Daily Clips for April 5, 2011

FEATURED STORIES

Social issues such as abortion dominating early Legislature debate
By Kathleen Haughney
Orlando Sentinel
Republican politicians from Gov. Rick Scott down swept into office last fall promising "jobs, jobs, jobs."

‘Uterus’ is a four-letter word? (video)
The Rachel Maddow Show
MSNBC
Interview with State Rep. Scott Randolph, (D) Florida, reprimanded for using the term "uterus" on the House floor to argue against "big government" proposed abortion restrictions.

Senate immigration measure passes amid cries of "let us speak" from opponents
By Kim MacQueen
Florida Tribune
Sitting in front of a crowd that included children of immigrant workers -- some clad in "Don't Deport My Dad" t-shirts -- a Senate panel on Monday swiftly pushed through a controversial immigration bill.

Gov. Scott declares that Solantic will not do business with the state
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Florida Gov. Rick Scott answered critics who accuse him of a conflict of interest, saying that Solantic, the urgent care clinic he co-founded in 2001, will not do business with the state.

Grass-roots Florida Republicans fear massive convention snub over primary dispute
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
Imagine hosting a big, ritzy party and being told to sit in the basement as it kicked off.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Hundreds sign online petition calling for Gov. Rick Scott's impeachment, but it's very unlikely
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Impeach Gov. Rick Scott?

In West Palm Beach address, Gov. Scott emphasizes employment
By Jeff Ostrowski
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday touted his low-tax, business-friendly approach to governing and said he's working toward his pledge to create 700,000 jobs in seven years.

Let’s get to work — in Scott’s office
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Times are tough in state government — with an almost $3.8 billion budget shortfall prompting wholesale spending reductions and job cuts.

Demonstrators slam Scott as part of union-led protests tied to MLK assassination anniversary
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
As of noon, about 80 demonstrators had gathered outside the Palm Beach County Convention Center to protest Gov. Rick Scott’s budget-cutting proposals as part of a national day of union-organized rallies tied to the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.

Senate moves to broaden state's ethics laws
By Steve Bousquet
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A scathing grand jury report on public corruption in Florida is spurring the Senate to broaden the state's ethics laws.

Florida lawmakers given a script to defend 'leadership funds'
By Howard Troxler
St. Petersburg Times
As I have mentioned, and plan to keep mentioning with vigor, it is now legal in Florida to pay the state Legislature directly.

Disability Rights group asks to join lawsuit against rulemaking freeze
Staff Report
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Another group has asked the Supreme Court to let it participate in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Gov. Rick Scott's rulemaking freeze.

Today in Tallahassee: Fraud, gambling and smokes
By Patricia Mazzei
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
The battle over auto insurance fraud continues to brew today as a Senate committee takes up measures to tighten requirements for doctors and lawyers that handle the cases.

POLITICAL RACES

As Obama gears up for 2012, outlook's changed in key states
By Steven Thomma, Barbara Barrett and Lesley Clark
McClatchy Newspapers
Barack Obama changed the electoral map when he won the presidency in 2008.

Make way for Florida, small fry
By Daniel Ruth
St. Petersburg Times
There is an understandable reason why Florida Republicans are quite correct in insisting the state hold its 2012 presidential primary early in the election cycle, much to the pouting, whiny consternation of Iowa and South Carolina.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Conservation groups say ‘we are under assault’ by Scott, Florida lawmakers
By Eric Staats
Naples Daily News
Related: Environmental scorecard: business over nature?
Environmental issues are always part of the legislative give-and-take when Florida lawmakers convene in Tallahassee.

Historic Wakulla Springs State Park lodge could close under budget proposals
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
The historic lodge at Wakulla Springs State Park could eventually close under proposed House and Senate versions of the 2011-12 state budget.

Gov. Scott and Cabinet to consider DEP request
Associated Press
Miami Herald
Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet will discuss streamlining the environmental approval process.

EDUCATION

Bill would kill Florida school board salaries
By Patricia Mazzei, Ron Matus and Tom Marshall
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
School board members are not getting much love this year from state lawmakers.

Questions on next FCAT test will be harder
By Jackie Alexander
Gainesville Sun
When students sit down to face the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test next week, the questions will be tougher than in previous tests and in some cases will be asked and answered on a computer.

Senator's plan to suspend Florida Prepaid College program stalls
By Jodie Tillman
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Her proposal to suspend Florida's popular prepaid tuition program is dead for now.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

State to expand help for foreclosed homeowners
By Mark Puente
Miami Herald
A $1 billion federal program now stretching statewide could keep 40,000 Floridians from losing homes to foreclosure.

Senate bill could mean $28.80-a-year rate hike for average FPL customer
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Despite vows to shun new taxes or fees, a Senate panel Monday approved giving Florida Power & Light and other investor-owned utilities authority to increase customer rates $377 million over the next five years.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Thousands could lose health care in Florida's $1 billion budget cuts
By Bob LaMendola
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Tens of thousands of uninsured, chronically ill, disabled and mentally challenged people would be directly touched by about $1 billion in cuts proposed for many health and social programs.

‘Gut-wrenching’ decisions, turf battles
By Jim Saunders
Health News Florida
The Senate Health Regulation Committee replayed an abortion debate Monday and dealt with turf wars on medical malpractice and drug prescribing by optometrists and nurse practitioners.

State workers’ coverage in play
By Jim Saunders
Health News Florida
Senate leaders have scrapped a proposal that rank-and-file state employees feared would force them to pay thousands of dollars a year more for family health insurance.

Advocates for those with disabilities to hold rally
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Capital News
Organizations serving Florida's most severely handicapped citizens fear the 15-percent cut in state payments that Gov. Rick Scott ordered for care of the developmentally disabled will really add up to double that amount and force some providers out of business.

Amended ‘Choose Life’ bill passes Community Affairs Committee
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
State Sen. Mike Fasano’s recently altered “Choose Life” bill passed the Community Affairs Committee today in a 7-2 vote.

Senator accuses FMA of being a greedy organization that puts money over patients
By Christine Jordan Sexton
Florida Tribune
Sen. Mike Bennett on Monday lashed out at the Florida Medical Association, calling it a "greedy" group whose political agenda was about ensuring doctors salaries, not improving access to health care.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

After minutes of debate, Senate panel clears modified immigration-enforcement measure
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve a controversial immigration-enforcement measure after just minutes of debate on the tail end of a packed agenda, but not without making some changes called for by immigrant advocates.

Jonesing For A Fight
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Radical Florida pastor Terry Jones sparked controversy last year when he announced his "Dove World Church" would host an "International Burn The Quran Day" -- a much-publicized effort to burn Islam's sacred text and encourage others around the world to do the same.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Debate begins on judicial reform
By Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday began debating a series of controversial court reforms, including a proposal that would dramatically increase the power of the governor to appoint new judges.

Chief Justice Canady turns up heat on Florida House
By Jim Ash
Florida Capital News
Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady carefully turned up the heat this afternoon on House leaders who are proposing a $66.5 billion austerity budget for next year that would save $1.1 million by slashing the number of law clerks at the high court by nearly half.

Privatized probation’s failed past
By Fred Grimm
Miami Herald
The ban on privatized probation, written into Florida law 21 years ago, didn’t just drop out of the ozone.

Pre-trial release bill "maybe" dead for 2011 session
By Brent Henzi
Florida Tribune
A bill that would limit those who can enter pre-trial release programs was again postponed on Monday, as the bill's sponsor suggested the measure might be dead for the 2011 session.