Evers’ Prison Overhaul Bill Gains Traction In Florida Senate
February 17, 2015
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee gave a preliminary nod to a corrections overhaul that would make it easier for inmates to file complaints, create new penalties for rogue guards who abuse prisoners and establish a governor-appointed commission to oversee prisons and investigate wrongdoing.
The proposal (SPB 7020), sponsored by committee Chairman Greg Evers, R-Baker, would also allow inmates’ families or lawyers to pay for an independent medical evaluation and would expand opportunities for old or sick inmates to get out of prison early.
And the measure would require each prison to track use of force incidents and the Department of Corrections to post an annual report documenting those incidents on its website.
Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones called the measure, which still has several committee stops before heading to the floor and so far lacks a House companion, a “work in progress” but said she is “cautiously optimistic” so far.
“Sen. Evers has taken a bold approach to trying to fix the problems that he sees,” Jones said after appearing before the panel on Monday.
The embattled corrections agency is grappling with state probes of questionable inmate deaths, lawsuits from investigators who claim they were retaliated against after exposing a cover-up of the death of an inmate who died at a Panhandle prison after being gassed by noxious chemicals, and complaints about dangerously low staffing levels at dozens of state-run facilities.
Jones, who took over the agency last month as the fourth secretary in as many years, is also scrutinizing contracts with private vendors who took over health care services for the state’s 100,000 inmates last year.
“We look forward to reinventing this agency,” Jones told the committee before Monday’s vote.
Evers, whose North Florida district includes three prisons and numerous work camps, has made surprise visits to several institutions and, on Monday, peppered Jones with questions about a 1996 report that found that low pay and understaffing were the top reasons for turnover in the department.
Jones identified those issues as among the top concerns of prison staff based on surveys she is now conducting nearly 20 years later.
“What was amazing about this is in 1996 in virtue we had the same problems we have today,” Evers said.
Jones told the committee she is establishing “issues teams” made up of rank-and-file workers who will be tasked with coming up with solutions to the concerns expressed in the surveys.
“Things come in waves. You fix a problem and it comes back up again if you don’t attend to it over time. I think that’s what’s happened. The difference between what the chairman talked about in 1996 and what we’re doing today are those issue teams,” Jones told The News Service of Florida later. “You can survey employees all day long and take the information and when you put it in a report and put on the shelf, you haven’t done anything with it. We are going to do good things with everything that our employees are telling us and to the best of our ability implement new ideas and change processes.”
One of the first items the “issue teams” will address is uniforms, Jones said in the interview.
“They hate the uniforms. The quality. How well they wear in the summer. They’re not equipped for outside posts in the winter time. The uniform piece is a quality-of-life issue. You will find that all of our teams are going to be related to mission, values and culture,” she said.
Evers included the oversight commission in his bill at the request of Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican and former prosecutor. The commission — made up of a sheriff, a state attorney, a public defender, a clergy member, a community leader and a business leader — would have subpoena powers and be able to open investigations.
The commission’s primary purpose is “to ensure the safe and effective operation of our prison system,” Bradley said.
“Real reform in this area will only be achieved if we finally change the accountability system that’s in place for corrections,” he said.
Jones, however, told The News Service she is more interested in a commission that would offer recommendations but not have as much power as what was included in the bill on Monday.
“I’m very interested in a commission that’s going to look at sentencing reforming and delve into who comes into prison to begin with. That’s going to be very valuable to me. I’m hoping that the commission morphs a little bit in its charge” to include prison reforms known as Smart Justice, Jones said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Highland Baptist Kids Share Messages Of Love
February 17, 2015
Children from Highland Baptist Church recently visited with residents of the Health Care Center of Pensacola. The children delivered handmade Valentine’s cards with a special message.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Correctional Builds Picnic Tables For Local School At $5K Savings
February 17, 2015
Students at Escambia Westgate School have new picnic tables to enjoy today, thanks to inmate labor at the Century Correctional Institution.
CCI inmates delivered 25 newly constructed picnic tables to the school Monday and placed them around the campus. Principal Terry Colburn requested for CCI to build the tables. The school supplied the materials, and the prison supplied the carpenter and an inmate crew to build them.
It’s estimated that Escambia Westgate saved about $5,000 with the Century Correctional built tables versus purchasing commercially available tables.
Century Correctional often performs labor for local schools, including Bratt Elementary, Byrneville Elementary and Northview High. Inmates are only allowed on campus when their are no children present.
Pictured above and below: Century Correctional Institution inmates deliver new picnic tables built by the prison to Escambia Westgate School. Pictured bottom: Escambia Westgate staff, prison leadership, Superintendent Malcolm Thomas pose with some of the inmates. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle Science Teacher Not Heading To Mars
February 17, 2015
A Ransom Middle School teacher is no longer in the running for a trip to begin human life on Mars in 2025. Louis O’Rear did not make the latest cut to the list of candidates for the Mars One program that will send four people on a one-way trip to Mars.
O’Rear, a science teacher, will have a chance to head to the Johnson Space Center in Houston this summer for a Mars mission simulation.
Chiefs Top Rocky Bayou
February 17, 2015
The Northview Chiefs beat Rock Bayou Christian Monday on the road, 9-2. The Chiefs are back in action Friday as they host Baker at 6:30 in Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
New School Board Member Association Details Plans
February 17, 2015
Four local school board members announced Monday they were establishing a conservative counterweight to the Florida School Boards Association, as that organization backs a lawsuit challenging the state’s de facto school-voucher program.
The Florida Coalition of School Board Members — currently consisting of Jeff Bergosh of Escambia County, Erika Donalds of Collier County, Shawn Frost of Indian River County and Bridget Ziegler of Sarasota County — hopes to quickly sign up 40 to 50 like-minded colleagues. But Bergosh said the coalition isn’t trying to usurp the Florida School Boards Association. School board members can be part of both groups.
“We’re not out to replace the current organization,” Bergosh said. “We want to make certain all viewpoints are represented, including the conservative viewpoints.”
Members of the new organization said the Florida School Boards Association’s involvement in a lawsuit against the Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which provides tax credits to companies that donate money to nonprofit entities that pay for children to go to private schools, was just one factor in their decision to organize the new group.
The coalition also hopes to offer training programs at a lower cost and says the Florida School Boards Association is losing influence with the Legislature. “We feel that the FSBA has kind of lost touch with the citizens whose tax dollars fund their existence,” Donalds said.
by The News Service of Florida
Campus Gun Bill Gets Approval In Senate Committee
February 17, 2015
People with concealed-firearms licenses could carry guns at state colleges and universities, under a proposal narrowly approved Monday by a Senate committee.
Meanwhile, people without concealed-firearms licenses could carry weapons during emergency evacuation orders, under a separate measure backed by the committee.
The guns-on-campus bill (SB 176) was approved in a 3-2 party line vote by the Republican-controlled Senate Criminal Justice Committee. It would lift a longstanding ban on carrying concealed weapons on campuses.
Committee Chairman Greg Evers, R-Baker, the sponsor of the proposal, displayed a map of sexual offenders living near the Florida State University campus as he called the bill a safety issue.
“The problem is that in gun-free zones, that we have on college campuses right now, those gun-free zones are just an incubator for folks that won’t follow the law,” Evers said.
But Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, argued that the proposal would allow “mini-militias” to form on the state’s campuses.
“I believe it sends the wrong message to not only our students within the state of Florida, but people who may intend to come to Florida for college,” Gibson said. “It certainly sends the wrong message to their parents.”
Proponents, however, said the measure is needed.
Steven Landgraf, an economics student at Florida State University, said allowing people with concealed-weapons licenses to keep their weapons won’t create “a wild west on campus.”
National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer said people with the licenses shouldn’t have their “constitutional rights violated” by stepping onto a campus. And she warned committee members that campuses are already dangerous places.
“The plain truth is that campuses are not safe,” Hammer said. “They are gun-free zones where murderers, rapists, terrorists, crazies may commit crime without fear of being harmed by their victims.”
The campus gun proposal advanced despite opposition announced last week by the university system’s Board of Governors, university police chiefs and the 12 public universities.
A number of college faculty members, mostly from Florida State University, spoke Monday in opposition to the measure.
Marjorie Sanfilippo, a professor of psychology at Eckerd College, called the bill dangerous.
“It is mere speculation and ignorance of statistical probability to assert that armed students are the reason why shootings don’t happen on campuses,” Sanfilippo told the committee. “Proponents will tell you that allowing conceal carry will protect female students from sexual assault. I will point out the obvious; you’ll be arming the assailants, too.”
Evers contends that allowing people with concealed-weapons licenses to arm themselves would have reduced injuries in a November shooting at Florida State University that left three people wounded.
The gunman in the incident, an FSU graduate, was killed by police. However, Evers said that wouldn’t always be the case, as it takes three to five minutes typically for law enforcement to respond to the first call of a shooting.
“There’s a lot of death that could occur in three minutes and having someone that has a concealed carry, that has their gun on them, could prevent that from happening,” Evers said before Monday’s meeting.
Evers also dismissed concerns that increasing the number of armed people would further add confusion for law enforcement arriving on the scene.
“By the time law enforcement gets there, the incident would be well under control,” Evers said. “When law enforcement says, ‘Put down your guns and get down on your knees,’ the law abiding citizens are going to do this.”
The Senate guns-on-campus bill must clear three additional committees to reach the floor. The House version of the guns-on-campus proposal (HB 4005) was supported last month by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee on a party-line vote, with Democrats opposed.
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Monday also voted 4-1, with Gibson opposed, on a measure (SB 290) that would allow gun owners without concealed-weapons licenses to legally carry their guns when an emergency evacuation order is given.
Last year, a similar measure failed to pass after heavy floor debate on the second-to-last day of the legislative session. However, this time the proposal has the support of the Florida Sheriffs Association, which opposed the 2014 version.
The change in the sheriffs association’s position came as Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who is sponsoring the bill, added a timeline Monday to this year’s proposal. The timeline would set a 48-hour window for individuals to carry weapons while they get away from an evacuation zone once the order is given.
The governor could extend the order by an additional 48 hours, under the proposal.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Recap With Galleries: Northview Two Games Into Young Softball Season
February 17, 2015
The Northview High School junior varsity and varsity Lady Chiefs are off to a mixed start two games into the season.
In junior varsity play, the Lady Chiefs have lost to Pace 14-0 and defeated Chipley 18-2. In varsity action, the Northview Lady Chiefs have lost to Pace 7-4 and lost to Chipley 10-0.
The varsity Chiefs will host Catholic Tuesday at 5:00. The JV will travel to Pace on Thursday for a 4:30 game, followed by the varsity at 6:30. The varsity and JV will be at home against Chipley on Friday, with games at 4:00 and 6:00.
For a submitted photo gallery from Northview (mostly JV) at Pace and Chipley, click here.
For a previously published NorthEscambia.com gallery from Pace at Northview, click here.
Submitted photos by Gary Amerson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Sees Record Number Of Tourists
February 17, 2015
Florida attracted a record number of tourists in 2014, inching closer to an annual goal sought by Gov. Rick Scott.
An estimated 97.3 million visitors came to Florida in 2014, a 3.9 percent increase from the year before, according to information released Monday by Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing arm.
Scott, who has asked lawmakers to increase tourism-marketing funding from $74 million in the current fiscal year to $85 million during the budget year that begins July 1, has been pushing for Florida to surpass 100 million visitors a year.
The latest figure represents the state’s fourth consecutive year with an all-time high in tourism.
“Not only are visitors coming to our state at record levels, but there are also a record number of Floridians employed in our tourism industry,” Scott said in the release.
The state Department of Economic Opportunity estimates that of the 9.1 million people currently employed in Florida, 1.1 million have jobs tied to the tourism industry.
The increase in visitors also means additional revenue for the state.
Visit Florida President and Chief Executive Officer Will Seccombe told legislators last week that approximately 12 percent of all state sales-tax revenue comes from people who don’t live in Florida.
Tourism officials think they can boost the number of visitors with additional money for marketing and by getting people to also consider Florida for ecotourism and more off-the-beaten path trips.
The marketing agency hopes to attract wealthier international travelers, who will spend more, and to entice people to consider Florida for bicycle trips and small-downtown shopping in addition to Disney World and the beaches. Seccombe outlined the marketing plan during an appearance before a Senate budget panel last week.
“With all the marketing in the world we couldn’t put a whole lot more people down into the Florida Keys today,” Seccombe said. “They’re running 92-, 95-percent occupancy in the Keys. But there are areas that don’t have that high occupancy. We’re working very hard in our strategic planning process to identify the need areas of the state.”
But some senators last week raised questions about the return on investment if they increase funding for Visit Florida to $85 million during the upcoming fiscal year. Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said it appears the increase in tourism numbers has gone up at a slower rate than the state’s spending.
“To me, potentially, we’re getting to a situation where maybe we’ve spent or are spending what we need,” Latvala said during last week’s meeting of his panel.
Seccombe estimated that about 50 million visitors each year would come to Florida regardless of advertising, due to family, friends and other personal interests.
But competition has grown as other states realize the economic impact of tourism, he said.
Nationally, only two other states — also traditional vacation locations — spend more on self-marketing: California at $100 million and Hawaii at about $80 million.
The majority of Florida’s 2014 visitors came through domestic travel, with Visit Florida giving a ballpark figure of 11.5 million for those traveling from overseas. Another 3.8 million were from Canada.
The 97.3 million visitor total doesn’t include the approximately 20.2 million in-state “pleasure trips” taken by Floridians.
For the fourth quarter, the state estimated 22.4 million visitors, a 2.8 percent jump from the same period in 2013.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: A February day on Pensacola Beach. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lawmaker Unhappy Escambia, Other Counties Withholding Juvenile Detention Costs
February 16, 2015
Florida’s long-running conflict between the state and counties, including Escambia, over how to share juvenile-detention costs is flaring again — and a powerful lawmaker is unhappy about what is happening.
With tens of millions of dollars hanging in the balance, an administrative law judge is expected to rule in the dispute next month. And after the failure of a legislative compromise last year, some counties are withholding their share of the costs from the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Chairman Joe Negron, R-Stuart, was critical this week when he learned that 17 of the 35 counties who are subject to bills are remitting either partial payments or none at all. Other counties do not have to pay because of their financial conditions.
“If the counties are going to be unreasonable, and we come to the conclusion they’re shortchanging the state $65 million, believe me, I can find $65 million in the budget going to counties that aren’t cooperating … and we’ll just make reductions where we need to make reductions,” Negron warned.
Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Christy Daly told the panel that six counties — Charlotte, Escambia, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Sarasota and Volusia — are not paying any juvenile-detention costs this year. As a result, she said, the department faces a $15.7 million shortfall and wants legislative approval for a loan to cover it.
“This is ridiculous that you’re borrowing,” Negron said during a meeting Tuesday of his subcommittee. “It’s like running bake sales to fund an essential function of government. … In fairness, the counties in the past have probably been billed for things they shouldn’t have had to pay, but we need to get our accounting house in order (and) come up with a system where you’re not relying on intermittent payments from our local government partners.”
The conflict centers on the department’s handling of a 2004 law that requires the counties to pay the “pre-disposition” costs associated with juveniles waiting for their cases to be resolved in court. The state pays the cost of detaining juveniles “post-disposition” — that is, after their cases have been decided — but the two sides have long disagreed on how to define those terms.
So far, the courts have backed the counties. In 2013, the 1st District Court of Appeal upheld an administrative law judge’s ruling that the department had shifted a larger share of the costs to the counties than the law required. Until that ruling, the counties had been obliged to pay 75 percent of all juvenile-detention costs, while the department said the Legislature intended for counties to pay 89 percent.
Last year, in the wake of the 1st DCA ruling, lawmakers took up a bill that would have created a 50-50 split between the state and the counties. But it died on the last day of the legislative session, when the counties insisted on being reimbursed $140 million for past overcharges. At that point, Gov. Rick Scott’s office and the Department of Juvenile Justice decided to use a formula by which the counties would pay 57 percent of detention costs, while the state would pay 43 percent.
That’s the formula Daly used when she told Negron’s committee that DJJ had billed the counties $51.7 million for their share of detention costs for this fiscal year.
Counties say the latest formula doesn’t take into account the appeals-court and administrative-law judge rulings. That — and the department’s latest attempt at rule-making in the dispute — led the Florida Association of Counties and a number of individual counties to return to the Division of Administrative Hearings for relief.
“There are some counties that have said, ‘We’re not seeing any recourse in the Legislature, DJJ isn’t acting on the judge’s ruling (but) just changing the rules yet again, and so they’ve taken the position that these dollars need to come back home,” said Florida Association of Counties spokeswoman Cragin Mosteller. “We certainly understand their frustration, but want to work with the Legislature moving forward to create a deal that works for everybody, most importantly the taxpayers and the juveniles we’re serving.”
Negron agreed, and asked Sen. Rob Bradley, who previously chaired the justice appropriations panel, to craft a compromise.
“People of good faith can disagree as to what that percentage should be, but every county understands that they have an obligation to pay for a portion of juvenile detention,” Bradley, R-Fleming Island, told The News Service of Florida. “So when a county takes the position that they’re going to pay zero, that to me is not reflective of good-faith actions.”
by The News Service of Florida