Peter Schorsch
Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
HAPPY STEM DAY!
Go ahead. Play another round of Angry Birds in the courtyard. It’s for science (and technology, engineering and math).
The Orlando Science Center and the Motorola Solutions Foundation are teaming up to host 2016 STEM Day at the Florida Capitol. The annual event aims to raise awareness about the importance of STEM — or science, technology, engineering and mathematics — education in Florida.
Jeff Stanford, the vice president of marketing for the Orlando Science Center, said the event is all about “engagement and advocacy.” This is the third year the center has hosted STEM Day, and Stanford said the response continues to be “very positive.”
“I think people are having a good time,” he said. “I think we’re raising awareness and changing perspectives about STEM.”
That’s important because STEM concepts can be a some times be little tough to wrap your head around, said Matt Blakely, the executive director of Motorola Solutions Foundation. But hands-on displays, like the ones that will be set up all over the statehouse Thursday, can make it a little easier for everyone to digest.
In January, there were 70,430 job openings in STEM occupations in Florida. That was up 4 percent from the same time in 2015. Nationwide, the number of job posting in STEM occupations increased 3.2 percent year over year.
Stanford said representatives from participating organizations will have one-on-one meetings with the lawmakers throughout the day to discuss their support for STEM projects. But that isn’t the only way organizers are hoping to convince lawmakers and other visitors STEM education and careers isn’t just about lab work.
There’s Angry Birds in the courtyard, where discussions about trajectory are likely to ensue. A game of Operation might teach you a bit about science, so long as you don’t bump the edges and get buzzed out.
Ever wanted to pilot an underwater robot? There’s an interactive display for that. Drug discovery robots from the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute will be on display. There will be simulators and musical tesla coils; FIRST robotics teams and ingenious students who designed a prosthetic leg for a 3-year-old German shepherd.
Students at a Flagler County school teamed up to design a leg for dog who lost his left front leg after an automobile accident. The winning team will get to use the school’s 3D printer to create a leg for the pup. The project is funded thanks to the help of a Motorola Solutions Innovation Group, which was made possible by the Flagler County Education Foundation.
That project and the importance of STEM education for will be highlighted during a press conference at 11 a.m. in the Florida state Capitol courtyard.
“What I’m hoping (people will) take away from this is STEM education is not only for the future of businesses, but also accessible and very fun and very engaging,” said Blakely.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Executive Director Cissy Proctor and Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor of Career and Adult Education Rod Duckworth will join leaders from the Motorola Solutions Foundation and the Orlando Science Center at 11 a.m.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: – Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute will showcase the technology for its Florida Translational Research Program (FTRP). Drug discovery robots used to find medicines of tomorrow will be on display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the third floor rotunda of the Florida Capitol.
TWEET, TWEET: @Fineout: so it looks like Senate Appropriations – on top of fracking & death penalty bills – will have a education related donnybrook on Thursday … For example – the battle over recess is not dead despite Sen. Legg’s declarations. Sen. Hays wants to add it tomorrow to huge ed train … On same bill Sen. @joenegronfl is trying again to name a scholarship program after @lizbethkb … But the best is that Sen. Gaetz wants to slap on an 85-page! amendment that includes many of the House’s education bills in it … And Sen. Gaetz has a 59-page amendment sticking Best and Brightest on another bill – but he’s linked it with a heck of a change for charters
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JOBS OR CORPORATE WELFARE – FLORIDA HOUSE APPROVES INCENTIVES via Gary Fineout of the Associated Press – Despite opposition from some top Republicans, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday won approval from the Florida House to overhaul the state’s business incentive program. But the victory could be short-lived because the House and Senate remain far apart on whether to steer $250 million into a fund that Scott could use to lure new businesses to the state. The creation of the fund as well as Scott’s call for $1 billion in tax cuts has stalled a final deal on a new state budget with time starting to run out in this year’s session. Scott praised the House for voting 79-39 for the bill to revamp the program that allows the state to offer payments to companies that promise to add jobs. If the measure becomes law, it would make it easier for Scott to hand out subsidies because it would no longer require approval by a legislative panel. The money would also stay in the fund and not require annual approval by the Legislature.
DID THE BLACK CAUCUS AND HOUSE LEADERSHIP PLAY ‘LET’S MAKE A DEAL’? via Tia Mitchell of the Florida Times-Union – Politics is the art of deal-making, and it looks like the black caucus and the House’s Republican leadership formed a coalition to achieve their separate priorities. “We were able to coalesce around support for the governor’s plan, and, in return, we were able to exact some promises that issues key to our communities and our constituencies would be taken care of,” Rep. Bruce Antone … You could tell something was up immediately after Tuesday’s House session. Members of the black caucus huddled in “the bubble,” one of the meeting rooms with large windows adjacent to the House floor. They met for roughly a half-hour … but members were tight-lipped afterward. Then the House approved HB 1325, which sets parameters for the Florida Enterprise Fund that Scott has made one of his two main priorities of the session … One-by-one, black caucus members spoke up in debate to say they were in favor of the legislation even as some of their fellow Democrats argued it didn’t do enough to ensure the right types of jobs at the right types of businesses were being created and didn’t have enough financial controls.
HOUSE APPROVES PENSION CHANGES FOR STATE WORKERS via The Associated Press – Public employees will get steered away from Florida’s pension plan under a bill approved by the Florida House … voted 72-38 for a measure that would automatically place newly hired public employees in an investment 401(k) plan if the employees failed to make a choice within eight months of starting their jobs. The legislation would apply to all new employees hired in July 2017 or after.
BILL SHIFTING COST OF MOVING UTILITIES PASSES HOUSE via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools – Anitere Flores‘ bill to shift the cost of moving utilities in the way of public works projects to cities, counties or the Florida Department of Transportation under some circumstances easily passed the House … Currently, utilities must pay to move their equipment when they interfere with public construction … Under Flores’ proposal, local governments would be the one to shoulder the burden of relocating utility lines and other equipment located in public easement, unless an agreement stating otherwise already existed. The bill passed 109 to 4 and now heads to Scott.
HOUSE PASSES JUDICIAL TERM LIMITS IN CLOSE VOTE via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – The House approved the measure (HB 197) on a 76-38 vote. Because imposing term limits on appellate judges and justices requires changing the state constitution, it needed three-fifths of the House, or at least 72 votes. A companion measure (SB 322) has yet to be heard in the Senate … Even if it passes both chambers, the proposal still would have to be approved by 60 percent of voters in the next election. It would limit district court of appeal judges and state Supreme Court justices to 12 years on the bench, or two six-year terms.
ALIMONY BILL CLEARS 2ND COMMITTEE IN SENATE via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – The Appropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice OK’d the bill (SB 668), aimed of getting rid of “forever alimony,” on a 5-2 party-line vote. As in its first hearing in the Judiciary Committee, the bill was last on the agenda. With time growing short, committee chairman Joe Negron limited speakers to one minute. There was time enough for its main critic on the dais, Senate Democratic Leader Arthenia Joyner of Tampa, to speak against the measure. “I just think we have not taken a holistic look at the dramatic effect this will have on women and children,” she said.
JUVENILE CITATION BILL ADVANCES IN FLORIDA SENATE via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – Thad Altman’s bill (SB 408) would in most cases lead to civil citations instead of arrests. Juveniles would be diverted to perform community service and participate in intervention programs appropriate to their offenses. “What we’re trying to do is get kids out of the system,” Altman told his colleagues on the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee. Among the misdemeanor offenses that would qualify under his bill include possession of alcoholic beverages by persons under 21; battery (if the victim approves the juvenile’s participation in a civil citation or similar diversion program); theft; involving in riots; disorderly conduct; possession of certain amounts of cannabis or controlled substances; possession of drug paraphernalia and resisting an officer without violence.
DEVAUGHN DARLING CLAIMS BILL CLEARS EDUCATION BUDGET PANEL via Florida Politics – The bill – SB 16 by Sen. Arthenia Joyner – appropriates $1.8 million to the family of Darling, who died during preseason drills from complications of an undiagnosed health problem in 2001. The measure now moves on to the full Appropriations panel. A House companion bill by Rep. Mia Jones has so far not been taken up in committee.
SENATE LEADERS SEND MEDICAL POT PROPOSAL READY FOR FLOOR VOTE BACK TO COMMITTEE via Michael Auslen and Kristen Clark of the Tampa Bay Times – Rules chairman Sen. David Simmons … moved that the bill (SB 460) have another hearing, which is unusual after a piece of legislation has been put on the agenda for a floor session. The Rules Committee is scheduled to meet next Monday afternoon. Simmons did not give a reason, but the bill drew more than 30 proposed amendments, including one by sponsor Sen. Rob Bradley … that would turn it from a two-page bill to a 27-page bill. Bradley … did not expect his amendment, which brings the legislation closer into line with the House version, to necessitate another hearing.
SENATE PASSES LIZBETH BENACQUISTO BILL TO REFORM LIFE INSURANCE PAYOUTS via Florida Politics – A bill that would require insurers to take a more proactive stance on paying out life insurance benefits unanimously passed the Senate on Wednesday. SB 966, by Fort Myers Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, would require insurers to compare their policy rolls with the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File and payout benefits. Current law allows insurers to wait until beneficiaries contact them before verifying deaths and doling out benefits. The asymmetrical use of the file was discovered by state officials in 2007, and since Florida has settled with 23 of the nation’s largest insurers, bringing in $175 million to the state as unclaimed property and directing $340 million to Florida beneficiaries.
SENATE PASSES MEASURE CATEGORIZING COMPUTER CODING AS FOREIGN LANGUAGE via Florida Politics – Sen. Jeremy Ring‘s SB 468 passed the upper chamber by a vote of 35-5 after a half-hour of heated debate, mostly among Ring’s fellow Democrats. Sen. Dwight Bullard said he agreed coding is an important skill for students to learn, but stressed that many students in poorer schools across the states lack a personal computer on which to code. “I agree coding is important, but we set ourselves up for failure because we haven’t addressed these outstanding problems with access,” Bullard said.
SENATE PASSES PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP REFORM via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools – The Senate Fiscal Policy Committee passed an overhaul of the state’s procedures and policies for public-private partnerships (P3s) sending it to the chamber’s floor … SB 124, is based on the recommendations of a task force composed of local government officials, representatives of the business community and the Department of Management Services The bill would specifically authorize school districts and special districts to enter into P3 agreements and would provide regulations for handling unsolicited proposals for possible partnerships, among other provisions. A bill linked to SB 124, SB 126, would exempt those unsolicited proposals from public record requests … would apply from the time a public agency receives an unsolicited proposal until they make a final decision on whether to accept or reject the proposal.
BEST TWEET ABOUT LEGISLATION PASSING THE SENATE: @jeffschweersTBO: Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto. Computer coding as language option bill approved 35 to 5
FLORIDA’S CONFEDERATE GENERAL HEADING TO THE EXIT AT U.S. CAPITOL via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post – A measure that would move the statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith out of the U.S. Capitol’s National Statuary Hall collection was sent to Scott by the Florida House. The House voted 83-32 to approve a measure already OK’d by the Senate that sets the stage for Smith’s removal. The legislation (CS/SB 310) would authorize a panel within the Florida Department of State to recommend to the Legislature another Floridian from history to be commemorated with a statue in the Capitol.
LEGISLATURE OKS DIGITAL ASSETS MEASURE via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – The bill (SB 494) now heads to Scott‘s desk after the House passed it 116-0 … the Senate previously approved it on a 36-0 vote. Under the bill, someone of a person’s choosing could have access to and control their financial accounts, social media and almost anything else the person has online after their death. Those include emails, text messages, online photographs, documents stored in the cloud, electronic bank statements, and other electronic communications or records. The “asset” manager could be next of kin, a friend, an attorney or anyone the person selects.
ABSENTEE BALLOTS GET NAME CHANGE TO VOTE-BY-MAIL via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools – The Florida Legislature unanimously passed a bill changing the phrasing of “absentee” to “vote-by-mail” in state law. SB 112 now goes to Scott … It was passed by the Senate 34-0 last month. Vote-by-mail may be a more apt description for the current concept as many voters chose to send in a ballot despite having the ability to go to the polls. Last session, there was some concern that the United States Postal Service may delay ballots being sent to voters out-of-state and overseas due to the word change but that issue has been settled.
RICK SCOTT SIGNS BILL BANNING NEIGHBORHOOD GUN RANGES via AP – Florida homeowners can no longer set up backyard gun ranges under a bill signed into law by Scott. SB 130… would ban recreational use of firearms on residential property in neighborhoods where there are one or more homes per acre of land. The law does specify that property owners can still fire a gun to protect themselves or their property.
SB 130 (Firearms): Prohibits the recreational discharge of a firearm in certain residential areas, banning informal “backyard shooting ranges.”
SB 158 (Identification Cards and Driver Licenses): This bill allows a Floridian with a lifetime fishing, hunting, or boating license to have a symbol displaying that lifetime status added to their driver’s license or identification card.
SB 180 (Trade Secrets): This bill expands the definition of “trade secret” to include certain financial information.
SB 182 (Public Records and Meetings): This bill exempts certain financial information that is a trade secret from public records requirements.
SB 228 (Mandatory Minimum Sentences): This bill removes aggravated assault from the list of offenses included in the “10-20-Life” sentencing law.
SB 1030 (Florida Statutes): This bill adopts the 2016 Florida Statutes and makes them law.
SB 1032 (Florida Statutes): This bill deletes provisions that grant redundant or unused rulemaking authority in the Florida Statutes.
SB 1038 (Florida Statutes): This bill deletes and repeals provisions in the Florida Statutes that have expired or become obsolete.
SB 1040 (Florida Statutes): This bill deletes provisions of the Florida Statutes that have passed their repeal date.
RICK SCOTT, LAWMAKERS DISAGREE ON HOW MUCH IS AVAILABLE FOR TAX CUTS via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida – Despite a nearly $400 million haircut to state revenue projections, Scott is holding firm in his belief that lawmakers can include $1 billion in tax cuts in this year’s budget. “There is plenty of money in the budget,” Scott told reporters … Legislative economists last month slashed by $388 million the amount they estimate budget-writers will have to work with as they craft the 2016-17 state budget. Those new numbers have changed the perception of the plan even among legislative leaders who supported Scott’s push for a $1 billion tax cut. Scott’s plan would eventually cut $1 billion in taxes, but only roughly $600 million of that would come in the first year.
SCOTT CALLS SESSION “SUCCESSFUL” – BUT STILL HASN’T GOT WHAT HE WANTS via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – After all, legislative leadership passed their priority bills early on, which Scott happily signed. The message was clear: You got yours, I want mine. “We’ve had a very good Session. It’s all going to be successful,” Scott told reporters. “We started with the water bill that the Speaker of the House wanted, we started with the Gardiner Scholarship bill for those with unique abilities (named after Senate President Andy Gardiner), those have already been signed … Everyone knows my priorities … All of them are tied to getting more jobs in our state. The tax cut is important … along with the $250 million for (the Florida Enterprise Fund) … I believe we’re going to have a good end to Session. And there’s plenty of money in the budget.”
SCOTT TOURS TORNADO DAMAGE IN CENTURY, PENSACOLA via NorthEscambia.com – After touring … tornado damage in Pensacola … Scott headed north to see the recovery efforts from last week’s EF-3 tornado in Century. The governor walked through the hardest hit areas, stopping to talk with residents and recovery workers.
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AGENCY DEFENDS PRISON HEALTH CARE CONTRACT via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald – Department of Corrections Chief of Staff Stacy Arias told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Civil and Criminal Justice that the decision by Corizon Health to cancel its $1.2 billion contract to provide medical care to state prison inmates three years early forced the agency to sign a new compact that will cost the state more money. Arias was asked to explain the agency’s decision to replace Corizon with a two-year $268 million contract with Centurion Florida, a healthcare company with deep political connections. The department has drawn a lawsuit from Wexford Health, another politically-connected company, which accuses FDC of violating the state procurement process when it approved the bid. Under intense questioning by the committee, Arias said that while the Centurion contract will cost more it will also provide the agency with more oversight and ability to track costs, which Corizon’s contract did not allow, it will give the agency the ability to perform more audits and assess damages “if and when appropriate,’’ she said.
AFP STRIKES BACK AT EFI’S BILL JOHNSON via Jeff Schweers of the Tampa Tribune – Americans for Prosperity … is upset over comments made by Bill Johnson, president and CEO of Enterprise Florida Inc., the state agency that negotiates all those incentive packages with businesses and local governments. Johnson called out AFP for being hypocrites because Koch Industries has received $196 million in government incentives itself, prompting AFP Florida ‘s director Chris Hudson to say in a news release of his own last night, “Newsflash, AFP is not Koch Industries.” Hudson said Johnson is spreading “misinformation,” saying AFP is composed of “thousands of hard-working Americans who have tasked us with putting an end to the crony corporate welfare spending sprees that lawmakers have doled out for far too long.”
STATE WORKFORCE DOWN BY UNDER 7000 UNDER RICK SCOTT via Bill Cotterell of the Tallahassee Democrat – A report by the Department of Management Service said Florida has 10,669 fewer authorized positions in the three major job classes – Career Service, Selected Exempt and Senior Management – than were employed when Scott took office in 2011. Even accounting for some employment gains in the courts and State University System, state government is smaller by more than 7,000 positions. And state workers, on average, earn 13.5 percent less than employees in all Florida trades and industries. As it has year after year, the state ranks last in the nation in both its ratio of state employees to population and the per capita cost of state personnel.
EVERGLADES FOUNDATION CALLS FOR MORE MONEY TO END DISCHARGE FROM LAKE OKEECHOBEE via Eric Staats of the Naples Daily News – Record rainfall this winter has meant the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has opened the floodgates to lower Lake Okeechobee water levels, releasing billions of gallons of damaging slugs of water into the Gulf of Mexico on top of the runoff already draining off the Caloosahatchee basin itself. Enough is enough, said [Eric] Eikenberg, the CEO of the Everglades Foundation, standing under a picnic pavilion at the Franklin lock with Lee County Realtor Shane Spring and Lee Commissioner Frank Mann to call for more money to fix the problem. “People want change, they want action, they want solutions to be carried out,” Eikenberg said … some observers already are bracing for a toxic algae outbreak.
FLORIDA CHAMBER’S INTERNATIONAL DAYS CONTINUE WITH TALKS FROM HIGH-LEVEL STATE OFFICIALS via Florida Politics – Chamber President & CEO Mark Wilson relayed a poignant story from a dinner … which brought the purpose of the annual confab into focus. Dining with Sen. Maria Sachs, Rep. David Santiago, and Consul General for the Netherlands Nathalie Olijslager, Wilson recalled Santiago mentioned how, despite the importance of growing Florida agriculture, the tomatoes from Turkey are among the world’s most delicious. Olijslager, a deft advocate for her home country, pointed out that the seeds for those tomatoes originate in the Netherlands. So there they were, Wilson said, a Florida economic development leader, a Deltona House member and Congressional candidate, and a Dutch economic envoy, talking Turkey and its tomatoes – but really, all the while talking about the border-defying nature of the new global economy. Wilson also unveiled a new website – FloridaWins.org – on the importance of global trade on Florida’s economy which he urged conferees to share with their employees and networks. “More International Trade = More Florida Jobs,” an accompanying video hammered home.
FORMER EDUCATION COMMISSIONER TONY BENNETT REGISTERS AS STATE LOBBYIST via Florida Politics – Bennett, the former Florida Commissioner of Education who resigned in 2013 amid controversy, has registered to lobby before the Florida Legislature and the executive branch. A state database of lobbying registrations shows that Bennett signed up to represent Standards for Success, an Indiana-based education consulting company whose services include “Common Core Implementation,” and Texas Teachers, a Houston area company which specializes in alternative teacher certification programs. Bennett’s lobbying registration are lists him as working for Strategos Public Affairs, the governmental consulting firm headed by former state Rep. Trey Traviesa. The nature of Bennett’s advocacy work for his clients, as well as the back story of his hiring for Strategos is unknown at this time.
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MORNING MUST-READ: STEVE SCHALE TALKS 2016 FLORIDA PRIMARIES – In a new memo, the Democratic consultant lays out his views on both parties’ upcoming March 15 primaries. Among his insights: “Well over 3 million people will vote in the Presidential Preference Primary. Tampa should be the largest voting market for both parties, albeit more so for the GOP… For Republicans, Florida is exceptionally accurate when it comes to choosing the nominee. Every GOP nominee has won Florida since the state started holding primaries in 1956. When it comes to Democrats, the record is the opposite – most have lost Florida, most recently in 2008 when the state voted for [Hillary] Clinton, not the eventual nominee Barack Obama… For the front runners, winning Florida probably ends it for one main reason: money. Momentum isn’t talked about enough in Presidential primaries, not only for how it sets the narrative, but also for its impact on resources. Florida is later in the process than you think. For Republicans, Florida is the 29th contest on the calendar (as is Ohio). Think about that, both Kasich and Rubio are looking to their home states for a breakthrough after half the contests are complete. For Democrats, Florida is the 25th contest. For the record, I stand ready to work with anyone that is up for finding a way to move us earlier in the calendar.”
DONALD TRUMP SHATTERS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY via Shane Goldmacher of POLITICO – After winning three of the first four nominating contests …Trump hasn’t just hijacked the Republican Party but fractured it newly into three. … Suddenly, there are three strands of the Republicanism, each entrenched and vying for supremacy in 2016 … Cruz is the leader of the traditional conservative purists. … Rubio is emerging from the mud of a multicandidate brawl to lead the once-dominant, now diminished, mainstream lane of the GOP. But it is Trump’s new alliance of angry populists that is ascendant — and on the precipice of dominance.
TRUMP LANDS HIS FIRST CONGRESSIONAL ENDORSEMENTS via Nick Gass of POLITICO – California Rep. Duncan Hunter and New York Rep. Chris Collins. Noting that he and Trump see eye to eye on a number of issues, including border security, manufacturing and national security, Hunter said he also likes Trump for another reason. “I don’t think Trump wants my endorsement,” Hunter said, while also remarking that he has not heard from the candidate himself. “And that’s one reason why I like him,” he added. Trump said earlier that “endorsements mean very little.”
RICK SCOTT SAYS HE’S NOT THINKING OF BECOMING TRUMP’S VP via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – “I focus on this job. I’ve got three more years on this job,” he said when asked by longtime Tallahassee reporter Bill Cotterell at a news conference in his office Wednesday afternoon. “My goal is when I finish this job, people are going to say I have to live in Florida because everybody can get a great job.”
TWEET, TWEET: @Fineout: @FLGovScott says he still hasn’t decided if he will endorse before Fla. primary, but he notes that @realDonaldTrump keeps winning
PRO-TRUMP ROBOCALL: DON’T VOTE FOR CUBAN via The Daily Beast – A xenophobic pro-Donald Trump robocall urges voters in Vermont and Minnesota not to vote for a “Cuban” like Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz. The call comes from the American National PAC and is voiced by its founded William Daniel Johnson, the leader of the white nationalist American Freedom Party. “The white race is dying out in America and Europe because we are afraid to be called ‘racist,'” the call said. “I am afraid to be called racist. Donald Trump is not a racist, but Donald Trump is not afraid. Don’t vote for a Cuban. Vote for Donald Trump.”
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ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Quinnipiac University announces results of a poll of Florida likely GOP primary voters at 11 a.m.
FLORIDA EARLY BALLOT VOTE UPDATE — As of Tuesday, 10 a.m.: 426,650 votes have been cast (221,517 Republicans, 193,719 Democrats). Absentees mailed — Republican: 857,905; Democrat: 721,549; NMP: 50,759; Total: 1,630,213; 32,675 new ballots returned Tuesday, Feb. 23.
‘WE’LL WIN IN FLORIDA,’ MARCO RUBIO SAYS via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – “We’ll win in Florida,” Rubio told CBS This Morning after coming second in Nevada’s Republican caucuses. “Now that Gov. Bush is no longer in the race — he and I split up a lot of the support in Florida.” He didn’t mention that polls have shown front-runner Trump leading the GOP field. Those polls, though, came before Bush dropped out. Still, Rubio acknowledged he will need other rivals to leave the race before he can try to consolidate support against Trump. Trump won 46 percent of the Nevada vote, his biggest number yet. Rubio trailed by 20 percentage points. “It‘s important to take a deep breath here,” Rubio said. He pointed to Florida and other states that will award their nominating delegates in winner-take-all fashion — rather than proportionally — beginning March 15. The implication is that a candidate who nabs a lot of those large states at once can make a big leap in the race. Rubio made no mention about how he might do in next Tuesday’s Super Tuesday states.
RUBIO ENDORSER STRUGGLES TO NAME RUBIO ACCOMPLISHMENTS via Nick Gass of POLITICO – At the end of his interview, freshman Rep. Cresent Hardy was asked the question about what he has seen from Rubio over the course of his last year in Congress. Hardy took office in January 2015, a little more than three months before Rubio announced his candidacy. “On the Hill, I have not seen that. He’s been running for a presidential race most of this year,” Hardy said. “As far as his policies in the past, I know that he’s done some things that even have been a little frustrating for an individual like myself at times.” Hardy offered praise for Rubio’s work on the Gang of Eight immigration legislation in 2013, calling it “a very good process that he was trying to get as much in there for conservatives in this country and then going to try to send it to the House for a final decision.”
RUBIO PUSHED FOR LAND DEAL AS HE BACKED LAW LIMITING CRITICS via Chad Day, Jack Gillum and Julie Pace of The Associated Press – Rubio stood before Miami-Dade County officials in May 2002 and pushed them to permit a multimillion-dollar industrial development to be built on restricted land near the Florida Everglades. Two months earlier, Rubio … backed a law that made it harder for people to challenge the kinds of developments he advocated for as a private attorney. Around the same period, Rubio also requested state money to be earmarked to benefit a flood-prone area around the development project. Those efforts by Rubio, now a U.S. senator and the leading establishment alternative to GOP presidential rivals Trump and Cruz, provide a glimpse into how he handled the intersection of his public role as a young lawmaker and his private representation of a company that stood to benefit from his political connections. There’s no evidence Rubio violated Florida ethics rules. But his seat in Tallahassee, the state capital, put him in the position of advocating before a county commission that relied on lawmakers like him to fight for state money.
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TED CRUZ: IT’S ME VERSUS TRUMP NOW via Katie Glueck of POLITICO – “History teaches us that nobody has ever won the nomination without winning one of the first three primaries, and there are only two people who have won one of the first three primaries: Donald Trump and us,” he said, referencing his victory in the Iowa caucuses. “The first four states have shown, the only campaign that has beaten Donald Trump, the only campaign that can beat Donald Trump, is this campaign.” On Tuesday night, however, Cruz could not beat Trump.
BEN CARSON MAKES GOOD JOKE ABOUT FORMER AIDES MISMANAGING HIS CAMPAIGN’S FINANCES via Brendan O’Connor of Gawker – Carson “jokingly” speculated that aides who have left his campaign might have been intentionally undermining his efforts with ostensibly incompetent spending. “We had people who didn’t really seem to understand finances…or maybe they did—maybe they were doing it on purpose.” Haha, maybe! Actually, some have speculated that Carson’s entire campaign is a direct mail fundraising scheme, a theory that was corroborated, at least in part, by a damning POLITICO story … Immediately following that story’s publication, Carson’s finance chairman and top fundraiser, Dean Parker, resigned … In the final three months of 2015 the Carson campaign paid over $9 million to companies owned by its staffers.
BUSH THANKS DONORS, CHALKS UP DEFEAT TO ‘A YEAR OF DISRUPTION’ via Alex Leary of the Tampa Bay Times – “I just didn’t get the breakthrough I needed in the early states,” an apologetic Bush said [in a conference call with donors]. He promised to back a “conservative” but did not name anyone. “From the very beginning to the end, I really saw the path to win the nomination in a way that would allow the next president to be a conservative, a reform-minded conservative. But as is always the case in life, there’s all sorts of different kinds of outcomes based on the realities, and in this case, the reality was you had a year of disruption, a year of outsiders making a compelling case to people who are deeply disaffected and angry.”
JEB BUSH’S DOWNFALL PROVES POLITICAL TV ADS DON’T WORK ANYMORE via Issie Lapowsky of Wired – Perhaps the most important legacy Jeb! will leave behind is the fact that his campaign taught us all an important lesson about television ads in modern day politics—namely, the fact that they don’t really work. At least, not like they used to. Of course, there’s an argument to be made that no amount of money could have saved Bush from becoming the butt of the GOP joke. But there’s another equally important argument: that the sheer volume of social media noise has drowned out the traditional 30-second television spot.
CARLOS BERUFFF IS LAUNCHING CAMPAIGN FOR U.S. SENATE via Jeremy Wallace of the Tampa Bay Times – Manatee County home builder Carlos Beruff confirms through a campaign video being released on Youtube this morning that he will run for Rubio’s open Senate seat this year, joining a field that already includes four congressman, a business executive and the state’s lieutenant governor. … In the two-minute and 19-second video, paid for by Carlos Beruff for Senate, the 58-year-old father of two pitches himself as a rags-to-riches story, rising from poverty to become president of Medallion Homes, which he says has built 2,500 homes in three counties in southwest Florida. Beruff notes he didn’t finish college and went to work selling homes, which started him on his way.
RICH NUGENT SAYS SUPPORT OF DAN WEBSTER FOR SPEAKER WAS MERELY TACTICAL via Scott Powers of Florida Politics – Webster … whose own Congressional District 10 was dramatically changed through redistricting, said he was moving to CD 11 to take on Justin Grabelle for the Republican nomination there. Webster noted that Nugent had supported Webster in his long shot bid last year for the U.S. Speaker of the House post … Nugent cautioned people not to read much into that support, suggesting it was only tactical support to help oust then-Speaker John Boehner… Nugent also questioned Webster’s standing as a conservative. “Since he brought it up, I just want to be clear that my decision to vote for Webster over Boehner had everything to do with the mess at the time in the House and very little to do with Webster.”
***In Marion County alone, the horse industry’s annual economic impact is $2.62 billion and nearly 20,000 jobs–completely dwarfing any Seminole Compact estimates. Totally opposed by horsemen, the “partial decoupling” plan now in play would put horsemen on forced welfare with an artificial “set aside purse pool,” wiping out free enterprise and Florida’s ability to compete for horse racing business with other states. United Florida Horsemen want legislators to know that “Partial Decoupling” is being peddled by casino-only interests, the goal of which is to channel money directly into their corporate bottom lines that would have normally been circulated into Florida’s economy.***
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
Geoffrey Becker: Medtronic
Tony Bennett, Strategos: Texas Teachers
Dean Cannon, Cynthia Lorenzo, Capitol Insight: Weyerhaeuser Company and Its Affiliates
Mark Delegal, Kimberly Case, Larry Cretul, Lawrence Sellers, Holland & Knight: BH3 Management
Edward Jarrette Dixon: Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office
Rob Fields, Danny Jordan, One Eighty Consulting: Centrify
Nick Iarossi, Jen Gaviria, Ken Granger, Ashley Kalifeh, Ronald LaFace, Scott Ross, Christopher Schoonover, Capital City Consulting: Renaissance Learning; Weyerhaeuser Company and Its Affiliates; Sebastian Ferrero Foundation
Yolanda Cash Jackson, Becker & Poliakoff: American Chemistry Council
Natalie King, RSA Consulting: Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce; Premier Community HealthCare Group
Todd Lewis, Lewis Consulting: Florida Chiropractic Association
Douglas Martin, Gray Fox Strategies: Communities In Schools of Florida
Scott Thomasson: Vote Solar
TALLAHASSEE POLICE MAKE MAJOR DRUG BUST AT HOME OWNED BY LOBBYIST BEN PARKS via Florida Politics – Police have made a drug bust at a northeast Tallahassee home owned by Parks. According to David Northway, Public Information Officer for the Tallahassee Police Department, a search warrant was executed Wednesday at 6279 Whittondale Drive in the Ox Bottom neighborhood. The Leon County Property Appraiser’s Office lists Parks as the registered owner of the property. Northway said several individuals were arrested on drug charges and removed from the residence, but he would not discuss whether Parks was one of them. A neighbor of Parks tells FloridaPolitics.com that they witnessed Parks being arrested. Another said Parks was allowing recently released jail and prison inmates to stay at the home.
FSU’S TAU KAPPA EPSILON SUSPENDED FOR ALLEGED HAZING INCIDENT via Karl Etters of the Tallahassee Democrat – The suspension stems from an alleged hazing event when pledges participated in a drinking game “Old South,” during which they were made to act like slaves while serving drinks to members. They were also made to steal traffic cones and then to clean them for hours. They were driven blindfolded to Thomasville and Ocala and then told to return to Tallahassee on their own without their phones or wallets, FSU officials said. The incident was reported to FSU administrators Feb. 3 and immediately the fraternity was suspended by Dean of Students Victoria Dobiyanski. Several fraternity members were expelled from the group during a meeting of the fraternity after the incident was investigated by the FSU Police Department.
GOVERNORS CLUB THURSDAY LUNCH BUFFET MENU – Florida legislators finish week seven of the 2016 Legislative Session with a broad selection at the Thursday Governors Club lunch buffet, which includes Creamy Tomato Soup; GC Cold Cut Sandwich Board with Chips; Turkey, Ham, Bologna, Salami, Provolone & Cheddar Cheese; Chef Salad with toppings; Tuna Salad & Chicken; Yankee Pot Roast; Grilled Salmon with Charred-Corn Relish; Chicken Florentine; European Brats with Onions and Peppers; California Vegetable Mix; Roasted Herb Potatoes, and finishing up with Peach Cobbler and the ever popular Assorted Mini Desserts. As they say in Klingon: yISop! (Eat!)
WELCOME TO THE WORLD the adorable Andrew Doyle Brown, son of Johnson & Blanton’s Melanie Brown and husband Robert.
FACEBOOK’S ‘LIKE’ BUTTON GETS ‘ANGRY’ AND ‘SAD’ AS FRIENDS via Florida Politics – Facebook has been testing alternatives to “like” in about a half-dozen countries, including Ireland, Spain and Japan. On Wednesday, it will start making “haha,” “angry” and three other responses available in the U.S. and the rest of the world. In changing a core part of Facebook – the 7-year-old “like” button has become synonymous with the social network – the company said it tried to keep things familiar. The thumbs-up “like” button will look just as it has, without the other choices cluttering the screen or confusing people. You have to hold that button for a second or two for the alternatives to pop up … known as Reactions.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Sen. Darren Soto, Rep. Carlos Trujillo, CFO Jeff Atwater’s press secretary Joel Brown, and POLITICO’s Matt Dixon.
