Florida Weekly Government Roundup: Scott Signs Bills, Opponents Hire Lawyers
June 5, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott spent the week signing major pieces of legislation into law, a not-so surprising list dealing with growth management, gun rights and health care that had been priorities for the governor and the Republican-led Legislature.
But while Scott’s Sharpie was flying, groups affected by many of those bills began the march to the courthouse doors, an equally expected development that will likely be repeated in the weeks ahead on such issues as elections, abortion, and what physicians and their patients can talk about during visit.
Meanwhile, the 2012 elections came into closer focus this week as one GOP contender got booted off a conservative talk radio show while his two opponents piled on as part of their own attempts to curry favor with the conservative wing of the Republican Party, the support of which is critical to their aspirations to unseat Democrat U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson 18 months from now.
BILL SIGNINGS
Following his previous week’s budget signing, Scott spent the week signing other Republican priorities into law.
Scott penned his name to a pair of bills that backers hope will change the way Florida’s $20 billion Medicaid program is run. Tucked within a couple dozen bills, Scott signed the measures (HB 7107 and HB 7109) that attempt to funnel most of the state’s 2.7 million Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
The state must now convince the federal government, which picks up most of the Medicaid tab, to let it make the change from the traditional fee-for-service model that has defined the health safety net since its inception.
Scott also affixed his signature to a sweeping change in growth management law, reversing a quarter century of policy in shifting responsibility for growth decisions back to the locals. When that was the case a couple decades ago, lawmakers found little ability to regulate growth with a regional viewpoint. With the new law, the pendulum goes back the other way, with Republicans having said that state management of growth simply slowed growth and prevented job creation.
In a nod to gun owners, Scott also approved a pair of bills pushed by the National Rifle Association, which flexed its political muscle throughout the 60-day session.
One measure (HB 45) prevents local governments from enacting stricter gun ordinances than state law provides. The bill passed with minimal opposition. The other (HB 155) bill prevents doctors in certain situations from asking patients if they own guns or have them in their homes.
The original bill imposed stiff penalties and provided few exceptions for health practitioners who might want to include gun safety questions in a battery of queries like whether a pool is fenced in or are there pesticides within a child’s reach.
With comfort language inserted to allow most health practitioners to get around the “Don’t Ask” provision, the Florida Medical Association dropped its opposition to the bill, a decision that provided political cover for many lawmakers caught between two powerful constituencies.
Mixing health care and law enforcement, Scott did a little whistle stop tour Friday as he signed, –and signed again and signed again — a measure (HB 7095) to clamp down on pain management clinics that distribute legally obtainable prescription drugs to “patients” for handsome profits under the nose of law enforcers who can do little to stop the often deadly transactions.
The so called “pill-mill” bill makes a number of changes to state law to stem the tide of pain clinics, which legally distribute controlled substances that critics say are raising more havoc than those illegal drugs purchased from old-school drug dealers who work on a street corner. The law requires tracking of the wholesale distribution of certain controlled substances, bans doctors from dispensing controlled drugs like oxycodone and provides money to prosecute.
“This legislation will save lives in our state, and it marks the beginning of the end of Florida’s infamous role as the nation’s pill mill capital,” Scott said while making stops in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.”
Apparently, Scott had drugs on his mind. Earlier in the week, he signed legislation (HB 353) requiring recipients of temporary cash assistance to pass a drug test before being allowed to collect benefits from the federal program that replaced traditional welfare in the 1990s.
The bill requires applicants to pay for the drug tests, the cost of which will be reimbursed if they pass.
Recipients who fail must foot the bill for the test and forgo economic assistance for at least a year. Florida becomes the first state in the nation to require such tests of all recipients.
LAWSUITS BEGIN FLOWING IN:
While Scott was busy signing bills into law, others were equally occupied with attempts to undo things that have already been done.
On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union said it was asking a court to delay enforcement of a bill signed into law in May that makes it harder for voters to cast ballots in the much anticipated 2012 presidential election as an effort to reduce fraud. Opponents called the bill
a “trifecta of voter suppression.”
The bill (1355) reduces the number of earlier voting days and makes it more difficult to cast provisional ballots, changes Democrats say are thinly veiled attempts to discourage the types of efforts that helped President Barack Obama win in 2008. The bill also places tougher restrictions on voter registration groups, a move that promoted the League of Women Voters to say it would cancel registration efforts in the state.
“This new massive law has nothing to do with improving elections and everything to do with who will get to vote in 2012 and we’re ready to have that conversation with the Department of Justice,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.
Earlier in the week the ACLU also filed suit over an executive order signed earlier this year by Scott that requires public employees to be drug tested.
Meanwhile, Travelocity.com, Orbitz, and Priceline.com filed lawsuits this week challenging hotel bed taxes sought by Broward County. The lawsuits, filed Tuesday in Tallahassee, argue that Broward County acted unconstitutionally earlier this year when it told the companies and subsidiaries that they owed a total of $484,000 in tourist-development taxes, interest and penalties.
2012 ELECTIONS IN THE CROSS HAIRS.
With the 2012 elections coming into planner view, Republican candidates continued their courting of the conservative wing of the party, a segment of the GOP electorate that plays an especially important role in the primary. In some cases the date didn’t go so well.
Taking a page out of Rick Scott’s playbook, Senate President and U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Haridopolos went on conservative talk radio to score some points with voters but instead sidestepped his way into a corner during an interview.
Haridopolos was unwilling to give a yes-no answer on whether he supports a federal budget proposal by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R- Wis., that includes a dramatic restructuring of Medicare, a national issue that has many Republicans running for political cover. Haridopolos got booted off the show by talk show host Ray Junior whose repeated queries were re-directed by Haridopolos to the successes of the 2011 state legislative session. Finally Junior had enough.
“OK, get him off my phone, get rid of him,” Junior said before hanging up.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Several major pieces of the Legislature’s work were signed into law – including a couple of the most potentially far reaching bills passed in recent years. One returns management of growth decisions to local government, another overhauls the Medicaid system, essentially shifting nearly all Medicaid patients into private managed care plans. Gov. Scott also signed a bill cracking down on pain clinics that enable addicts, and a new requirement for drug testing for public assistance recipients.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “How could you possibly not have all that information? You’re running for Senate.” Conservative radio talk show host Ray Junior before hanging up on Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Mike Haridopolos who said he needed more information before deciding whether he would have supported a controversial and highly publicized GOP backed budget measure.
By Micheal Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Strong Storm Hits; Causes Minor Damage, Traps Fire Crew (With Photo Gallery)
June 4, 2011
A surprise heavy thunderstorm in North Escambia Friday afternoon caused scattered damage in several communities, prompted reports of a tornado and even led to a crew being trapped in a fire truck.
The first reports of damage came from Barth Lane where several residents reported a possible tornado touchdown just after 5 p.m. Other residents reported seeing a possible funnel cloud above the treetops. There was minor damage reported with small tree limbs downed, a shed damaged and outside items tossed about. First responders reported hail in the area of Champion Drive in McDavid shortly after the reported tornado sightings.
For a photo gallery of damage around the area, click here.
There was no tornado indicated on radar in the area, according to the National Weather Service.
Trees and power lines were reported down in several locations in Barth, Molino, Barrineau Park and near Enon. There was an area of concentrated minor damage in the area of Barrineau Park Road, Barrineau Park School Road, Highway 99 and Settle Road where trees and power lines were downed. One home on South Highway 99 near Black Berry Lane received minor damage with vinyl siding ripped from the side of the two story home and a trampoline tossed over a chain link fence. A tree was also downed in the roadway on Molino Road near Highway 95A.
Those downed power lines caused problems for three volunteers with the Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue. While responding to damage reports, their fire truck collided with falling power lines on Barrineau Park Road just west of Barrineau Park School Road. After hitting the Gulf Power lines, the truck became entangled in additional downed lines.
The fire department volunteers spent about 20 minutes trapped in their fire truck as they waited for Gulf Power to arrive and cut power to the electrical system in the area. As they waited, power lines could been seen near the truck arcing and causing tree limbs to smolder.
The firemen were uninjured in the incident. The fire engine received minor damage in the incident.
Gulf Power Company said about 1,500 customers in the Molino area lost power as a result of the storm. An unknown number of Bright House Networks customers lost power and internet service as well.
A few Escambia River Electric Cooperative customers also lost power. On South Highway 99 just south of Highway 97-A, downed power lines sparked a brush fire over several acres. The Molino and Walnut Hill stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Florida Division of Forestry were able to contain the blaze with no damage to nearby structures.
For a photo gallery of damage around the area, click here.
Pictured top: Three Molino firefighters were trapped in their truck after hitting power lines on Barrineau Park Road Friday afternoon. Pictured top inset: A large tree limb was downed on Barrineau Park School Road. Pictured bottom inset: This trampoline was tossed over a fence at this home on South Highway 99 near Black Berry Lane. Siding was also ripped from the home. Pictured below: Downed power lines sparked a brush fire on South Highway 99 just south of Highway 97-A. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fed Up School Bus Driver Takes Students To Sheriff’s Office
June 4, 2011
One school bus driver reached his last straw on the last day of school with disruptive students on a bus drove them directly to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Escambia County School bus driver drove the bus to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Century Precinct Friday afternoon after reporting a disruption on the bus.
The driver told dispatchers that they were unable to control the children from Northview High and Ernest Ward Middle that were on the bus. The driver waited for deputies to arrive and restore order before continuing the route.
Further details were not available.
Kids Force Train Into Emergency Stop
June 4, 2011
A CSX freight train was forced into an emergency stop in Century Friday evening by a group of kids.
A CSX Transportation engineer reported that as his train approached, the kids did not clear the railroad tracks near McMurray Park on East Pond Street. He was forced to make an emergency stop just before 7 p.m. as the train neared the group of children.
The train engineer told Escambia County deputies that the kids pelted the train with rocks once it came to a stop.
There were no injuries reported.
Photo Gallery: Century Little League Celebrates Winning Season
June 4, 2011
Century Little League wrapped up a successful season Friday afternoon, celebrating several championships and four undefeated teams.
Century swept the Tri-County League, winning first place in softball, tee ball, minor league baseball and major league baseball. The teams were undefeated on their way to the championships, with the exception of lone loss for the girls’ softball team.
For a photo gallery from the celebration, click here.
The teams celebrated Friday with free pizza, a water slide and closing ceremonies with recognition and trophies for each player.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Names 2011 Honors Graduates
June 4, 2011
The top students in Northview High School’s Class of 2011 have been named.
Sarah Malinda Killam (pictured left) was named valedictorian, and Emily Faith Vickrey (right) was named salutatorian. The complete list of honors graduates, along with the criteria for each rank, is as follows:
Summa Cum Laude
4.00 or higher weighted GPA
Three weighted course credits with a “C” or higher
No grade forgiveness for a grade of “D”
An “F” in any course makes the student ineligible
Completed at least three semesters (six quarters) at the local school by the end of the first semester (second quarter) of the senior year
- Sarah Malinda Killam (Valedictorian)
- Emily Faith Vickrey (Salutatorian)
- Jocelyn Marlese Gould
- Laneicia Dynette Gomez
- James Tyler Garrett
- Ashley Elizabeth Digmon
- Hayley Renee Simpson
- Christina Nicole Sepulveda
- Colton Darryl Sims
- Allyson Michelle Bullard
- Mallory Ann Bell
- Dustin Neal Lewis
- Joshua Clayton Scott
- Hilary Kate Byrd
- Dixie Lynn Picheo
- Allison Ayers Vidak
- Jessynia Christina McCall
- Caitlyn Brianne Brown
Magna Cum Laude
3.85 or higher weighted GPA
Does not meet summa criteria
- Jansen Mathew Bodiford
- Dustin Brooks Yuhasz
- Brianna Renae Roley
- Jamichael Dashawn Carson
- Derek Eugene Lewis
- Katie Marie Wieborg
- David Aaron Lambert, Jr.
- Allie Rebecca Bryan
- Dabney Harrison Langhorne
Cum Laude
3.5 or higher weighted GPA
Does not meet magna or summa criteria
- Trestine Ivie Dean
- Derrick Edward Portis, Jr.
- Megan Juliette Ryan
- Sara Lynn Conner
- Victoria Lynn Childers
- Austin Kyle Arrington
- Stephanie Leann Solari
- Haley May Coleman
Escambia Man Faces Life In Prison For Robbery Outside Mall
June 4, 2011
An Escambia County man is facing a mandatory sentence of life in prison for a robbing a man at Cordova Mall just four days after being released from prison.
State Attorney Bill Eddins said Anthony Rhaney II was convicted of carjacking with a firearm, robbery with a firearm and fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer by an Escambia County jury.
Rhaney was convicted for robbing a man outside of Cordova Mall on September 16, 2010. Rhaney and a second suspect approached Brian Crawford as he exited the mall and was attempting to get into his vehicle. The second suspect held Crawford at gunpoint while Rhaney robbed Crawford of his merchandise, watch, and cell phone. When Crawford did not have any cash to give the men, they decided to take his car.
The next day Pensacola Police Officer Bruce Harris saw the car driving south on 9th Avenue by the mall. He and another officer got behind the vehicle and attempted to pull it over. Rhaney, who was driving the stolen car, led officers on a ten minute pursuit through Pensacola. Eventually officers ended the pursuit by an excecuting a “PIT” maneuver on the car and were able to take Rhaney into custody. Rhaney was then identified as one of the robbers by Crawford.
Anthony Rhaney will be sentenced on July 13 before Judge Nickolas P. Geeker. He faces a mandatory life sentence based on his prior record.
Rhaney committed this crime just four days after being released from prison.
Scott Signs Bill To Crack Down On Pill Mills
June 4, 2011
Gov. Rick Scott signed a high-profile bill Friday to try to root out Florida’s illicit — and deadly — trade in prescription painkillers.
“I am proud to sign this bill which cracks down on the criminal abuse of prescription drugs,” Scott said in a prepared statement as he visited Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando for bill-signing ceremonies. “This legislation will save lives in our state, and it marks the beginning of the end of Florida’s infamous role as the nation’s pill mill capital.”
After weeks of sometimes-contentious debate, lawmakers passed the 98-page bill May 6, the final day of the spring legislative session. In part, it would ban most doctors from dispensing two categories of controlled substances in their offices or clinics.
Also, it takes steps such as increasing penalties against doctors involved in wrongdoing and requiring a new permitting process for pharmacies that dispense controlled substances. That permitting process is designed to prevent fly-by-night pharmacies from acting as suppliers.
The bill also keeps in place a plan to use a prescription-drug database to help track dispensing of controlled substances. That issue touched off a brouhaha early in the legislative session, as Scott and some House leaders called for scrapping the database because of privacy concerns.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who helped broker passage of the bill, issued a statement Friday that alluded to Florida’s national reputation as a magnet for prescription-drug abusers and traffickers. Pain clinics have popped up throughout the state in recent years, drawing drug purchasers from as far away as Kentucky and Ohio.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t hear a story of someone who has lost a family member or friend to prescription drug abuse,” Bondi said. “This legislation will make significant strides in ridding Florida of unscrupulous doctors and pill mills, making our state a safer place to live and raise our families.”
Lawmakers also passed wide-ranging bills in 2009 and 2010 to try to shut down shady clinics and reduce abuse of painkillers such as oxycontin. But problems have persisted in many parts of the state — as evidenced by two lawmakers standing up on the House floor this spring to discuss family members who have prescription-drug problems.
While state leaders praised the new bill Friday, Paul Sloan, president of the Florida Society of Pain Management Providers, expressed skepticism.
Sloan said the “most troubling fact” is that the best way to deal with the drug problems is by addressing addiction issues that drive demand. Instead, he said in an e-mail that such laws are an attempt to “arrest our way out of the predicament.”
By Jim Saunders
The News Service of Florida
Bluegrass Sounds: Barrineau Park Music Night
June 4, 2011
The Aubie Fillingim Auditorium at the Barrineau Park Community Center was filled with the bluegrass sounds of The Chestang Family and The Rowell Bluegrass Band Friday night. It was the June installment of the monthly Barrineau Park Music Night, a free event held the first Friday night of each month.
The family-friendly event will not be held in July, but will return at 6:30 p.m. on August 5.
Pictured above: The Chestang Family performs Friday night at the Barrineau Park Music Night. Pictured below: A crowd enjoys the traditional bluegrass music. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Department Of Corrections Cuts 190 Jobs
June 4, 2011
The Department of Corrections notified 190 temporary trainee employees that they won’t be hired permanently as part of the agency’s effort to reduce costs.
The move will produce $8.8 million in savings, department spokeswoman Gretl Plessinger said. The agency notified the trainees that because of legislatively mandated consolidation of some DOC facilities and extensive privatization also required by the new budget that will go into effect July 1.
The trainees’ employment was terminated Friday, the department said.