Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: And The Bills Begin To Die
March 6, 2016
Nothing is ever dead until the final day of the legislative session, but the bills that likely will and won’t make it across the finish line this year became increasingly clear over the last week.
A gaming agreement with the Seminole Tribe and a related rewrite of the state’s gambling laws? Almost certainly dead. An overhaul of death-penalty sentencing after a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling? Quickly sent to Gov. Rick Scott. An expansion of the state’s nascent medical marijuana industry? Looks like it will get done.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate continued to keep staff members, lobbyists and reporters in the Capitol after hours as they hammered out the final details of the state’s $80 billion (or so) budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. With one weekend of spending negotiations already in the books, another was on tap.
All the while, advocates began preparing for Hail Mary passes on a variety of long-shot initiatives, and massive legislative “trains” on education, transportation and health care started to take shape. To borrow from Shakespeare (and not from Sherlock Holmes, as some would have you believe), the game’s afoot.
But the winners and losers are already coming into focus.
GAME OVER
Calling the efforts to push gambling changes through the Legislature a “heavy lift” had become something of a joke in Tallahassee, simply because the phrase was overused. The reason it was overused was because it was accurate, and the weight of the project came crashing down this week.
Things started out somewhat promising. The House Finance & Tax Committee on Monday crafted what it called a “love note” to the Senate, passing a sweeping bill that would ratify a proposed $3 billion agreement with the Seminole Tribe and allow pari-mutuels in at least five counties to add slot machines.
The measure (HB 7109) could also have done away with dog racing and most horse racing, while allowing tracks to keep operating more lucrative betting operations, such as card rooms and slot machines, a process known as “decoupling.”
Committee Chairman Matt Gaetz said the “elegance” of the legislation was that it would provide an opportunity for the Seminoles to work with pari-mutuels to resolve their differences, because none of the elements of the bill would go into effect without the tribe’s approval.
“Nobody gets anything if there is not mutual accord and consent and agreement,” Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said. “I imagine that … you would very likely see a negotiation between the tribe and the pari-mutuel facilities who benefit under the bill. And, if there is an inequity … that inequity can be cured by contract.”
Elegant or not, gambling legislation wasn’t able to make it through the Senate. That chamber’s Appropriations Committee was supposed to hear its version of the bill Tuesday, but Senate Regulated Industries Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, asked that the measure (SB 7202) be postponed.
Senate leaders blamed the demise of the legislation on the pari-mutuel industry. Both plans would have allowed slot machines in at least five additional counties where voters approved the machines in referendums, and the bills also included other perks for dog and horse tracks and jai alai operators.
“The bill had a lot of ornaments added to it, and the tree eventually gets too many ornaments and it falls over,” Bradley said Tuesday.
There were few good options left for the Legislature. Come back for a special session on the Seminole compact? Not something that would appeal to dozens of members running for re-election. Another run at the compact next year? The negotiations might have to start all over again.
The Legislature could also do nothing, while two lawsuits play out in court. One of those lawsuits involves the expiration of part of a 2010 deal between the Seminoles and the state, while the other involves whether a small horse track in Gadsden County should be allowed to offer slot machines.
WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN
There is one bill the Legislature must approve every year: the budget that kicks in on July 1. After Monday closed out the first phase of negotiations with a good deal of the work done, the House and Senate budget chiefs took over the talks.
They didn’t meet again until Thursday, but quickly knocked off two areas of the budget, reaching agreement on funding for environmental programs and health care.
“If you’re someone who cares about agriculture and natural resources in Florida, it’s a great budget,” said House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes. “If you’re someone who cares about health care in quality and funding, I think it did very well.”
The deal has to be done by Tuesday if lawmakers want to go home on time.
And the most difficult work still remained. Almost the entire education budget is unresolved. And lawmakers are considering issuing bonds for education construction projects, something that would set up an even bigger clash with Gov. Rick Scott, who’s already unhappy with the direction negotiations have taken.
That unhappiness stems in no small part from the fate of Scott’s call for $1 billion in tax cuts. As far as the kinds of reductions that the governor asked for, by Thursday the package had been whittled down to $129.1 million.
Lawmakers are also holding local education property tax cuts steady by spending an extra $290 million in state money on public schools — but Scott didn’t ask for that and has pushed back on the idea that it’s needed.
“Unfortunately, the practical impact of rising property values is higher property taxes,” Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said in a prepared statement about the revised tax package. “This year, the Legislature is taking important steps to mitigate that impact, by reducing local millage rates and using only state tax dollars to pay for a $478 million increase in education funding.”
The biggest part of the revised package (HB 7099), approved Thursday by the Senate Appropriations Committee, would permanently eliminate a tax on manufacturing equipment, which has been temporarily suspended but is set to return in 2017. Scott has made a priority of eliminating the tax.
For many Floridians, the biggest part of the package will be a sales-tax “holiday” for back-to-school shoppers. However, the holiday will only last three days in August, rather than the 10 days proposed by Scott and the House.
ON THE MOVE
Other legislation was making its way through the House and the Senate in the usual final-days scramble to get everything done.
A hard-fought battle on overhauling the state’s alimony system seemed to be on track. The proposal, approved by the Senate in a 24-14 vote Friday, would establish formulas for alimony payments and includes a controversial provision dealing with how much time children should spend with their divorced parents.
Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who sponsored the measure, said she wanted to provide predictability for couples, who in the past have used the process of divorce to punish each other.
“Going through a divorce is heart-wrenching for all the parties,” said Stargel, who said she has been married since she was 17 years old and has never been divorced. “The parents get so angry and so mad at each other. … The children are the ones that suffer.”
The House could vote on the legislation early next week.
Lawmakers in that chamber have already signed off on an expansion of medical marijuana in Florida. The plan (HB 307 and HB 1313) would give terminally ill patients access to full-strength pot while revamping a 2014 law meant to allow some patients to use a milder form of marijuana.
The earlier law has been bogged down in legal challenges over the selection of nurseries to get potentially lucrative contracts.
“The focus in our debate and the media has been largely focused on who gets to grow it, who gets to make money, who gets to lobby, who gets to invest,” said Rep. Katie Edwards, a Plantation Democrat who has been heavily involved on the medical-marijuana issue. “The hell with them — who gets to benefit is the patients. That has been largely lost in our debate.”
But Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said he doesn’t think the bill is good policy.
“We’re feeding an avalanche that I think will ultimately lead to a tremendous amount of substance abuse in this state,” Baxley said.
Social conservatives like Baxley, though, won a victory when the Legislature signed off on a controversial bill (HB 43) aimed at protecting clergy members who object to performing wedding ceremonies for gay and lesbian couples. The measure comes in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that legalized gay marriage nationwide.
“The bill is a shield. It is not a sword,” said Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach. “Pastors have asked for protection because they’re fearful of being discriminated against.”
But in the House and Senate, opponents contended that the First Amendment already protects pastors who refuse to perform same-sex weddings. They challenged supporters to show that any religious organizations have been punished for discriminating against same-sex couples.
And they raised the specter that the bill would open the door for pastors to refuse to marry interracial couples or divorced people.
“I’m afraid it might turn the clock back,” said Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa Democrat and veteran of the civil-rights movement. “I’ve been there, and I don’t want to relive history.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: Negotiations continued on the roughly $80 billion state budget, as lawmakers worked to bring the session to a successful conclusion after last year’s session imploded in a health-care fight.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The most repugnant thing is that we’re using the guise of helping these kids for a special interest food fight to expand the people that can offer this, that can make money on it. We got somebody who got left out so this bill takes care of them. … This is about making money, as much or more as it’s about helping sick people. And that’s my moral imperative to vote no.”—Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, talking about a Senate bill dealing with the medical marijuana fight.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Housing Rehabilitation Assistance Applications Taken In Century
March 5, 2016
County staffers were in Century Friday morning taking applications for housing assistance, and they will be back next week looking for more applicants.
The Escambia County Neighborhood Enterprise Division was at the Century Town Hall Friday taking applications for housing rehabilitation programs for citizens in the unincorporated areas, or outside the town limits, affected by the February 15 Century tornado.
Staff will also take applications again Thursday, March 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Century Town Hall.
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.
Pictured: Housing assistance applicants Friday morning at the Century Town Hall. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
United Way Donations Now Available To Tornado Victims
March 5, 2016
Escambia County and Gulf Coast citizens worked together to help generate resources for neighbors impacted by the EF3 tornadoes that devastated the area in February.
In order to distribute new in-kind goods donated by our community, the United Way “Store” will open Monday, March 7 – Friday, March 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1301 West Government Street. Names and addresses of assessed victims will be used to grant residents free access to the following items:
- Vouchers for clothing that can be selected at one of four Goodwill locations in Northwest Florida
- Vouchers for nonperishable food items and cases of water to be picked up at Manna Food Pantries.
- Towing vouchers for those with damaged vehicles
- 100 restaurant gift cards in $25 denominations donated by Jackson Hewitt
- 15 Whataburger gift cards in $100 increments donated by Whataburger
- 21 varying gift cards (grocery, retail outlets, home repair box stores) with values form $10 to $50
- Over 4,500 new toiletry items from feminine products to soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc.
- Over 500 new paper and plastic goods including paper towels, toilet paper, plastic flatware, etc.
- Over 200 new cleaning supplies such as detergent, disinfectant wipes, trash bags, etc.
- Over 500 baby items such as diapers, baby wipes, washcloths, blankets, etc.
- Over 600 beverages including water, soda, juice, etc.
- Over 200 other new items including pillows, sheets, etc.
In addition to thousands of in-kind donations, local citizens have generously donated or pledged over $309,000 to support recovery. The first round of a special grant application process has concluded, and United Way of Escambia County Board Members awarded eight local nonprofits funding to help affected citizens in Escambia County. Funding Awards are as follows:
- The American Red Cross Award= $22,857 to provide individual financial assistance given after the 3.4 award date to families affected by Century and Pensacola.
- Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies (BRACE) Award=$28,571 to purchase supplies and materials that will be used by volunteer laborers helping homeowners recover.
- Catholic Charities of Northwest Florida Award= $24,000 for direct assistance for the client, payable to vendors in the form of payments for past due mortgage, past due rent, first month’s rent, rental deposits, home repairs, hotel/motel, utility services, prescription, food, and counseling services. 30% of the award or $7,200 is to fund part of the cost required to cover additional case management support of survivors.
- Escambia County Healthy Start Award= $586 is for capacity required in the form of additional staffing needed to disburse in-kind goods (baby supplies) that United Way will provide to Healthy Start for client’s who have assessed damage.
- Legal Services of North Florida Award= $5,000 for capacity required in the form of legal support being rendered to county residents who need help resolve financial and housing stability issues caused by the tornados.
- The Salvation Army Award= $928
- Funding Awarded is for the extended hours needed to feed and shelter residents affected by the tornados.
- United Ministries Award= $9,857 to provide financial assistance with rent, repairs, mortgages and utilities payable directly to the vendor.
- 211 Northwest Florida Award= $19,286 to provide financial assistance in the form of rental deposits, first month’s rent, utility deposits and insurance deductibles payable directly to the vendor.
The total amount disbursed during the first round is $111,085.71.
The eight local nonprofit organizations selected provide direct aid to the families who were impacted by the North Escambia and Pensacola area tornadoes. Each organization that receives funding will sign a contract stating that they acknowledge their willingness to provide weekly and quarterly reports on how the funds are used.
The application process is split into three separate rounds. United Way hopes to make close to $100,000 of collected funding available for each round. The first round of applications closed March 1 at 5 p.m. The second round applications close on March 6 at 5 p.m., and the deadline for the third round applications is to be determined. Funding not disbursed during these three rounds, or donations that are collected after the third round concludes, will be open for a fourth application at a later time. United Way will announce that date once it is set and will keep the community informed of where and how their donations support local families who most need assistance.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Turn Down Florida DOC Prison Staffing Request
March 5, 2016
A deal on the state’s public-safety budget that lawmakers reached late Friday would not give the Department of Corrections the 734 additional positions that the agency says are necessary to make Florida’s prisons more secure.
The new jobs were part of an effort by the department to have corrections officers work eight-hour shifts instead of 12-hour shifts. The department has been reeling from a series of reports about issues such as contraband smuggling and abuse of inmates.
Corrections Secretary Julie Jones, who took over the troubled agency last year, requested the positions after three separate audits blamed prison problems, including contraband such as cell phones, on inadequate and overworked staff.
The agency recently launched a lobbying effort, including distributing “734″ stickers, to try to convince the Legislature to approve the staffing levels. Earlier this week, on Twitter, Jones tried to stress the urgency of the situation.
“This is an officer and inmate safety issue,” she tweeted at a reporter. “The Department doesn’t just want 734 … we need it.”
But Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, a Brandon Republican leading the budget negotiations, said legislative staff members believe the agency has enough to do in handling the fallout of a health-care contracting issue.
“Our staff felt that the department pretty much had its hands full dealing with the health-care issues that it needed to deal with and that this was probably more than they could swallow at the current time,” Lee said.
He also noted that the agency already has a large number of open positions that could be filled.
In addition to finishing work on the criminal and civil justice portion of the budget, which also covers the courts system, Lee and House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran struck an agreement on funding for transportation and economic development.
A $6 million film-incentive program that the Senate wanted was dropped from the final deal. Lawmakers also agreed to a provision allowing law-enforcement officers to be assigned to protect Cabinet members.
“We’ve all been aware that the attorney general’s had some serious issues over these last few years but in looking at it and looking at the reform, it was for all the Cabinet officers,” said Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes. “If they need it and the circumstances necessitate it, then obviously we want to make sure that that’s taken care of.”
He said lawmakers would look for ways during the last week of the legislative session to make the provision a permanent part of state law; the budget language would expire after a year.
Lee and Corcoran are still working on the spending plan for education, as well as some administrative portions of the budget. The talks have to be completed by Tuesday for the legislative session to end on Friday, as scheduled, because lawmakers are required to have 72 hours to review the budget before voting on it.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Tate Shuts Out Pine Forest; Northview Dominates PCA
March 5, 2016
Tate 10, Pine Forest 0
The Tate Aggies shut out Pine Forest 10-0 Friday night in Cantonment.
Madison Lockman pitched a one-hitter and had seven strikeouts on the way to the win. He also allowed no earned runs and had no walks.
The Aggies scored a couple of runs in both the third and fourth innings before winning on the run-rule with six runs in the sixth.
Leading hitters for the Tate Aggies were Reid Halfacre 3-5, 2 RBIs, run; Hunter NeSmith 3-4, RBI, run; Logan Blackmon 2-4, RBI; Logan McGuffey 1-3, RBI, run.
Northview 14, PCA 1
The Northview Chiefs defeated Pensacola Christian Academy by a score of 14-1 in 5 innings.
Zach Payne picked up the win, moving his record to 1-0 on the season. He pitched 5 complete innings, giving up 1 run on 1 hit, he walked 1 batter and struck out 10.
Leading hitters for the Chiefs were Alston Wiggins (2-2, 3 RBI, 2B, 1 run), Josh Neese (2-2, 2 2B, 2 runs), Thomas Moore (1-3, 3 RBI, 2B, 1 run), Roman Manning (1-2, 1 RBI, 2 runs), Quentin Sampson (1-2, 1 RBI, 3 runs), Seth Killam (1-3), Zach Holland (1-1, 1 run).
Also scoring runs for the Chiefs were Luke Ward (1 run), Devin Stabler (1 run), Zach Payne (1 run), and Roquan Wiggins (1 run).
The Chiefs improve to 4-1 and host Central on Monday night, March 7 at 6:00 p.m.
Northview 17, PCA 0 (JV)
The Northview JV team defeated PCA JV 17-0 in 5 innings on Friday.
Jackson Moore was the winning pitcher, throwing 5 innings, giving up 0 runs on 1 hit while striking out 3 batters.
Leading hitters for the Chiefs were Heath Sheldt (3-3, 3 runs), John Chivington (1-1, 2B, 3 runs), Wesley Hardin (2-2, 2B), Jackson Moore (2-3), Andrew Sharpless (1-3), Sam Stott (1-3), Alex McMinn (1-2), and Trevor Singleton (1-2).
The JV Chiefs improved to 6-1 and play Tate on Tuesday night, March 8.
New Trial Ordered In Murder Of Escambia County Man Set On Fire
March 5, 2016
Pointing to questions about mental competency, an appeals court Friday ordered a new trial for a man convicted in the 2011 murder in Escambia County of a victim who was beaten and set on fire.
Sergio Dupree Moorer was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the slaying of John D. Hall.
But a three-judge panel of the strict First District Court of Appeal ruled Friday that a circuit judge erred by not holding a competency hearing for Moorer. The ruling said two experts evaluated Moorer and came to different conclusions about whether he was competent to stand trial.
“In light of the conflicting reports, during a May 6, 2013, status conference, defense counsel and the state agreed it would be necessary for the trial court to set a date to hold a competency hearing; yet, no competency hearing was ever held,” said Friday’s ruling, written by Judge Ronald Swanson and joined by judges Joseph Lewis and Thomas Winokur. “Instead, 15 months later, in August 2014, appellant (Moorer) went to trial and was found guilty by a jury of the … crimes.”
Hall was found on August 21, 2011, in a wooded area near the Marcus Pointe apartment complex. Last seen alive the day before, Hall had been beaten and burned beyond recognition.
Hall’s vehicle was located four days later by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in the Oakstead Mobile Home Park on Massachusetts Avenue. Moorer was inside the vehicle and fled on foot as deputies arrived. After a short foot chase, he was taken into custody.
Florida Gambling Proposals Are Dead
March 5, 2016
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, acknowledged Friday that high-profile gambling proposals, including a potential agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, are dead for this year’s legislative session.
Crisafulli addressed the issue after the House did not take up a wide-ranging gambling bill during a floor session. Along with the agreement with the tribe, lawmakers had been considering proposals such as allowing slot machines at more pari-mutuel facilities.
The demise of the gambling proposals was not a surprise, as Senate leaders said Tuesday that their version of the bill was all but doomed. Crisafulli pointed to the issue stalling in the Senate.
“Without a willing partner to pass that legislation, it was not going to get done,” Crisafulli said.
Also appearing unlikely to pass this year is a proposal stemming from a national debate about whether online fantasy sports are an illegal form of gambling. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, on Friday sought to move forward with a proposal that would make clear fantasy sports are not considered gambling in Florida. Gaetz sought to attach the proposal to a bill (HB 1187) that deals with professional regulations. But after a lengthy debate — and facing opposition from some lawmakers, including the sponsor of the bill — Gaetz withdrew his proposed amendment.
The legislative session ends next Friday.
by The News Service of Florida
Kitchen Fire Damages Century Apartment
March 4, 2016
Quick action by residents with fire extinguishers and Escambia Fire Rescue kept a kitchen fire from spreading at Century apartment complex Friday morning.
The fire, which reportedly began with a pot of grease on a stove, was quickly extinguished before it spreading beyond the kitchen in the 300 building of the Century Woods Apartments on West Highway 4.
There were no injuries reported.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Disaster Relief Distribution In Century
March 4, 2016
The Century Church of Christ at 430 East Highway 4 will be providing disaster relief for tornado victims through the weekend.
Distribution times will be Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and Sunday 1-5 p.m.
If you know anyone in need please call (850) 256-2588 or stop by during distribution hours. Items on hand include food boxes, infant boxes, personal hygiene boxes (anything needed in a bathroom), cleaning buckets, and more. Future support is planned as the needs of the families change.
Molino Man Facing Weapons, Drug Charges
March 4, 2016
A Molino man is facing numerous weapons and drug charges after deputies spotted him speeding on Molino Road.
Clifford McFann, Jr., was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm while committing a felony, possession of cocaine, introduction of a controlled substance into a detention facility, tampering with evidence, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer without violence and driving while license suspended.
Deputies observed a vehicle traveling on Molino Road at a high rate of speed. They later located the vehicle parked in a driveway at Brickyard Road and Blake Street, occupied by McFann and a female. McFann got out of the vehicle and refused to follow orders from deputies and began to resist. Deputies then “assisted” McFann to the ground as he continued to struggle, according to an arrest report.
A search of McFann’s vehicle revealed 13 loose rounds of .32 caliber bullets in his left front pocket, and a 32 caliber revolver with five live rounds and one spent casing. The gun was listed as stolen out of Mobile, AL, in 1979.
McFann, a convicted felon, was placed under arrest and transported to the Escambia County Jail. As he was being removed from the patrol vehicle at the jail, the deputy reported that his lips and pants were covered with a blue powdery substance that later tested positive for cocaine. According to the arrest report, McFann had several plastic baggies full of cocaine in his mouth that he had attempted to chew up. He was transported to Baptist Hospital for evaluation.
McFann was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $47,500 bond.