Daily Clips for February 15, 2012

FEATURED STORIES

Prison privatization dies in Senate 21-19
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related editorial: Republican senators stand up to defeat a bad idea
A massive expansion of private prisons in Florida collapsed in the Senate Tuesday as nine Republicans joined a dozen Democrats in handing a setback to Senate leaders and a victory to state workers.

Battle cry to save USF pours out in wake of proposed budget cuts
By Kim Wilmath
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: What they're saying about the proposed USF budget cuts
Phones of lawmakers rang off the hook Tuesday, and emails poured in, loaded with words like vindictive, egregious and unconscionable.

Tax cut package ready for House vote after partisan tangle
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
A series of tax breaks for Florida businesses will get a vote on the House floor Wednesday after Republicans fended off about a dozen amendments aimed at imposing more requirements for businesses to qualify for the exemptions.

Senate plan includes big cuts to mental health programs
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Programs that serve mentally ill patients or addicts could see their state funding zeroed out this year under a Senate budget proposal.

Florida lawmakers' ethics bill fails amid complaints it was media-driven
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Complaining about the media and ban on gifts from lobbyists, a Senate panel Tuesday shot down a bill that would have prohibited future lawmakers from also holding jobs or contracts with state colleges and universities.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Senate approves right to speak at public meetings
Associated Press
Miami Herald
The Florida Senate has unanimously approved a bill that gives citizens a right to speak at meetings of local government and state executive branch bodies.

Sen. Bill Nelson benefits from Florida's generous 'greenbelt' law
By Alex Leary
Tampa Bay Times
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has been many things over the years.

Judge releases Hastings from harassment lawsuit
By Erika Bolstad
Miami Herald
A federal court on Tuesday dealt a setback to a woman who claims U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings subjected her to sexual harassment and retaliation when he was co-chairman of an independent U.S. agency.

POLITICAL RACES

Rubio raising big bucks to give other candidates
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
In October, supporters of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio invited allies to attend a different type of fundraiser — not to benefit Rubio but to collect cash that the first-term Florida Republican could dole out to his friends and GOP candidates across the country.

Obama launches “Truth Team” in Fl, other states
By William March
Tampa Tribune
President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign is launching a “Truth Team“ with news conferences today in Florida and other states that will recruit grassroots supporters to promote his achievements, respond to attacks and “hold the eventual Republican nominee accountable.”

Most of Romney's top fundraisers remain anonymous
Staff Report
Tampa Tribune
Despite criticism of Fannie Mae by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his campaign accepted nearly $280,000 in donations raised by a registered lobbyist who once represented the government mortgage giant and whose clients now include a private equity firm and the drug company Pfizer.

Martin County sheriff Crowder mounts a GOP challenge to U.S. Rep. West in new district
By George Bennett
Palm Beach Post
From the moment he took office, freshman U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Plantation, has been bracing for an expensive, nationally watched reelection challenge from Democrats eager to unseat an outspoken tea party celebrity.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Florida Conservation Coalition rallies opposition to water districts spending bill
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Sen. JD Alexander said last month no one was happy with some of the changes made last year by the Legislature to the state's five water management districts.

Politics flood water districts
Editorial
Tampa Tribune
The Legislature is trying to transform the state's five water management districts into helpless funding vehicles for lawmakers' pet projects.

Bill to allow the sale of state trail naming rights scaled back before passing committee
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A bill that would sell naming rights for state trails passed on Tuesday after being amended to allow sponsorship of only seven trails.

Nuclear plant errors reported at Turkey Point
By Susan Salisbury
Palm Beach Post
Florida Power & Light Co. has allegedly failed to properly maintain its Turkey Point nuclear plant's on-site emergency response facility, resulting in apparent violations, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.

EDUCATION

Funding measure fails to get on charter school bill
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
An effort to funnel more money for maintenance and construction projects to charter schools was left off legislation that would increase the number of charter schools that can be built.

ACLU, Christian group both oppose school prayer bill
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A bill that would allow K-12 students to pray during all school events is currently being opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Liberty Counsel. Both groups warn that such legislation would cost the state money in litigation.

Florida School for Deaf and Blind legislation advances
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
A bill opposed by many St. Augustine residents but supported by their state representative and powerful legislative leaders advanced Tuesday. Senate changes, though, gave the legislation a rocky road forward.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Corporate income tax cut nears approval
By Toluse Olorunnipa
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau
After a partisan spectacle of procedural gamesmanship, House lawmakers moved closer to passing a massive package of business tax cuts.

Groups line up against Mica's road-building plan
By Dan Tracy
Orlando Sentinel
A federal highway bill that likely would lead to tolls on Interstate 4 and freeways all over Florida is being denounced by environmentalists and mass-transit and bike enthusiasts.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Do surgery on Medicaid
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
Federal regulators' rejection last week of two provisions in Florida's statewide Medicaid reform proposal is evidence that the state needs a better plan for controlling health care costs.

Details on where Choose Life money now goes are tough to come by
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
A bill that overhauled how funds made off of Florida’s “Choose Life” license plates was officially signed into law in August 2011, but exactly where the funds go now and how the measure has improved the Choose Life mission remains unclear.

Anti-shackling bill gets moving in the state House again
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A bill that would set humane rules for the restraint of incarcerated pregnant women in correctional facilities across the state passed in a justice appropriations committee today, after weeks of not moving in the Florida House.

Republicans Want to Put Your Boss Between You and Your Doctor
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Last Friday, President Obama announced a revision to his proposal to guarantee near-universal access to no-cost contraception.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

A year after girl's death, child advocates wonder if changes are working
By Ana M. Valdes and John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
After Nubia Barahona's decomposing body was found inside her father's pickup in West Palm Beach a year ago Tuesday, many began to assess and reassess how the state's child welfare system failed the pretty 10-year-old girl with a caring heart.

Slavery By Another Name in Florida
By Lisa Rab
Broward New Times
Last year, when Gov. Rick Scott and his cabinet enacted an archaic ban on the voting rights of ex-felons, supporters called the ban colorblind.

You can now carry your gun at the State Fair
By William March
Tampa Tribune
Following complaints by a gun rights group, and a law passed by the Florida Legislature last year, you can now carry your gun at the Florida State Fair.

Debate about Islamic group's visits to Hillsborough schools flares up again
By Marlene Sokol
Tampa Bay Times
If members of the Hillsborough County School Board thought they had put controversy over a Muslim speaker behind them, they were wrong.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Private Prison Corporation Offers Cash In Exchange For State Prisons
By Chris Kirkham
Huffington Post
As state governments wrestle with massive budget shortfalls, a Wall Street giant is offering a solution: cash in exchange for state property. Prisons, to be exact.