The Fine Print

Could any of these bills get vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott?

Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday will sign several bills that consist of the "jobs agenda" that he outlined last fall.

And that's when it will start to get interesting.

There have been few surprises so far since the 2012 session ended. Scott signed the "inspirational messages" bill and this latest batch of legislation includes an overhaul of the unemployment compensation system and tax breaks, including another small cut of the state's corporate income tax.

But in the next few weeks Scott will sort out the remaining bills from this year and figure out whether or not he plans to go along with many of the ideas that his GOP colleagues in the Legislature acted on.

Not counting his budget vetoes, Scott last year vetoed 10 bills sent to him by state lawmakers, which is actually on par, or even a little bit below other governors in recent years.

Gov. Charlie Crist - who was at war with lawmakers during his independent bid for U.S. Senate in 2010 - vetoed 17 bills his final year in office (several of which were later overridden) and 18 bills in 2007. Back in 2005 then Gov. Jeb Bush a.k.a. "Veto Corleone" nixed some 36 bills sent to him by the Legislature.

It was Bush who told Scott in an email before he became governor that it was okay to veto "stupid bills."

Here then are some bills to watch Scott on in the next few days and weeks:

HB 5301: Back when Scott was campaigning against Bill McCollum in the GOP primary in 2010 he actually came out against what he called mandates being imposed on local governments. Scott told a group of business leaders in Panama City that he did not support strict limits on spending and taxes for local governments, saying at the time "I believe that what Tallahassee should be doing is dealing with Tallahassee issues." 

But sitting on his desk is a budget conforming bill that contains a contentious provision that withholds money from counties in an effort to collect $325 million in contested past-due Medicaid billings. County governments have argued this is yet another mandate, an argument that should have some resonance with Scott.

This legislation, however, includes several other changes, including a limit on how many times Medicaid will pay for hospital emergency room visits for non-pregnant adults and a provision that would allow the children of state employees to be enrolled in the state's subsidized KidCare program. Scott must act on this bill this week but there are signs that he will let it become law because it is tied to the state budget. (UPDATE: Scott signed the bill, although in a letter the governor tried to assuage counties that the state would "work diligently" to make sure that all the billings are valid and accurate. Counties, meanwhile, sharply criticized the decision as a "body blow" to taxpayers.)

HB 7129: This is the tuition bill for the University of Florida and Florida State University. If it becomes law the legislation would allow these two research universities to raise tuition annually above the existing 15 percent cap that now exists in state law. The logic behind the bill - which was a top priority for House Speaker Dean Cannon - is to give UF and FSU the financial resources to make themselves more nationally competitive. But the bill also clashes with Scott's oft-repeated line that tuition should not go up this year and that universities ought to give him more examples of spending existing money wisely before hiking tuition. (UPDATE: Scott vetoed this legislation saying it would increase the debt burden of students.

SB 1994: The Florida Polytechnic University bill. This is the legislation pushed by Sen. J.D. Alexander that would officially divorce the Lakeland branch campus of the University of South Florida and turn into the state's 12th public university. Scott so far has refused to take a stance on the creation of a new school, but has expressed skepticism about it. The problem for Scott, however, is if vetoes the bill then he wipes out $16 million in funding, including $6 million for the USF College of Pharmacy and $10 million to allow current USF Polytechnic students to complete their degrees at USF. (UPDATE: In a bit of surprise, Scott signed this legislation into law.)

HB 7117: This is an energy bill that was championed by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. But the legislation - which includes $16 million in renewable energy tax credits - has come under fire by several different groups, including conservative organizations as well as the Florida Renewable Energy Producers Association. Scott during his first two years in office has continued to be skeptical about energy issues, although his main objection has centered around proposals that would raise utility bills in order to pay for renewable energy. (UPDATE: Scott signed this law although he expressed concerned about some of the provisions.)

HB 5011: State Information Technology. For most people outside of Tallahassee, this bill means little. But it's a big deal for the lobbyists and others who make a living off the millions spent by the state on technology. This bill blows up an existing state agency - the Agency for Enterprise Information Technology - and creates a new agency called the Agency for State Technology which reports to the governor and Cabinet. For those who aren't keeping count this would be the third reconfiguration of how the state handles technology issues in the last decade. The legislation also halts and repeals an already begun process to consolidate the state's email service. Rep. Denise Grimsley, the House budget chief, defended the move to get rid of the email consolidation, contending it would wind up costing the state more than anticipated. But it's worth pointing out that Scott himself early on wondered aloud why state government had multiple email accounts as opposed to the way that most businesses handle it. (UPDATE: Scott vetoed the bill.)

HB 945: Broadband Internet Service. This is another bill that not a lot of people kept an eye on. It transfers a federal stimulus-backed program from one state agency to another. But the legislation was pushed into law at the urging of lobbyists who work for a vendor that held a state contract that was not renewed. The Associated Press already reported that the legislative proposal was so closely aligned with the lobbying firm of former Republican Party of Florida chairman Al Cardenas that the Senate bill sponsor referred questions about the bill to a lobbyist working for Cardenas. That same AP story pointed out that the state agency now in control of the program has warned internally that the transfer will require federal approval and could put millions in federal grants in jeopardy. (UPDATE: This bill was signed by the governor.)

HB 937: Legal notices. Just consider this one a bit of a hunch. Scott of course famously shunned newspaper editorial boards during his 2010 campaign for governor. But since that time he has actually taken a keen interest in the news industry, including recent business moves in Florida such as the decision by Halifax Media to acquire papers owned by the New York Times Company. This legislation is aimed at ending a few years of battle over the future of legal notices. The bill requires the online listing of legal notices for no extra charge, but also keeps them in printed newspapers. In previous years legislators had tried to end the use of printed legal notices completely. The final product is supported by the Florida Press Association so it will be interesting to see how the governor responds.

One small part of Rick Scott's legacy as governor

It didn't get a lot of ink last Friday.

But along with a school voucher bill and a school prayer bill Gov. Rick Scott also signed into law a piece of legislation that will likely become a small part of his legacy as governor.

Scott quietly signed HB 1305, the bill that arose out of last summer's disclosure that Scott's transition team had somehow lost emails that covered the period between Scott's election and the time he was sworn into office.

The bill now mandates that that the governor - as well as the three Cabinet members - must preserve and make public any documents or emails they create or send after Election Day but before they are sworn into office. Scott was a strong supporter of the legislation.

Scott's own transition period back in late 2010 was a time of tremendous activity because the governor's top advisers started their recruitment of top agency positions and began assembling the initial parts of the governor's agenda.

The emails and documents that have been been made available show everything from the fact that themes in the governor's inaugural speech was poll-tested to the fact that some people sought out by the Scott administration turned down job offers. Those same documents show that inklings of ideas never enacted - including a proposal to put together a website that would list how business friendly some local communities were.

But last August it was first reported by The St. Petersburg Times that some emails were apparently missing. Scott's transition team members had tried to find the emails in the wake of public records requests, but they were unable to guarantee that all of them were available.

The Associated Press reported that one batch of emails that did surface late last summer showed that "former Gov. Jeb Bush offered that state's incoming governor a long list of "lessons learned through trial and error" that touched on everything from how to deal with those guarding his safety to telling him it was OK to veto stupid bills." Bush had also urged Scott to push for universal private school vouchers, to eliminate state money for some university programs and save money by releasing elderly prisoners.

Another set of Bush emails that was discovered months after the transition revealed that the former governor disagreed with a decision by the incoming Scott administration to fire the mother of an Army soldier who had just been killed in Afghanistan as well as others who worked in the governor’s office.

Amid the flap over the lost emails, Scott ordered an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into why the emails were lost and whether any were retrievable. Nearly eight months later that investigation has still not been wrapped up.

While the investigation has not been concluded, some information about what happened has emerged, including that emails from both an iPad and smartphone used by the governor were lost.

Transition records are generally understood to be public records, but a review of transition records by The Associated Press "showed a wide disparity in how the records – including emails – by both the governor’s office and the offices of top Cabinet officials are collected and stored. Some records are turned over to state archives, but others for example, have wound up in the basement of Capitol offices."

That review also showed that while the Scott transition team used a private company to handle its email former Gov. Charlie Crist’s transition team used state computers to handle its email accounts. But it also appeared some members of the Crist team were never asked to turn over any emails from their personal email accounts.

The new measure that Scott signed into law states that in the future statewide elected officials must keep their emails - and turn them over when they are sworn into office.

Make or break day for Gov. Scott?

Largely out of his own making, this could be a make or break day for Gov. Rick Scott.

Scott, after building up anticipation for weeks now, will finally unveil his ideas later today on how to balance the state's budget and rebuild the state's economy. And in an interesting and politically confrontational way the "outsider" governor has chosen to release his budget at a Tea Party event in Central Florida.

This is quite a turnabout from the days of Gov. Charlie Crist. That's because while Crist's budget recommendations generated about a day's worth of news it was quickly eclipsed by the actions of the Florida Legislature. In fact, some lawmakers resented what they considered Crist's optimistic outlook and proposals versus the bleak fiscal reality that has settled over the state since the recession pushed the state's economy into a tailspin.

This is why Crist's budget proposals, especially those in the later half of his time as governor, were somewhat ignored.

Now we have the bitter medicine likely to be recommended by Scott. Mammoth spending cuts of $5 billion as well as significant tax cuts that he says will respark the state's economy.

But unlike Crist the new governor has banked most of his entire legislative agenda for 2011 on the proposals that he says will be explained in his budget, whether it's his property tax cuts or his bid to reform the state pension plan. Scott last month even vowed that lawmakers would pass his budget.

On the one hand some lawmakers are amazed that Scott is willing to be the "bad guy" so to speak. In other words, he's come out with with the really tough proposals that could likely make the Legislature appear somewhat benevolent in return.

Scott, however, is trying for an interesting political gambit. Since he operated outside the traditional GOP infrastructure, he's turning to the Tea Party groups to help act as his constituency for his recommendations. In recent weeks, he has warned about the "special interest groups" that will complain loudly about his proposals.

This is in itself a tacit acknowledgement that the "interest group" that Scott has to battle could be the Republican-controlled Legislature. The unspoken truth here is that Scott doesn't owe his victory to them, nor do legislative leaders owe any true support to him.

There are other things, however, that could undercut Scott's budget proposal. First, it slipped out on Friday that Scott intends to propose a "two-year" budget. The argument highlighted in an Associated Press story was that Scott wanted to take a longer view on the state's fiscal conditions.

But the problem is the Legislature is required to pass a budget every year.

Additionally, if Scott is pushing money, expenses, cuts off into a second year in order to create an overall balanced budget than his proposals are going to get short-circuited very quickly. Lawmakers have spent the last four years complaining about "gimmicks" that came from Crist. If Scott does something similiar, he could risk losing his credibility with the Legislature.

Other things to watch for today: How Scott treats so-called "trust" funds and the use of non-recurring money.

Donna Arduin, the former budget chief for Gov. Jeb Bush and one of Scott's advisors, helped draw up the new budget. Arudin, while working with Bush, basically disagreed with some of the central tenets that lawmakers relied on when building a budget. Arduin would make the argument that taxpayer money is taxpayer money and it doesn't matter if it came from the state's sales tax or came from a highly specialized fee that an industry paid.

This goes against a deeply ingrained mindset - as evidenced recently by Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam comments on the Department of Citrus - that some taxes aren't "state tax dollars." Arduin's rejoinder was that money is money and if came out of someone's pocket and was sent to state government than the state has the discretion to spend wherever it's needed. But groups such as homebuilders, Realtors and road builders, view it in a much different light. They will argue that some of these trust funds help these industries create jobs.

Another thing that Arduin disagreed with lawmakers on: The use of non-recurring money versus recurring money. This is a bit of an arcane idea, but legislators compare it to using your savings account to pay the mortgage. Your mortgage is due every month so you should pay with a steady stream of income instead of utilizing a one-time source of cash. Arduin felt otherwise during her stint with Bush and the governor would recommend budgets that would rely on non-recurring, so-called one-time sources of cash, to pay for operating expenses. It was largely due to Arduin's influence that the Legislature placed a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2006 that requires a three-fifths vote to approve a budget that uses more than 3 percent of non-recurring revenue for recurring purposes.

Of course, it's the budget cuts that will likely create a great amount of uproar and political consternation.

But if you put it all together this budget proposal could bring a quick end to Scott's honeymoon with the Legislature.

If lawmakers reject Scott's tax cuts, Scott's immigration proposal, and Scott's spending cuts, then it will be a long four years. Legislators do seem inclined to do some sort of pension reform - so that will be counted as a win regardless of the final design. Additionally, Scott appears to win approval of his bid bid to centralize economic development efforts.

Still if Scott gets about half of what he wants in his first year then how much will be get in his fourth year?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rick Scott's long list of challenges

A beaming Governor-elect Rick Scott and his wife, Ann, showed up at the governor’s mansion on Monday night where they joined Gov. Charlie Crist and First Lady Carole Crist for a symbolic menorah lighting ceremony.

Scott helped 11-year-old Mendy Oirechman light the candles of a large menorah that was placed up against one of the front windows and he later held hands with Crist as they briefly danced with some of the rabbis in attendance.

The ceremony, which was started under former Gov. Jeb Bush, was a tangible sign of some of the many social responsibilities that come with being governor. But it also could be seen as a prelude of many of the large and small challenges that will confront Scott once he is sworn into office in early January.

During the half-hour ceremony, he was reminded of Florida’s insurance problems when he was asked whether he planned to follow Crist’s footsteps. Crist went to Jerusalem and placed a prayer in the Wailing Wall where he asked God to spare Florida from hurricanes.  Rabbi Schneur Z. Oirechman politely asked whether or not the mezuzah that now sits on the door jamb into Crist’s office would remain once Scott becomes governor. Crist back in 2007 took some heat from groups such as the ACLU for placing the religious symbol in his office.

But there are many other large challenges that are looming for the rookie governor whether it's the state budget mess, the dismal economy, Medicaid and even the brewing leadership battle for the Republican Party of Florida.

The complete rundown on Scott's challenges can be found here at the Florida Tribune.

Is the federal government going to dismantle a Jeb Bush legacy?

From the Florida Tribune:

Florida's bold plan to revamp its health care system for the poor -- and which was initially championed by former Gov. Jeb Bush -- could be in trouble.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services informed state Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Tom Arnold in a letter this week  that it would not extend the waiver that allowed the reform project to operate.

CMS said that the state cannot "extend" its waiver -- called a Medicaid 1115 waiver -- for three years because waiver extensions apply only to statewide programs. The Medicaid reform project is currently limited to five counties.

The decision could force the state to unravel its existing program or require state officials and Florida hospitals to follow new rules and conditions. One key program that could be upended is the annual $1 billion Low Income Pool, which helps pay for the cost of treating uninsured individuals.

Keep reading here.

House could scuttle a Jeb Bush legacy

A key component of Gov. Jeb Bush’s One Florida Initiative could be eliminated under a proposal that has been suggested by a House budget panel. But the move is already drawing fire from some legislators and the NAACP.

Rep. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla and chairman of the House budget committee that wants to eliminate the Office of Supplier Diversity and hand over some of its work to another part of state government, says that the current office isn't doing it's job.

 He cites a decline in minority spending levels in state government over the last few years. The office was set up by Bush at the time he ended the use of racial preferences in state contracts.

Bush, while not commenting directly about the cut, told the Florida Tribune that "supplier diversity takes work."

Read more about this and some other state budget-related news here.