week that would allow as much as $100,000 in civil fines for some ethics violations — a tenfold increase in currrent penalties. Also, a new $5,000 penalty would be imposed on lobbyists who fail to accurately submit financial disclosure reports.

“Public officials need to be held to a high standard,” Fasano said Thursday.

Fasano, one of former Gov. Charlie Crist’s last allies in the Leigslature, if following through on the recommendations of a statewide grand jury examining public corruption in Florida. Crist sought the grand jury investigation following a string of high-profile corruption cases.

Rep. Lori Berman, D-Delray Beach, filed legislation (HB 249) in January that would boost penalties on public officials convicted in criminal cases of corruption. In addition to the statewide grand jury report, two Palm Beach County grand juries also recommended additional public corruption laws.

The state’s pension fund has consistently met its investment goals – fairly average compared to other states– but also is “financially sound,”  a report released Monday shows.

The state’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) gave the $114 billion Florida Retirement System generally satisfactory marks in its review of the fund, which covers almost 1 million government workers and retirees. 

 The pension fund is a big target for lawmakers this spring, with Gov. Rick Scott proposing that employees contribute 5 percent of their paychecks to help finance their retirement benefits — saving the state $1.3 billion.

 The money could help lawmakers patch a budget shortfall of at least $3.6 billion. But it also could help Scott make good on his campaign promise to reduce property taxes by $1.4 billion, something the GOP governor says he’ll do over the next two years.

As part of his push for changing the fund, Scott warns that the pension fund is on shaky financial footing.

 OPPAGA disputes that. Anaysts acknowledge  the FRS has a so-called funding ratio of 87.9 percent and currently does not have ”sufficient assets to pay current and future expected benefits for participants and their beneficiaries.”

But, OPPAGA points out, “experts generally consider public pension plans with funding ratios at or above 80 percent to be fiscally sound.”  

Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature’s ruling Republicans have kicked over a political hornet’s nest by promoting budget cuts, pension overhauls and civil justice changes, which are now emerging as targets for statewide rallies by Democratic-allied organizations.

The GOP’s tough medicine for a state pocked by foreclosures and almost 12 percent unemployment may be breathing life into a Florida Democratic Party, virtually left for dead after wholesale election defeats last fall. It also may effectively prove the opening round of the 2012 presidential contest in the nation’s biggest battleground state.

“Democrats last fall were down and outspent,” said Susannah Randolph, campaign manager for defeated Orlando Democratic U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson and now an organizer of the March 8 rallies.

“Now we’re seeing that we have to respond to a threat level like DEFCON 1,” said Randolph, who also is a leader of Florida Watch Action. “And sure, we want to keep this energy going.”

Using a Facebook page, “Awake The State,” organizers are planning events in most major Florida cities on the legislature’s opening day. Although locations are still being determined, teachers and public employees’ unions, including police and firefighters, are forming the core of those protesting expected cuts in education, pensions and government workforces.

Counter-punching, tea party supporters are rallying behind Scott, and looking to converge on the state Capitol for the session’s launch, which coincides with the new governor’s first State of the State address.

Florida’s spring training season goes beyond baseball.  The parties are gearing up for the 2012 campaigns by energizing their political bases around Scott and the Legislature’s plans.

The third time may be the charm for the controversial Central Florida commuter rail project called SunRail.

A special session dealing with SunRail and South Florida’s ailing Tri-Rail system will begin Thursday at 9 a.m.

House Speaker Larry Cretul issued a memo this afternoon saying he plans for the House to vote on the bill on Monday and for the Senate to vote on it on Wednesday.

Cretul, R-Ocala, said he and Atwater have agreed in principal on the proposal, which apparently exists but has not yet been distributed to most lawmakers, if any.

Money for Tri-Rail will come from the state road project fund and money for Sunrail and other rail projects will come from doc stamps from home sales.

PDF: Summary of proposed statewide rail transit legislation

Tallahassee social services advocate Budd Bell, who spent nearly four decades lobbying the legislature for children and families, died this morning, the News Service of Florida reported.

She was 94.

For more than a generation, Bell was a familiar sight in the halls of the Capitol where she fiercely fought for services for poor children, the mentally ill and the disabled.

Bell pushed lawmakers to create the Baker Act, which allows mentally ill or suicidal individuals to be temporarily hospitalized instead of sent to jail.

Bell, a founding member of the National Association of Social Workers in 1955, was also instrumental in requiring child care centers to be licensed.

On July 1, a yearly ritual takes place in Florida: a crop of new laws passed by legislators and signed by the governor takes effect.

This year is no different. Gov. Charlie Crist and state lawmakers spent much of their time grappling with a $6 billion budget shortfall, but they still managed to pass legislation that will affect nearly every Floridian, whether it’s new taxes and fees, a tougher seat-belt law or changes to college tuition.

Click here to see a rundown from the Sun-Sentinel of new laws that take effect Wednesday.