Massive Educaton Bill Approved On Final Day
March 12, 2016
A wide-ranging education bill dealing with everything from funding for high-performing universities to high-school membership in athletic associations made it through the final day of the legislative session Friday, despite the long odds that such policy “trains” often face.
But in the process, lawmakers cut a provision aimed at ensuring that taxpayer-provided construction dollars for charter schools don’t end up enriching private companies, causing angst in both the House and the Senate.
The legislation (HB 7029) passed the Senate on a 29-10 vote after a debate that included arguments about the charter-school provision and an issue dealing with whether schoolchildren have to remove their headdresses during the Pledge of Allegiance. The House then approved the bill in an 82-33 vote.
Supporters of school choice applauded the bill, which would also allow parents to transfer their children to any public school in the state that isn’t at capacity. The “open enrollment” provision, once a marquee part of education proposals during the session, largely faded into the background as the charter-school fight took center stage.
“The best educational fit for a child may be a public school less than a mile down the road,” said Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, a nonprofit organization that backs education choice. “But if a district boundary line intersects that road, the school might as well be in China. It is time to tear down invisible barriers that block students from attending schools that best meet their needs, even when there is available space.”
The bill would also add to state law performance-funding formulas for colleges and universities; allow private schools to join the Florida High School Athletic Association or other organizations on a sport-by-sport basis; and give charter schools that serve lower-income students or those with disabilities a bigger slice of the construction funding doled out by the state.
The measure would send additional funds to “emerging pre-eminent” universities — possibly the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida. Those schools are approaching the pre-eminent status that provides extra money to the University of Florida and Florida State University.
Much of the debate Friday, though, centered on whether to require “arms-length” transactions for charter schools that use taxpayer money for leases or construction. Recent news reports have included allegations that some charter school management companies have used state construction dollars to improve privately owned facilities owned by entities closely related to the school companies.
The Senate had pushed the proposal to crack down on the practice, but backed off in the face of opposition from the House. Opponents of the language argue that there are some legitimate reasons for related companies to use state money.
Sen. Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who handled the bill in the Senate, asked lawmakers to vote for the legislation despite widespread discontent with the charter-school changes — something he said was a consequence of checks and balances in government.
“This is a solid education funding bill,” Gaetz said. “Of course we didn’t get everything we asked for; that was never James Madison’s intent.”
But some House members also objected to the change.
“There are some good charter schools; they’re engaging in innovation,” said Rep. Dwight Dudley, D-St. Petersburg. “Many of the charters are engaging in imitation and bringing nothing new to the game except to plunder the public treasury.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Florida Legislative Sessions Ends As Budget Is Approved
March 12, 2016
.After a last-minute episode of intrigue eight years in the making, the 2016 legislative session came to an end Friday night, as lawmakers approved an $82.3 billion budget, a tax-cut package a fraction of the size suggested by Gov. Rick Scott and a raft of other legislation.
Despite the late flurry of bills on everything from education to health care to transportation, the endgame was more orderly than the chaotic implosion of last year’s session, which saw House lawmakers leave the Capitol without finishing a budget — a move that sparked a special session.
Instead, both chambers approved the spending plan for the year that begins July 1 by broad, bipartisan margins. The House voted 119-1 to pass the proposal (HB 5001); only Rep. John Tobia, a Melbourne Beach Republican who usually opposes the budget, voted against it. Moments later, the 40-member Senate voted unanimously to send the package to Scott.
And despite the fact that lawmakers curtailed or scuttled his two main priorities — a tax cut package and $250 million in economic development incentives — Scott suggested he wouldn’t extract vengeance on lawmakers with his line-item veto.
“I’m going to clearly go through the budget and make sure that we don’t waste any money, look at ways we can save money,” Scott said after the session ended. “But I think it’s a good budget.”
The spending plan approved Friday 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.
At the same time, lawmakers approved a $129.1 million package of tax breaks (HB 7099), a sliver of the $1 billion proposal that Scott had sought. Combined with a proposal to hold local education property taxes down despite rising real-estate values, lawmakers spent $400 million on tax relief of some sort.
Scott nonetheless declared victory on a 2014 re-election campaign promise to reduce taxes by $1 billion over the first two years of his second term. He counted the education tax fix — a Senate priority — as $428 million, the amount that property owners will actually save on their bills. And he rolled together an array of other tax cuts and holidays approved over the last two sessions into the number.
“Everybody comes up here with their ideas,” Scott said. “I doubt that there’s any tax I wouldn’t like to cut … What’s important is we’re giving money back.”
Scott announced plans to visit five cities Monday as part of a “Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour,” an allusion to the size of the tax cuts and the million private-sector jobs that have been created since he took office in 2011.
Critics saw things very differently, noting that Scott’s priorities were largely gutted by the Legislature as questions began to circulate about whether the second-term governor was now a lame duck.
“The 2016 legislative session may well go down in the history books as the year that the Florida lawmakers formally declared their independence from Gov. Scott,” said Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa.
Even friendly legislators like Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, seemed to hint that it took some creative math to say Scott had accomplished his objectives on tax cuts.
“As you’ve seen from the presidential campaign trail, sometimes political accounting, what goes on the bumper sticker and what is actually impactful to the people is a different number,” Lee told reporters after the session.
What the Legislature approved also proved to be too much for others. Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, highlighted a variety of areas where, he suggested, Florida didn’t spend enough.
“If I’m going to choose where I want us to spend our public tax dollars and what I want us to do with our money, it’s to fix all these problems and not to give tax breaks, which include pear cider this year,” Clemens said.
The end to the session also survived an injection of suspense, as the Senate continued to work on an insurance change for those with Down syndrome while the tax package languished. The insurance measure — a priority of Senate President Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican whose son has Down syndrome — would require health plans offered by large employers to cover the condition.
Patients with Down syndrome and other developmental disabilities had been left out of a similar piece of legislation in 2008, when Gardiner was in the House.
“Eight years ago, we ended session with an issue that was not resolved. It got resolved tonight,” he said proudly.
But the session went later than expected as lawmakers bounced the bill including the provision (HB 221) back and forth between the chambers. Afterwards, Gardiner said the House and Senate were simply trying to get the language right.
And he denied rumors that the tax cut package or a House bill on the environment, known as “Legacy Florida,” hinged on the success of the Down syndrome legislation.
“There was no holding of anything … We always intended to do the tax package and Legacy Florida,” Gardiner said. “We just wanted to get that (insurance bill) done.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Northview Falls To South Walton
March 12, 2016
The Northview Chiefs fell behind in the sixth inning in a 3-1 loss to South Walton in Santa Rosa Beach on Friday.
The only run for the Chiefs came in the fourth inning on a single from Zach Payne. South Walton answered with a run in the fourth and in the sixth on a two-run double.
Up next for the varsity Northview Chiefs is meeting with Baker at 6:30 Tuesday in Bratt, following a 4 p.m. junior varsity.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Supporters Scramble To Prevent Alimony Veto
March 12, 2016
Proponents of an alimony overhaul scurried during the final hours of the legislative session Friday to come up with a way to protect the plan — entangled with a parenting component — from a possible veto by Gov. Rick Scott.
But powerful House Rules Chairman Ritch Workman late in the day abandoned the effort, in part because he lacked the support of House Democrats.
The House and Senate during the past week gave final approval to a long-debated overhaul of the state’s alimony laws. But the veto concerns stem from part of the bill (SB 668) dealing with how much time children should spend with their divorced parents.
Workman on Friday considered putting the alimony reform language onto a separate family-law measure, approved by the Senate but never heard by a House committee. Such a move would provide another way to pass alimony reform without it getting jeopardized by the child time-sharing issue.
“There was concern bubbling up from the plaza level that the governor isn’t convinced about the time-sharing component,” Workman, R-Melbourne, said late Friday afternoon. “We wanted to give him two options.”
The procedural maneuvering to take up the Senate bill so late in the session would have required the House waiving rules. It would have required a two-thirds vote from the chamber, something Workman said he didn’t want to do without the endorsement of Democrats, even though Republicans hold a supermajority in the House. The Senate also would have had to take up the amended version of the bill and pass it.
“We don’t have the consensus to bring up the bill,” Workman said.
The alimony measure, ready to be sent to Scott, sets out a formula for judges to use when deciding alimony payments. It also includes the child time-sharing component, which affects the amount of child-support payments.
The child time-sharing issue was at the center of an acrimonious dispute between Workman and Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, that caused a similar plan to die last year in the Legislature. Lee pushed to include the time-sharing issue, while Workman wanted it left out.
But during the final weeks of this year’s session, Lee and Workman reached a compromise that did away with a proposed legal presumption that children would spend their time equally between both parents. Instead, judges would “begin with the premise that a minor child should spend approximately equal amounts of time with each parent” before considering other factors.
The alimony portion of the bill, years in the making, had the support of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar and alimony reform advocates, once bitterly divided over the issue. The Family Law Section, however, has opposed the child-sharing proposal.
Under the bill, the duration of alimony payments would be based on the number of years of marriage, while the amount of the payments would rely on a couple’s gross income — the higher earner’s salary minus the earnings of the spouse seeking alimony.
The measure does not include a retroactivity provision that in part prompted Scott’s veto of an alimony-reform bill three years ago, but critics contend that the revamped proposal could still be retroactive because the new guidelines would apply to people seeking modifications to their payments.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Snapped Pole Crashes Through Windshield In 10 Mile Wreck
March 12, 2016
A driver struck a utility pole on 10 Mile Road near Guidy Lane Friday afternoon. The collision snapped off the, the remainder of which crashed through the front windsheld and and into the front seat. There was no word on injuries in the accident. The Florida Highway Patrol has not released further details and the continue their investigation. Reader submitted photo by Donella Ray for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fire Departments Respond After Electric Meter Short
March 11, 2016
Area fire departments responded to a duplex in Bratt Friday afternoon after sparks began to fly from a the electric service meter. The power surges were also noticed next door at Gilley’s Country Store at the corner of North Highway 99 and Highway 4 just before 2:30 p.m.
Escambia River Electric Cooperative responded as short time later to cut power to the duplex. Other than the electric service box, there was no damage reported. and there were no injures.
The Walnut Hill, Century and McDavid stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, the Atmore Fire Department and the Flomaton Fire Department all responded to the incident.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tornado Damage Now Estimated At Over $22 Million; Recovery Supplies Distributed In Century
March 11, 2016
Tornado relief supplies from United Way were distributed Thursday in Century, and new dollar figures were released on the extent of the February 15 tornado in Century and the February 23 tornado in Pensacola.
According to Escambia County officials, tornado damage in the Century area is now estimated at $3.9 million, while damage from the Pensacola tornado is now estimated at $18.45 million. The EF-3 tornadoes, just eight days apart, were the strongest tornadoes to strike Escambia County in 45 years.
In an effort to help Century area residents recover, United Ministries distributed supplies — including water, food and personal care items – from United Way for six hours Thursday at the Pilgrim Lodge Baptist Church on Jefferson Avenue.
Healthy Start in Century also distributed donated items Thursday from the United Way at their office at 511 Church Street. Healthy Start will continue to distribute the items, including gift cards, next week Monday-Thursday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. or while supplies last to those with verified damage.
Pictured: Some of the United Way supplies distributed to tornado victims Thursday at the Pligrim Lodge Missionary Baptist Church on Jefferson Avenue in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Attempted Bus Stop Child Abduction Reported; Photo Of Suspect Vehicle Released
March 11, 2016
An attempted child abduction at a Cottage Hill bus stop Thursday remains under investigation.
A child waiting at their bus stop this morning at the corner of Glenna Lane and Williams Ditch Road told Escambia County deputies that an unshaven white male in his mid-20’s to early 30’s pulled up in a red car.
The juvenile said the male then tried to entice the child by yelling out of the car window “get in the car”. The child ran away from the bus stop to a nearby home where deputies were called.
Thursday afternoon, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office released surveillance photo of the car that may have been involved in the incident.
If you have any information on this incident call ECSO at 850-436-9630 or CrimeStoppers at 850-433-STOP.
Editor’s note. The ECSO also released surveillance video of a car and a man at an area convenience store. The ECSO said “We made contact with this man. No arrest have been made at this time.”. Those photos have been removed from this story.
Pictured: The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the person that was driving this vehicle Thursday morning on Williams Ditch Road. Image for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Signs ‘Pastor Protection’ Bill
March 11, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed a controversial bill aimed at protecting clergy members from performing same-sex marriages against their religious beliefs.
Known as the “Pastor Protection Act,” the measure filed by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, will prevent churches, pastors and church employees from facing lawsuits for discrimination if they refuse to perform gay and lesbian weddings. Its passage follows a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that found same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry. P
lakon and Senate sponsor Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, said the verdict had shaken conservative Christians.
“The entire marriage world turned upside down,” Bean said last week as the Senate debated the measure. Opponents said the First Amendment already protects pastors who refuse to perform same-sex weddings and challenged supporters to show that any religious organizations have been punished for discriminating against gay and lesbian couples. But supporters of the measure maintained that it was too soon for such lawsuits to have surfaced because the Supreme Court ruling has been in effect less than a year
Opponents also said the bill could open the door for pastors to refuse to marry interracial couples or divorced people.
by The News Service of Florida
Escambia Fire Rescue Offers Free Smoke Detectors
March 11, 2016
Crew members from Escambia County Fire Rescue Engine 4 in Cantonment walked door to door Thursday in the Saint Matthew’s Lane and Stacey Road area Thursday to install free smoke detectors and change smoke detector batteries for interested residents.
Escambia Fire Rescue offers free smoke detectors with free installation to anyone in need. Call (850) 595-HERO (4376) for the free alarms.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.