Daily News Clips for January 31, 2013

FEATURED STORIES

Gov. Rick Scott wants $1.2 billion more for schools, bonuses for state workers
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday will send the Florida Legislature a $74 billion budget that he says would boost spending in schools by $1.25 billion, but some of that money will not reach students.

E-mails link Bush foundation, corporations and education officials
By Valerie Strauss
Washington Post
A nonprofit group released thousands of e-mails today and said they show how a foundation begun by Jeb Bush, the former Florida governor and national education reform leader, is working with public officials in states to write education laws that could benefit some of its corporate funders.

House proposes closing slush funds, raising contribution limits
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Florida House leaders unveiled what they hope will be behavior-changing campaign finance reform Wednesday, phasing out candidate-controlled political committees and ushering in stricter reporting deadlines, more contribution accountability and campaign contribution caps of $10,000 per election.

Fla. GOP, Democratic leaders divided over Obamacare decisions
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
Despite criticism from top Democrats that the state has been "dragging its feet," House and Senate Republican leaders said Wednesday they would be deliberate in deciding how to handle key parts of the federal Affordable Care Act.

Immigration reform advocates pushing lawmakers for action
By Laura C. Morel
Tampa Bay Times
In a major push for immigration reform, several advocacy groups throughout west-central Florida are uniting in an effort to pressure federal lawmakers for change.

FLORIDA POLITICS

Lawmakers prepare to repair elections but differ on extent of problem, on party lines
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Florida’s 2012 presidential election was either a statewide success or an unmitigated disaster, depending on the party of the person doing the analysis.

Fla. House, Senate leaders outline 5-point agenda
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
Strengthening ethics and campaign-finance laws and improving Florida's universities are among the goals that Florida House and Senate leaders said Wednesday they've agreed to jointly pursue in the coming legislative session.

Ashton: FDLE to probe 'textgate'
By David Damron
Orlando Sentinel
Related editorial: Text probe welcome, but get serious about sunshine
Orange-Osceola State Attorney Jeff Ashton said Tuesday he has asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate possible criminal violations in the textgate scandal that has engulfed Orange County officials.

Fla. Open-Government Group Blasts Bill That Would Hide Financial Records
By Jessica Palombo    
WFSU Tallahassee
A nonprofit organization that tries to keep Florida government transparent and accountable is releasing its watch list of the “best” and “worst” bills filed so far for this legislative session.

Integrity Florida Makes Waves
By Whitney Ray
Capitol News Service
State legislative leaders are vowing to pass the first comprehensive ethics reform bill in Florida in more than three decades.

Senator seeks to ban texting while driving
By Robert Nolin
South Florida Sun Sentinel
You're hurtling down the interstate at 70 mph, or 103 feet per second. Sending or receiving that irresistible text averages more than four seconds, which means you've traveled farther than the length of a football field — blind.

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

GOP leaders talk about more money for land buying but offer no commitments
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders expressed support for conservation land-buying on Wednesday but stopped short of committing more money towards those programs.

We Must Protect Our Coveted Wild Florida
By Susan Clary
Florida Voices
Bob Graham, Florida’s former governor and U.S. senator, stood before hundreds of people at Silver River State Park in Ocala last summer and reminisced about his childhood memories of peering through a glass-bottomed boat at the crystal-clear springs below.

Weatherford suggest change could be coming for controversial on nuclear cost recovery law
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
House Speaker Will Weatherford told reporters on Wednesday that he is open to revising the the 2006 law that allowed Florida Power & Light and Progress Energy of Florida to collect money for nuclear power plants before building them.

LGBT

Scouts move slowly toward tolerance
Editorial
Tampa Bay Times
In the face of serious progress from the Oval Office to the Pentagon, the half-measure proposed this week by the Boy Scouts of America to allow local chapters to determine if they allow openly gay Scouts and scoutmasters is imperfect.

EDUCATION

Concerns mounting over Florida teacher evaluations
By Brandon Larrabee
News Service of Florida
Questions are continuing to mount about the future of Florida's new teacher evaluation system, with Senate President Don Gaetz becoming the latest state official to wonder if the system needs to be overhauled.

School districts take issue with Florida's testing item bank
By Jeff Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
Several Florida school districts, led by Volusia County, are raising concerns about the Department of Education's plans to provide shared test items this spring for assessments tied to teacher evaluations.

If lawmakers really care about education, prove it
By John Romano
Tampa Bay Times
They love to talk about education in Tallahassee.

JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY

Major pension change coming, legislative leaders promise
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Current
Legislative presiding officers told journalists Wednesday a fundamental shift in the Florida Retirement System -- making new public employees join 401(k)-style investment plans rather than the traditional "defined benefit" pension system -- is the only way to avoid obligating future lawmakers to impose massive tax increases on state residents.

Scott repeats vow to end manufacturing sales tax
By Bill Cotterell,
Florida Current
In addition to increased education spending, Gov. Rick Scott told newspaper editors and broadcasters Wednesday that his 2013-14 budget will eliminate the sales tax on manufacturing equipment.

Sen. Smith: Senate Dems to take hard line on property insurance overhaul
By Gray Rohrer
Florida Current
While not declaring a solid caucus opposition, Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith said Wednesday that Democrats in the upper chamber will take a strong stand against plans to raise the cap on Citizens Property Insurance Corp. rates.

State scrambles to get NASA's OK for land to build launchpad
By Mark K. Matthews
Orlando Sentinel
NASA is balking at plans by Space Florida to build a new commercial launchpad near Kennedy Space Center, and now state officials — in both Tallahassee and Washington -- are racing to persuade the space agency to change its mind.

Enterprise Florida to unveil first-ever Florida business brand
By Peter Schorsch
Saint PetersBlog
Enterprise Florida, the state’s lead economic development entity will unveil Florida’s first-ever business brand following its board of directors meeting today.

HEALTH AND SENIORS

Weatherford and Gaetz say legislature will take lead on Medicaid expansion decision
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald
Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford told a gathering of reporters and editors Wednesday that they aren’t waiting on Gov. Rick Scott to steer them on the controversial issue of whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Real Medicaid Issue Is Too Many Working Poor
By Rick Outzen
Florida Voices
The James Madison Institute, a conservative think-tank based in Tallahassee, recently released a policy brief on Medicaid expansion in Florida under the federal Affordable Care Act.

950 FL Pharmacies Called High-Risk Compounders
By Carol Gentry
Health News Florida
Almost 950 Florida-licensed pharmacies engage in “sterile compounding,” the type of high-risk drug-making that led to a deadly fungal meningitis epidemic last year, according to a Department of Health survey released last week.

Feds targeting Medicare fraud, political corruption in probes of eye doctor, Sen. Bob Menendez
By Marc Caputo and Jay Weaver
Miami Herald
The high-profile federal raid on a South Florida ophthalmologist’s office was more about potential Medicare fraud than about U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, a longtime friend of Dr. Salomon Melgen.

CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES

Florida's Voting Ban Questioned for Human Rights Violations
By Stephanie Carroll Carson
Public News Service Florida
Florida is one of three states in the country that takes away the right to vote of a person convicted of a felony.

An Emotional Call to Action on Gun Violence
The Progress Report
Think Progress
Former Rep. Gabby Giffords was shot in the head two years ago this month in a shooting that also left six of her constituents dead, including a nine year-old girl.

JUSTICE AND THE COURTS

Voters Overrule Assault on Florida Courts
By Paula Dockery
Florida Voices
The last few years have been tough on Florida’s court system.

Zimmerman wants to delay trial for Martin shooting
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Attorneys for the former neighborhood watch volunteer charged with shooting Trayvon Martin to death on Wednesday asked for more time to prepare his case, saying prosecutors had been slow to turn over evidence.