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Florida’s jobless rate didn’t move much in the latest report for April.  The legislature took steps in trying to help job seekers during the 2014 legislative session.

Florida’s unemployment rate is hovering around 6.2% for 2014.

The latest report shows there’s 599,000 people looking for work. To collect unemployment benefits – they can only apply online. When Florida enacted an online only system in 2011, the Feds bashed it.

The U.S. Department of Labor said the system was a violation of civil rights and made it difficult on some seeking work. Lawmakers voted to change that this past session.

“You can apply over the phone and people will not have to go on the internet because everyone does not have access to their own computer,” said Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa).

Florida’s scrutinized unemployment system also requires a mandatory assessment test before anyone can collect a check. That’s on its way out, too.

“They thought it was a roadblock to applying for unemployment comp benefits, that they’d have to fill out this 35 to 45 minute review, this makes it completely voluntary,” said Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice).

The Department of Economic Opportunity says they believe the online system is the best way.

“Ultimately, the law still says that the main way of filing for benefits is online, I think we have to have a fail safe in the event of an emergency and we’ll look at the way to do that, but this is a modern society in which many things are done on computers,” said DEO Executive Director Jesse Panuccio.

If it’s signed into law, the changes would go into effect in July. The DEO says they’ve supported the bill throughout session.

The video of Jameis Winston walking out of Publix without paying for more than 30 dollars of seafood is out. Winston told cops he forgot to pay.

Leon County Sheriff’s Office released this video Thursday. It shows multiple angles of Winston walking into the store, taking crab legs, and meandering through Publix before he left.

“He left without paying. I can’t see inside of his head to know what he was thinking. With that being said, it warrants a civil citation for petty theft,” said LCSO Maj. Mike Wood at the original press conference in April.

Winston told cops he forgot to pay for more than 30 dollars worth of crab legs and seafood.  He was briefly suspended from the baseball team because of it, had to pay for the food, and do 20 hours of community service.

Winston told cops that he meant to buy butter with the crab legs but realized he never needed it. So he left it at Publix. But officers never found it.

That’s just one of the details in a police report that also stated it looked like Winston appeared to purposely avoid a deputy. Winston’s lawyer said it was a dumb move by his client, but isn’t buying that the quarterback was ducking police.

“When he leaves the store, in the report there’s some evidence or some indication that he hesitated and tried to avoid a deputy. That is not true. That is completely inaccurate,” said his attorney, Tim Jansen.

Jansen hadn’t seen the video until it was released.  He says Winston didn’t do the right thing anyway.

“He forgot to pay, I don’t know what he was thinking, what he was doing, he realized it when he got home and at that point he should have went back,” said Jansen.

When he was originally cited, Winston responded in a written statement chalking the crime up to youthful ignorance.

Jameis Winston has since been reinstated to the baseball team and has completed his Adult Civil Citation Program.

Florida lawmakers voted to raise the maximum speed limit to 75 on interstates, but fate and the death of a State Trooper intervened.

Trooper Chelsea Richard died investigating an accident on I-75 the day after state lawmakers voted to allow higher speeds on the interstate. Days later at her funeral, a fellow trooper asked the Governor not to allow faster speeds.

“I don’t know who’s bright idea that was,” said FHP Trooper Tod Cloud, “but it wasn’t a very bright idea.”

Scott listened.

“It was convincing,” said Scott. “I mean Trooper Cloud, he was very passionate about it, he’s very concerned about troopers being out there on the highway and people driving too fast.”

But does it matter one way or the other. Trooper Mark Baker first told us questions about the speed limit were above his pay grade, then added:

“We get people running 90 all day long, so I don’t think it’s gonna make a big difference if it’s higher or lower so I think it’s a good decision.”

Our cruise control was set at 70. We were virtually one of the slowest cars on the highway.

At a rest area, student Chris High Smith told us he’s glad the Governor isn’t allowing the speed limit to go up.

“At 75, people are going to push it to 80,” said High Smith, “and there’s gonna be a lot of accidents on the road.”

Also here were three go fast cars: a Lotus, a Corvette and a Camaro. All three drivers liked a faster speed.

They said:

“I wouldn’t have no problem with 75,”

“75 would be great,”

“What the speed limit is and what people go are two different things anyway.”

Lucky for Governor Rick Scott that all three are from out of state and don’t vote in Florida.

Sheriffs and AAA Motor Clubs also encourage a veto.

If you’re struggling with a mortgage that’s worth more than your homes value, listen up. You may be able to get up to 50 thousand dollars worth of help from the state.

Florida’s high foreclosure rate lead to the Federal Government giving the state one billion dollars worth of assistance money in 2010.  Homeowners drowning in underwater mortgages will be eligible for the money starting Thursday.

“What we’re hoping is that, for those who qualify, up to 50 thousand dollars will come off of that unpaid principal balance,” said Cecka Rose Green with the Florida Housing Finance Corporation.

Applicants for the Hardest Hit Fund will need to be current on their mortgage payments. Homeowners must have purchased their house before 2010. Their unpaid balance can’t be more than $350,000. There are also income limitations.

The state tried the program back in September, but it was only open for a few days because the program capped applications at 25,000.  The Florida Housing Finance Corporation says there will be no limit this time around.

“Currently we have approved 2,400 homeowners in the state and we have allotted about 102 million dollars from the original 350 million dollars that has been earmarked for this program,” said Rose Green.

While this program was closed, another that helped people behind on their payments remained ongoing.  Walter Dartland with the Consumer Federation of the Southeast says the whole system is broken.

“What you have to do is have a simple system to advise people and encourage them to apply even if they don’t think they qualify. Because they may or they may not, don’t discourage them from doing that,” said Dartland.

The state has until 2017 to spend all of its assistance money. They have a little over half a billion left.

The application website will open at 9 a.m. Thursday morning.  You can go to www dot principal reduction F-L H-H-F dot org to apply.  The website will include details on eligibility requirements.

Scott to Veto Higher Speed Limit

On the heels of a state Trooper being killed on Interstate 75, Governor Rick Scott said today he will veto legislation that would allow some interstate speed limits to increase to 75 miles per hour. Scott made the announcement when asked by a reporter. Scott is usually very coy about future vetos, and in this case, he has yet to even receive the bill from lawmakers. Scott says he was influenced by law enforcement. “I’ve heard from sheriffs around the state and other law enforcement asking me to veto the bill. I’m gonna stand with law enforcement and I want everybody to stay safe. I don’t want anybody to be injured so I’m going to veto that bill” said Scott.

AAA Motor Clubs has also been calling on Scott to veto higher speeds.

Florida is moving ahead with the planned execution of a Pasco man, despite problems in another state that uses a similar drug cocktail. The latest warrant came five days after an Oklahoma inmate took more than 40 minutes to die.

John Henry was condemned for slashing the throats of his ex-wife and her five-year-old son. His black-bordered death warrant was signed six days after the botched lethal injection of an Oklahoma inmate.

Florida uses a similar three-drug cocktail.

Florida’s execution procedures call for the re-certification of the process every two years, or more often, if warranted by medical information, legal jurisprudence or experiences in other jurisdictions.

Even though the department’s own procedures call for a new certification of the execution process, based on what happened in other states, nothing new has taken place in Florida.

The Department of Corrections declined to be interviewed, so we asked the Governor.

“Department of Corrections works to make sure that we do it in a way that’s humane,” said Governor Scott. “But let me tell you, I think every day about the families, I think about the victims.”

We also asked the Attorney General Pam Bondi if she was confident in the process.

“We are reviewing what happened in Oklahoma,” said Bondi. “It was very different. I am comfortable with the drugs that we are using in our state. We have experienced no problems here in Florida. But of course we’re looking at what happened in Oklahoma. The facts there though are very different.”

Since switching to lethal injections, the state has been forced to switch lethal drugs because of shortages.

Florida was one of the last states to continue using the electric chair despite two executions in the 1990s when flames erupted from the inmate’s head.

Florida’s Governor and Cabinet approved plans from the state’s biggest utility to build two new nuclear plants in the southern part of the state. But as Matt Galka tells us, the move didn’t come with support from cities that will be directly affected.

Florida is one step closer to adding two new nuclear power plants.  Florida Power and Light has been seeking to build two new nuclear power plants in Miami Dade County since 2006.

“It’s about 3 billion dollars a year in fuel savings. It’s a huge number, that’s one of the great things about nuclear power, the fuel is very cheap and the cost of the fuel is very stable,” said FPL spokesman Peter Robbins.

FPL already charges customers about 46 cents a month while they pursue the project. That is expected to go down to 16 cents a month.  But the price could shoot up if and when building begins. Duke energy scrapped their Levy County nuclear plant plans, but customers are still paying for it.

The Governor and cabinet heard more than two hours of testimony from people wanting to cut the power on the plan.

South Miami mayor Phillip Stoddard said he’s very concerned about safety.

“Well you couldn’t find a worse place to build two new nuclear power plants that are between two national parks on a piece of land that is going to become an island in the next century,” said Stoddard.

Pinecrest Mayor Cindy Lerner doesn’t want the proposed 88 miles of new transmission lines going through her city.

“I call them monstrosities, I don’t believe they’re anything else,” said Lerner.

The Governor said they didn’t have many options but to approve the plan

“The siting board…has limited things we can accomplish. So we listened. I’m glad that Florida Power and Light is going to work with local communities,” said Gov. Rick Scott (R-Florida).

FPL says they’re shooting for the plants to come online in 2022. Florida Power and Light still needs to gain Federal approval before they can begin building. They estimate the project to cost between 12 and 18 billion dollars, which critics say is shooting low.

Two weeks from this coming Saturday, Florida begins a nine day Hurricane Supplies sales tax holiday. The event has two main purposes.

Hurricane season begins June 1, the day after a sales tax holiday on emergency supplies kicks off.

“It’s truly personal preparedness that is the cornerstone for Florida’s ability to deal with hurricanes and other natural disasters,” said State Emergency Director Brian Koons.

Governor Rick Scott signed the legislation Monday morning. Retailers, who generally plan advertising budgets months in advance, may not do a full court press advertising the event.

John Fleming and the Florida Retail Federation says the last hurricane sales tax holiday in 2007 was a success on two fronts.

“Because it raises awareness among people that they need to buy these items,” said Fleming, “and it does encourage them to go out and maybe buy a little bit more. That’s particularly the case with hurricane supplies.”

So here’s what you can buy tax free:

• a flashlight (<$20)
• two way or weather radio (<$50)
• a tarp or other waterproofing material (<$50)
• a first aid kit (<$30)
• a tie down system (<$50)
• a fuel tank (<$25)
• Batteries (<$30)
• a cooler (<$30)
• reusable ice (<$10)
• and a generator that costs less than $750

If you buy everything on the list, you’ll save about $64. If you drop the $750 generator, your saving’s only going to be about $18.

We asked what a $750 generator would power.

“You could probably power at least one of your small major appliances like a freezer or refrigerator,” said Tyler Gouldbourn of Al Pro Equipment, “enough to keep your groceries cold.”

Officials want to emphasize that the savings are an added benefit, but being prepared can pay big dividends.

In addition to the hurricane supplies tax free holiday, three more tax free events are on the horizon. They include:

• Back to School Sales Tax Holiday: August 1-3
• Fitness Club Memberships September 1-8
• Energy Saving Devices September 19-21

Lawmakers wouldn’t dare utter the words “tax hike” in an election year, but property owners will still be asked to pay more this year for education funding.

Florida’s Governor is touting a record budget featuring tax and fee reductions. The legislature passed a near $400 million tag fee tax break. But they’re also asking for $400 million for education spending.

“The millage rate is the same, the millage rate did not increase, but the assessed values of property throughout Florida increased,” said Sen. Bill Montford (D-Tallahassee).

Florida partners with school districts for what’s called a required local effort for K-12 spending. The state is raising local contributions from about $7.8 billion to about $8.2 billion this year. The tax rate isn’t going up, but property owners are on the hook for the additional $400 million bucks.

Property owners will be expected to pay about 5 percent more than they did last year.

School districts can’t say no because they can lose out on funding. The state is increasing its contribution also, but only by 2 percent.  Florida TaxWatch says the legislature had options to help out owners.

“The legislature could have applied a rollback rate which would have retained the amount of property taxes that we’re collecting. It would have increased slightly due to the increased property values but we certainly wouldn’t have seen an increase in revenue,” said TaxWatch’s Morgan McCord.

The legislature had the option to put more state revenue in to the deal to offset the rising costs, but they didn’t. Choosing to save it instead.

The Florida School Board Association called the tag fee break and the property value increase “a wash.”

This legislative session, Florida lawmakers passed an all-time high number of bills keeping records exempt from the public. One exemption has students and faculty worried that colleges could end up in the pocket of corporations.

Florida’s legislature gave universities a little more privacy this year.  A bill passed that would exempt university foundation meetings from being open to the public if they’re talking about research funding.. But United Faculty of Florida President and Florida State professor Jennifer Proffitt says it has consequences.

“The potential to allow for corporate influence on research which of course effects academic integrity,” said Proffitt.

Donors are already allowed to remain anonymous, and backers say this covers ideas that have yet to be patented and could be stolen. Profitt says the meetings were all the public had left.

“At least it’s an open meeting, I think it’s less likely for deals that could potentially effect academic integrity would be made, at least there’d be some sunshine on the process,” she said.

Students were speaking out against the bill during legislative session but those efforts failed. Now they’re trying to organize a veto campaign.

Jerry Funt and the Florida State Progress Coaltion are worried that the bill makes it easier for corporations to push their agenda.

“With private money comes private ideas. That’s not always the case but sometimes it is the case,” said Funt.

The First Amendment Foundation says universities already find ways around giving up information under existing law.

“Even if you’re allowed to come in a meeting, under the sunshine law, they’re going to be discussing things in code. Project X, Project Magellan,” said Foundation President Barbara Petersen.

The Governor has two weeks to sign the bill into law. The bill met the two-thirds majority decision needed to create a public records exemption in Florida’s House by only four votes.

Efforts to allow tracks to stop live-racing of greyhounds and operate card rooms failed in Tallahassee this year. The effort was couched in terms of animal cruelty, but it but blew up when legislation requiring tracks to implement safety measures got traction.

First, lawmakers, including the Senate President, tried to allow greyhound tracks to stop racing but keep card rooms.

“The whole reason the tracks wanted to do this was so that they could become casinos,” said Jack Cory of the Florida Greyhound Association. “The greyhound tracks in Florida have had an unholy alliance with Las Vegas for 20 years”

When shutting down dog racing failed, efforts to require injury reporting of the dogs passed the State Senate.

“It just seems to me to be perhaps inhuman in some cases,” said Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville).

Greyhound racing proponents kept saying there were three things that could be done if people were concerned about greyhound safety.

In some tracks, the wires powering the mechanical rabbit known as Rusty are exposed. They carry 240 volts.

“We put three safety points maintaining the tracks’ surface, having a break away on and covering 240 volts of exposed electricity to greyhounds, which is where the majority of the injuries happen,” said Cory. “Tracks oppose that.”

That was enough to kill the legislation, but for breeders like Gene Gurley, every effort to kill racing takes a toll on his breeding farm’s revenue.

“If they decoupled, what the heck would you do with 100 dogs?” said Gurley. “Your investment could be shot. So we started trimming back a long time ago because every year they come up with this.”

Of the $88 million bet last year at greyhound tracks in Florida, $11 million was paid in taxes to the state, which then gave the track operators an $8 million tax break.

A lower court stopped Florida from drug testing welfare recipients, but that hasn’t stopped the Governor from pursuing the program.

Florida’s Governor is adamant about drug testing welfare recipients and state employees.  Rick Scott is asking a federal court to reinstate the drug testing law for people on welfare.

The American Federation of State County and Municipal employees says the numbers from the three months the law was in place should be enough to make the Governor to back off. Less than three percent tested positive.

“Does that amount to continuing to use taxpayers money? To continue to test? In my opinion this is harassment,” said AFSCME Florida Council 79 president Jeanette Wynn.

The move comes just two weeks after an appeal to have state workers drug tested was shot down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida sued the state over the drug testing law. They say it’s a violation of constitutional rights.

“It’s not a question about whether people should or should not be tested, they have a right to not be subjected to an unreasonable government search,” said ACLU Florida’s Howard Simon.

The program has been spoofed by the popular mock news program the Daily Show in the past.

The Governor’s office responded to the appeal in a statement. Part of it reads “we should have a zero tolerance policy for illegal drug use in families – especially those families who struggle.”

The appeal brief states that more than two thousand applicants did not submit to drug testing under the law, so the numbers representing how many people failed were not complete.

Environmentalists are crying foul over what they call the legislature’s failure to fund land acquisition. The future of the water we drink could depend on what happens at the polls this November.

The state has identified 1.9 million acres for purchase. All of it critical to Florida’s drinking water future. But state lawmakers got stingy with cash…spending just $10 million in new money to buy important land.

“Special natural areas, wildlife habitat, greenways, trails, land that’s gonna protect our drinking water sources and our water quality,” said Will Abbinger of Land and Water Conservation Amendment. “And the funding for that has virtually disappeared since 2009.”

Environmentalists hope inaction fires up voters. Amendment one on this November’s ballot would guarantee money already being collected on each home sale would go to water and land conservation. If passed, about $300 million a year would go to lands needed to recharge water resources. It could come at a critical time.

“The competition for water is now materializing in almost every place in Florida,” said water use attorney Pete Dunbar. “That’s a competition between the urban needs for water supply, the needs for agriculture to continue…”

Environmentalists are also unhappy with legislative efforts to protect springs.

In the end, lawmakers put a onetime $30 million appropriations into protecting springs, that’s one tenth of what they originally started with.

Now all eyes are on the 2015 legislature, which has already said water will be the top priority.

“So we’ll see it addressed,” said Dunbar, “I think with a great deal of significance.”

But legislative promises that involve money are often hard to keep…which is why everyone is looking at what voters do on amendment one this November.

If the state can sell up to $40 million in non conservation lands, such as old prisons or schools, lawmakers are allowing the proceeds to purchase conservation lands.

A plan to overhaul Florida’s retirement system ended with lawmakers making no changes this year.   Politics got in the way of a needed fix to a broken local pension system, and tried to repair the state pension system many say doesn’t need fixing.

Lawmakers spent most of the 2014 legislative session going back and forth on a state pension overhaul.  But it was a needed municipal pension bill that got caught up in the mix.

“I’m not sure there’s a financial expert in the world that would sound the alarms on the FRS. Everyone would sound the alarms on the local pensions,” said Sen. Jeremy Ring (D-Margate) who sponsored the local pension bill.

The Florida Retirement System for teachers, firefighters and state workers is about 87 percent funded. It is considered one of the strongest in the country.  But some local pension plans covering police and fire departments are in bad shape. Some are 60 to 70 percent short.

“As I’ve said all along, the real crisis in the state is the municipal crisis. Look at cities like Detroit, you can’t compare that to the FRS because that’s a municipal plan,” said Sen. Ring.

The city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy in large part due getting behind on local pension payouts.  Cities in Florida aren’t there…yet.  A municipal bill would have freed up cash for local governments to continue paying retirees.

The House Speaker combined the state pension overhaul with the local one. That’s when both bills died.

Florida’s League of Cities was disappointed.

“What happened? Well politics happened. It basically just got caught up in the process. The House bill was available in the Senate and the Senate bill was available in the House,” said Scott Dudley with the League.

Lawmakers said they’ll keep pushing for a statewide overhaul.

“There was absolutely nothing that failed to pass that was a priority of Speaker Weatherford’s or mine other than the pension issue, and we’ll come back to that next year,” said Senate President Don Gaetz following the end of session.

Part of the reasons state pensions are fully funded: lawmakers borrowing from it in good years and not contributing during the bad ones.

Legislation passed in 1999 requires local governments to take insurance premium taxes and spend it on extra benefits and not on the local police and fire pension plans. Some say that’s the problem and it’s not sustainable.

Florida lawmakers waited to their last day to pass a 140-page re-write of the state’s school voucher program, and much of the promised accountability may not be in the legislation.

There are 60,000 students in Florida getting corporate scholarships. That will grow to 68,000 this fall. On the final date of the legislative session, supporters of choice passed a one-hundred plus page amendment expanding who is eligible for the program.

“We haven’t had the opportunity,” said Sen. Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa), “and I think we should have had to read this 100-and-something page amendment.”

Families making $55,000 are currently eligible. The number grows in 2016. The Florida Education Association is still sorting out everything in the bill.

“I’d say it was a quick procedural maneuver in order to push through something that the general public’s really not after,” said FEA Vice President Joann McCall.

On the session’s final night, both legislative leaders praised the accountability in the legislation.

“We’ve got the accountability,” said Senate President Don Gaetz, “academic and financial.”

But the accountability doesn’t cover private school student performance, only how the scholarship organizations spend their money.

“If the requirement for public schools are good for public schools,” said Sen. Joyner, “then they ought to be good for private schools.”

Rick Scott said Friday he hadn’t read the bill, but, “I believe in school choice,” he said.

The legislation also removes a provision that to be eligible for vouchers, you had to have attended a public school in the previous year.

The legislation also stops the testing of students with disabilities. That became an issue after testing opponents filmed students being tested.

Under the corporate scholarship program companies donate tax revenue they would otherwise owe the state to a scholarship organization, which transfers the money to parents.