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Florida ranks near the bottom in the race to secure federal stimulus dollars
for roads.

States are required to spend half of their transportation money
by the middle of June or they could lose them. Florida is one of five
states that haven’t had any transportation projects formally approved. Doug
Callaway, a transportation lobbyist, says the state has plenty of time to
meet the deadline.

“The larger issue is not where you start the race, in this instance lets use
a NASCAR analogy, It’s not where you start the race, it’s where you finish
it and I have no doubt what so ever in my mind DOT will meet that 120 day
deadline,” said Callaway.

Callaway says the first half of the state’s 1.3 billion stimulus dollars
will be easily claimed by meeting the deadline. He fears the state could
lose the other 650 million if a plan to raid 400 million dollars from the
state’s transportation trust fund gets legislative approval.

A Leon County Grand Jury today indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom on charges he misused his official position to benefit a developer who contributed a million dollars to the Republican Party, Sansom’s campaign, and a leadership fund. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Sansom steered six million dollars to the Northwest Florida State College to build an aircraft hanger 15 miles from the college campus.

Ray Sansom’s troubles began the day he became House Speaker…and on the same day accepted an unadvertised six figure job with his hometown college after steering 30 million dollars to the school.

The Grand Jury investigation focused on six million dollars earmarked for classrooms at the college. The indictment says Sansom and College president Bob Richburg falsified the appropriations act by concealing that the classroom space was really an airport hanger designed to benefit Developer Jay Odom. The grand jury found Odom was a frequent GOP contributor.

“Representative Sansom solely, by himself inserted 6 million dollars into the PECO funding, and it was to be built by a design put forward by Jay Odom, his friend,” state attorney Willie Meggs said.

Sansom wasted no time turning himself in on the felony charge.

The rules of the House are murky. A member who has been indicted on a felony, can ask the speaker to be suspended without pay and only in the case of a conviction can the speaker suspend.

Governor Charlie Crist was sympathetic.

“Obviously that’s distressing to hear,” Crist said. “Our system of criminal justice has a presumption of innocence in it. We ought to all be respectful of that.”

The Grand Jury also asked lawmakers to change the practice of allowing top lawmakers to spend taxpayer money at will.

Richburg, the college president, was also indicted for lying to the grand jury about the airport hanger.

The Florida House voted along party lines Friday to weaken the class size amendment approved by voters in 2002.

Under the new plan, classes at every level could exceed current limits by up to five students, but schools would still have to maintain a school wide average equal to the current limits. Education Chair Anitere Flores says the plan gives schools flexibility.

“However, no individual classroom can go above more than plus 5 above the current class size amendment,” Flores said. “So never again will we go back to a time where there are 40 kids, 50 kids, 100 kids in a classroom.”

The plan has been receiving a luke warm reception in the state senate and may not be voted upon this year.

A 72 page bill to drastically change the state’s election laws is being discussed in a senate committee Thursday. Opponents of the legislation say it would keep thousands of people from voting. As Whitney Ray tells us, it would also penalize groups hosting voter registration drives if they don’t rush to turn in applications.

Voters rights advocates are livid over a last minute proposal to revamp Florida’s election laws.

“It’s like they looked at everything that went right last election, everything we did right, and said how can we make sure this never happens again,” said Heather Walker a spokeswoman with the League of Women Voters.

The bill provides strict penalties for groups failing to turn in voter application with in two days of a registration drive… discourages people from voting if they move within a month of an election… and forces TV cameras 100 feet away from voting lines.

“It’s the media that actually captures what goes on during early voting periods, Election Day, really captures the energy and the enthusiasm of voters, captures the reaction of them when they leave the polls,” Brad Ashwell, a spokesman with Florida PIRG said.

The bill does nothing to extend early voting hours or sites…even though the Governor saw the need to add hours last year. High early voter turnout traditionally favors Democrats. The changes are being pushed by Republicans.

Several republican senators, including the bill’s sponsor denied our request for an interview to discuss the legislation.

Democrat Charlie Justice voted against the bill.

“This is week seven of session after we’ve had weeks and weeks of meetings and this is just coming up now. It’s a little strange,” said Justice.

Passing the legislation before the end of session may only be the first hurdle. The bill would still have to get past Governor Crist who likes early voting. Opponents of the legislation say tightening the deadline to turn in voter applications gathered at registration drives would lead to more lawsuits and cost the state millions.

Despite forking out billions of bailout dollars Floridians still like the new President. They also don’t hold the state’s economic crisis against Governor Charlie Crist. According to a Quinnipiac Poll released today a majority of Florida voters want Crist to run for re-election instead of US Senate. President Barack Obama has a 60 percent job approval rating in Florida. Quinnipiac Pollster Peter Brown said Obama has made believers out of people in both parties.

“There are 10’s of thousands of Floridians who did not vote for him last November, who now think he is doing a great job. That means he is going to be able to make a breakthrough with people who weren’t with him in the beginning,” said Brown.

81 percent of people polled said they want the government to limit the pay for executives at businesses that received bailout money.

The state House and Senate spent the day hammering out vastly different spending plans that dig into your pocket in fundamentally different ways. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, no matter what direction lawmakers take, taxpayers will be paying more.

Cigarettes could soon be costing you as much a dollar a pack more.

A cigar tax got a reprieve, but the State senate is pushing ahead with a dollar a pack tax on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

“It’s 33 cents. We’re well below the national average,” Sen. Ted Deutch (D-Boca Raton) said. “By increasing it a dollar and putting a surcharge on it, we’re only going to get to the national average and it’s going to generate a billion dollars for our health care budget.”

If the senate doesn’t get you with higher tobacco taxes, the House will get you on higher drivers’ license fees.

Late renewal fees go from one to ten dollars. Reinstating a suspended license will  jump from ten to 15 dollars. Buying license plates will double in most cases.  House members say the fees target users.

“We looked at a lot of fees that haven’t been increased in many, many years and tried to bring that up to the current date,” Rep. Marcelo Llorente (R-Miami) said. “And we did that as opposed to, at this point, increasing cigarette taxes and any other taxes.”

But Democrats in the House complain the fees are still a tax and don’t solve long range problems.

“They largely just fall on the responsibilities of working families,” Rep. Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton) said. “We’re not looking at any corporate taxes, any of the sales tax exemptions, we’re not looking at an increased sales tax, a penny sales tax.

A final plan needs to be in place by May First. The new fees, whatever they are,  will take effect July first.

The next step is for sponsors of the two different approaches to fight it out. Figure out where they can agree, and decide who will pay what. One item already agreed on is a most costly fishing license.

The Florida House spent more than an hour today debating whether or not state universities should be allowed to pursue embryonic stem cell research.

Rep. Eric Eisnaugle of Orlando held back tears as he talked about his mother’s Parkinson’s disease and spoke against the research.

“I would love to think that there was something we could do, to end her pain, to end her difficulty, to cure her,” Eisnaugle said. “But I’ve had many conversations with her about this and I can tell you as much of a stake as she has in this and as emotional as this is for both her and for me, she is absolutley against using public money to fund embryonic stem cell research.”

Equally as moving was testimony from Democratic Leader Franklin Sands, who favored allowing the research to go forward.

“My Opinion is that God allows us to see certain things,” Sands said. “For instance, embryonic stem cell research. And once he allows us to see this thing, he gives us a choice. Do we use it for good? Or do we use it for evil? And that choice is up to us.”

The effort to allow research failed by a 68 to 46 vote.

A Leon County Grand Jury continued its probe into the questionable funding for Northwest Florida State College in Destin. The probe has already cost House Speaker Ray Sansom his job.

Thursday, the grand jury heard from former state Senator Lisa Carlton, who was the budget chief in the Senate when more than 25 million dollars was sent to the college. Grand Jurors also heard from the former director of the Destin airport over a controversial jet hanger that was to double as an emergency staging area. Jerry Sealy apparently told the grand jury there was no need for the hanger,

“We never really said no, but we never really said, yes, that’s a good idea,” Sealy said.

The 6 million dollar hanger was to be built on land leased by a high level GOP contributor.

Lawmakers are blowing off legislation to secure half a billion federal stimulus dollars for the state’s unemployed. In order to receive the money the state has to lighten qualification restrictions so more people can receive unemployment benefits. As Whitney Ray tells us, Florida’s jobless rate is at a 33 year high, and the state is running out of money to pay benefits.

The state’s unemployment compensation fund is falling by an estimated 60 million dollars a week. Representative Kevin Radar says the fund will be dry by June. Radar wants to loosen unemployment qualification standards to secure federal dollars for the fund.

“It costs 70, 80 million dollars to implement the program. You’re going to get 444 million dollars; it’s like a no brainer,” said Radar.

Under Radar’s proposal an extra 40,000 people would be eligible for unemployment. Benefits would be extended by 20 weeks. House leadership has refused to take up the bill saying it will raise taxes on small businesses.

Senator Tony Hill says businesses will already be asked to pay more. The state’s trust fund will be re-evaluated in June and if it’s low on cash business taxes will increase.

“They’re going to pay anyway into this trust fund, because it is below the trigger because of the high unemployment rate. The federal government is bending over backwards to trying to give us this money and we here in Tallahassee are stopping that from happening,” said Hill.

Governor Charlie Crist is asking lawmakers to act fast.

“It’s still challenging out there and we have to be sensitive and companionate and continue to do anything we can to help the people,” said Crist.

With less than three weeks left in session the legislation is likely to die unless leadership has a change of heart. The statewide unemployment rate is at 9.4 percent. New figures will be out Friday.

A group of Realtors headed to the state capitol Wednesday with good news, kind of.

Governor Charlie Crist held a round table discussion with a dozen real estate agents from across the state. The realtors told Crist home sales are up as much as a hundred percent in some areas, but prices are way down. Crist says several bills to put property tax reductions on the ballot could help the market rebound.

“I think the timing is fine and I’ll tell you why. If these things get to the ballot it’s up to the people to decide, who better to know and they can make the decision if they want more dog parks or not, or more money in their pocket,” said Crist.

The realtors asked Crist for more out-of-state advertising to entice retiring baby boomers to spend their golden years in the Sunshine state.

Wildlife Officials are taking the first steps to stop the massive export of Florida turtles.

Hundreds of thousands of freshwater turtles are being harvested every year and shipped to Asia where they are considered a delicacy. Many of the turtles are killed to make soup. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Board took initial steps today to stop the exodus. Governor Charlie Crist lobbied hard for the ban.

“I think we need to ban the harvesting of turtles. I’ve written to the chairman and the members of the wildlife commission. I called the chairman again yesterday to encourage that position and chairman Rodney Barreto is a good man with a good heart and he cares about the turtles too. So I think we are going to be okay. The turtles are going to be okay,” said Crist.

The ban limits hunters to one turtle a day.

Governor Charlie Crist is asking lawmakers to balance the state budget with money that is sitting in limbo.

Florida is still waiting to find out if it will get 2.4 billion federal stimulus dollars for schools. The US Department of Education still hasn’t sent the state an application to apply for money. The state may not know if it qualifies for the cash until the end of the month. Crist say the application will come any day.

“It was anticipated that maybe even by today we would get the actually application and it has been a little bit of a frustration, but that’s okay, we’re patient and I know the commissioner has worked really hard with his staff to be ready to respond to that application when we get it,” said Crist.

The stimulus dollars are being withheld as punishment because state lawmakers cut education spending too deeply.

The economy is considered the number one priority by voters and most state lawmakers. Both the House and Senate in Tallahassee created select committees to stimulate the economy, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the House Committee has never gotten around to meeting.

Lawmakers say the economy is a top priority, but on the house side, a sign on the door is all that exists for the select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning, There’s never been a meeting.

Keith Fitzgerald had high hopes when named to the committee.

“Never had a notice. Never met,” Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota) said. “I think it’s a very big topic and would love to sit down and have a conversation.”

We asked Carlos Lopez-Cantera, one of 14 Republicans on the Committee, why it’s never met.

“You’d have to ask the chairman that,” Lopez-Cantera (R-Miami) said.

We tried, but the chairman was nowhere to be found.

In contrast, the Senate select committee on the economy has met seven times, and it’s held three public hearings.

In addition to meeting, the Senate Select Committee on the Economy is actually passing bills. One makes it easier to get permits, another streamlines job creation; a third creates tax credits. Chairman Don Gaetz is proud of the work.

“Also, we have legislation that we birthed out of this committee, that unclogs the research phase for solar projects,” Gaetz (R-Niceville) said.

When created, the House committee was charged with taking a long range view of the state’s economy…something that will be hard to do with less than three weeks left in the session.

House Spokesperson Jill Chamberlain provided the following response:

“The Select Council’s charge is to  develop ideas, recommend proposals and evaluate legislation to address the state’s LONG RANGE challenges and opportunities, and to complete its work by November 2010.  The state’s fiscal condition for this fiscal year and 09-10 is so imperiled, absent solutions to meet today’s urgent needs, that the leadership its devoting its time and energy first to solving the immediate problems. There will be enough  time for the Council to look at long-range possibilities between now and November, 2010. (and beyond)”.

Plans by Florida State University to close its Panama City Florida campus have generated some nasty emails between lawmakers and FSU President TK Wetherell. Representative Jimmy Petronis of Panama City suggested FSU look at closing foreign campuses before looking to his hometown. In the end, Patronis thinks the announced closure is a bluff.

“I feel that the campus is safe,” Patronis said. “At this time of year, budgets are tight. We’ve got 18 days to go and it is the leadership of the state university system and Florida State for that matter, to do everything possible to hold all of our campuses harmless. And if threatening a domestic campus is a way to get our attention, that’s part of their strategy.”

FSU has announced it is closing as many as 21 programs to meet declining funding.

Legislation creating Sunrail, the commuter rail project stretching across four central Florida counties, got sidetracked Wednesday when more than 70 people showed up to a committee hearing to speak.
The contentious issue has been touch and go all session, but it picked up one Democratic vote today when a two dollar rental car surcharge was added to the bill to help fund other rail projects. Sen. Andy Gardiner of Orlando is unsure if the project will stay on track.

“If the rental car surcharge stays in place this is a very good agreement for South Florida, because tri-rail eventually wants to expand to the tri rail line,” Gardiner said. “In order to do that, they need this language. Not just the rental car surcharge, they need the liability language as well. We’re going to try to tell all our colleagues that and we’re going to do our best.”

The rental car surcharge’s biggest enemy is Governor Charlie Crist. He has said he will only let it pass if it includes a referendum by voters.