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A task force to examine Florida’s Stand Your Ground law has been named and is ready to get to work. Governor Rick Scott wanted to wait until the investigation in to the shooting death of Trayvon Martin ended. But as Whitney Ray tells us, there are question tonight about whether or not the details of Martin’s death will play any roll in the task force investigation.

Flanked on his left by the Lt. Governor and on the right by the pastor of a black church, Governor Rick Scott announced a task force to review Stand Your Ground.

“Our heart goes out to Trayvon Martin’s family,” said Scott.

The announcement comes after the arrest of George Zimmerman for the murder of 17 year old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman claims he shot Martin in self-defense. Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll will head up the task force, with Reverend RB Holmes second in command. Carroll was in the House when Stand Your Ground passed.

Carroll / R-Florida
Reporter: Governor Carroll did you vote for Stand Your Ground when you were in the House?
Carroll: Yes I did.
Reporter: Do you regret that?
Carroll: we’ll find out.

Carroll is one of four people on the task force who voted for the self defense law. Prosecutors, defense attorneys, and law enforcement round out the 17 member review team.

A different task force met earlier this month. It was also made up of attorneys, police and lawmakers. It was formed by Senate Democrat Chris Smith, who voted against stand your ground in 2005 and he only invited lawmakers who voted his way.

Smith called his own task force because he didn’t want to wait on Scott, who was waiting for the Zimmerman investigation to end. But there’s still a court case, which means the details of the shooting may not be available to the task force.

Scott / R-Florida
Reporter: Will this task force end its investigation before the Zimmerman trial, assuming there is one, is over?
Scott: This is completely separate from that.

The task force will hold its first meeting on May first. The first task force meeting will be held in Tallahassee. That’s when the group will figure when and where to hold future meetings. The task force will come up with recommendations to be considered during the 2013 legislative session. You can voice your concerns to the task force by emailing CitizenSafety@eog.myflorida.com

Following a judge’s order to halt the drug testing of welfare recipients, the state saw a 10 percent increase in the number of people applying for cash assistance. So, were drug users waiting for the tests to end before applying for welfare? Whitney Ray investigates.

From July of 2011 through October, 4-thousand Floridians were asked to take drug tests. The reason, they received government assistance and lawmakers didn’t want state money spent on drugs. The ACLU called the tests unconstitutional and sued.

“It turns out to be unconstitutional. The numbers don’t show its need. And in fact it shows it costs the state more than it saves the state,” said Simon.

The tests were supposed to save the state money. But according to this report of the results, less than three percent, or about 100 of the people tested, failed. Those people were kicked out of the cash assistance program, but everyone who passed was reimbursed 30 dollars for their test.

Over three months, the tests cost taxpayers 45-thousand dollars. A judge ordered the state to stop the tests. One month later, the Department of Children and Families saw a 10 percent spike in people applying for cash assistance.

“The judge found the drug testing unconstitutional. Those people were then automatically available to receive benefits.”

The December spike isn’t proof-positive evidence welfare recipients are using more drugs. Joe Follick, a DCF Spokesman says it’s normal for the state to see an increased need for cash assistance when holiday shopping jobs end.

“Seasonal employment affects that, where more people have seasonal employment during the holiday season,” said Follick.

Statewide it’s estimated that seven percent of people use drugs. That’s more than double the amount of people who failed the state’s drug test. Forty people, or one percent of those selected for a drug test, cancelled their appointment. There’s no data on why they cancelled, but since the drug testing has stopped some of them have reapplied and been granted cash assistance.

A painting stolen by Nazis 70 years ago has now been returned to its rightful owners. The Italian painting, Christ Carrying the Cross Dragged by a Rogue, is almost five hundred years old. It was stolen from a Jewish man in France when he fled the country to escape the Nazi concentration camps. He later died, but his family discovered the painting hanging in a museum in Tallahassee last year. The feds were contacted. Susan McCormick with the Department of Homeland Security helped get the painting to the man’s family.

“Today we right a wrong that was perpetrated more than 70 years ago by returning this particular art work,” said McCormick.

The family didn’t travel to Tallahassee to pick up the painting. Instead they are having it shipped to New York to be sold at an auction June 6th. It’s insured for 2.3 million dollars, but it might be worth a whole lot more.

The state will have more money for schools, less money for health care and fewer member projects. Whitney Ray was in St Johns County today as Governor Rick Scott signed the states new 70 billion dollar budget and tells us why Scott vetoed 142 million dollars in pet projects.

Surrounded by elementary school students in St Johns County Governor Rick Scott explained how a bill becomes a law. He then signed the biggest bill of them all, the state’s 70 billion dollar spending plan. Before signing the bill Scott vetoed 142 million dollars in spending projects.

“All of us think about the family that makes 40 thousand dollars a year. They are paying sales tax, they pay property tax. They’re paying fees to the state. We’ve got to make sure their dollars are spent well,” said Scott.

There’s a billion more dollars for schools in the new budget, but it’s not enough to cover last years 1.3 billion dollar cut, plus the state is getting more students. Talking to reporters after the budget signing Scott disputed the math.

“Let’s look at the numbers. We kept basically state education funding flat last year, what happened is federal stimulus money can in and then the federal stimulus money went through our state budget and it went away,” said Scott.

The budget also for-goes 300 hundred million dollars for Medicaid. Take into account matching federal money and affordable health care cash and the cut deepens to a billion dollars. The 142 million dollars Scott vetoed includes 61 percent of the projects identified by Florida TaxWatch on its annual budget turkey list.

A new report says Florida home and business owners can reduce energy use and fight climate change through energy conservation and efficiencies. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the report says Floridians can reduce their electric bills by a third over the next twenty years by simple conservation means.

The crack under this doorway is extreme. It was caused by a sinkhole…but tens of thousands of other homes and apartments are leaking energy from under doors and around windows. Aliki Moncrief from Environment Florida says simple fixes can make a big difference.

“Our report finds that investing in building efficiency in Florida can cut projected global warming pollution from buildings by thirty-five percent. That is the equivalent of taking about twelve and a half million cars off the road,” says Moncrief.
This Agriculture extension office is completely self sufficient with solar and geo thermal. Another office replaced inefficient lights with LED’s. Maggie Theriot works for Leon County int eh office of Resource Stewardship. “At a payback of less than ten months, we’ll be saving forty-five hundred dollars a month on utility bills” she says.

For the first time in four years, state lawmakers passed an energy policy bill. Governor Rick Scott allowed to become law. The legislation will allow local residents to decide if they want to tax themselves to pay for weatherization or other energy incentives.

Fixing windows and door jams is considered low the low hanging fruit of energy conservation. Suzanne Cook of The Florida Green Building Coalition says It can put thousands of unemployed construction workers back to work immediately. “Retrofitting can put a lot of people back to work and there are examples of that all over the state.”

The Public Policy Institute ranks Florida residential electric rates the 15th highest in the nation.

Forty percent of the energy we use is in homes. You can read the report, “Building a Better America here: http://www.environmentflorida.org/reports/flc/building-better-america-9

A bill paving the way for more toll roads in Florida is awaiting the governor’s decision. As Whitney Ray tells us, House Bill 599 would allow the Florida Department of Transportation to put a toll booth on every new bridge.

Eric Larson would rather be driving his truck. Instead he’s cramming his 6’2 frame into a mini-cooper.

“Diesel is always way more expensive so it actually saves me 70 dollars a week,” said Eric.

More Floridians are buying fuel efficient cars and driving less. The trend is costing the state billions in gas tax dollars which are used to build and repair roads. By 2020 it’s expected to cost the state five billion dollars.

“Faced with that we are trying to figure out alternative revenues,” said Matt Ubben.

Ubben is the President of Floridians for Better Transportation and says toll roads can help make up for the gas tax losses.

“When you ride on a road, we feel like you ought to pay for that privilege,” said Ubben.

A bill to allow the state to place toll booths on new bridges is on the governor’s desk.

But with gas here in Florida quickly approaching the four dollar a gallon mark, some drivers say the timing of the toll road bill is terrible.

Mandy Sims carpools to save money. She says drivers are being pushed to the limit.

“We are already having to pay so much to go somewhere and then you’re getting stopped by a toll too to have to pay, you are going to get a lot of pissed off people,” said Sims.

But other drivers filling up Monday say they’re fine with toll booths on new roads.

“If I’m going down I-10 and all of a sudden I have to stop and pay a toll, that I’ve got a problem with, but if it’s all for new construction, I’ve got no problem with that,” said Eric.

“Drivers want better roads. That’s what drivers want,” said Reverend Joseph Jackson.

The Governor has until April 28th to sign or veto the bill. The Department of Transportation is also considering building more toll lanes on existing roads with high traffic volumes to clear congestion.

Governor Rick Scott is being urged by a number of health professionals to veto legislation reorganizing the Florida Department of Health. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the former health officers site the closing of the states only TB hospital, cost shifting, and a change in mission as reasons for the Governor to say no.

The 161 page bill closes the state’s only TB hospital, AG Holley in South Florida. The 500 bed facility is expensive and houses just an average of 30 people. But opponents of the closing say it will place the rest of Florida in danger.

“It serves the very hard to treat tuberculosis patients, those with drug resistant tuberculosis and those who are ordered by a court to be treated until they are cured because they are non-compliant with taking medications,” Richard Polangin, retired Dept. of Health employee, said.

Former health officials have written Governor Rick Scott urging a veto of the legislation. In addition to closing the TB hospital, they are concerned the Department of Health will no longer be required by law to promote healthy lifestyles.

“It basically undermines the Department of Health’s role in promoting public health,” Brad Ashwell, with Florida Public Interest Research Group said.

The legislation also ends a controversial septic tank inspection plan, shifting the job of inspecting septic tanks to county governments.

Under the current law, if someone shows up here at the health department because they’re too afraid to see their own doctor about a sexually transmitted disease, the health department will treat them, and then send the bill to the insurance company. Under the new law, taxpayers will eat the cost.

Sponsor Matt Hudson says the legislation will focus the department on its core mission.

“I know this bill will go a long way to promote public health, bring about better health outcomes,” Hudson (R-Naples) said.

Rick Scott has until April 28th to decide if the changes should become law.

Families of US soldiers are a tough group, and this week their skills are being tested. Florida State University is hosting an eight day business boot camp for the spouses of injured veterans. As Whitney Ray tells us, the camp teaches the spouses how to run a successful business while still taking care of their wounded warriors.

The drill instructor is tough. He started his own Taekwondo business. But today he’s not teaching hand to hand combat.

I never had any of intentions of being an entrepreneur.

Ray Marky is a black belt. He’s also an FSU business professor. Marky is one of several professors teaching military spouses how to become entrepreneurs.

Brannan Vines is one of 16 students in FSU’s business boot camp. A decision her husband made a decade ago brought her here.

“We were at home sick on September 11th. We watched the second plan hit the towers together. He said honey I’m going into the military. He was a junior in civil engineering,” said Vines.

He returned in 2006 with a brain injury and PTSD. Brannan became his fulltime caregiver and needed more money to support her family. In 2007 she launched Familyofavet.com to help people in her situation.

“Sometimes life doesn’t go as you think it will, but it goes as it’s supposed to,” said Vines.

During the eight day business boot camp, students discover where to find funding. They also learn how to be entrepreneurs without neglecting their wounded warriors.

The timing for the camp is almost perfect. Thousands of troops are scheduled to returning home from Afghanistan and Iraq. Plus this week the state announced its waiving business licensing fees for returning veterans.

According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation eliminating the fees could save a veteran’s family more than a thousand dollars.

“We waive the licensing fee, the application fee, so you can set up your business,” said Ken Lawson, DBPR Secretary.

With programs like this the problem becomes spreading the work. One of the most important lessons the camp teaches is where to find military benefits. The boot camp ends Tuesday. After that the students will continue to be able to call on the professors for advice

The future of massive tuition increases at FSU and UF is in the hands of Governor Rick Scott. In March lawmakers passed a bill to eliminate the 15 percent a year tuition caps at the two schools. Governor Rick Scott has spoken out against tuition increases, but as Whitney Ray tells us, today he listened to the university presidents make cases for higher tuition.

An on the record skeptic of tuition increases, Governor Rick Scott has a big decision to make. And these university presidents want to help him make it.

The fate of a bill to allow FSU and UF to raise tuition above the 15 percent a year cap is in the governor’s hands. Thursday Scott listened to university administrators make a case for signing the bill.

“If I’m losing faculty it’s harder for our students to have classes and it slows down their ability to finish. That’s a waste of state dollars and that’s a waste of student dollars,” said FSU President Eric Barron.

Barron says his school is hurting. State budget cuts have cost the university 300 professors in four years. Many are leaving for better paying jobs.

“If you want innovation, if you want STEM jobs, you can’t do that by teaching people in a 300 people classroom,” Barron added.

If the governor signs the bill FSU administrators says tuition would only go up modestly next year. The big increase would come in 2014. UF has different plans.

“We will take a year to get our plan together, get it approved by the board of governors and we will only start with incoming freshman,” said UF President Bernie Machen.

A half dozen students sat in the back row hoping to speak out against the bill.

“We feel as though the student voice wasn’t heard today. The students had no opportunity to speak. That is definitely problematic,” said FSU Senior Michael Sampson.

Students have sent thousands of emails and letters asking the governor for a veto.

“You want to make sure that families in this state can afford a great education and you want to make sure it’s a great education,” said Scott.

Scott is promising a quick decision. Business groups were on hand today to support the tuition increases. They say the extra money will make the universities better, the workforce smarter and will attract high-tech businesses to Florida.

The lawyers for Trayvon Martin’s family have been traveling the country, talking to anyone who will listen, about what they call the need for justice. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the lawyers have a knack for focusing attention on cases when no one is listening.

In 2006, Martin Lee Anderson was just another troubled 14-year-old who died in a boot camp until Attorneys Ben Crump and Daryl Parks got involved.

The attorneys forced the release of this video of Martin’s beating at the hands of guards. The state settled for five million dollars.

In 2008, the attorneys took on the state’s largest land owner. The company had sold these nine houses built on a foundation of wood waste. The families got new houses; the attorneys didn’t get a dime.

Ben Crump says he first told Trayvon Martin’s family that they didn’t need him.

“Then days go by and nothing happens, and that’s when we have to do things legally and publicly,” Crump said.

Crump and partner Daryl Parks, who is president of the National Bar Association, serve as preachers, civil rights activists, and lawyers. Crump first caught  former FSU President Sandy D’Alemberte’s attention as an undergraduate.

“He’s as good as anybody I’ve ever seen,” D’Alemberte said. “But that’s true of both of them. They really have a natural eloquence, and then when you get to know them, you know that it comes from very deep inside.”

Framed newspaper stories line their modest office walls and tell of their crusades. There is even a mock courtroom to make clients more comfortable.

The lawyers are fond of saying that even the folks who take the early bus to work deserve justice.

Ben Crump says he told his grandmother he wanted to be a lawyer when he was five.

The law firm is also gaining national notoriety appearing as guests on international news programs to talk about the Trayvon Martin case.

Charter School students are outpacing traditional public school students according to a new study released by Florida’s Department of Education. The Student Achievement in Florida’s Charter Schools report pits the two groups against each other in 170 different categories. As Whitney Ray tells us, supporters of traditional public schools say the report is largely based on tests and doesn’t take into account the difference in student populations.

At a construction site in Tallahassee, educators, lobbyists and Florida’s Lt. Governor broke ground on a new charter school. This is just one of four new schools being built by Charter Schools USA. Florida has 517 charter schools in operation right now. Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll says the public schools run by private companies are improving Florida’s education system.

“It creates competition in the environment because what we had been doing has created D and F schools we can not continue on that path therefore we have to do new and innovative things,” said Carroll.

A new study backs up Carroll’s claims. This report released by the Department of Education compares traditional public school students with charter school students. According to the report in 145 out of 170 categories charter school students did better. Teachers unions aren’t buying it.

“Basically what they are doing is they are measuring things only on test scores,” said Mark Pudlow with the Florida Education Association says the report is flawed because it doesn’t take into account that charter schools educate fewer low income, minority and disabled students.

“The populations are very different. In close quarters sometimes a charter school may have a very different population than the traditional neighborhood school a few blocks away,” said Pudlow.

There is also a disparity in the number of students the two education systems serve. Traditional public schools educate two million students statewide. Less than 200-thousand students are enrolled in charter schools. State lawmakers have paved the way for the charter school expansion. A bill that failed last year would allow the state to give charter school companies money to build and expand. The legislation is expected to be refilled next year.

A cry for mercy tonight for a convicted killer.

The Florida Catholic Conference is asking Governor Rick Scott to spare David Alan Gore from the death penalty. Gore is scheduled to be executed Thursday at 6PM EST for the murder of six women. Florida Catholic Conference Executive Director Dr. Michael McCarron doesn’t defend Gore’s actions, but says the state shouldn’t be killing people.

“The crimes committed by David Gore are absolutely horrendous and they cry out to God for justice, but justice can be achieved without taking his life,” said McCarron.

In 1983 Gore admitted to the killings. Gore, with the help of his cousin, kidnapped and tortured the women before ending their lives.

A former state advocate for seniors in nursing homes fired by the Department of Elder Affairs will have his day in court.

Brian Lee was the former Ombudsman for the Department. His job was to investigate nursing homes and assist living facilities. Lee was fired last year after trying to figure out who owned some of Florida’s worst nursing homes. He filed a whistleblower lawsuit.

“I was fired because I was an outspoken advocate for resident. I would not compromise from the resident’s position. Time and again we kind of butted heads with the industry,” said Lee.

At a hearing today in Tallahassee the state asked a judge to throw out the suit. The judge sided with Lee and said his case will be heard. Lee now works as an outside advocate for seniors, asking lawmakers for nursing home reforms.

Some good economic news tonight. Florida businesses set a sales record for January. Statewide sales rose 12 percent from a year ago to more than 71 billion dollars. As Whitney Ray tells us, the increase means more money for the state budget, but not necessarily more money for programs cut during the recent legislatives session.

Florida businesses are selling more than they were a year ago. In January businesses statewide sold 71 billion dollars worth of goods and services, up from 63 billion a year ago. It’s a 12 percent increase. The Florida Retail Federation says consumer confidence is rising.

“We are coming out of the recession. We are back on a normal pattern of growth and I think you can expect sales to continue to increase,” said John Fleming, a spokesman with the Florida Retail Federation.

The increase means Florida’s budget picture is improving. Rob Weissert, Vice President of Research at Florida TaxWatch, says the increase is good news, but it won’t be noticed in the spending plan just passed by lawmakers.

“That budget really won’t be affected directly, but again as we have higher revenues we can have higher reserves which is a positive place for the state to be in fiscally,” said Weissert.

Eventhough it won’t be seen in the state budget, the increase in sales and tax collection could keep lawmakers from coming back in a special session because of a shortfall.”

Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll attended a ground breaking for a new charter school Tuesday. Afterward she told me the extra money doesn’t mean cuts will be restored.

“Just because you have extra revenue doesn’t mean you increase your spending,” said Carroll.

Health care and higher education will see the biggest cuts in this year’s state budget, but if sales continue to improve next year could be different story.
The state collected 22 million dollars on the record sales. Supporters of an internet sales tax say the state could have collected millions more if lawmakers had voted to require all online shoppers to pay state taxes.

Charter school students are outpacing students in traditional public schools according to a new report released by the Florida Department of Education today.

The report compared students based on the FCAT, achievement gaps and learning gains. In almost every category charter school students outpaced traditional students. Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll attended a ground breaking for a new charter school in Tallahassee today. Carroll says having options makes education better.

“It creates competition in the environment because what we had been doing has created D and F schools we can not continue on that path, therefore we have to do new and innovative things,” said Carroll.

Florida now has more than 500 charter schools statewide, educating more than 180-thousand students.