Senate Republicans have tapped Indialantic lawmaker Mike Haridopolos to succeed Sen. Jeff Atwater as the chamber's leader. Haridopolos, a conservative Republican, is slated to take over as Senate President in November 2010 following the general election.
Republican leaders made his designation official during a well-attended ceremony in the Senate chamber, where lobbyists looked on from the gallery above and elected officials including Gov. Charlie Crist watched from the Senate floor.
Haridopolos has served in the Legislature since 2000, when he was elected to the House of Representatives, and became a member of the Florida Senate in March 2003.
Haridopolos, 39, is working with fellow Central Florida Republican Rep. Dean Cannon on legislation that would open up waters off Florida to oil drilling.
He received his bachelor's degree from Stetson University in 1992 and earned a master's degree from the University of Arkansas. He teaches political science at the University of Florida. He is married to Dr. Stephanie Bressan of Ft. Lauderdale and has three children: Alexis, Hayden, Reagan.
Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, noted that Haridopolos - the son of an undercover FBI agent -- is the first Senate president who is a teacher, the husband of a doctor, and the father of a child not yet old enough for kindergarten. http://blogs.tampabay.com/buzz/2009/12/senate-rs-make-haridop-presidency-official.html
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
GOP Infighting Spoils Hope for Easy Primary
Florida Republican leaders worked hard to thwart any costly and potentially divisive primaries in this busy election cycle. They failed badly.
State Sen. Paula Dockery was the latest to thumb her nose at the party establishment, formally announcing her campaign for governor recently, just a few months after a battalion of party leaders gathered alongside Attorney General Bill McCollum in Orlando to anoint him as their gubernatorial standard-bearer.
Look at almost every statewide race and you'll see contests for the Republican nomination.
• U.S. Senate: Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio is making life increasingly difficult for Crist, who had expected a cakewalk.
• Attorney general: Normally a sitting lieutenant governor would be the overwhelming favorite, but Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp has drawn a challenge from former state Rep. Holly Benson. Tampa prosecutor Pam Bondi probably may jump in soon.
• Agriculture commissioner: U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, was going to walk into this seat, conventional wisdom had it. But state Sen. Carey Baker had other ideas.
• Governor: Dockery may be unknown to most of the state, but with a personal fortune at her disposal and a message that paints McCollum as a career politician, she has potential to be a serious threat.
The only statewide race shaping up as drama-free for the GOP is chief financial officer, where Senate President Jeff Atwater has no major primary challenger and Democrats don't even have a candidate.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/tough-primary-races-points-to-a-divided-florida-gop/1050855
State Sen. Paula Dockery was the latest to thumb her nose at the party establishment, formally announcing her campaign for governor recently, just a few months after a battalion of party leaders gathered alongside Attorney General Bill McCollum in Orlando to anoint him as their gubernatorial standard-bearer.
Look at almost every statewide race and you'll see contests for the Republican nomination.
• U.S. Senate: Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio is making life increasingly difficult for Crist, who had expected a cakewalk.
• Attorney general: Normally a sitting lieutenant governor would be the overwhelming favorite, but Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp has drawn a challenge from former state Rep. Holly Benson. Tampa prosecutor Pam Bondi probably may jump in soon.
• Agriculture commissioner: U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, was going to walk into this seat, conventional wisdom had it. But state Sen. Carey Baker had other ideas.
• Governor: Dockery may be unknown to most of the state, but with a personal fortune at her disposal and a message that paints McCollum as a career politician, she has potential to be a serious threat.
The only statewide race shaping up as drama-free for the GOP is chief financial officer, where Senate President Jeff Atwater has no major primary challenger and Democrats don't even have a candidate.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/tough-primary-races-points-to-a-divided-florida-gop/1050855
Monday, November 30, 2009
Fasano Says Goodbye to Pesions, Hello to Savings
Fasano, Republican Senator form New Port Richey wants to get state government out of the pension business. He has re-filed his bill that would rename the Public Employee Optional Retirement Program the "Retirement Investment Program" for public workers. The name change signals a new pension philosophy — leaving the safe, relatively low-paying assurance of a "defined benefit" pension for the market-driven, possibly more profitable "defined contribution" retirement system.
Under Fasano's 91-page bill (SB 660), all new employees would have to join the defined contribution plan after Jan. 1, 2011. All current Florida Retirement System members, whether they work for the state or one of the hundreds of school boards and local governmental units whose pension funds are invested by the State Board of Administration (SBA), would still be guaranteed their regular pension benefits.
So why does Fasano, an investments executive by trade, want everybody to put everybody in the market? Two reasons — he figures the state, counties, school boards and other public employers will be able to reduce their contribution rates, eventually, and the SBA will have some cushion on its necessary investment earnings rates.
Fasano was the sponsor of this year's law, taking effect next year, forbidding more "double dippers" to retire and go back to work for the state while drawing pensions. His new bill, he said, will phase out the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, once every employee is in the investment system.
The Senator filed the bill last session but didn't move it. He said he wanted an actuarial study of what it would mean, which will be completed before the 2010 session in March.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091116/COLUMNIST03/911160305/-1/NLETTER07?source=nletter-news
Under Fasano's 91-page bill (SB 660), all new employees would have to join the defined contribution plan after Jan. 1, 2011. All current Florida Retirement System members, whether they work for the state or one of the hundreds of school boards and local governmental units whose pension funds are invested by the State Board of Administration (SBA), would still be guaranteed their regular pension benefits.
So why does Fasano, an investments executive by trade, want everybody to put everybody in the market? Two reasons — he figures the state, counties, school boards and other public employers will be able to reduce their contribution rates, eventually, and the SBA will have some cushion on its necessary investment earnings rates.
Fasano was the sponsor of this year's law, taking effect next year, forbidding more "double dippers" to retire and go back to work for the state while drawing pensions. His new bill, he said, will phase out the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, once every employee is in the investment system.
The Senator filed the bill last session but didn't move it. He said he wanted an actuarial study of what it would mean, which will be completed before the 2010 session in March.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20091116/COLUMNIST03/911160305/-1/NLETTER07?source=nletter-news
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Special Session for High Speed & Commuter Rail?
A special lawmaking session over high-speed and commuter rail inched closer Monday as legislative leaders and the governor said they were ready to tap surplus money discovered in the transportation budget rather than raise taxes on rental cars.
The surplus money -- about $76 million for the current and next budget years -- should be enough to help fill a hole in South Florida's Tri-Rail system.
Also Monday, opposition to Central Florida's SunRail project started to thaw in the Florida Senate, where the transit system could now be one vote shy of winning passage, according to a Herald/Times vote count.
Federal transportation officials have told Florida officials that the state needs to do a better job supporting Tri-Rail and SunRail to have a better chance at winning up to $2.5 billion in federal money for a high-speed rail project.
The federal government has been besieged with requests from various states for high-speed rail money. And U.S. Department of Transportation spokespeople said Florida's support for the commuter rail systems are just a "factor'' in awarding the grant, which is not "contingent'' on Tri-Rail and SunRail.
The House balked at a proposal to raise rental car surcharges by $2. Last week, state economists bailed the Legislature out of its financing problem by estimating that the state would take in more fuel tax money than had been anticipated: $19 million more this budget year and $57 million next year.
Behind the scenes, rail proponents almost have a guaranteed 20 votes in favor of SunRail in the Senate. That's up from 16 votes last spring. But it's one vote shy of securing passage in the 40-member chamber.
Many lawmakers are concerned with the longterm cost of SunRail -- up to $1.2 billion -- as well as the fact that the owner of the rail line, CSX, wanted the state to completely indemnify it in the case of an accident.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/11/sunrail-nears-2020-vote-in-senate-gas-taxes-save-rental-surcharge-.html
The surplus money -- about $76 million for the current and next budget years -- should be enough to help fill a hole in South Florida's Tri-Rail system.
Also Monday, opposition to Central Florida's SunRail project started to thaw in the Florida Senate, where the transit system could now be one vote shy of winning passage, according to a Herald/Times vote count.
Federal transportation officials have told Florida officials that the state needs to do a better job supporting Tri-Rail and SunRail to have a better chance at winning up to $2.5 billion in federal money for a high-speed rail project.
The federal government has been besieged with requests from various states for high-speed rail money. And U.S. Department of Transportation spokespeople said Florida's support for the commuter rail systems are just a "factor'' in awarding the grant, which is not "contingent'' on Tri-Rail and SunRail.
The House balked at a proposal to raise rental car surcharges by $2. Last week, state economists bailed the Legislature out of its financing problem by estimating that the state would take in more fuel tax money than had been anticipated: $19 million more this budget year and $57 million next year.
Behind the scenes, rail proponents almost have a guaranteed 20 votes in favor of SunRail in the Senate. That's up from 16 votes last spring. But it's one vote shy of securing passage in the 40-member chamber.
Many lawmakers are concerned with the longterm cost of SunRail -- up to $1.2 billion -- as well as the fact that the owner of the rail line, CSX, wanted the state to completely indemnify it in the case of an accident.
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2009/11/sunrail-nears-2020-vote-in-senate-gas-taxes-save-rental-surcharge-.html
Monday, November 23, 2009
Existing Home Sales Rise to 2-Year High
Existing-home sales in October rose to the highest level in more than two years, according to a report released Monday, driven by the popularity of a credit for first-time home buyers. The surge far outpaced expectations and nurtured hope that the stubbornly frail housing market might be on the upswing.
Sales of existing homes were up 10.1 percent in October to an annual rate of 6.1 million, the National Association of Realtors said in a report Monday. That was a level last seen in February 2007, before the collapse of the housing sector. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted a 2.3 percent increase.
The group attributed the gain to the popularity of a government-financed credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers.
Inventories continued to shrink, the report said, and prices, while still lower, fell by the smallest amount in more than a year. Sales of lower-cost homes fueled the gains.
Total sales were up 23.5 percent from the October 2008 rate of 4.94 million. In addition, sales for the 12-month period from October 2008 to October 2009 reached 4.4 million, up slightly from the October 2007 to October 2008 levels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/business/economy/24econ.html?_r=1&8au&emc=au
Sales of existing homes were up 10.1 percent in October to an annual rate of 6.1 million, the National Association of Realtors said in a report Monday. That was a level last seen in February 2007, before the collapse of the housing sector. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had predicted a 2.3 percent increase.
The group attributed the gain to the popularity of a government-financed credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers.
Inventories continued to shrink, the report said, and prices, while still lower, fell by the smallest amount in more than a year. Sales of lower-cost homes fueled the gains.
Total sales were up 23.5 percent from the October 2008 rate of 4.94 million. In addition, sales for the 12-month period from October 2008 to October 2009 reached 4.4 million, up slightly from the October 2007 to October 2008 levels.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/business/economy/24econ.html?_r=1&8au&emc=au
Sunday, November 22, 2009
St. Pete Beach Abandons Local Version of Hometown Democracy
Since beginning a 3-year experiment with their own version of Hometown Democracy, St. Pete Beach residents have seen endless lawsuits, higher taxes and widespread economic turmoil. Recently, citizens of St. Pete Beach scaled back their local version of Amendment 4 so that only certain land use changes require a referendum. The voters chose to rein in their own local experiment by a decisive 60-40 margin.
"St. Pete Beach residents are tired of voting on everything, especially issues that don't even relate to development," said Ward Friszolowski, former Mayor of St. Pete Beach. "This amendment doesn't work. It has resulted in chaotic, confusing and expensive elections driven by sound bites rather than sound planning."
St. Pete Beach is proof positive that Amendment 4 is not designed to give the people a say on growth. It is designed to give anti-growth lawyers another legal avenue to stop commonsense progress, even when voters approve it. In St. Pete Beach, the taxpayers' legal bills continue to mount. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight.
Floridians for Smarter Growth leads opposition to Amendment 4. To date, more than 170 organizations throughout Florida have opposed Amendment 4. More join the fight every day.
http://www.fhba.com/index.cfm?referer=content.contentItem&ID=1998
Wade Mullins
Quality Precast Co.
wadem@qualityprecast.com
"St. Pete Beach residents are tired of voting on everything, especially issues that don't even relate to development," said Ward Friszolowski, former Mayor of St. Pete Beach. "This amendment doesn't work. It has resulted in chaotic, confusing and expensive elections driven by sound bites rather than sound planning."
St. Pete Beach is proof positive that Amendment 4 is not designed to give the people a say on growth. It is designed to give anti-growth lawyers another legal avenue to stop commonsense progress, even when voters approve it. In St. Pete Beach, the taxpayers' legal bills continue to mount. Unfortunately, there is no end in sight.
Floridians for Smarter Growth leads opposition to Amendment 4. To date, more than 170 organizations throughout Florida have opposed Amendment 4. More join the fight every day.
http://www.fhba.com/index.cfm?referer=content.contentItem&ID=1998
Wade Mullins
Quality Precast Co.
wadem@qualityprecast.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
One National Perspective on Construction
As the nation tentatively continues forward with recovery—whether it be a full turnaround or the first part of an unwanted "W" trend—the construction sector continues to try and rid itself of a laundry list of laments. Building permits ticked upward in August at a seasonally adjusted rate of 579,000, a 2.7% increase over July, but were still more than 32% below the same period in 2008. Housing starts also increased slightly in August over July by 1.5%, but completions were again down 5.5% and both figures were more than 25% below the numbers seen at this time last year.
From the federal government's perspective, the industry is heading in the right direction as housing permits are up 16% from a low in April, which is good news after a plummet of 78% between September 2005 and April 2009.
Unfortunately, many local governments are anticipating further declines in property values and commercial construction, further pilfering their already barren budgets.
Though construction is searching for solid footing in its effort to rebound, faced with the challenge that commercially available credit has been decimated in the sector as real estate loan delinquencies are at record highs, the overall trend for construction costs remains negative. Compared to the high costs of August 2008...
http://www.nacm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=88&Itemid=200#6
From the federal government's perspective, the industry is heading in the right direction as housing permits are up 16% from a low in April, which is good news after a plummet of 78% between September 2005 and April 2009.
Unfortunately, many local governments are anticipating further declines in property values and commercial construction, further pilfering their already barren budgets.
Though construction is searching for solid footing in its effort to rebound, faced with the challenge that commercially available credit has been decimated in the sector as real estate loan delinquencies are at record highs, the overall trend for construction costs remains negative. Compared to the high costs of August 2008...
http://www.nacm.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=88&Itemid=200#6
Florida May Consider Pay-per-Mile Motorists' Tax
Facing a likely future of dwindling gas-tax income, some Florida transportation officials are promoting a new way to raise money for highways and bridges: charging motorists by the mile.
Called the VMT, or vehicle miles traveled tax, the idea is that drivers would pay depending on how far they go, rather than how much gasoline they pump into their cars.
The mechanics and pricing of the proposal are varied, but one experiment in Oregon used a global positioning device in a fleet of cars to track their mileage. That number was read by a device at the gas pump, which taxed the user accordingly.
The test resulted in more revenue than simply taxing gasoline partly because high-mileage cars ended up paying as much as heavy, fuel-guzzlers. The VMT has gained traction as the price of gas has soared, discouraging driving and spurring people to buy more fuel-efficient cars. In Florida, that has meant a drop of almost $7 billion in the five-year work plan, from $43.5 billion to $36.2 billion.
Getting policymakers to enact the tax, however, might be a hard sell.
Right now, Florida, in combination with local government agencies, levies as much as 52 cents per gallon in gas taxes. The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and has not been raised since 1993.
A bipartisan congressionally created panel called the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission recommended the VMT earlier this year. The chairman, Robert Atkinson, concluded it would raise extra money in a fair manner because it follows the "user pays" principle.
But the Obama administration has rejected the idea on a national level.
The VMT could work, but the technology may be years away. The short-term solution is to borrow money for roads and pay it off over time, speed up approvals for road work and enter into public-private partnerships.
The problem is that only 60 cents of every federal gas-tax dollar goes to highways and bridges according to a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington. The rest goes for a variety of uses, from mass-transit systems such as trains and buses to bike lanes.
http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=51731
Called the VMT, or vehicle miles traveled tax, the idea is that drivers would pay depending on how far they go, rather than how much gasoline they pump into their cars.
The mechanics and pricing of the proposal are varied, but one experiment in Oregon used a global positioning device in a fleet of cars to track their mileage. That number was read by a device at the gas pump, which taxed the user accordingly.
The test resulted in more revenue than simply taxing gasoline partly because high-mileage cars ended up paying as much as heavy, fuel-guzzlers. The VMT has gained traction as the price of gas has soared, discouraging driving and spurring people to buy more fuel-efficient cars. In Florida, that has meant a drop of almost $7 billion in the five-year work plan, from $43.5 billion to $36.2 billion.
Getting policymakers to enact the tax, however, might be a hard sell.
Right now, Florida, in combination with local government agencies, levies as much as 52 cents per gallon in gas taxes. The federal tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and has not been raised since 1993.
A bipartisan congressionally created panel called the National Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission recommended the VMT earlier this year. The chairman, Robert Atkinson, concluded it would raise extra money in a fair manner because it follows the "user pays" principle.
But the Obama administration has rejected the idea on a national level.
The VMT could work, but the technology may be years away. The short-term solution is to borrow money for roads and pay it off over time, speed up approvals for road work and enter into public-private partnerships.
The problem is that only 60 cents of every federal gas-tax dollar goes to highways and bridges according to a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington. The rest goes for a variety of uses, from mass-transit systems such as trains and buses to bike lanes.
http://www.floridatrend.com/article.asp?aID=51731
MAF Political E News for October 2009
MAF Political E News for October 2009
The tone for the 2010 Session of the Florida Legislature is being set as you read this article. Organizational meetings for the House and Senate are taking place during the month of October. Bills for the Spring Session can now be filed. Committee Weeks have already been announced for January and February.
The average session will see over 2000 bills filed. We can see up to twenty percent of those pass and head to the governor. But, we know last year wasn’t very typical.
Just a few short weeks before the 2009 Session began, Speaker of the House Ray Sansom resigned amid serious allegations of improper conduct, and House Member, Larry Cretul was selected as the new Speaker. Then the Chief of Staff for the House resigned, which also contributed to delays in getting things accomplished in the House of Representatives. Considering all the time spent on trying to balance the budget with the help of the Federal Stimulus Package, it is amazing that 236 bills actually did pass during the 2009 Session and were sent to Governor Crist for his signature.Speaker Cretul has already notified various interested parties that he is looking to only pass about 200 bills in 2010. One would naturally expect the budget issue to be foremost topic that will dominate the time available during the sixty day session. The other emotional issue that readily comes to mind that you will hear a lot about is off shore drilling for oil.
Wade Mullins
wmullins@qualityprecast.com
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