This Just In

Corporate tax loophole stays open

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 17:50:21 -0500

House Republicans beat back an effort Thursday by the chamber's Democratic leader to raise an additional $364.5 million for the recession-wracked state budget by changing the way multi-state companies pay their Florida corporate taxes.

In defeating the measure on a 10-6, party-line vote, Republicans cast Rep. Dan Gelber's proposal as a tax increase that could push corporations out of Florida, costing jobs, or prompt them to raise prices.

"My constituents go to Wal-Mart or Target because that's all they can afford," said Rep. Frank Attkisson, R-St. Cloud. "They know corporations don't have to take (taxes) from profit. They can take it by raising the price off the bread basket."

But Gelber said that Florida's ruling Republican lawmakers are going to have to consider closing such tax "loopholes," in the face of a $3 billion budget shortfall this year and a proposed tax-swap constitutional amendment that could leave an even bigger budget hole in coming years.

"You're going to have to get serious about tax fairness in Florida," said Gelber, D-Miami Beach.

Gelber's proposal would require companies to be taxed on the income of all their affiliated holdings, not just on revenues generated within the state of Florida. Twenty-one states currently have such combined reporting requirements, including the four states that are home to the most Fortune 500 headquarters.

The approach is similar to the unitary tax that Florida enacted under former Gov. Bob Graham in the early 1980s but swiftly repealed amid fierce opposition from the business community. That proposal went farther than Gelber's -- having also made international holdings subject to state taxes. Florida was among the few states at the time imposing such a tax system, officials acknowledge.

Gelber also said he wasn't blaming companies. "They're not evading taxes. It's a loophole we allow," he said.

But Gelber's push was a no sale to the Republican-controlled Government Efficiciency & Accountability Council. Among those opposing the measure were the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Retail Federation and Associated Industries of Florida.

"The worst time for a tax increase is when you're in a recession," said Rep. Carl Domino, R-Jupiter.

John Kennedy, Tallahassee Bureau

Clinton, seeking Florida revote, keeps the pressure on Obama

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:33:00 -0500

For the second consecutive day, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is taunting her rival, Barack Obama, to support a revote in Florida. Speaking to reporters in Indiana, Clinton suggested Obama is "afraid" to run again in Florida.

"I do not understand what Senator Obama is afraid of, but it is going to hurt our party and our chances in November and so I would call on him, once again, to join me in giving the people of Florida and Michigan the chance to be counted as we move forward in this nominating process," she said.

Behind in the overall delegate count, Clinton needs big wins -- and a big haul in delegates -- in Florida and Michigan to help her close the gap. She would have picked up a net gain of 38 delegates based on her landslide win in Florida Jan. 29 -- but no delegates were at stake and neither candidate campaigned here after the state broke party rules with an early primary date.

Obama hasn't opposed a revote in Florida and Michigan, but his campaign has taken a cautious approach, pointing out some of the pitfalls of conducting a new round of voting in a tight time frame.

Here are Clinton's full remarks from today, according to her campaign:

“It’s really important that we try to get as many people here to participate in this important primary election.
“That’s why it’s critical that we figure out a way for the people of Michigan and Florida to have their votes and their voices count. As you know, I went to Michigan yesterday because I feel so strongly that it is not in the best interest of our party or our chances for victory in November to deny the rights of the people of Florida and Michigan.

“I do not see how two of our largest and most significant states can be disenfranchised and left out of the process of picking our nominee without raising serious questions about the legitimacy of that nominee.

“So again, I would call on Senator Obama to join me in supporting the rights of the people of Michigan and Florida to have their voices and their votes counted. I have, as the Democratic National Committee has, come out in favor of an effort for a re-vote in Michigan.

“I do not understand what Senator Obama is afraid of, but it is going to hurt our party and our chances in November and so I would call on him, once again, to join me in giving the people of Florida and Michigan the chance to be counted as we move forward in this nominating process. We’d be glad to take your questions.”

Florida budget shock coming?

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:21:38 -0500

While the average Floridian likely hasn’t yet felt the impact of Florida’s budget cuts, that could soon change.

State legislators are getting ready to ax up to $3 billion in funding from next year’s budget, and some of that slashing may hit close to home.

Florida’s public schools could take a $1.5 billion hit next school year – leading to less per-student funding than they got two years ago. The judicial system could lose more than 700 workers and that would lead to even more delays in justice, warned Florida Supreme Court Justice Fred Lewis, who this morning suggested legislators would be asking the court system to “commit suicide” if it has to absorb a 10 percent cut.

Also potentially on the chopping block are the Medically Needy program, which helps mostly middle class Floridians who face catastrophic illness, and drug rehab programs that have been credited with helping reduce the number of prison inmates who end up behind bars again for drug-related crimes committed when they’re released.

“People need to understand the public is going to wake up,” lobbyist Ron Book, who represents many local governments and hospitals, told a meeting of Broward legislators this week. “It’s going to be dramatic and devastating.”

Book said the situation will be made even worse by the fact the state budget cuts will be felt at the same time local governments start announcing the programs they’ll have to cut back as a result of Amendment 1, passed by voters Jan. 29, which reduced local property taxes.

Legislature flushes requirement for ample toilet paper in restaurant bathrooms

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:26:00 -0500

Florida diners, beware: Toilet paper will continue to be optional in restaurant restrooms – at least as far as state law is concerned.

A House panel today wiped out an attempt to mandate that restaurants carry a sufficient supply of toilet paper in each stall. The bill also would have required that restrooms be lighted, ventilated and have running hot and cold water.

“I’ve gone into bathrooms where there’s no toilet paper, and you realize it after you use the restroom,” said Rep. Betty Reed, D-Tampa, who sponsored the bill. “So this is just about, in the future, we make sure we do a better job having clean bathrooms. I was disappointed.”

The toilet paper proposal passed a Senate committee last week, and generated some national press attention. But today, the measure (HB 437) went down on an 8-4 vote, with Republicans on the House Committee on Business Regulation arguing it’s unnecessary to put the toilet paper mandate in law. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation already monitors the cleanliness of restaurant facilities.

“I think this is a little too much regulation,” said Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami. “As a good steward of this state and the regulations of this state, I just don’t think this is necessary at this time.”

The bill wouldn’t have applied everywhere. Exempt from the rules: schools, hospitals, bars that don’t serve any food – and, yes, those quintessentially cramped quarters, airplane restrooms. Also, the toilet paper mandate wouldn’t have applied to fairs and athletic events that often use port-a-potty facilities.

Bogdanoff bill gives wrongfully jailed automatic compensation

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:25:00 -0500

Fort Lauderdale Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff’s bill to automatically award settlements to people wrongfully imprisoned by the state is headed to the House floor.

The “universal claims bill,” as it’s known, would grant the wrongfully incarcerated up to $50,000 per year spent in person for crimes they didn’t commit. The state awards are capped at $1.5 million.

It passed the House Policy & Budget Council today, its last stop before reaching the House floor, on a largely party line vote. Democrats argued the bill doesn’t go far enough, because it bans those convicted of a felony prior to being wrongfully jailed from getting automatic compensation. Rep. Shelly Vana, D-Lantana, was the lone Democrat “yes” vote.

Currently, the wrongfully incarcerated must negotiate a Byzantine bureaucratic process to get settlements courts say they deserve. They have to hire lawyers and lobbyists and often spend years without compensation.

One example: Alan Crotzer, who spent nearly a quarter-century in jail for rapes DNA evidence show he didn’t commit. His claim for $1.25 million also was approved by the House council today – although he’s been trying to his money for years, only to see it snared every time in political wrangling.

Is another Fla. Democratic primary possible?

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 09:43:00 -0500

Despite the Florida Democratic Party’s Monday pronouncement that there won’t be a presidential revote, Sen. Ted Deutch isn’t giving up on the idea of another full-blow, state-run primary.

The Palm Beach-Broward first-term senator thinks he can package the idea of a new election as an economic development boon to skeptical Republican legislators, and turn to deep-pocketed Democratic fundraisers to scrounge up the $20 million to $30 million estimated cost.

But assuming Deutch, a Democrat, can get Republican buy-in and the necessary funding – two huge ifs – is another primary even possible given 15 counties don’t have elections equipment? Those counties, including Palm Beach and Broward, are caught between electronic machines and the optical-scan system using paper ballots.

We asked the elections supervisors in Broward and Palm Beach if another Democratic presidential primary, to be held in June, is possible.

Palm Beach County once had 4,900 electronic voting machines, but has gotten rid of all but 1,000 of them, said Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson. Broward has packed up just over half of its 6,000 electronic machines, although elections officials are waiting on the official OK from the state before they ship them off, spokeswoman Mary Cooney told our Broward politics reporter, Anthony Man.

A June election is “out of the question, because we’ve shipped out all of the touch-screen machines except for the 1,000 that we retained for handicap-access voting,” said Anderson. “We’re not yet geared up to handle an election on our optical-scan system."

Broward's Cooney was more circumspect when we asked whether the county could handle another primary. “It would depend on what date it was because of the significant lead time we need in order to secure the polling places [and] train the poll workers,” she said. “There are a lot of factors there.”

More property tax relief coming?

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:28:32 -0500

The powerful yet largely unknown state Taxation and Budget Reform Commission began voting early today on what major property tax and sales tax changes to place before voters in November.

House Speaker Marco Rubio opened the meeting by encouraging the panel to act boldly, imploring its 25 members to take heed of the state’s dire economic circumstances and do what the Legislature could not: dramatically reduce property taxes on schools and replace it with a higher sales tax.

“Give people a choice,” he said, calling the proposals before the commission “the most widespread and systemic reform” the state has ever seen. “Just the passage will have an economic impact. Amendment 1 has not and will not stimulate our economy.”

An idea sponsored by former Jeb Bush aide Patricia Levesque, a member of the commission, would eliminate by 2010 the $7.9 billion in property taxes that lawmakers force school districts to impose. To offset the tax loss to schools, the Legislature would have to pick and choose a combination of repealing sales tax exemptions, spending cuts, a sales tax increase, or depend on the growth in state tax collections when the economy rebounds.

"Florida this year will rely on the (state mandated property tax) more so then ever before," Rubio told the panel.

A similar idea floated by former Senate President John McKay would require the repeal of sales tax exemptions as a way to cut the school property tax.

The panel is also scheduled to consider a third idea espoused by a Rubio appointee to the TBRC, former Miami legislator Carlos Lacasa, that would give every property owner a tax break equal to 25 percent of their property value, to be offset with a half-cent higher sales tax for schools.

The votes slated today have been a year in the making, with business groups miffed at the Legislature’s populist tax approach, pleading with the body for months to pass more uniform, wide-reaching tax cuts.

“I’ve always been a singles and doubles guy. I don’t hit many home runs,” said TBRC chairman Allan Bense, a former House speaker from Panama City, before the meeting started. “So we’ll see where we go going forward.”

By Aaron Delatte, Tallahassee Bureau

Proposal: Let the non-affiliated vote in presidential primaries

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:01:08 -0500

Nearly 2 million voters in Florida were barred from participating in the Jan. 29 presidential primary. That’s because the state’s closed-primary system shuts off participation to anyone who doesn’t register with the Republican or Democratic parties.

A bipartisan group of legislators is pushing a plan to change that, backed by public interest groups Common Cause and the League of Women Voters, with a bill (SB2726) that would open up primaries to voters who check “no party affiliation” on their registrations.

The bill would only apply presidential primaries, meaning voters with no party affiliation still wouldn’t be able to vote in non-presidential primaries, for offices like governor and U.S. Senate.

Still, supporters called the effort a stab at true elections reform that would reduce the public’s cynicism in politics and help reverse a slow slide in voter participation.

“It’s time we stop disenfranchising voters in Florida,” said Rep. Nick Kriseman, D-St. Petersburg. The Senate sponsor is Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland.

-- Josh Hafenbrack

Continuing saggy pants saga

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:21:07 -0500

The Florida Senate has a message for the state’s youth: Hitch up those pants.

Senators voted overwhelmingly Thursday in support of a bill that carries penalties for students caught with sagging pants that reveal what shouldn’t be revealed in public.

Although the first infraction would bring only a warning, students who subsequently get caught in school with their underwear – or worse – on display would face in-school suspensions.

Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, sponsor of the measure, called it a “pro-family and pro-education bill.” He said the practice was started in the prison system by “inmates who would wear sagging pants to indicate they were available to other inmates”, but that most youngsters don’t know that.

Supporters said the measure is designed to help today’s youth function in society.

“Some feel the parents should take on this responsibility, but sometimes the parents aren’t aware their children are wearing clothes this way,” said Sen. Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami. “As leaders we must send a message to the young people in our society to let them understand there are rules you must be governed by.”

The House has yet to take a position.

Steve Geller: Public wants mail-in do-over

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 15:45:17 -0500

Adding momentum to calls for a redo Democratic primary in Florida, Broward County's Steve Geller, the state Capitol's most senior Democrat, endorsed a mail-in primary to make sure the state's votes are counted in the hotly contested race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Geller, the Senate Democratic leader, held a news conference to announce his support for the mail-in plan and released a public poll claiming broad public support for the idea among the 1.7 million Democrats who cast ballots in the state's Jan. 29 primary.

"I think the conduct of the Democratic National Committee is outrageous in what they've done to the state of Florida," Geller, of Cooper City, said. "However, we also have to be realistic and recognize that is critical that Florida have input."

Geller predicted over half of Florida's 4 million Democrats would participate in a mail-in primary ending on June 3 and that the state would be decisive in the Democratic primary fight.

Obama currently holds a 150-plus lead in pledged delegates. Clinton won Florida's Jan. 29 primary handily, although the candidates boycotted the state and the DNC stripped Florida's delegates for adopting an early primary date in violation of party rules.

Geller said state Democratic leaders would release a plan Thursday that would set up a mail-in election ending on June 3. Ballots would have to go out 35 days before the June 3 date, Geller said, which is a week before the Democratic National Committee's deadline to report primary results.

Some thorny details are yet to be ironed out. One of the biggest obstacles: who will pay the $8 million to $10 million cost. Geller said he hoped the two campaigns would split the cost, although he said other options would be for one campaign to fund the entire bill or to raise the money through private donors.

The opinion poll, conduct Monday and Tuesday, surveyed Democrats who participated in the Jan. 29 primary and found 59 percent support the idea of a revote, while 35 percent opposed. The survey of 600 voters, conducted by Maitland-based The Kitchen Group, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.

The poll instructed voters that if the state stands by its Jan. 29 election, it is "very likely" that the Democratic National Committee won't accept the results and Florida voters will have "no say in who the nominee is."

Geller said the poll was worded as neutrally as possible and added: "The 1.7 million voters have determined that we should do a do-over. This now resolves for me the major moral and ethical question" of discounting the results from the Jan. 29 primary.

The state's Democratic Party could hire an elections equipment company or a major accounting firm to count the ballots, Geller said, and pay the state 10 cents per ballot to verify signatures.

Geller issued a warning to his party's two presidential combatants and national party leaders: "If Florida votes are not counted in some fashion…you might as well stay out of the state. Because the Democratic nominee for president will not win in this state if our votes are not counted and it will cause tremendous damage to our congressional candidates."

A plan to split Florida's delegates 50-50 between the two candidates is the same as not seating the state's delegates at all since it doesn't factor in the will of the voters, Geller said.

Legislature approves more budget cuts

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 14:24:19 -0500

The Florida Legislature on Wednesday approved $512 million in state budget cuts, most of which will affect programs that serve children and the poor.

Gov. Charlie Crist has already promised to sign off on the program cutbacks, which will hit public schools the hardest with a $350 million budget reduction.

“I’m not quite sure you know what you’re doing. You haven’t had a debate on what your priorities are before you cut,” House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber of Miami Beach said before the Republican-led House passed the package in a 77-41 party line vote.

Funding for nursing homes will also be trimmed by $139 million, likely cutting the time that nursing home staff will have to spend with patients who are getting state-supported care. And the courts will be cut by $48 million, although no layoffs or unpaid furloughs of court workers are expected.

House Budget Chairman Ray Sansom, R-Destin, said if the Legislature had not acted, the governor would have been forced to make the cuts. Florida’s constitution prohibits deficit spending.

Despite the education cuts, Sansom said public schools still received more funding this year than they did during the 2006-2007 school year.

“The budget revisions we passed today maintained increases in education funding, preserved vital funding for our courts and law enforcement and upheld the House’s commitment to critical health care services,” he said.

The Republican dominated Senate followed suit shortly after the House, approving the budget cuts in a 27-12 party line vote.

“It’s our hope as we proceed with the final budget that we can consider everything next time, not just cuts,” said Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller of Cooper City, referring to the Democrats’ call to tap trust funds and raise some revenues to soften the budget ax.

The state’s incredibly shrinking budget started out at more than $71 billion last July and then was cut by $1 billion in an October special session as the state’s economy took a dive and tax collections began to drastically taper off. Wednesday’s vote was forced by the continued bad economic news.

TV guy Ben Stein urges 'academic freedom' to battle Darwin

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:59:12 -0500

Lending his Hollywood star power, TV personality Ben Stein came to the state Capitol Wednesday to advocate for a bill that opponents of evolution are pushing to protect teachers who want to argue against Darwin’s theory in the classroom.

Stein, the actor, game show host and former speechwriter to Richard Nixon, is on a publicity tour for his movie criticizing evolution, Expelled, due out in theaters April 18.

Flanked by socially conservative activists pushing a measure that critics see as attack on teaching evolution in schools, Stein endorsed the bill (HB1483) as essential to maintain “academic freedom” for teachers who don’t believe in evolution. The proposal would prohibit school districts from punishing teachers for raising questions about the validity of evolution.

“This idea that we can’t ask questions about this (Darwin’s evolution) is deeply, deeply troubling,” Stein told a gaggle of reporters. “We have freedom of speech in almost everything. Why not here?”

Stein added: “It’s not about intelligent design, it’s not about a particular dogma, it’s about freedom of speech.”

Legislators tonight are getting a private screening of Stein’s film. After a testy exchange with reporters over whether the screening would be open to the media, sponsors of the movie showing relented and agreed to allow press access if reporters sign a non-disclosure document about the film’s contents.

The film has been getting a fair amount of flak for giving short-shrift to the arguments for evolution and for allegedly twisting the words of scientists who believe in the theory. The film's producer, Logan Craft, said these scientists were paid for their appearances in the film and signed a waiver about the use of their comments.

The anti-evolution bill moving through the Legislature would forbid any actions to stop teachers from presenting the “full range of scientific views” about evolution and gives teachers the right to present any “scientific information” they see as relevant to the evolution debate.

Proponents of evolution see this as an attempt to open the door to teaching alternative, religious-based theories such as intelligent design in the classroom – as long as a teacher argues intelligent design constitutes “scientific information.”

Sparking this evolution debate: In February, the state Board of Education voted to include the term “scientific theory of evolution” in its science standards, a move that outraged socially conservative critics who view the theory as inconsistent with their religious beliefs.

Photo: Stein in Tallahassee today/AP

The great saggy pants debate

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:11:47 -0500

Part of training kids to be adults is making sure their pants don’t sag low enough to show off their posterior or sexual organs, says Sen. Gary Siplin of Orlando.

Siplin, a Democrat, thinks multiple violations deserve a school suspension.

“You need to pull your pants on, use a belt and act appropriate,” he said. “We need to train our children how to act in society.”

Several of his colleagues seem to agree, but some had a little fun with the bill on Wednesday, suggesting it should exempt students studying to be plumbers or air conditioning repairmen.

Sagging pants on some students may indeed be a sign of disrespect and immaturity, agreed Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres. “But in some other professions it might be the sign of a job well done,” he said, adding the exemption would “open the door just a little crack.”

Asked if he could demonstrate how far down the door would be cracked open, Aronberg replied as he withdrew the amendment, “It’s an election year, so I’ll refrain.”

The bill, however, has raised concerns with a few senators who said some students can’t help having oversized pants and questioned whether the state should get involved with telling kids what they can wear to school.

“This is a pro-family, pro-education, pro-jobs bill,” Siplin replied, adding that some principals might welcome a little direction on the issue.

Linda Cox honored by House and Senate

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:09:31 -0500

Members of the House and Senate on Wednesday honored former South Florida legislator Linda Cox, who died unexpectedly on Sunday after suffering a massive stroke.

Ms. Cox, who would have turned 62 next month, was well-known in Tallahassee, where she lobbied her former colleagues for more than 20 years. She left her Fort Lauderdale-based House seat in 1982 after six years in elected office as a Democrat and earned a law degree.

“She fought ardently for the poor and those most at risk,” said Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville.

While conceding that their political views were polar opposites – and that her “liberal views found a comfortable home in Broward County” – King said the two became fast friends and she “stood out like a bright shining star” in the state’s lobbying corps.

Broward senators remembered her as a “good moral compass” and a pioneer for women. The founder and first president of the Broward National Organization for Women, Ms. Cox in 1976 became only the second woman elected to the Legislature from Broward, succeeding her boss, Karen Coolman Holmes.

“She left a legacy for women, that we do have a place in this legislative process,” said Sen. Mandy Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale.

Noting Cox was the first member of the Legislature to give birth while in office, Rep. Loranne Ausley, D-Tallahassee, said Cox “paved the way for those of us who serve, and serve as young mothers.”

“She was my friend,” Ausley said. “She had an incredible passion for the things she believed in. She had an incredible way of always searching for and finding the good in every situation.
You leave a gaping hole in our hearts, and you will surely be missed.”

Can Florida gamble its way out of budget hole?

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 11:37:04 -0500

How could Florida solve its budget crisis? Perhaps by gambling for dollars – maybe billions – to help state schools.

That’s the answer from a bi-partisan coalition of state senators pushing to expand gambling in the state and lower the tax rates on Broward County’s slot machines.

Two such measures are pending before the Senate and the full chamber is expected to formally vote on them next week.

One proposed by Senate Business Regulation Chairman Dennis Jones, R-Seminole, would allow all pari-mutuel facilities in the state to offer bingo-like slot machines, like those operated at the Seminole Tribe of Florida casinos.

The other, offered by Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller of Cooper City, would reduce the tax rate on the slots machines operated by Broward’s pari-mutuels from 50 percent down to 35 percent. At that rate, state economists have predicted the state would eventually rake in more dollars because the pari-mutuels would have more money available to advertise their machines.

Sponsors say the benefit to the state coffers could top $1 billion. That would come in handy as the state faces a bleak revenue outlook next year, expecting to take in $2 billion less than had been expected to fuel the budget.

“You’re offering something that benefits the state and business,” said Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster, R-Winter Garden. “That’s pretty close to being a Republican. So, here’s a (voter registration) change card.”

Geller politely declined the offer.

If the bills do pass, however, they face an uncertain future in the House, where Speaker Marco Rubio is adamantly exposed to expanded gambling.