Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Guessing Games At The Capitol
April 29, 2017
“Deal or No Deal” is not generally a guessing game, but that’s what it meant for much of the week in Tallahassee.
On Monday, the budget process was in shambles. But by Tuesday, there was a deal on “allocations” — a broad outline of state spending needed to move into formal negotiations. Then, by Wednesday, there were questions about whether the House and the Senate had any kind of agreement at all. Even lawmakers seemed to disagree about whether a deal was struck, or when it was done.
By Thursday, though, the two sides had officially come to an agreement, though there were still questions about what precisely the agreement entailed. The upshot, ultimately, was that it suddenly looked like the legislative session might end on time.
But there were signs that the Senate could have trouble delivering on one of the House’s demands. And Gov. Rick Scott was unhappy with the product emerging from the Capitol, which could also be problematic, given that he holds a veto pen.
On Friday, Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, was asked whether he thought it was possible — particularly given Scott’s concerns — that the Legislature might have to return to Tallahassee to do the budget process all over again. ” Absolutely. I do,” Latvala responded.
Deal or no deal? For now, the first. But things can change quickly in Tallahassee.
FROM AN S.O.B. TO A HANDSHAKE
For months now, reporters, lobbyists and more than a few lawmakers have been looking for signs that the Legislature wouldn’t be able to finish a budget on time, and that a special session would be needed.
That seemed to come Monday, when the House readied a vote on its second budget of the year, an act of brinksmanship that threatened to derail the entire process.
The House’s “standard operating budget” — or “S.O.B.,” as it soon became known at the Capitol — would have essentially held much of state spending at current levels, extending many of the same provisions into the coming budget year, which begins July 1. Extra spending meant to account for increased Medicaid costs and public school enrollment would also be funded.
House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, emphasized in a memo to House members that he was still optimistic about finding common ground with the Senate — but wanted to approve the S.O.B. just in case.
“However, by considering this standard operating budget as a contingency, we would prevent an unnecessary government shutdown, protect the state’s future, and still enable us to fund new priorities in the future,” he wrote.
The Senate was unimpressed, comparing the measure to the continuing resolutions passed by Congress when that body can’t agree on spending.
“Why do we want to model Florida after Washington, D.C.?” asked Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
The House Appropriations Committee approved the S.O.B. on Tuesday morning. And then, Tuesday night, came word that the House and Senate had a deal. Or not. Or had a deal but still had some details to work through.
“When we closed business (Tuesday), the major issues had been agreed on, at this point there is some tweaking going on what I call second- and third-tier issues,” Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican set to become Senate president late next year, said Wednesday morning.
The next morning, the deal was formally, officially announced. Many were frustrated by the secrecy surrounding the allocations process, but most of the big items had either leaked out or were confirmed by legislative leaders.
The Senate would get the higher education changes and increased investment in universities that are dear to Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart. Negron would also get a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee, another priority.
In exchange, the House would get its way on public schools. That included around $200 million for teacher bonuses and $200 million to encourage charter schools to open up near academically struggling traditional public schools. The exact language was either still being worked out or still a closely guarded secret.
The Senate would get a pay raise for state workers; the House would likely get changes to the retirement and health-care plans for those same employees. But there was something else that Corcoran wanted that could still threaten the pact.
EXEMPTION OPPOSITION
One part of the understanding between House and Senate leaders appears to be approving a new homestead exemption on local property taxes that Corcoran has pushed for. The question is whether Senate GOP leaders, down two members, can deliver.
The constitutional amendment (HJR 7105) would need 24 votes to go before voters in the 2018 elections. And Republicans won 25 seats in last year’s election, which would normally mean the fate of an amendment crucial to the budget process would be all but decided.
However. Sen. Dorothy Hukill, R-Port Orange, has missed the session as she recovers from cancer treatment. And former Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, was forced to resign last week after a racially charged rant in front of colleagues at a Tallahassee nightspot.
That gives Democrats a veto on something like the homestead exemption proposal — if they can hold together.
“We’re pretty united on that issue,” Clemens said Thursday. “It’s an issue that hurts the poor. It hurts renters and it hurts small businesses.”
At the same time, two Democrats voted for the amendment in a committee meeting Friday, before the legislation moved to the Senate floor. Corcoran might still get his way in the end.
Someone else had reason to be unhappy with the deal as it was: Scott. The agreement would give him $25 million for tourism marketing — he wanted as much as $100 million — and none of the business incentives that he asked for.
But upon returning from a trade mission to Argentina, Scott shied away from using the most powerful weapon in his arsenal: the veto threat.
Addressing reporters outside his Capitol office Thursday between individual meetings with more than a dozen lawmakers, Scott said there is a lot of “frustration” over the way the session is going. But the governor repeated that he intends to review the budget after it reaches his desk.
“I’m going to look at all my opportunities,” Scott said, when asked about a potential budget veto. “I’ll go through the budget. I’m going to do whatever is the best for the citizens of this state.”
A DEAL TO DEAL
Even as the budget was up in the air, lawmakers were looking to hammer out an agreement on another contentious issue: Gambling. The joint House-Senate conference committee working on that issue began meeting Monday.
“There are some low-hanging fruits in here, and there are some more complicated issues that we need to work through, but it is the intent of the House to negotiate in good faith and hopefully get us across the finish line,” the House’s chief negotiator, Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, said. “Obviously, time is running out, but we are still early enough in session where I think we can be productive and do a good deal for the state of Florida.”
By the end of the week, the Senate had made a concessions to the Seminole Tribe, whose rights to offer certain games at its casinos is central to the negotiations.
Under the latest offer, the Seminoles would not be required to guarantee $3 billion in payments to the state in exchange for adding craps and roulette to the tribe’s casino operations.
But the upper chamber didn’t back away from other high-profile positions. Those positions include allowing slot machines at pari-mutuels in eight counties where voters have approved them, as well as limited blackjack at South Florida “racinos,” and two new casinos — with slots and cardrooms — in Broward and/or Miami-Dade counties.
The elimination of the proposed $3 billion requirement for the Seminoles, which would have been paid over seven years, is a concession to the tribe, which has maintained that federal officials won’t sign off on such a deal, something that would be required.
“I’m excited about the direction this is going,” Diaz said Thursday morning.
The issue of slots in the eight counties — Brevard, Duval, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Washington — remains one of the main sticking points in the negotiations, after Diaz made an offer Wednesday that included major concessions to the Senate.
In that offer, the House partially agreed to the Senate’s plan to allow nearly all dog and horse tracks to do away with live racing but keep more lucrative cardrooms or slots, a process known as “decoupling.” The House, however, would require voters to approve decoupling in county referendums.
The Senate’s counteroffer Thursday rejected the requirement of decoupling referendums and maintained a Senate position that would also allow jai alai frontons to quit holding matches while keeping more lucrative gambling activities.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Lawmakers reached an agreement on the broad outlines of an $83 billion budget and began negotiations aimed at bridging the remaining gaps.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The reports of the demise of session have been greatly exaggerated.”—House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, in a statement announcing the deal.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Biloxi Beats The Wahoos
April 29, 2017
For a change, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, who have the best ERA in the Southern League, lost the pitching duel against the Biloxi Shuckers Friday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos has lost five of its last six games and two in a row to the Shuckers, falling 1-0 to Biloxi in front of 4,465 fans.
Pensacola starter Luis Castillo worked six innings and gave up only one run in the first inning but picked up the loss to even his record, 1-1, even though, his ERA dropped to 2.08 on the season. He gave up seven hits and one walk and struck out four.
In his first five starts this season in Double-A, Castillo has lasted at least 5.0 innings and has allowed two runs or less in each game.
However, Biloxi right-hander Jorge Lopez was even better, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk, and striking out 10 Blue Wahoos batters. He struck out five in a row and Lopez separately also retired 12 in a row.
On the night, Pensacola got just four hits and struck out 14 times as they got shutout for the second time this season.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said his hitters have to remain upbeat at the plate despite their struggles at the plate with a .210 team batting average, which is ninth in the Southern League.
“They got to stay positive because it’s a long season,” Kelly said. “This is a tough league. Some of the managers think the pitching is better this than last year. This is a tough league to hit in.”
Kelly pointed out the Pensacola offense has scored 66 runs in its 22 games this season but still has the second-best record in the Southern League at 14-8 and is in first place in the Southern Division.
He complimented 24-year-old Biloxi pitcher Lopez, who was named the Southern League Pitcher of the Year in 2015 when he went 12-5 with a 2.26 ERA. That year, Lopez even started two games for the parent club, Milwaukee Brewers. Last year, though, he was 3-11 between Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox and Biloxi.
Pensacola did have a chance to score in the seventh inning. Gabriel Guerrero, who was 2-4, got thrown out at third by Biloxi catcher Jacob Nottingham. Kelly argued the call because he thought the throw pulled Shuckers third baseman Blake Allemand off the bag on the close play. If Guerrero reached third safely, Pensacola would have had the bases loaded with no outs.
But Biloxi reliever Josh Uhen bore down and struck out the next two Pensacola batters to get out of the jam.
Biloxi scored first in the top of the first inning to go ahead, 1-0, when Allemand scored from third on a passed ball by Adrien Nieto. The Shuckers then loaded the bases with two outs on two singles and a walk but Castillo go out of the jam on a fly ball to right field.
Atmore Man Found Shot To Death Inside His Vehicle
April 28, 2017
Invtigators are searching for clues in the shooting death of a 20-year old Atmore man Wednesday night.
The victim was identified by police Friday as 20-year old Donta Demorris Russell of 176 Patterson Street in Atmore. He was found dead after the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a shots fired at 1980 Martin Luther King, Jr. drive about 10:16 p.m.
They arrived to find a Crown Victoria partially off the roadway, resting against a tree in yard. They found Russell deceased in the driver’s seat with obvious gunshot wounds. Investigators believe he was alone in the vehicle.
The case remains under investigation by the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information on the murder is asked to call (251) 809-2154 or leave an anonymous tip at escambiacountysheriffal.org.
Cottage Hill Cockfighting Investigation Leads To One Arrest
April 28, 2017
One person has been arrested for cockfighting after a search warrant was executed Thursday in Cottage Hill.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County Animal Control seized 11 roosters from a home on McKenzie Road near Handy Road Thursday, according to Amber Southard, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office.
Terry Maurus Jackson, age 58 of McKenzie Road, was arrested at the home Thursday night and charged with three counts of animal fighting and three counts of possession of a controlled substance. He was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $30,000 bond.
Escambia County deputies executed a search warrant at Jackson’s residence for narcotics and found cockfighting roosters, cockfighting paraphernalia, cockfighting trophies and pictures of roosters. Escambia County Animal control was then contacted, along with the State Attorney’s Office.
Animal control reported that the roosters’ talons had been cut and prepared for cockfighting, according to court documents. They were also found to have injuries consistent with cockfighting.
Paraphernalia seized from the home included “Gamecock” magazine; medications, needles, syringes, saws, spurs and hooks; a written journal and cockfighting trophies. Written on one of the trophies were the words “1st Place — 5-Cock Derby — Poor Man’s Club 3-18-17″.
Schedule III narcotics associated were cockfighting were also seized, according to court documents, including Trenbolone, Testosterone Propionate and Testerone Acetate.
There was no word if the alleged cockfighting was taking place at the home on McKenzie Road or elsewhere. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and the State Attorney’s Office are continuing their investigation.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Still Road Rollover Crash
April 28, 2017
There were no injuries in a single vehicle rollover crash near Bratt Friday morning. The accident happened about 6:45 a.m. on Still Road near the intersection of Howard Hall Road. The driver refused medical treatment. The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Atmore Ambulance and the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
International Paper Reports ‘Solid’ First Quarter Despite Cantonment Explosion
April 28, 2017
International Paper delivered a sold financial first quarter of 2017, despite the January explosion at the company’s Pensacola Mill in Cantonment.
Thursday, IP reported first quarter 2017 net earnings of $209 million (50 cents per share), compared with net earnings of $218 million (53 cents per share) for the fourth quarter of 2016 and net earnings of $334 million (81 cents per share) in the first quarter of 2016.
“International Paper delivered a solid first quarter in the face of several challenges, including the digester incident at our Pensacola mill and higher input costs driven by a significant rise in OCC (corrugated container) prices,” said Mark Sutton, chairman and chief executive 0fficer. “Given the market fundamentals across most of our businesses in combination with several IP commercial and operational initiatives, we expect improved results pointing to a particularly strong second half as well as positive momentum entering 2018. I remain very confident in IP’s ability to generate significant year-over-year earnings growth and continued strong cash flow in 2017.”
IP’s Cantonment facility experienced a digester explosion on January 22 that sent “black liquor” and pulp raining down into neighborhoods outside the mill and causing significant damage on site.
An investigation indicated that an explosive atmosphere was created by a combination of off-gasses normally produced in the pulping process and air introduced to maintain pressure while the vessel was not in operation. The explosive nature of the off-gasses and air combination was likely related to the extended period of mill down time prior to the incident where no chips and liquor were flowing into the digester. The gas mixture, combined with one of several possible ignition sources, provided the necessary components for the explosion.
The Cantonment mill resumed full operations in early April. The company estimated that the total costs related to the explosion to be between $80 and $120 million, with the majority of those costs expected to be recovered through insurance coverage.
Pictured top: Emergency crews on the scene following an explosion January 22 at International Paper in Cantonment. Pictured below: First responders coordinate their response efforts from a command post at IP shortly after the explosion. Pictured bottom: A vehicle that was passing the mill at the time of the explosion covered in black liquor from the explosion. NorthEscambia.com file photos.
New Bluff Springs Road Bridge Opens, Replacing County’s Last Wooden Bridge
April 28, 2017
Work to replace the last all-wooden bridge in Escambia County is now complete. A two-lane concrete bridge is now open over Pritchett Mill Creek on Bluff Springs Road.
The modern structure replaced a one-lane wooden bridge that closed as structurally deficient last November. The Murphree Bridge Corporation completed the $710,702.04 project. The scope of work included clearing, grading, drainage, paving, signage and bridge construction.
There are no permanent residences located beyond bridge, but Escambia River and camping access via Bluff Springs Road were cut off during the construction.
Pictured above and below: A new concrete bridge over Pritchett Mill Creek on Bluff Springs Road is now open. The modern bridge replaced the last all-wooden bridge in Escambia County (pictured page bottom). NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FWC Law Enforcement Report
April 28, 2017
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the period ending April 20 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Hoomes was on land patrol along Gulf Islands National Seashore near Fort Pickens conducting state fisheries inspections when he encountered several people fishing for pompano. He checked one subject who was fishing alone and possessed the daily bag limit of six pompano. Several disturbed areas in the sand were observed near the fisherman’s poles and coolers where fish could possibly have been hidden. Officer Pettey arrived and he and Officer Hoomes uncovered seven more pompano buried in the sand. The fisherman was issued a citation for possession of over the daily bag limit of pompano. All 13 fish were seized as evidence.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
Officer Lewis received a complaint about vehicles driving on closed roads in Blackwater River State Forest. The officer responded to the area and saw five Jeeps parked on a dirt pile that is a barrier for the closed road where the complaint originated. The officer saw fresh vehicle sign on the closed road and the drivers of the Jeeps all stated they drove on the closed road. Officer Lewis cited all the drivers for operating a vehicle off the established road in a state forest.
Officer Lewis was on patrol in Blackwater River State Forest when he saw a campsite that appeared to have been camped in for a while, with trash and household cleaning items starting to accumulate. Later in the day, he returned and saw a man and woman in the campsite and noticed other minor violations. Officer Lewis discovered that the man had a warrant for violation of probation. He arrested the man for violation of probation and issued him a warning for not having his pets on a leash. The woman cleaned up the campsite and vacated the area.
Officers Lewis and Jernigan were on patrol in Blackwater River State Forest when they saw a vessel approaching a landing. The vessel’s registration had been expired for approximately three years. The operator stated he recently purchased the vessel but could not produce a bill of sale. The woman on board admitted to fishing but did not have a fishing license. Officer Jernigan boarded the vessel to perform a fisheries inspection and saw a small box where the operator was seated. The box resembled a variety that is commonly used to hold drugs and/or paraphernalia with the male subject’s last name on it. Officer Jernigan found small plastic baggies in the box that contained a white powdery residue that appeared to be methamphetamine. The man told the officers the box belonged to him. The officers explained to the male subject that the substance in the baggies tested positive for methamphetamine. Officer Jernigan arrested the man and charged him with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia. He also received a citation for operating a vessel with an expired registration. The woman was cited for fishing without a license.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Tate Beats Escambia For District Title
April 28, 2017
The Tate High School Lady Aggies won their fourth straight district title Thursday night with a 3-0 defeat of Escambia’s Lady Gators.
Shelby McClean went 3-3 for the Lady Aggies with a run and two RBI’s. Syndni Solliday was 1-3.
Hannah Brown pitched a complete game for the Aggies, allowing one hit, no runs, no errors and striking out eight.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Budget Talks Begin After Leaders Reach Deal
April 28, 2017
With time running out to avoid a special session, legislative leaders agreed Thursday to the outlines of a nearly $83 billion budget and began negotiations aimed at hammering out details of the spending plan before a Tuesday deadline.
The deal will likely allow the session to end May 5, as scheduled, avoiding the embarrassment for legislative Republicans of needing extra time for the second time in three years to complete lawmakers’ only constitutionally required task.
“The reports of the demise of session have been greatly exaggerated,” said House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, in a statement following the announcement.
But even as lawmakers celebrated, critics including Gov. Rick Scott were questioning the process that Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, used to reach the agreement on “allocations.” The deal sets out how much money should be spent on broad areas of the budget, like education or human services.
The late-breaking nature of the agreement, along with a couple of false starts and some comments by legislative leaders, seemed to indicate that Negron and Corcoran were getting beyond allocations and into the fine details of the plan in their closed-door negotiations.
Those smaller disagreements are usually smoothed over by joint House-Senate negotiating committees, which are open to the public and at least theoretically allow for more input by individual lawmakers. The committees began meeting Thursday evening after the deal was announced.
There was also speculation that Negron and Corcoran cut deals on policy issues and potentially other legislation during the discussions.
Even Scott, while lambasting the Legislature for spending less on tourism marketing and economic development than he had called for, took the unusual step of criticizing the process.
“I’d be furious if I was a House or Senate member,” Scott told reporters. “Think about it, every one of them got elected in a district. They represent that district. They have the same number of votes as the speaker and Senate president. They should be in the discussion, just like the speaker and Senate president.”
Negron and Corcoran — who pledged to run the most open and transparent session in history — defended their negotiations during a joint appearance Thursday afternoon, even as they refused to offer much detail on what had been agreed to.
“We’ve agreed that we would respect the priorities of the other chamber,” Corcoran said.
After a contentious back-and-forth that lasted several minutes, Corcoran and Negron abruptly walked away from reporters who repeatedly asked for more specific information about the agreement.
To end the legislative session on time May 5, lawmakers need to finish the budget by Tuesday because of a constitutionally required 72-hour “cooling off” period.
Democrats largely held their fire on the process, for now, but warned that they would be on the lookout as negotiators start discussing the budget, the fine print known as “proviso,” and related legislation.
“Now, as we move forward, if more issues start getting stuck in the budget, we start getting some of (this) stuff in proviso language and things like that, then, yeah, we’ll have a problem with that,” said Senate Minority Leader Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens.
For his part, Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, also pledged to be on the lookout for suspicious proviso.
“Anything that doesn’t pass the smell test, I want to know about,” he said.
One detail from the allocations agreement that emerged Thursday included an across-the-board pay raise for state employees, which Latvala and others said was the first in roughly a decade despite the fact that a salary increase was approved in 2013.
“For too long the men and women who have made Florida one of the premier places to raise a family, grow a business or enjoy retirement have done so without their hard work being justly compensated. No longer,” said Andy Madtes, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Florida.
In an apparent exchange, the Senate will consider a House proposal to require new state employees who don’t select a retirement option within nine months to go into a 401(k)-style “investment plan.” Those employees currently default into the traditional pension plan. The Senate won an extended time period for the selection — up from six months — and an exemption for law-enforcement and emergency workers.
Lawmakers had already revealed some of the overarching elements of the plan, but details continued to be filled in. The House won policy concessions on a $200 million plan to encourage charter schools where traditional public schools have struggled, and $200 million for teacher bonuses.
But Rep. Shevrin Jones, a West Park Democrat involved in education issues, said school districts would have more control over charters under the language than under the “schools of hope” plan that the House initially put forward.
Jones said the compromise might not assuage teachers unions and other groups, but satisfied him.
“The school district is in charge. … We started somewhere which wasn’t a happy medium, and I’m happy where we are now,” Jones said.
But Rep. Manny Diaz Jr., the Hialeah Republican who chairs the House’s public education budget subcommittee, said the specific language wasn’t fully worked out yet. And he played down the notion that a school district might be able to bar charter operators from opening a “school of hope” in its area.
“I think there are some district options on the table,” Diaz said.
Senate leaders have also floated the idea of using some of the House money for “wrap-around” services, like health care and after-school programs, at traditional public schools.
The House also prevailed on its insistence that education property tax bills not grow with property values, cutting back the amount of revenue that would be available for public schools. An initial House offer Thursday would bump up spending through the main education formula by about $24 a student — or 0.34 percent — more than the House’s budget but far less than the Senate proposed.
That figure does not include funding for the “schools of hope” or the teacher bonus program.
The Senate, meanwhile, also received concessions from the House in the allocation deal, including agreements from the House on Negron’s plan to build a reservoir south of Lake Okeechobee and his drive to funnel additional resources to universities.
The policy concessions the Senate has looked for on higher education include requiring universities to use block tuition by fall 2018 and creating a Board of Community Colleges to oversee the 28 state colleges.
“We’re very pleased with where we are in higher ed,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who chairs the Senate’s higher education budget subcommittee.
The governor did not fare as well.
Scott would get just $25 million for Visit Florida, a tourism marketer, and operating funds for Enterprise Florida, an economic development agency. Scott had asked for as much as $100 million for Visit Florida and $85 million in incentives for Enterprise Florida.
In health care, the budget includes cuts to Medicaid funding for hospitals.
House Appropriations Chairman Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, said money in the Low Income Pool program remains out of the budget until final details are negotiated with the federal government.
Scott announced recently that $1.5 billion would be available for the program, which provides additional money to hospitals that serve large numbers of poor and uninsured patients. But what are known as “terms and conditions” of how the money can be used is still being negotiated.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida