Politics
Presidential primary date debate heats up. In 2007, the Florida Legislature moved up the date of the presidential preference primary from the second Tuesday in March to the last Tuesday in January. This primary date, however, violated rules of the national Democratic Party, which subsequently stripped Florida of half of its 210 delegates during the 2008 presidential primary season. Last week, Democrats in the Florida House and Senate filed legislation to move the primary date back to the first Tuesday in March. State leaders remain divided over the later primary date — Senate President Mike Haridopolos has endorsed the earlier date, while Governor Rick Scott and House Speaker Dean Cannon have not staked out a definitive position on the proposal.
Around the State
Prescription Drug Monitoring Program targeted for elimination. In 2009, a bill creating the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program was passed into law after similar proposals had languished for years with few or no committee hearings. Last week, Gov. Scott proposed eliminating the program altogether as part of his biennial budget proposal. The drug monitoring system has been delayed numerous times due to a lack of funding and to bid protests from potential operators. Over the last decade, the federal government has provided grants to states to promote the creation of prescription drug monitoring systems. As a result, the majority of states throughout the United States have operational systems.
Lakeland City Commission endorses Clark Road high-speed rail stop. Lakeland city commissioners unanimously adopted a resolution endorsing a high-speed rail stop at Clark Road, near the western end of the Polk Parkway. Other proposed sites include the University of South Florida Polytechnic, which has been criticized for insufficient ridership, and Kathleen Road, which carries a construction cost more than double of the other two proposed stops. The Clark Road station will reportedly cost approximately $3 million less than the University of South Florida station, while providing more than 100,000 additional riders annually by 2025. Meanwhile, President Obama has proposed providing an additional $53 billion over the next six years for high-speed rail projects throughout the country. Republican lawmakers immediately criticized the plan as economically infeasible, with several sources declaring the plan "dead on arrival."
Miami-Dade grand jury recommends changes to increase sales tax collection compliance. Last week, a Miami-Dade grand jury proposed a number of recommendations to increase the state's sales tax collections. The grand jury initially criticized the Legislature for treating the Department of Revenue similarly to other state agencies by reducing the department's budget and positions over the past several years of state budget reductions. The grand jury found that the department not only has fewer employees to achieve its basic mission, but also is unable to continue to specific initiatives that educate business owners about their legal obligation to collect and remit sales taxes. The grand jury recommended that the Legislature change the point of collection for certain sales taxes from the retail to the wholesale level for certain merchandise, such as prepaid phone cards. The grand jury also provided a number of recommendations to the department, including conducting more investigations of CPAs, increasing third-party verification of sales tax collections, and increasing the number of taxpayer audits.
Economy
Gov. Scott releases first budget, slashes state spending. Last week, Gov. Scott formally introduced his proposed budget for the upcoming 2011 – 2012 and 2012 – 2013 fiscal years. The unusual biennial budget proposal would reduce state-mandated property taxes by $1.4 billion, reduce the corporate income tax rate from 5.5 percent to three percent, and require state and local government workers to contribute five percent of their salary toward their retirement plans, among other provisions. In addition, the proposal would not "buy back" or replace federal education stimulus dollars with state general revenue, resulting in more than a $3 billion reduction in spending on education, and would outsource the operation of the three remaining mental health hospitals operated by the Department of Children and Families. The proposal also would eliminate the State Housing (Sadowski) Trust Fund, funding affordable housing out of state general revenue. Under Gov. Scott's plan, the state budget would be reduced from approximately $70 billion to $63 billion by the 2012 – 2013 fiscal year, and authorized positions would be reduced from approximately 126,700 to 113,900. Reaction from Republican legislative leaders was cautiously optimistic, while the reception by lawmakers in budget committees, such as education, was more critical. Committee meetings this week in the Legislature will be almost entirely devoted to building the House and Senate budget proposals.
Legislature
Focus on rules: House repealer bills. Under Rules of the House of Representatives, members are generally limited to a bill filing limit of six bills (otherwise known as bill "slots"), with certain exceptions. For the current biennium, the House has amended its rules to provide members additional bill slots for filing and advancing repealer bills — those bills that only repeal or delete, without substantive replacement, provisions of the Florida Statutes or Laws of Florida. A member will receive an additional bill slot after the first committee of reference reports a repealer bill favorably. A member may receive up to three additional bill slots, and each additional bill must be filed by noon of the 21st day of session. Repealer bills in the House are designated in the "4000" series bill number range (e.g., H.B. 4001).
Transportation safety bills approved by legislative committees. Last Monday, the Senate Transportation Committee approved two bills addressing transportation safety. Senate Bill 238, filed by Sen. Thad Altman, would require child restraint devices for children up to age seven or until they reach four feet, nine inches. Senate Bill 244, filed by Sen. Mike Bennett, would limit the left line of the roads, streets, and highways to a passing lane. Drivers who fail to move to the right to yield to traffic traveling at a higher rate of speed would receive a moving violation. Both bills are next scheduled to be heard in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday, February 22.
Senate teacher reform bill passes two committees. On Thursday, all three members present in the Senate Education K-12 Committee voted out S.B. 736, the comprehensive "teacher quality" reform bill that substantially revises teacher pay, evaluation, and contracts. Today, the bill was heard in the Education PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee and was voted out 8-1, with Sen. Paula Dockery as the lone negative vote. The bill is scheduled to be heard next Wednesday in the Budget Committee. After those committee hearings, the bill will have one remaining committee reference — Rules — prior to being heard on the floor of the Senate. In the House, a similar proposal will likely be unveiled next week, the last interim committee meeting week prior to the beginning of the regular session.
Property insurance bill delayed again. The Senate Insurance and Banking Committee postponed final action on S.B. 408, the comprehensive property and casualty reform bill. During the meeting, Sen. Mike Fasano attempted to amend the bill to, among other provisions, impose a third-degree felony for failure by a seller to disclose a sinkhole claim, require notice of policy changes by certified mail, and define "structural damage" for purposes of sinkhole claims. These amendments were defeated by the committee; Sen. Fasano vowed to refile the amendments once the bill reaches the floor of the Senate. Committee Chair Garrett Richter postponed final action on the bill to gather additional testimony. The bill is next scheduled to be heard by the committee on Tuesday, February 22.
Senate advances state revenue limitation proposal. Last week, the Finance and Tax Budget Subcommittee approved a proposed committee bill that amends the state constitution to limit the revenues collected by the state. Beginning with the 2011 – 2012 fiscal year, Senate Joint Resolution 958 would limit revenue collection to the amount collected in the previous year, adjusted for population growth and the rate of inflation. Any funds that are collected in excess of this limit would be placed in the state's "rainy day" fund until the fund reaches 10 percent of total state budget in the prior year. At that point, the Legislature must vote to provide tax relief.
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