Politics
Governor's nominee for head of developmental disabilities agency withdraws amidst controversy. On Monday, former State Rep. Carl Littlefield withdrew his name for consideration for director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), one day prior to a scheduled appearance before the Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs. Governor Rick Scott nominated Mr. Littlefield to replace the former director of the agency, Jim DeBeaugrine. Mr. Littlefield was receiving increasing scrutiny from Sen. Ronda Storms over his role as the APD administrator who oversaw the Human Development Center in central Florida, a facility for developmentally disabled sexual offenders that has come under fire for the substandard condition of the facility, as well as the apparent lax oversight of its residents.
Senate budget chair continues feud with Gov. Scott over the sale of state airplanes. On Tuesday, Senate Budget Committee Chair J.D. Alexander again queried Gov. Scott regarding the legal basis for the governor's sale of the state's two airplanes, demanding all written records relating to the sale. The two state airplanes were sold on February 11 for $3.7 million to out-of-state bidders. Shortly after the sale of the airplanes, Sen. Alexander objected, noting that it is "the Legislature's constitutional duty to appropriate funds and your duty to spend appropriated funds in accordance to law." The heart of the dispute centers on the use of the proceeds from the sale, which were used to pay off the lease on one of the airplanes, without first depositing the funds into the state treasury.
Around the State
Sunrail enveloped in high-speed rail debate. In the aftermath of Gov. Scott's rejection of federal funds for the development of high-speed rail last week and again on Thursday, Sunrail, the commuter rail line under development in central Florida, also may be in jeopardy, as Gov. Scott indicated he is "reviewing" the project. The governor initially included $269 million in his proposed budget for the Department of Transportation. Sunrail is a commuter rail project that spans 61 miles on existing freight rail tracks through Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Osceola counties and the city of Orlando. The first phase is a 31-mile stretch from DeBary to Orlando, and is expected to be operational in 2013. Opponents claim that Sunrail may lose up to $100 million per year when fully operational.
Legislature
House government reform committee to propose agency consolidations. The House Select Committee on Government Reorganization met on Wednesday to discuss reorganization of the state's health care and economic development agencies. Chairman John Legg noted that the goal of the House committee is to ensure that government programs are structured to encourage economic activity and strengthen the delivery of health and human services, and that the committee would consider statutory changes and ballot measures to achieve this goal. After presentations by various staff on Florida's current economic development and health care agencies, the chairman indicated that the select committee will propose two committee bills near the end of March, the midpoint of the regular legislative session.
Gaming companies pitch resort plans to the House. The House Business and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee held a three-hour meeting to discuss expanding gaming in Florida. Presentations were given by numerous national and international integrated resort casino operators, such as Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts, and Genting. Existing state pari-mutuel operators petitioned the committee to create a level playing field as new entrants into the gaming market are considered, in particular arguing for equal tax rates for gaming products, regardless of the operator. Committee members queried operators about the size of the footprint of casinos operating within integrated resorts, competition for existing businesses located near proposed resorts, and policies for local recruitment of staff.
Local and state pension reform bills workshopped in the Senate. Senate local (S.B. 1128) and state (S.B. 1130) retirement reform bills received their first hearing on Tuesday and Thursday in the Senate Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability. S.B. 1128 was heard on Tuesday, while S.B. 1130 was heard on Thursday. Proposed amendments would amend S.B. 1128 to provide local governments more flexibility by allowing employees to choose either a defined contribution plan or a defined benefit plan. Proposed amendments to S.B. 1130 would be more dramatic, in that elected officials, senior management, and anyone making more than $75,000 would be required to contribute up to four percent of their salary, while all other state employees would be required to contribute up to two percent of their salary. The proposed amendments also would reestablish the pension system for state workers earning less than $75,000, and increase the vesting requirement to eight years (from six years, currently). Finally, the amendments would require elected officials, senior management, and all other state workers earning more than $75,000 to enroll in the defined contribution retirement plan (a choice that is currently optional). State workers have not been required to contribute to their retirement plans since approximately 1974. Final action was not taken on either the bills or proposed amendments; both bills will be heard again during the first week of the regular legislative session for a final vote.
Senate continues debate on Medicaid reform proposal. On Wednesday, the Senate Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittee continued to take testimony from stakeholders regarding its proposed Medicaid reform bill draft. Among the many groups testifying were advocates for children, mental health patients, and the elderly, who asked for various amendments to the managed care plan, including exemptions from the mandatory savings. Managed care organizations sparred with providers over various regulatory aspects of the proposal, including mandated medical-loss ratios, while also arguing for a level "playing field" with other managed care entities, such as provider service networks. At the conclusion of the meeting, Chair Joe Negron noted that the committee is charged with cutting roughly $1.5 billion from its $28 billion budget, and that he is not looking for across-the-board cuts to services.
House and Senate teacher quality bills advance. The Senate teacher quality reform bill cleared all of its committees of reference this week, and will soon be taken up on the floor of the Senate. The Senate adopted a proposed committee substitute to conform its bill to the House version, which means that House and Senate lawmakers have likely settled their substantive differences. Meanwhile, the House proposal cleared its first committee after more than five hours of testimony from proponents and opponents. Proponents argued that rewarding and recognizing excellent teachers would elevate the teaching profession, while opponents claimed that the proposed changes would create a hostile work environment for teachers and cause otherwise excellent teachers to leave the state. Other debate centered on the use of as-yet undeveloped assessments as the basis for teacher and administrator evaluations, a longstanding criticism of previous attempts at teacher merit pay during the past decade in Florida.
Marnie George of The George Group assists Foley on a variety of government and public policy matters as a consultant.
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