Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: No Rest For The Weary
March 19, 2016
The week after the legislative session is usually a quiet one. Lawmakers, lobbyists and reporters take some time to catch up on sleep, reacquaint themselves with life outside the Capitol, and generally begin the recuperation after a 60-day sprint.
This year, there was no time for rest. On Monday, presidential candidates and surrogates — some of them lawmakers — crisscrossed the state to try and get voters motivated ahead of the Tuesday primaries. And if voting for the leader of the free world wasn’t enough news on Tuesday itself, Gov. Rick Scott also announced his intentions on the state budget in an unusual move.
By midweek, things had started to slow down a bit and return to the normal post-session lull. The quiet probably won’t last for long. Primaries for state offices will start soon enough — all 160 legislative seats will be up for grabs — and the presidential campaign seems to once again be a race to see who can win Ohio and Florida. Catch your breath while you can.
RUBIO FOLDS HIS HAND
When the Republican Party of Florida decided to award all 99 of its Republican National Convention delegates to the winner of the state’s March 15 presidential primary, it seemed to be an attempt to boost former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush or current U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. Party leaders repeatedly denied that helping out the state’s favorite sons was the objective, but few believed them.
But Bush’s campaign never made it to Florida, and Rubio ended his White House bid Tuesday after real-estate mogul Donald Trump walloped him by nearly 20 points. Trump carried almost 46 percent of the vote, to 27 percent for Rubio, according to unofficial returns. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Ohio Gov. John Kasich came in a distant third and a more-distant fourth.
Things were even more lopsided on the Democratic side, where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton routed U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Clinton had more than 64 percent of the vote, to 33 percent for Sanders.
Bowing out of the race, Rubio still questioned Trump’s bona fides as the best leader for the Republican Party. But he stayed away from the kind of jokes about Trump’s manhood that for a time knocked Rubio off his message in the weeks leading up to Florida.
“America needs a vibrant conservative movement, but one that’s built on principles and on ideas, not on fear, not on anger, not on preying on people’s frustrations,” Rubio said. ” … But after tonight it is clear that while we are on the right side, this year, we will not be on the winning side.”
Trump, for his part, greeted Rubio’s departure with remarks that could be called gracious — something not normally associated with the bombastic billionaire.
“He’s tough, he’s smart, and he’s got a great future,” Trump said.
Rubio’s Democratic critics weren’t so kind.
“Florida Democrats knew that once Americans got to know Marco, they would see what those of us in the Sunshine State have known all along: Rubio is nothing more than a self-centered career-politician heavy on ambition and light on substance,” party Chairwoman Allison Tant said in a statement issued after the result became clear.
But other politicos agreed with the sentiment Trump voiced about Rubio’s future in the Republican Party, even if they disagree with Trump on almost everything else.
“If you know Marco, you know this is a guy who is young and still wants to be a meaningful force and positive force in American political life,” said Rick Wilson, a Republican political consultant who worked for independent efforts backing Rubio.
How that will manifest itself, though, was unclear. By the end of Thursday, Rubio had already ruled out running for vice president, governor or senator — something that seemed to leave open only the possibility of another presidential bid in 2020 should this year’s GOP nominee falter.
FALSE ALARM
In the closing days of the legislative session, predictions about a messy end to the budget showdown between Scott and lawmakers were rampant — and dire. Scott would use his line-item veto to devastate House and Senate priorities; Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, told reporters that the governor might hack $500 million from a spending plan that totaled $82.3 billion when passed.
That wasn’t even the wildest idea. Scott might veto the entire budget, something almost never done. And whether he nixed the entire budget or just a hefty portion of it, the relationship between the governor and the Legislature had deteriorated to the point that there was open talk of veto overrides — another unusual step.
Scott’s office offered few clear answers, and the governor almost always plays his cards close to the vest when asked about whether he will sign or veto legislation. Then, out of the blue, Scott announced Tuesday that he would sign the budget while trimming just $256 million from the spending plan — a modest amount for a governor known for using his veto pen like a Ginsu when it suits him.
By releasing his budget announcement on the same day when many political journalists would be focused on the presidential primaries, Scott seemed to be aiming for minimal coverage. While he has worked to portray the spending plan as a victory, the governor got very little of what he wanted from the Legislature.
“Before I came into office, Florida was raising taxes and fees and there is no doubt that I will always want more tax cuts and more jobs,” Scott said in a statement released by his office Tuesday. “I look forward to continuing to work with the Legislature to find more ways next year to return money back to families all across Florida.”
The budget bumps up per-student spending on public schools by 1 percent, moving it to a record amount. It spends more than $713.5 million on education construction projects and funds $151 million for restoration of the Everglades and an area lawmakers are calling the Northern Everglades.
House and Senate leaders indicated that the veto list was reasonable enough to distance themselves from any talk of overrides or open confrontation. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said Scott “has used his veto in a prudent and fair manner.”
It helped that few of the lines struck from the budget were big-ticket items. The biggest cut was nearly $15 million for construction of the Center of Innovation Technology Education at Eastern Florida State College.
The only other vetoes of $10 million or more were the elimination of $11 million to build a performing arts center at Pasco-Hernando State College, and the removal of $10 million for “quiet zone” improvements near railway lines.
Scott also left in place some of the things most important to legislative leaders, like $20 million to pay for the state share of a downtown Orlando campus for the University of Central Florida, a top priority of outgoing Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando.
The happy talk was a relief for those involved in the political process for another reason: Barring a court decision or other unforeseen issue, there will be no special session in 2016, a break from last year’s three additional gatherings in Tallahassee.
On Thursday, the Legislature finally sent the budget to Scott. He signed it and vetoed the projects he said he would.
LEGISLATIVE FALLOUT
Even with the budget out of the way, some officials were feeling the effects of what lawmakers did or didn’t do in the session that ended in March — and even what happened further in the past.
Barry Gilway, the president and CEO of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, said inaction by lawmakers to address a spike in water-damage claims could reverse years of work to shrink the company.
Gilway warned the company’s board that policyholders can expect to see annual rate hikes that approach 10 percent in South Florida, where water-damage claims have been the most prevalent.
Gilway told the board that the company will need to do a better job making lawmakers aware of the potential damage to the insurance industry in Florida unless restrictions are placed on a controversial insurance practice known as “assignment of benefits.”
“I just don’t believe that we got the story across that this is a crisis, this is going to reverse all the improvement we’re seeing in the overall marketplace over the last two to three years,” Gilway said.
Assignments of benefits often arise when homeowners need repairs for problems such as water damage. Homeowners sign over benefits to contractors, who ultimately pursue payments from insurance companies.
Meanwhile, the Florida Board of Governors — which oversees the state’s university system — was facing up to the news that Florida Polytechnic University wouldn’t meet accreditation by its original deadline. Under a 2012 bill establishing Florida Poly, it was supposed to get the OK from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools by December.
The university is hoping to get a final decision on its “candidacy” — the first step in accreditation — this June, following a visit by SACS officials last week. Florida Poly then wanted the association to visit again in the fall, in hopes of completing the process at the end of the year.
But SACS informed the university that it couldn’t do both site visits in the same calendar year, President Randy Avent said. Board of Governors members were not pleased.
“I just have to tell you we all sat up here fat and happy thinking that this was going just the way we should, and I for one am disappointed to hear it this way. … Maybe you ought to go back and look at the people you have working on this to make sure that you’re being fully informed and that we’re being fully informed,” board member Norman Tripp said.
A bill Scott signed along with the budget, though, extends the deadline for accreditation until December 2017.
STORY OF THE WEEK: U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio suspends his presidential campaign, ending the hopes of the only remaining full-time Floridian in the race and giving another boost to businessman Donald Trump.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The Senate president, exercising his privilege as a caucus of one, decided to shut things down. That is the unequivocal truth.”—Marc Dunbar, a partner with the Jones Walker law firm and a lobbyist who represents the owner of Gulfstream Park Racing in Broward County, on the failure of a major gambling bill in the 2016 session. Gardiner denies that he blocked the measure from reaching the floor.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Escambia County Purchases AED’s For Community Centers, Ballparks
March 18, 2016
Between football games last September, a youth league coach fell onto the field at Northview High School in full cardiac arrest.
In the moments that followed, the pieces of a lifesaving puzzle quickly fell into place. Husband and wife medics, a doctor and other football fans trained in CPR rushed to the field, literally taking turns performing chest compression on the beloved coach. An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) was retrieved from a nearby building, an ambulance arrived, and prayers were said.
The coach was revived and has since made a full recovery.
The incident led to a vote Thursday night by the Escambia County Commission to place 32 AED’s at ballparks and community centers with athletic programs throughout the county. The purchase includes 32 fully automatic AED’s with voice prompts, wall cabinets, adapter kits to make each AED usable on children and four years of service and onside preventative maintenance. The LifePak CR PLus AED’s are the same model used on Escambia County EMS ambulances.
The $54,681.29 bid was awarded to CPR Savers and First Aid Supply, LLC. Low bidder was Second Chance Medical Products, but the company’s bid did not include on-site preventive maintenance nor did they have a service representative within a 50-mile radius as requested in the invitation to bid.
“This was a case where EMS could take a relatively small amount of a money and invest it in making the community safer,” Escambia County Public Safety Director Mike Weaver said. He said that community and sports group members will be provided AED training, and CPR training will be made available for the public.
The county will also allow churches and non-profit groups to purchase the same model AED’s at the county’s contract price, with advance payment.
For last September’s story about the coach, click here.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Tate Wins The Aggie Classic
March 18, 2016
Tate 5, Milton 0
The Tate Aggies won their own Aggie Classic Thursday night with a 5-0 shutout of Milton.
The Aggies jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a three-run homer over the right-field wall from Cole Halfacre.
Tate hitters — Mason Land 1-3, run; Branden Fryman 3-4, RBI, run; Cole Halfacre 1-3, 3 RBIs, run, HR; Hunter NeSmith 1-3; Jake Davis 2-3, RBI, HR; Hunter McLean 1-2; Josh Kea 1-2, run.
WP – Logan McGuffey (6 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 8 K, 1 BB)
For more photos, click to enlarge.
(Other Thursday scores are below photos, scroll down.)
Pictured: A night of celebrations for the Tate Aggies. Pictured top: Celebrating the Aggie Classic championship. Pictured inset: Cole Halfacres pops a three run home over the fence. Pictured below: Three run homer from Halfacre and a homer from Jake Davis. NorthEscambia.com photos by Jennifer Repine, click to enlarge.
Other scores:
Chiles 19, Edmond North 5
Second Baptist 11, Washington 1
Jenks 7, Next Level 2
Stillwater 5, Gulf Breeze 1
Christ Presby. vs. Union (rainout)
Escambia vs. Shawnee (rainout)
Reno 7, Coweta 5
West Florida 4, Piedmont 3
Leon 5, Pryor 0
Emery 8, Morris 4
Levins Named Century Chamber’s Student Of The Year
March 18, 2016
Northview High School senior Trevor Levins has been named the Century Chamber of Commerce’s Student of the Year. The annual selection is based upon a student’s well-rounded involvement in school activities, community service and more. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Three Northview Lifters Qualify For Regional Weightlifting Meet
March 18, 2016
The Northview high school weightlifting team had three lifters qualify for the FHSAA regional weight meet by placing in the top six a at the district weight meet.
Hunter Edwards placed third in the 139 lbs. weight class.
MJ Jones placed fifth in the 139 lbs. weight class.
Ohijie Elliot placed third in the 154 lbs. weight class.
Athletes from eight different high schools competed at the district meet including Pensacola High, Catholic, Jay, West Florida, Baker, Rocky Bayou and Northview.
Pictured: Northview top lifters MJ Jones, Hunter Edwards and Ohijie Elliot. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Available In Century Next Week
March 18, 2016
Staff from the Escambia County Neighborhood Enterprise Division will be at the Century Town Hall on Wednesday, March 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 pm. to take applications for housing rehabilitation programs for citizens in the unincorporated areas, or outside the town limits, affected by the February 15 Century tornado.
Applicants must bring a social security card for all household members and a picture ID for all household members over 18. Additionally, applicants should bring the following current information with them as applicable:
- Three most recent pay stubs
- Social security award letter
- Retirement/pension statement
- Unemployment statement
- Child support/alimony verification
- Current bank statements
- Current mortgage statement
- Current insurance statement
- Utility bill
- Any other documentation related to income being received by any member of a household
Programs available include the county’s HOME, CDBG and SHIP rehabilitation programs. Income limits apply and the property must be owner occupied and current on property taxes to receive assistance. For more information, call the Neighborhood Enterprise Division at (850) 595-0022.
Century Town Hall is located at 7995 North Century Boulevard.
Scott Signs $82 Billion Budget
March 18, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott signed the state’s $82 billion budget into law late Thursday, following an unusual announcement this week in which he declared he would approve the spending plan and outlined which individual lines he would veto.
He signed the budget plan shortly after legislative leaders sent it to him Thursday.
The spending plan, which covers the year that begins July 1, boosts spending on education to the highest level in state history, bankrolls more than $713.5 million worth of education construction projects and funds $151 million for restoration of the Everglades and an area lawmakers are calling the Northern Everglades.
In the past, Scott and other governors have waited until lawmakers sent the budget to them to announce their actions, but Scott did so Tuesday, four days after the 2016 legislative session ended.
The governor’s office said Scott on Thursday followed the vetoes he had announced Tuesday, meaning he sliced a little more than $256.1 million in local projects and other spending initiatives. Scott made no additional comment.
In another usual move, the governor on Thursday transmitted the entire press release his office had issued Tuesday — including almost 15 pages of talking points — to the Secretary of State’s Office to serve as the official announcement of the budget signing and list of vetoes.
Scott signed the budget despite getting little of what he wanted from the Legislature; lawmakers zeroed out his proposed $250 million in spending on business incentives and sharply reduced his call for a $1 billion tax cut. Scott also signed four budget-related bills (HB 5003, 5005, 5007 and 5101) on Thursday.
The official approval of the budget marks the anticlimactic end to this year’s debate over state spending, the first one after a contentious and bitter battle in 2015 that led to the Florida House walking out on the regular legislative session and a special session being called to finish the spending plan.
by The News Service of Florida
File photo.
No Injuries In Three Vehicle Highway 29 Crash
March 17, 2016
There were no injuries in a three vehicle crash about 7:40 this morning on Highway 29 at Molino Road. The crash did block both southbound lanes of Highway 29, with drivers detoured around in a turn lane. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Escambia To Share In $100K In Tornado Relief; Scott Asks Obama For More Help
March 17, 2016
On Wednesday, Gov Rick Scott announced $100,000 for Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Charlotte Counties through the Florida Disaster Fund to aid in recovery efforts for those affected by severe storms and tornadoes in February. The Governor also issued a request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties after FEMA denied the state’s initial request for assistance with debris removal. Last month, Governor Scott saw firsthand the tornado damage in Pensacola and Century.
“The families and businesses affected by these tornadoes have made incredible efforts to rebuild and recover, and I am proud to announce that Volunteer Florida and local organizations have partnered to provide $100,000 for communities across Florida. Today, I am also requesting a Major Disaster Declaration to continue helping those affected by these storms, and we will do all we can to support them throughout the recovery process,” Scott said.
In his letter to President Obama, Scott said the Town of Century qualifies for special consideration under federal law due to its low-income population. An estimated 75 percent of Century residents with total or major damage did not have insurance. The town estimates $3.9 million in local damages.
Scott also said that a large number of mobile homes were impacted in Century that may not qualify for any portion of $2.1 million in state housing funds previously announced for Escambia County.
Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) Director Bryan W. Koon said, “We are thankful for the strong partnerships our state has to assist Floridians in times of disaster. The Florida Disaster Fund will play a vital role in helping the community to recover as we continue our efforts to secure a Major Disaster Declaration.”
Chester Spellman, Volunteer Florida CEO, said, “The recent tornadoes in the Florida Panhandle and Gulf Coast devastated homes and communities. Volunteer Florida is proud to play a role in helping our neighbors respond to this disaster by funding response activities including feeding, sheltering, and case work.”
$50,000 of the funding will be provided by Volunteer Florida and matched 100 percent by local organizations for a total investment of $100,000 to aid Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Charlotte Counties in recovery efforts.
Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward said, “This funding will help families develop long-term recovery plans and allow local organizations to leverage volunteer teams to provide reconstruction. We are grateful to Volunteer Florida and those who have selflessly donated to the Florida Disaster Fund.”
On February 15 the town of Century in the Florida Panhandle experienced significant damage from a tornado. A rural town of approximately 1,500 residents, 45 homes in Century were destroyed and 40 homes received major damage. On February 23, Escambia County was hit by another severe storm system that also impacted Santa Rosa and Charlotte Counties, where tornadoes and straight-line winds destroyed 45 homes and caused major damage to 49 homes.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scot tours tornado devastation in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia School Students Pick Clinton, Trump
March 17, 2016
Students in Escambia County participating in a mock election also picked Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, just like real world voters in Escambia County did Tuesday.
There were 19 schools across the county that participated with 2,254 votes cast from grades 4-12. About half of the voters were in the seventh grade.
Voting began March 1 and ended with the close of the school day on March 15.
Donald Trump received 36.9 percent of the student vote from Republicans, while Marco Rubio received 24 percent of the vote. Ted Cruz had 19.9 percent of the student vote, followed by Ben Carson at 15.9 percent and John Kasich with 3.3 percent.
Among the students voting Democratic, Hillary Clinton received 51.5 percent of the vote, and Bernie Sanders had 48.5 percent.
Cherie Arnette, Escambia County School District social studies specialist, created a ballot using Google form that allowed students to vote from their computers, Chromebooks or phones.
“Voting is a vital civic responsibility and students should have opportunities to practice and become informed citizens,” Arnette said. “Many teachers included voting in lessons on researching candidates and their positions on the issues.”
