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Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp will reimburse the state $12,974 for his families travel on state planes. But as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the cash is just a small part of the expense Kottkamp has run up commuting from his home to the state capitol.

Hear it Here: Frequent Flyer Kottkamp

When Charlie Crist chose Jeff Kottkamp for his running mate at a news conference outside Kottkamp’s Ft Myers home, few people realized that once elected,  Kottkamp would continue living in Southwest Florida and bill the state for his commute.

Documents provided by the state show the Lt. Governor flew state planes at least 365 times since taking office, two thirds of them between his home and the Capitol.

One of the most striking examples was the day the Lt. Governor was picked up in Ft. Meyers, flown here to Tallahassee for a news conference, then flown back home.

A newspaper report pegged the cost at 425 thousand dollars. The state says that includes other state employees as well.

“So, it’s somewhat egregious to make it sound like this is kind of an irresponsible amount of money to be spending on air travel, when you’re thinking about all the state employees included in that travel,” Cathy Schroeder, Management Services Spokesperson, said.

At the state air pool, we were allowed onto the secure tarmac, but then were told that we couldn’t take pictures of the lone state plane inside the hanger. The other plane was in the air.

Kottkamp is also reimbursing the state just under 13 thousand dollars for travel by his wife and son. The agency responsible for collecting the cash is taking the heat    .

“This was the agency’s oversight,” Schroeder said. “This was not an oversight by the Lt. Governor.”

A spokesman says that both Kottkamp and the Governor are using the planes less as the economy  gets cloudier.  Here’s the spreadsheet showing the flights: lgov-air-use-jan07-dec08-012009

Lawmakers will consider raising the cigarette tax, temporarily increasing the sales tax by a penny, and collecting taxes already owed on internet purchases. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers are weighing their options to find ways to balance a potential four billion dollar shortfall in the state budget.

Hear it Here: Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

With the state staring at a third straight year of dwindling revenues, lawmakers will consider a temporary one cent sales tax increase. Lawmakers are also looking at a higher cigarette tax.

The Federal cigarette tax is already slated to go up 61 cents, which could make the state increase a harder sell. Collecting taxes on internet sales already owed could raise billions for the budget. Florida TaxWatch said the state is missing out.

“It’s fiscally and economically detrimental to the state. Fiscally, because it’s billions owed on the sales tax that’s not being collected; economically because when people buy online from out-of-state retailers, it hurts local retailers,” said Rob Weissert a spokesman Florida TaxWatch.

Jogger James Johnson says now is not the time to put an extra burden on taxpayers.

“People are having a hard time paying they bills and it’s hard for people to get back on they feet right now,” said James.

But more spending cuts may not be enough to balance the budget, and that has the Republican leadership looking at their options.

“I’m going to ask the tax and finance committee to evaluate each and every item that has been suggested and vetted thoroughly,” said incoming House Speaker Larry Cretul.

Even if the legislature passes new taxes, the increases will have to get past the governor who has been opposing new taxes since he took office. Closing tax loopholes like those on bottled water, dry cleaning, and skyboxes could also be on the table in March.

Florida’s Incoming House Speaker Larry Cretul is already making changes in Tallahassee.

Last week Cretul took over from embattled House Speaker Ray Sansom after the controversy surrounding his dealing with a state college caused his colleagues to vote him out of office. Still Cretul hasn’t ousted Sansom. Instead he’s put him in charge of the Policy Council Committee. Cretul said he’s noticed a change in the Florida House during his first seven days in leadership.

“Its a little more calm I feel. I’m feeling it walking the halls and visiting with members. They are now focused on the work they need to do and I’m a little calmer,” said Cretul.

Cretul is also creating a new committee to study the state’s economy and tax structure.

Florida went through more than a billion dollars in the last year paying unemployment benefits to a growing number of people. The fund still has cash, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, employers will likely have to dig deeper to keep the fund solvent.

Hear it Here: State Burns Through Unemployment Cash

Florida’s Unemployment Fund is burning through cash. It started last year with 2 point 2 billion. The Agency for Workforce Innovation says it has less than half that much left.

“There’s more than a Billion dollars in the trust fund right now.” “It’s Absolutely [enough], we’re in no danger of running out of money or insolvency.”

An automatic trigger to raise the rates paid by employers should keep the fund from going broke. But without that trigger, the fund would be out of cash by the end of the year. It’s still going to be close.

There are two factors at work. There are more people collecting unemployment and they’re collecting it longer.

Benefits have been extended from 26 to a maximum 59 weeks. Economists predicted Florida’s unemployment rate wouldn’t hit 8.1 percent until August. It hit the mark in December.

Willie Bradshaw is barely making ends meet, even with the checks.

“No that’s not enough to get by,” Bradshaw said. “I struggle day-to-day to make it.”

How much more employers will have to pay won’t be calculated until June. How many layoffs they’ve had, the salaries the pay, and the balance in the fund will all be part of the calculation.

The hike for employers is almost certain. The fund balance missed the trigger point for a rate hike this past June by just over half a million dollars.

In an effort to revive auto purchases, a 90 day state tax break on car sales may be in the works in Tallahassee. Purchases have fallen 50 percent since last summer. Vehicle sales bring in billions in tax revenue. As Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers are asking if the industry deserves special treatment.

Hear it Here: Auto Dealers Look for Legislative Life Preserver

Car sales in Florida continue to fall. Three out of every 10 customers who try to buy a car can’t get credit. Those who can, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce, are too scared to spend their money.

“What we’re seeing right now is a crisis of confidence in the consumer, not so sure they’re going to have a job. Not so sure what the economy is going to do, and so they’re sitting on their money,” said David Daniels with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Car sales in Florida are down 50 percent since this summer; bad news for the 76,000 Floridians who work in dealerships. It’s also bad news for the state. One in five sales tax dollars collected in Florida is generated though auto sales. Car dealers are asking lawmakers to consider a temporary ban on the state’s auto sales tax.

“If Florida derives so much of its income from car sales and car sales are being so repressed, why not considers reducing the sales tax over some period of time. We’re saying 90 days,” said Florida Auto Dealers Association President Ted Smith.

Representative J.C. Planas said he’s not sure the industry deserves special treatment but he is willing to consider the plan.

“You have to look at what the cost to the state is to be able to do that. If all of a sudden you realize that the banks are lending money again, that might not be a bad way to kick start that boom again,” said Planas.

While a sales tax break would be left up to the state, getting banks to open lines of credit may be a harder sell. Car dealers could get a break from Washington. US Senators are considering lifting interest rate taxes on auto loans as part of the economic stimulus package.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce wants lawmakers to focus on job creation, the state tax code, and higher education to improve business in the state.

The chamber released its 2009 legislative agenda Thursday. Among the suggestions, raising tuition to keep talented professors in Florida’s colleges, lowering the burden of proof in property tax challenges, and working with Washington to see more returns on our Federal tax dollars. Chamber President Mark Wilson said lawmakers should steer clear of raising business taxes to balance the state budget.

“The number one thing we need to do in Florida is to make sure we do no harm. It’s very tempting to regulate business, to mandate business, to increase taxes on business and increase workers compensations and insurance rates on business. This is the wrong time to increase costs on business,” said Wilson.

Wilson says the state needs to begin making changes now to prepare for the seven million people expected to move to Florida by 2030.

Twelve and a half years after his 9-year-old son was raped and murdered, a father continues to look for justice. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the family of the murdered boy has spent more than a decade trying to make sure no other children are lost.

Hear it Here: Jimmy Ryce Family Fights On

Jimmy Ryce was raped and murdered in 1995, just two weeks short of his 10th birthday.
A lawyer for convicted killer Juan Chavez was in the Florida Supreme Court arguing he didn’t know what he was doing when he waived his Miranda rights and confessed.

“To be told, you have the right to an attorney, would be meaningless to him based on his experiences in Cuba,” Chavez’s lawyer, Ann Norgard said.

The Court was highly skeptical, and the Attorney for the State said it didn’t matter.

“The murder weapon was found in his trailer with his fingerprint on it. Jimmy Ryce’s bookbag was found in his trailer with his fingerprints on it. Jimmy’s body was found on his property,” Asst. Attorney General Scott Brown said.

Regardless of what the court does with this case, most experts agree that because of Jimmy Ryce, and more importantly his parents, Florida’s children are safer today.

The Ryce’s helped create Florida’s Missing Children’s Day. The fought for laws to distribute pictures of the missing, to collect felons’ DNA, and to lock up predators indefinitely. Claudine Ryce died in January. Her absence at the court hearing was deafening.

“The day may never come when we totally eradicate this problem, but that’s what we’re going to shoot for. It’s not just Claudine and me. There’s a whole army of people who care,” Jimmy’s father, Don Rice said.

Don Ryce hopes to see his son’s killer executed. Says Ryce, “He’s already outlived two members of my family.”

Governor Charlie Crist joined Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer at the state capitol today to champion a four county,  61 mile long commuter rail project that stretches from Deland  to Lakeland.

The plan is to purchase the rail from the CSX line. Dyer told reporters the plan is the economic engine that will ignite the local economy almost immediately.

“We can’t continue to lay asphalt. We have to become more transit oriented. We have to grow smarter, this promotes smart growth,” Dyer said. “This is the most environmentally friendly manner to move people around, to get people out of cars. Rail freight is the best way to move freight in the state of Florida. This promotes the state’s freight program as well.”

Critics say the plan will increase freight traffic ten fold in the Lakeland area. Rich Templin from the AFL-CIO says that at 10 point 5 million dollars per mile, or 615 million dollars,  the track is the single most expensive rail project in the nation’s history.

“The reason for that uber-high price tag is that, wrapped up in this, isn’t just purchasing track to run a commuter rail as supporters would have us believe, there’s also hundreds of millions of dollars in there of free give-away money to the CSX corporation to improve their own private freight operations,” Templin said. “So essentially this is a corporate bailout, with a Florida twist, in that this corporation doesn’t need a bailout, they posted 29 billion dollars in profits in the last year alone.”

The Federal government is picking up half of the 615 million dollar cost, the state another 25 percent, with local governments paying the rest.

Florida’s chances to grab a 35 million dollar federal grant are running out. The state has until June 30th to adopt a stricter seat belt law in order to receive the money. As Whitney Ray tell us, some lawmakers hope the extra cash will persuade enough of their colleagues to pass the legislation.

Hear it Here: Stricter Seat Belt Law Could Bring Florida Millions

Sixty percent of people who die in car wrecks aren’t buckled up.

“Taking just a moment to put on that seat belt can make all the difference in the world when your vehicle gets in a crash,” said Florida Highway Patrol Captain Mark Welch.

It’s against the law in Florida to ride in a car without your safety belt, but sometimes it’s hard to enforce. Right now the only way you can get ticketed for not wearing a seat belt is if you get caught violating another traffic law first.

Representative Rich Glorioso filed legislation to change the law so police officers can pull people over if they’re not buckled up.

“The primary seat belt law is going to save lives. It’s going to save 200 lives a year. About 2,700 serious injuries, disabling injuries every year,” said Glorioso.

The legislation has failed before over concerns it would lead to racial profiling. What may calm those fears this time is the state could be awarded 35 million dollars if it acts before July.

Some drivers say the state should grab the money before it’s too late.

“I think it’s important that people wear their seat belts because it really saves lives,” said Judy Brooks.

But others think the legislation should be put off until the economy improves.

“I’m not sure that timing is real good for that,” said Gayle Nelson.

In March, legislators will have to make up their own minds about the timing of the bill but turning down 35 million dollars could be a tough sell back home. The grant money would go to the Department of Transportation and would be earmarked for highway projects.

State officials are closely watching the investigation of former elections supervisor Buddy Johnson. A stinging audit released Tuesday found Johnson violated Florida law by overspending his budget. Still unanswered is whether Johnson misused Federal funds. Secretary of State Kurt Browning says he is waiting for the results of a second audit covering October first through January 5th before he takes any new action.

“It was unclear as to whether or not the federal money was spent for federal activity,” Browning said. “I think we can probably get a better picture of that when we get the other piece of that picture, if you will, and that will be the October 1 through January 5th piece. Certainly I have a concern about making sure that federal grant money that was given to Hillsborough county, or any county for that matter, was used for federal activities.”

The second audit is expected to be complete by mid March. Browning says getting involved before then would simply be “too many cooks in the kitchen.”

Farmers across the state are preparing for tonight’s freezing temperature.

Temperatures will dip into the teens in many parts of the state tonight. Florida’s Department of Agriculture is extending its temporary ban on truck weight, length, and height restrictions so farmers can harvest more of their crops. Department spokesman Terry McElroy said farmers are working overtime to save their fruits and vegetables.

“The key is to harvest what you can and get it out of harms way and take those precautions and do what you can to protect your crops. Beyond that, we’re just waiting to see what kind of fury Mother Nature’s going to unleash,” said McElroy.

The ban on trucking restrictions will be in place until February 11th. Governor Charlie Crist is expected to extend the last month emergency declaration later today.

Some Progress Energy customers are struggling to pay their electric bills after a 25 percent rate hike went into effect last month.

The rate hike was passed to help the company deal with this summer’s rising fuel cost and to build a nuclear power plant. State Senator Mike Fasano has filed legislation to reduce the cost by 11 percent.

“Here we are in one of toughest economic crisis we’ve seen, especially here in Florida, for years. The last thing my constituents, for that matter any constituents can afford, is a 25 percent increase in their electric bill,” said Fasano.

Fasano is also seeking refunds for customers.

It has been more than a year since Governor Charlie Crist signed a deal with the Seminole Tribe to allow full-blown slots, black jack and other Vegas-style games. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the competition for gambling dollars is heating up between Florida’s horse and dog tracks and the Seminole Indian casinos.

Hear it Here: Pari-Mutuels Want Video Lottery

Seminole gambling continues in legal limbo after Florida’s highest court said lawmakers have to approve. With that backdrop, the Seminole Tribe came to the Capitol making promises: 288 million in cash now, and up to 45 thousand jobs.

“But there’s an additional 8,877 non-direct employees,” HardRock Casino CEO James Allen said.

The proposed Seminole deal has every other gambling interest coming to lawmakers with their hands out.

What all of the other gambling interests in the state are complaining about, is that percentage-wise, the Indians are giving up a whole lot less.

South Florida tracks with slots say the Indians are paying about 7 percent of the take, while they’re taking it on the chin.

“I’ve seen numbers as high as, when you add everything in, up to 62 percent of the money that they make, goes right back to the state government. That’s a lot of money,” Rep. Evan Jenne (D-Broward County).

Not only do tracks want lower taxes, they want more options, and they too are making big promises.

“We need to add an existing lottery-style product which is video lottery terminals to every pari-mutuel facility,” said Jack Cory with the Greyhound Breeders Association. “Doing that, we can bring in over a billion dollars a year of new revenue to the state of Florida for education.”

The big threat from horse and dog tracks is that they’ll lose more jobs than the Seminoles create if they don’t get some help.

Without some accommodation for existing pari-mutuel facilities, it is becoming increasingly unlikely an Indian gaming pack will be approved.

The rush is on to absorb the 1.2 million insurance policies State Farm plans to drop. Today representatives from Security First talked to the state insurance office about picking up 50-thousand of the policies. As Whitney Ray tells us, the 30 private insurance companies in Florida are also looking to cash on what State Farm plans to leave behind.

Hear it Here: State Farms Trash, Other Insurers Treasure

With State Farm no longer interested in being a good neighbor to Floridians, Governor Charlie Crist is promoting the state’s 30 newest insurance companies.

“That many more choices for consumers across Florida is a great thing,” said Crist.

Security First hopes to pick up 50,000 of the 1.2 million State Farm policies being left behind.

“What we told State Farm Customers is that if they bring in to one of our agents a full coverage State Farm policy, for the next 30 days we’ll write them anywhere in the state of Florida. We’ve opened up all the zip codes,” said Security First President Locke Burt.

Some of the other start up companies are looking to get in on the action. The state wants to make sure the companies can take on the new customers and the increased risk they bring. OIR spokesman Ed Domansky said the companies are stable, but regulators will be watching.

“We’ll keep an eye on all those companies just as we do regularly on a quarterly basis to make sure that their business plans are such that they’ll be able to meet their policyholders’ needs,” said Domansky.

Policies the companies refuse are likely to end up with the state run insurer Citizens. Security First claims it can write most homeowners policies cheaper than State Farm. The company set up a webpage for people to get an instant quote. The web address is www.securityfirstflorida.com/Switch

The mother of a 19-year-old who was killed by her boyfriend is dedicating herself to stopping dating violence.

Studies show one in five teens has been the victim of dating violence. Kim Barwick, whose daughter Tiffany was killed after she tried to break off a relationship is working to let students know that a failed romance at an early age is not the end of the world.

“I think they just need to know that life does go on,” Barwick said. “That there are a lot of other people out there that might want to have a relationship with them, that it might work out with someone else, but that in that particular relationship, it takes two people. If one person does not want to be in that relationship, they have to be willing to accept that and be able to walk away with it.”

School officials say the internet, text messaging and social networking sites are all new technological ways young men and women are being threatened when young love goes bad.