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

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

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

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

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

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

Food loaf. It’s what inmates hope isn’t for dinner.

As if prison food isn’t bad enough already, naughty inmates are fed a mystery “meat” called “food loaf.”

What exactly the loaf is made up of and what prisoners do to warrant the punishing meal isn’t clear either.

“Food loaf” is also known as called “meal management loaf,” “nutri-loaf” or “behavioral loaf in prison circles. In some prisons the concoction is made up of all of the day’s food put into a blender with some oats thrown in and baked into a loaf.

It is given in some prisons to unruly inmates who throw their food trays at correctional officers and was served in the past to Florida inmates with no utensils.

Currently, inmates in Vermont are suing prison officials over the use of the food loaf and which some states have banned.

Sen. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, asked Department of Corrections Chief of Staff Richard Prudhom at this morning’s Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations meeting morning to give her, in writing, the caloric value of the mystery package and the department policy on offenses that result in the loaf.

Prudhom said he will report back.

The state spends $2.33 a day for three meals and a snack on the 100,000 prisoners behind bars.

Legislative leaders-in-waiting Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Will Weatherford are heading up a GOP initiative to water down constitutional class size limits approved by voters.

Gaetz, R-Destin, and Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, sponsored a constitutional amendment lawmakers are expected to put on the ballot this year that would undo some of the class size restrictions voters approved in 2002.

Floridians have already spent $16 billion to shrink class sizes but plummeting property tax collections - which pay for public schools - have sent lawmakers scrambling to foot the $22 billion-a-year tab for education.

Gaetz and Weatherford, who are expected to lead their chambers in 2012, will reveal details of their proposal at a press conference tomorrow morning.

Gov. Charlie Crist, who is running for U.S. Senate, recently said that he supports undoing the class size restrictions, which have been been introduced gradually and which school officials say costs too much and doesn’t benefit student achievement.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat is also running for the U.S. Senate seat Crist seeks, was the force behind the class size amendment in 2002 while he was in the state Senate.

He isn’t backing down from the limits, which are set to go into full effect by the end of this year.

“Eight years later, Tallahassee officials have not relented in trying to water down hard-fought class size limits while refusing to tackle the special interest bidding that is alive and well in the state capital, ” said Kendrick Meek, who served as Chairman of Florida’s Coalition to Reduce Class Size in 2002.

“Florida families cannot be shortchanged. They simply ask that their children not be packed into overcrowded classrooms. Instead of focusing on misguided priorities, Florida needs a long-term perspective to secure a better future for our children. Implementing the class size limits without delay is critical so our teachers can teach in classrooms where our students can learn. Moreover, it is important to note that our state needs to invest now in its human capital in order to reverse the tide of joblessness for tomorrow’s workers,” Meek said in press release.

 Loading ...

Attorney General and GOP candidate for governor blasted trial lawyers for running a race-baiting ad in a special Jacksonville Senate election.

The controversial mailer depicted the Black Panthers, President Barack Obama, the Rev. Louis Farrakhan with the caption: “Is this the change YOU want to believe in? Violence and intimidation at the voting booth.”

Former House Speaker John Thrasher, a Republican, won the special election and now replaces the late Sen. Jim King.

Scott Carruthers, the head of the powerful trial bar group, admitted yesterday that his organization was behind the ad and apologized for it.

Not good enough, McCollum’s campaign said today in a statement.

“We expect lawyers to not only obey the law but to act in a manner consistent with both the judicial process and the treatment of every individual with respect. I am appalled that the Florida Justice Association engaged in this behavior and their apology is clearly a case of too little too late,” the statement reads.

Rep. Dave Murzin, a Panhandle Republican who’s in a hot GOP primary against Rep. Greg Evers for state Senate, is holding a fundraiser coinciding with the popular “Downtown GetDowns” on Tallahassee Friday night.

The street parties take place each Friday night before a Florida State University home football game.

But an invitation to the Murzin fundraiser at the Florida Hotel and Restaurant Association in the heart of downtown in the capital city provoked United Way of the Big Bend President Ken Armstrong into calling for a time-out.

(more…)

Atwater: no quick vote on compact

Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, sent Crist a list of questions about the compact - the second deal Crist inked with the tribe - today seeking “clarification.”

Atwater gave Crist until Oct. 9 to respond.

In an interview, Atwater also said he’d like the final compact to include provisions allowing the Palm Beach Kennel Club and other parimutuels around the state to add video slot machines or otherwise expand gambling if voters give the OK in local referenda. Such a measure was approved by legislators in the spring, but was not part of the recent compact Crist agreed to with the Seminoles.

Crist: wants early-October vote

No dice on that, either, Atwater said in a memo sent to the Senate and the media.

“As you all are aware, this issue involves a series of complex conversations with a variety of interests and impacts throughout our State. There are policy decisions to be considered that are not well served by undue haste. If, or when, the Senate takes up this issue it will be in a manner that allows for sufficient time to debate the facts and the merits of such policy,” Atwater wrote.

Opponents of former House Speaker John Thrasher launched a new television ad yesterday blasting the lobbyist’s ties to trial lawyers.

Stop Tax Waste, a shadow political committee, accuses him of voting in favor of the trial bar and “against taxpayers.”

Thrasher is running in a GOP special election primary against former state Rep. Stan Jordan to replace the late Sen. Jim King, who died earlier this month after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Senate District 8 primary will take place on Sept. 15. No Democrats have filed for Jacksonville seat in a GOP-heavy district that stretches from the Florida-Georgia border in Nassau County to Volusia County.

The latest ad is the second Stop Tax Waste launched against Thrasher, accusing him of being a spendthrift with taxpayer money by, among other things, a lavish redecoration of the Speaker’s office.

Former House Speaker John Thrasher has at least a dozen fundraisers scheduled before the Sept. 15 special election GOP primary to replace the late Sen. Jim King.

The Florida Dental Association, the Florida Medical Association are among those hosting the Florida fundraisers for the Senate District 8 candidate.

Thrasher, a prominent lobbyist, is under attack by “Stop Tax Waste,” a political group that launched an Internet site lambasting Thrasher for his spending while Speaker, including a lavish revamp of the his office and the House chambers.

“Stop Tax Waste” also launched a television ad this week blasting the Jacksonville Republican for being a Tallahassee insider and again accusing him of wasting taxpayer money.

Thrasher accused trial lawyers of being behind the attack ads, but the “Stop Tax Waste” folks deny the association.

The attack ads coincide with former state Rep. Stan Jordan’s entree into the race. Jordan now serves on the Duval County School Board.

Sen. Ted Deutch is glad his GOP counterparts in the House agree with a proposal the Boca Raton Democrat came up with two years ago that went nowhere.

Deutch tried but failed to pass a bill that would update state election laws to exempt Internet ads linking to campaign web sites from requiring disclaimers about who is paying for the ad and the candidate’s approval.

House Majority Leader Adam Hasner’s office sent out a press release today touting similar legislation filed by state Rep. Eric Eisnaugle, R-Orlando, calling it a “commonsense solution.”

“In the new media economy, technology advances faster than our laws can adapt. We need to ensure that Florida’s laws keep pace with the technological changes that modern campaigns are now embracing to reach voters,” Hasner, R-Boca Raton wrote.

Deutch later issued a press release saying he would file similar legislation again and reminding the public, and especially the GOP, that the bright idea was his back in 2008.

“Unfortunately, the bill, which had no House sponsor, was never heard in the Senate,” the release reads.

K Street powerhouse Juan Carlos Benitez is hosting a fundraiser for state Rep. David Rivera’s state senate campaign at the D.C. lobbyist’s home Friday evening.

Benitez was one of President George W. Bush’s “pioneers,” fundraisers who raked in at least $100,000 for Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign.

Rivera, a Miami Republican who’s facing off in a GOP primary against fellow Miami Rep. Anitere Flores, has raised nearly $400,000 in campaign cash already, not including soft money or money in other campaign-related accounts.

Flores has less than half that amount, with about $170,000 so far.

The two are vying to replace Sen. Alex Villalobos, term-limited out of his Senate District 38 seat next year.

Sen. Jim King died today after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May.

King, a Jacksonville Republican, served as Senate president from 2002 to 2004 and spent more than two decades in the Florida Legislature.

King was responsible for creating the James & Esther King Biomedical Research Foundation, named after his parents.

Memorial services will be held at the St. John’s Cathedral in Jacksonville, on Saturday, August 1, 2009, at 11:00 am and in Tallahassee at the State Capitol, House Chambers, on Tuesday, August 4, 2009, at 2:00 pm.

The King family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Jim King’s honor to either the James & Esther King Biomedical Research Foundation or the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida. Donations to the Research Foundation should be made out to The Florida Department of Health with “James & Esther King Biomedical Research Foundation” noted in the memo portion and mailed to the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Revenue Management, 4052 Bald Cyprus Way, B/ 20, Tallahassee, Fl 32399.

Donations to the Community Hospice should be made out to the Community Hospice Foundation, with “Jim King” noted in the memo portion and mailed to the Community Hospice Foundation, 4266 Sunbeam Road, Jacksonville, Florida 32257.

GOP Senate candidate Joe Negron is ramping up efforts to secure an Aug. 4 special election win in response to Moveon.org’s entry into the race to replace retiring Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie.

Negron sent an e-mail appeal to supporters today asking for cash to fight back against the organization which he said “has sent operatives” into District 28 to help turn out the vote for his Democratic opponent Bill Ramos.

“Thanks to your hard work and support, my campaign is doing very well and I am confident that we will win the race on August 4. However, I am not taking anything for granted, particularly in a special election with an expected low turn-out. I take MoveOn.org seriously because I saw first hand how effective they were in helping President Obama win Florida in the 2008 Election,” Negron wrote.

Negron, a former House member from Stuart, is going to spend about $50,000 to collect the absentee ballots “from my supporters” and includes a letter from former Gov. Jeb Bush along with door-to-door canvassing and phone banks, according to the e-mail.

Negron’s collected nearly $387,000 so far and spent about $236,000.

Ramos, who made the ballot by collecting signatures instead of paying the qualifying fee, collected just over $24,000 and spent nearly $19,000 thus far.

Ramos

Sen. Jim King’s pancreatic cancer has spread and those close to the Jacksonville Republican fear his condition is grave.

Sarah Bascom and Gus Corbello, former King staffers who are speaking for the family, issued the following brief statement today that was distributed by Senate President Jeff Atwater’s office.

“Dear Friends:

While it seemed as though President King was cancer free, he has recently learned that the cancer that first began in his pancreas has now spread to other places in his body.

President King is continuing to fight with the passion and will that has made him our hero for so many years. We continue to ask for your encouragement and prayers, and on behalf of Jim, Linda and his family, we thank you for your love and support of our beloved Jim King.

Gus Corbella & Sarah Bascom”

King was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer shortly after the legislative session ended in May. He underwent surgery earlier this summer and a month ago King wrote on his web site that he was cancer-free.

King, a former Senate president, has served in the legislature for more than two decades.

Visit King’s website at www.caringbridge.org/visit/senatorjimking.

A coalition of cities filed a lawsuit against Gov. Charlie Crist and the leaders of the House and Senate over a controversial growth management bill.

The suit charges that SB 360, which eliminates the requirement that roads must be built before development can occur, creates an “unfunded mandate” by forcing local governments to foot the bill for infrastructure like roads.

The lawsuit was filed in Leon County by Jamie Cole, the lawyer who won a lawsuit against the legislature last year over a property tax amendment. The Florida Supreme Court tossed the legislature’s proposed amendment, spurring a special session that resulted in “Amendment 1,” which voters approved.

Read today’s lawsuit here.

A West Palm Beach lawyer who was repeatedly raped by a neighbor when he was 7 years old and the mother of a man who committed suicide 20 years after he was sexually molested by his Boca Raton karate teacher are desperate.

After five years, they’ve given up trying to get legislators to do away with the statute of limitations on civil and criminal punishment for child molesters that are now protected by time in Florida state law.

Their chief opponent, they say? The Catholic Church.

Now West Palm Beach Lawyer Michael Dolce is trying to get voters to do what lawmakers would not. He’s launched a petition drive to get a ballot initiative on next year’s November ballot.

Jeff Smith

“I felt this would be the best way that I could memorialize him so we would maybe save somebody else from having to go through the pain and suffering he did,” Robinson said.

Read the full story here.

Sen. Mike Haridopolos is almost certain to be elected to succeed Senate President Jeff Atwater now that he’s garnered the support of one of his chief rivals.

Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, issued a press release today endorsing the Melbourne Republican.

“Mike and I have been friends since our first day in the Legislature, and I am confident he will be a strong president,” the release said. “I will be honored to be a part of his leadership team and continue to serve my constituents and the Florida Senate in this capacity.”

Haridopolos, an anti-tax conservative, is slated to assume the presidency after the November 2010 elections, when 11 open Senate seats are up for grabs.

He’ll preside during the all-important redistricting and reapportionment sessions in 2011 and 2012.

Bennett, a moderate, said he will be on Haridopolos’ leadership team but did not say in what position.

Atwater, a North Palm Beach Republican, is leaving the Senate to run for chief financial officer.

Sen. Jim King, diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer last month, is leaving the hospital cancer free, he wrote on his web page.

“Great news! A recent CAT scan tells me I will be leaving the hospital to go to a rehabilitation facility today – CANCER FREE. I consider myself one of the luckiest individuals in the medical world,” King, R-Jacksonville, wrote.

The former Senate President and long-time lawmaker underwent surgery for the cancer at the Mayo Clinic earlier this month and emerged in the 5 percent of survivors, he said.

King, an affable politician known for his proclivity for excess, said his recent experience has transformed him.

“To the people that I’ve “run with” for the last 20 plus years, this does not mean that I am coming back with a starched collar or judgmental preconceptions. I would rather be seen as an Ander Crenshaw or a Bobby Bowden. I still have many of my same views in regard to individual decision making, health privacy issues, etc., but I can assure you that the person that went in to this hospital two weeks ago today is a different person coming out. Who knows? Maybe my new “calling” will be as a survivor to give hope and to be an example of the fact that you may not be able to totally win, but you can certainly go toe to toe. My recovery period for this surgery could be as much as a year and it will be a year of some significant life style changes for me - such as no alcohol, limited diet and a reemphasis on healthy living. (I can just visualize some of you reading this and thinking – boy - is Jim ever going to be boring),” he wrote

Read the full text of King’s message after the jump or visit his web page at www.caringbridge.org/visit/senatorjimking. (more…)

The horrific deaths of two Lake Worth children at the hands of their father contributed to a change in law that broadens the information available to judges when deciding visitation rights.

Gov. Charlie Crist signed into law this week a measure that expands from third degree felony to first degree misdemeanor domestic violence convictions judges take into consideration when determining parental responsibility.

Boca Raton Democratic Sen. Ted Deutch sponsored the bill (SB 904) at the behest of Jennie Carter, the mother of 10-year-old Nelson and 8-year-old Crystal Camacho who died after their father, Tony, set his suburban Lake Worth home ablaze days before Christmas in 2006.

All three died in the fire. Camacho died of smoke inhalation after stabbing Crystal in the back, severing her spine and leaving her paralyzed as flames engulfed their home.

Camacho’s ex-wife Jennie Carter had requested a restraining order and supervised visitation for the children.

That was never granted.

Gov. Charlie Crist weighed in on a variety of topics this morning after signing several law enforcement-related bills at the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles this morning.

Sheltered from the blazing heat by tents, slews of department employees dressed in bright red shirts turned out to hear Crist speak and pose for pictures with the governor, who is also running to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez.

Among the bills Crist signed today was one that will expand the state’s DNA database. Law enforcement officials, now limited to taking DNA samples from those convicted of crimes, will now be able to take DNA from anyone who is arrested.

But Crist defended the bill (SB 2276) which civil liberties advocates argue is too far-reaching and have threatened to challenge in court.

“I think it’ll be alright or I wouldn’t have signed the bill. I think that we need to protect first and make sure that our people are safe. I think that this legislation will help us to do that even better,” he said.

Read what else Crist told reporters at a gaggle after the bill-signing after the jump. (more…)

The Senate sponsor of a bill expressed dismay that Gov. Charlie Crist vetoed it yesterday and called into question the self-described “People’s Governor’s” motives.

Sen. Steve Oelrich said he was asked to file the bill that would have raised community college transportation fees by the students themselves.

The bill (SB 739) would have allowed community colleges to hike transportation fees by up to $6 per credit hour. Students requested the fees so they could have public transportation access on campus “just like university students do,” Oelrich, R-Cross Creek, said in a press release.

Because of the dismal economy, community college enrollments are increasing and access to public transportation and on-campus parking is limited, he said.

The bill passed in the House with a 108-4 vote and in the Senate by 37-1.

“Governor Crist’s veto of this bill confounds me,” Oelrich’s release states.

Oelrich took a jab at Crist, who’s dubbed himself “The People’s Governor” and frequently mentions “the people” in speeches.

“The students came to me with this bill. They have been working on it for several years; it was theirs,” Oelrich wrote. “Since the bill came from the People, I thought the Governor would appreciate that…I sincerely hope the veto was not the product of political expediency or retribution.”

Crist signed into law a bill allowing universities to hike tuition up to 15 percent, which all state universities are considering. He also signed into law nearly $1 billion in motor vehicle fee increases and another $1 billion in a buck-a-pack cigarette tax.