Scott Slashes $461 Million From Budget, Including Local Programs
June 24, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott used his veto pen Tuesday to slash hundreds of projects from the budget adopted by Florida lawmakers last week, setting off a new round of infighting within the already fractious Republican Party that controls state government.
Local items that were cut included $1 million for the National Flight Academy, $3 million for the Pensacola International Airport, $1 million for the Muscogee Freight Corridor and $150,000 for Second Chance Outreach Re-Entry and Education Development, Inc.
The governor struck 450 lines totaling almost $461.4 million from the spending plan for the budget year that begins next month. Everything from pay increases for state firefighters to money for orange and grapefruit juice at visitors centers were cut in the largest practical use of Scott’s line-item veto since he took office in 2011. While Scott slashed $615 million that year, the number was inflated by nixing $305 million that was supposed to be generated by selling state lands; even supporters said the initiative would have brought in a tiny fraction of that funding.
Scott said he wielded his pen against projects that didn’t meet a defined set of criteria he set out. The vetoes reduced what had been a $78.7 billion spending plan to about $78.2 billion.
“I went through the budget looking at every project saying, ‘What’s a statewide priority? Can I get a good return on investment? Has it gone through a state process?’ ” Scott told reporters.
But others saw payback after two grinding legislative sessions this spring in which lawmakers largely sidelined the second-term governor. Scott’s proposed increase in education funding was reduced, and his tax-cut package was whittled down to pay for an increase in hospital spending he opposed. The Senate also strongly backed a plan that would have used Medicaid expansion dollars to help lower-income Floridians buy private insurance, prompting Scott to threaten members of the upper chamber with vetoes. The plan died in the House.
“He promised that he would punish the constituents of those legislators who disagreed with him, and he kept his promise,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
In a blistering statement, Senate President Andy Gardiner upbraided Scott for slicing programs for Floridians with disabilities, along with cutting the raises for forestry firefighters and funding for health-care providers.
“While I respect the governor’s authority to veto various lines within our budget, his clear disregard for the public policy merits of many legislative initiatives underscores that today’s veto list is more about politics than sound fiscal policy,” said Gardiner, R-Orlando. “It is unfortunate that the messaging strategy needed to achieve the governor’s political agenda comes at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our state.”
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam also blasted the governor for vetoing almost $1.6 million for the firefighter raises.
“They’re demonstrably underpaid relative to peers,” Putnam said. “And I’m even more disappointed that it was not applied consistently. The helpful people who take your driver’s license photo were allowed to receive a pay raise, and our forest firefighters who put their lives on the line were not.”
Scott said $2.6 million for pay increases for employees of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles was backed up by the needs of that agency. He also noted pointedly that he has advocated for performance bonuses for state employees.
“The Legislature did not put in the budget pay increases for state workers other than that one (for firefighters) and highway safety,” he said. “In highway safety’s case, they’re seeing a shortage of applicants, and so that was the rationale.”
Not everyone was critical. House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, applauded Scott for looking out for taxpayers and trying to impose some accountability in the budget process.
“In the totality of it, I think he did a great job of recognizing we’re not dealing with Monopoly money,” Corcoran said.
He also minimized the complaints about Scott’s decision to strike large portions of the spending plan.
“I think this is something you see post-big veto lists all the time, and it doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Corcoran said.
Scott axed $15 million for a downtown campus for the University of Central Florida — a project dear to Gardiner — because he said it wasn’t approved through the Florida Board of Governors process for the university system. The board had agreed to ask the Legislature for $2.8 million to help fund a $5.8 million study of the project.
The governor cut a swath of increases for health-care providers, including more than $3 million for pediatric physicians and more than $1.7 million for private-duty nursing services, saying those services had received an increase in the current budget year.
And he slashed tens of millions of dollars a year in water projects more closely associated with the House — including $27.3 million for water management.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said that represented a loss for House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. Lee said many of his Senate colleagues were taking the vetoes personally and perceived that the upper chamber was being punished, because of Scott’s earlier threats during the health-care debate.
“They would have no basis for that had it not come from his own lips to their ears,” Lee said.
Lee acknowledged that Scott used the veto more readily this year than last, when the governor struck just $68.9 million from a roughly $77 billion budget.
“What a difference a year makes,” he said. “I wish I could’ve been the appropriations chair in an election year.”
Whether Scott further damaged his already-tenuous relationship with the Legislature — and particularly the Senate — remains to be seen. Gaetz noted that Scott was “all-powerful” on Tuesday because of the line-item veto included in the Constitution.
“But tomorrow, the world turns,” Gaetz said, “and the governor’s back in the position of trying to sell his ideas for next year’s budget.”
NorthEscambia.com contributed to this News Service of Florida report by Brandon Larrabee.
Taxpayer Tab In Drug Testing Lawsuit Tops $1.5 Million
June 24, 2015
Florida taxpayers are on the hook for more than $1.5 million in legal fees — including nearly $1 million to civil-rights lawyers — because of Gov. Rick Scott’s failed push to force welfare applicants and tens of thousands of state workers to submit to suspicionless drug tests.
The state agreed earlier this month to pay $600,000 to the Florida Justice Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which represented a single father who sued the Department of Children and Families over a 2011 welfare drug-testing law. The payment, issued this week, was part of a settlement in the case, abandoned by Scott earlier this year after four years of litigation and multiple court decisions striking down the law.
A federal appeals court ruled in December that the state’s mandatory, suspicionless drug testing of applicants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program is an unconstitutional violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. After the ruling, Scott decided to walk away from the lawsuit.
“We are proud to have brought an end to the policy,” Florida Justice Institute Executive Director Randall Berg said.
Other costs in the welfare drug-testing case totaled at least $309,000, including $13,300 for Avram Mack, a psychiatrist and Georgetown University School of Medicine professor whose testimony was banned by a judge. The court concluded that Mack was not qualified to be an expert in the case.
The state also paid the GrayRobinson law firm at least $160,000 to represent the Department of Children and Families.
The welfare drug-testing law “shamelessly exploited ugly stereotypes about poor people,” ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon said.
“The settlement on our attorneys’ fees today finally closes the book on this ugly story and ensures that Floridians who apply for temporary assistance — or any other public benefit — won’t have to be subjected to invasive, humiliating and unconstitutional urine tests without cause or suspicion,” Simon said.
In a separate case, Scott and lawyers representing a state workers’ union reached agreement this spring on the types of Florida government employees who can be forced to undergo suspicionless drug tests. The union, represented by the ACLU, sued Scott after he issued an executive order shortly after taking office in 2011 ordering all workers in agencies under his control, as well as job applicants, to undergo random drug screens.
A federal judge put the policy on hold after the ACLU filed suit that summer, and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Scott could not constitutionally justify drug testing for all types of state employees without a reason, though it said testing could occur for some workers such as those in “safety-sensitive” positions. The appeals court ordered Scott and lawyers for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, to come up with a list of jobs that could be subject to testing.
Under a settlement agreement filed in federal court in April, the state agreed to pay the ACLU $375,000 in legal costs for the drawn-out litigation and to limit the drug tests to about 7,000 workers in 157 different job classes, a fraction of the 34,000 employees Scott’s blanket policy was intended to cover.
The taxpayer tab for that lawsuit totaled at least $675,000, including $180,000 for a private lawyer hired by the state, Thomas Bishop, and $120,000 for a special master to oversee the negotiations with the ACLU.
The amount spent on both lawsuits — at least $1.5 million — would cover about 8,900 days of residential substance-abuse treatment, based on average costs for in-patient treatment in Florida.
by Dara Kara, The News Service of Florida
Downed Tree Blocks Road In Walnut Hill
June 23, 2015
High winds associated with an afternoon thunderstorm split an oak tree on Arthur Brown Road this about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, sending a large portion of the tree across the roadway near Kansas Road. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Road Department were called to remove the tree. With about an hour, the roadway was back open. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott Awards Medal Of Heroism To Escambia Deputy
June 23, 2015
During today’s meeting of the Florida Cabinet, Governor Rick Scott recognized Escambia County Deputy Sheriff Kerem Suhi with the Medal of Heroism for his bravery and quick reaction during a dangerous situation where he saved a fellow officer’s life.
“Officer Suhi risked his life to protect a fellow officer and demonstrated tremendous courage in a dangerous situation. I am honored to present him with the Medal of Heroism and thank him for his commitment to protecting the families of our state,” Scott said.
Suhi has served with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for five years. In March 2013, Suhi joined Sergeant Shedrick Johnson and other officers in response to a robbery call in the 8800 block of Burning Tree Road in the Scenic Hills area off Nine Mile Road. Upon arriving to the scene, the suspect abruptly opened the home’s garage door as Johnson made repeated calls inside. The suspect opened fire on Johnson and he was struck in the leg.
After witnessing the incident, Suhi quickly responded and worked to help his fellow officer. As Suhi was carrying Johnson away, he saw the suspect aim his firearm at them, so he quickly moved to a safe position behind a vehicle where he worked to save Johnson. Deputy Suhi’s quick thinking in the line of fire saved Sergeant Johnson’s life and both made a full recovery.
“I join Governor Scott and the families of Escambia County in recognizing the bravery of Deputy Kerem Suhi who risked his life to protect his fellow officers. He is a great example of the commitment that our law enforcement officers share in protecting our community,” Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Sentenced For DUI, Child Neglect For Wrong-Way Trip On Nine Mile Road
June 23, 2015
A Cantonment man has been sentenced for allegedly driving drunk on the wrong side of Nine Mile Road with two children in his vehicle.
Robert Anthony Hardee , 24, was sentenced to 90 days in jail to be followed by 48 months probation for DUI and child neglect without great bodily harm by Judge Michael Jones. He was also ordered to pay nearly $2,000 in fines and court costs, attend DUI school and consume no alcohol after his release. His driver’s license was also suspended for one year.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy was traveling westbound on Nine Mile Road on August 9, 2014, when he observed traffic swerving left and right to avoid a Nissan SUV traveling on the wrong side of the road. Hardee turned on Chemstrand Road where he came to a stop. Two children were in the vehicle.
Hardee failed a field sobriety test, and later failed a breathalyzer test with an alcohol level of .242 — just over three times the legal limit of .08 — according deputies. Deputies reported finding a small bottle of vodka in the vehicle, with one of the children telling a deputy that Hardee has just consumed the alcohol.
Hardee also received traffic citations for driving on the wrong side of the road and possession of an open container in a motor vehicle.
Woman Charged With Weekend Homicide
June 23, 2015
An Escambia County woman has been arrested on a homicide charge in connection with a weekend shooting.
Frances A. Deacon, age 33 of Pine Forest Road, was booked into the Escambia County Monday night with bond set at $100,000.
She’s accused in a shooting about 5 p.m. Saturday on Grandview Avenue off Mobile Highway. Deputies responded to a shots fired call to find Jerry Elder of Pensacola dead in a back room of the home
Rep. Doug Broxson: Jay Medical Raid Shows Need For Oversight, Government Accountability
June 23, 2015
submitted by Rep. Doug Broxson
When I first ran for office in 2010, I was advised that if I wanted any credibility in northern Santa Rosa County, then I needed to get to know Dr. David Smith of Jay, FL. Doctor Smith is a pillar of the community in northern Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties. During his career as a physician in Jay, he gained a reputation for serving the rural areas that are often disconnected from quality health care and providing free or reduced care to those in need.
However, in July of 2011, federal and state law enforcement officers stormed Dr. Smith’s practice. With weapons in tow, law enforcement ordered physicians, staff, and others to surrender all medical records and were forbidden to communicate with anyone during the raid. After three hours, authorities seized thousands of patient files and medical records and transferred the confidential material to a storage facility in Pensacola, where they were held under lock and key.
While they were not arrested, Dr. Smith and his son, Dr. Michael Smith, were forced to surrender their DEA prescription licenses. During that time, their patients had to find new physicians to treat them and were forced to travel to Pensacola in order to gain access to their own personal medical files that were held by the authorities. Neither doctor has any public complaint on file with the Florida Department of Health, and Dr. David Smith was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by the Florida Rural Health Association. However, for the last four years, federal and state law enforcement agencies have held the livelihood and reputation of these two doctors in their hands while conducting their secret investigation.
Finally, the U.S. Attorney cleared Drs. David and Michael Smith earlier this month, and both doctors will be able to reapply for their DEA licenses again soon. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done to their careers and reputations. Additionally, in a rural area that is critically underserved by the healthcare industry, the loss of these doctors caused an even greater access to care problem.
In Congress, the subject of personal rights in regard to national security is being fiercely debated. While there were no national security questions involved in this investigation, it is alarming to think that our government has the ability to persecute its citizens without any regard to transparency or due process. The lives of Drs. David and Michael Smith, along with the lives of their patients, have suffered by the heavy-handed acts of our own government. Over the last four years, my office has made numerous requests to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to find out why this investigation was taking so long without any charges being filed. However, the agency refused to respond to me and would not give any reason as to why the rights of these doctors were suspended. Frankly, if there were wrongful acts committed, then charges should be filed and the public should be informed. I do not believe justice is served by allowing for a prolonged fishing expedition without bringing charges in a timely manner.
I hope what happened to these doctors will serve to show that we need additional oversight to hold our government accountable when it resorts to this type of intimidation and persecution. I have asked the Florida Attorney General’s office to help me craft legislation that will help enforce due process and require charges to be either filed or dropped after an appropriate amount of time in order to prevent future government investigations to continue indefinitely. I await their response.
- Rep. Doug Broxson
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
The opinions expressed in this submitted article are those of the author and not necessarily those of NorthEscambia.com.
Citizens Insurance Proposes Rate Hikes For Coastal Customers
June 23, 2015
More than half of Citizens Property Insurance customers will face rate increases next year, under a proposal going before the insurer’s Board of Governors on Wednesday. The biggest increases are expected to hit coastal policyholders.
“The overall increase is being fueled by a continued spike in water loss claims in Southeast Florida and the fact that most coastal policies with nearly adequate rates have found coverage with private market insurance companies,” a release from the state-backed insurer said Monday.
Overall, Citizens is proposing an average rate increase of 3.2 percent for personal lines policyholders. However, the actual amount will vary depending on location and home. The proposal includes an average increase of 8.6 percent on coastal multi-peril homeowner policies, which the release from Citizens says reflects “both the historical inadequacy of coastal rates and the higher risks associated with living along the coast.”
For inland policyholders, a 1 percent drop is proposed in multi-peril rates. Of the approximately 573,000 personal lines customers now with Citizens, about 255,000 should get lower rates, the release from the insurer said.
by The News Service of Florida
Scott’s ‘Tax Cut Victory Tour’ Wraps In Escambia County
June 23, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott wrapped up a whirlwind seven-city “tax cut victory tour” with a stop in Pensacola Monday night, touting a tax-cut package that he signed into law last week.
The package (HB 33A), which lawmakers approved during a special session, is projected by state economists to cut revenue by $372.4 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1. As he won a second term last year, Scott made tax cuts a key issue in his campaign. Early this year, he proposed $673 million in tax cuts.
The package approved by lawmakers includes cutting the communications-services tax on cell-phone and cable-TV bills; providing a 10-day sales-tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers; and eliminating for one year sales taxes on college textbooks.
“Floridians can spend their money better than government can, and I am proud that this tax cut will save money for Florida families who pay a cell phone, cable or satellite TV bill,” Scott said
During Monday’s tour, Scott also stopped in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott touts tax cuts signed into law last week during a Monday evening visit to the Apple Market in Pensacola. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Humane Society Calls For Stop To Proposed Bear Hunt
June 23, 2015
The Humane Society of the United States on Monday delivered more than 90,000 names of people who, the group says, want Gov. Rick Scott to halt anticipated approval of the state’s first bear hunt in more than two decades.
Scott, however, is deferring to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on the proposed hunt, which has the backing of the powerful National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida.
Laura Bevan, the Humane Society’s southern regional director, said Monday opponents also intend to address the commission before a final vote on the issue during a commission meeting Wednesday in Sarasota. But she couldn’t say if the group might take legal action in the future.
“This is the battle, not the war, we’re going to keep opposing this,” Bevan said. “When it starts, every hunter that paid their $100 for in-state (permits) — or $300 for out-of-state — is going to flood into the woods of Florida and kill bears.”
Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley, in a release Monday, said reviving the hunt is a way to manage the bear population rather than a response to “recent bear attacks and escalating human-bear conflicts.” Wiley wrote, “We have in past years invested and continue today to invest much staff time and resources in working with communities to help people understand what they can do to reduce or avoid bear conflicts, primarily by securing garbage and removing food attractants.,”
The NRA and Unified Sportsmen, in backing the first bear hunt in Florida since the state closed the hunting season statewide in 1994, pointed to concerns with the “explosion in the bear population and the growing danger to human life.”
NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer wrote to commission members on June 10, saying, “Hunting is a management tool that FWC had used successfully in the past and continues to be an effective means to control wildlife populations that endanger the public.”
by The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.