Peter Schorsch
Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Mitch Perry and Jim Rosica.
NEW FLORIDA HOUSE SPEAKER WANTS CRACK DOWN ON LOBBYISTS via Gary Fineout of The Associated Press – Richard Corcoran … set to become speaker later this month, released proposed rules Thursday that include a ban on lobbyists using emails or text messages to reach out to legislators when they are about to vote in committee meetings or on the House floor. The new rules prohibit legislators from traveling on lobbyist-owned planes, which is allowed now if they pay the same rate it would cost to fly on a commercial jet. Lobbyists will be required to disclose electronically more information about their lobbying activities, including specific bills or amendments they are trying to kill or pass. Corcoran also wants to make it harder for legislators to add new spending items to the state budget for hometown projects, a ritual that usually occurs in the waning days of the session. The new process will force legislators to file stand-alone bills that include the request. He also wants to ban legislators from lobbying local governments when they aren’t in session
… The House will vote on the new rules Nov. 22 when they gather to formally install Corcoran as speaker. As Florida has grown into the third-largest state, the lobbying industry in the Capitol has also flourished. Disclosures have shown that private firms pull in more than $100 million a year lobbying the Legislature and the executive branch. The new rules constitute some of the most significant changes to lobbying in Tallahassee since the state adopted a ban on all gifts from lobbyists to legislators a decade ago. They also appear to be some of the most stringent rules in the country. It’s not clear if the Florida Senate will emulate some of Corcoran’s proposals, meaning that lobbyists could be working with two different sets of standards next year.
SUNBURN READERS ALREADY KNEW about all of these proposed rule changes by reading yesterday’s edition. Still, we did not know this AWESOME one-minute video would accompany the Speaker-designate’s announcement. My favorite scene? The one in which lawmakers are literally thrown to their death from a lobbyist-owned airplane. Click on the image below to watch.
CORCORAN BRINGS WISDOM TO REIGN IN TALLAHASSEE LOBBYISTS via Martin Dyckman for Florida Politics – Much has changed about lobbying, rarely for the better, in the ensuing 45 years … But the worst of it is that the lobbyists now routinely work in teams — often very large teams. Where there only a few hundred in the 1960s and 1970s, there were 1,914 registered during the 2016 session. That’s nearly 12 for each legislator … How do the various teams keep from stumbling over one another? How do they keep from crushing legislators under a press of bodies? Considering how the Legislature is often a multi-ring circus, with simultaneous action in multiple committees or on both House and Senate floors, how does one person represent 101 interests?
To ask those questions is to see the wisdom of Corcoran‘s proposal to ban lobbyists from sending text messages to representatives while they are in committee or in session. The smartphone is another of those negative developments since the 1960s. The lobbyists don’t use theirs just to coordinate with other members of their teams and flash warnings when something unfriendly pops up. Each team has a designated leader to watch what’s coming up. There are services that monitor all the bills and amendments for them. Then the team members assigned to their respective lawmakers can use their iPhones, Androids or Blackberries to pull their strings without ever being seen. If Corcoran prevails, as he surely will, the lobbyists will have to go back to doing that the old way — by sending written notes into the chamber or sitting in the gallery to wag hand signals. It works, but not as effortlessly, efficiently or secretly. We reporters loved to scan the gallery for those signals or stand by the chamber doors to see who was handing notes to the sergeants at arms.
NEW HOUSE EDUCATION CHAIR HELPED EXPAND SPECIAL EDUCATION VOUCHERS via Jessica Bakeman of POLITICO Florida – Rep. Michael Bileca, a Miami Republican, was re-elected and subsequently tapped for the chairmanship by Corcoran. His colleagues had predicted he might earn a legislative appointment overseeing education since he has been active in that policy area in the past. For example, Bileca sponsored HB 7011, the House version of the bill that expanded Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts, or what’s now called the Gardiner Scholarship, named for outgoing Senate president Andy Gardiner. The accounts allow parents of children with disabilities to use state dollars to cover private school tuition or other services that meet the students’ individual educational needs. The school-choice bill, sponsored by Bileca, Rep. Erik Fresen and the education appropriations subcommittee, grew the already existing program to include 3- and 4-year-olds, as well as students with muscular dystrophy and certain types of autism that weren’t originally covered. Along with other policies included in the bill that required appropriations, the changes cost more than $90 million. In part as a gesture to quell tensions that had erupted during the contentious 2015 session, the Legislature approved the Senate priority in January, during the first week of this year’s session, and Gov. Scott signed it shortly after. Bileca had other legislative wins as session came to a close in March. Language from two bills he sponsored was wrapped into HB 7029, a sweeping education “train” lawmakers approved on the last day.
JOE NEGRON PICKS ANITERE FLORES TO SERVE AS SENATE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE — The Stuart Republican announced Thursday he selected Sen. Flores, a Miami Republican to serve as Senate President Pro Tempore. The appointment is effective Nov. 22, when the Legislature convenes for its organizational session. “The role of Senate President Pro Tempore is a significant position of trust and authority. Anitere is a loyal friend and trusted ally. She also has longstanding relationships with many new and returning Senators,” said Negron in a statement. “She has a proven ability to work in a bipartisan manner without compromising her own unwavering principles. I have complete confidence in her ability to represent the Senate in this important leadership position.” Flores was first elected to the Florida House in 2004, serving three terms before being elected to the Florida Senate in 2010. She handily won re-election Tuesday, defeating Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell in the newly drawn Senate District 39.
NEGRON: ELECTIONS WILL HELP PLAN TO STOP LAKE OKEECHOBEE DISCHARGES via Tyler Treadway of TCPalm – Negron … said he has “a strong foundation of support” with 25 Republicans in the 40-member Senate to help him push his proposal to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee as part of a system to move excess lake water south rather than east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River. Negron’s plan to buy 60,000 acres and build a reservoir would cost $2.4 billion, split evenly by the state and the federal government. That “foundation” is one GOP senator short of the 26 in the 2016 session, but because of redistricting, Republicans could have lost more seats in five new Democratic-leaning districts. … Before Tuesday’s elections, Negron called getting the Legislature to approve $1.2 billion for the project “will be difficult and challenging.” On Wednesday, he said, “I’m very optimistic about our prospects.”
MUST-READ — EMAILS, MEMOS REVEAL HOW REPUBLICANS KEPT LARGE MAJORITY IN FLORIDA SENATE AFTER ELECTION DAY via Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida — Candidate recruiting and record fundraising helped Republicans pick up one state Senate seat despite new Democratic-friendly political lines, according to internal memos and emails outlining the caucus’ election night results. Senate Republican’s efforts were led by Negron through the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, the entity with which money was raised and spent for five priority state races. That effort, which also involved other top state Senate Republicans, raised more than $20 million, a record amount for Republican Senate races. … Each of the priority races where Negron spent money was won by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The FRSCC’s last round of polling, conducted between Nov. 1-3, found four of their five priority candidates winning by roughly the margin as the final outcome. “In all four districts, our final survey showed the Republican nominee leading his/her Democratic opponent,” wrote Matt Mitchell of consulting firm Data Targeting, which was the lead pollster for four of the five races, in a post-election polling memo.
HMMM…JANET CRUZ SAYS DEMOCRATIC HOUSE VICTORY WAS A WINNER ON ELECTION NIGHT IN FLORIDA via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics – Incoming House Minority Leader Cruz is in Miami, overlooking the automatic recount expected to begin … between House District 118 Democrat Robert Asencio and Republican David Rivera, which ended … with Asencio defeating Rivera by 68 votes out of nearly 63,000 cast. If Ascencio prevails, he would give Cruz and the Florida Democratic Party’s House Victory division a net gain of three seats in this election cycle. Though not as the goal she had originally targeted to move from red to blue this fall, Cruz maintains that it’s still an impressive feat.
“If you look at what happened across the country and what happened in Florida, House Victory had a good night,” the Tampa Democrat says. If Ascencio holds on, his win will raise the number of Democrats in the state House of Representatives to 41 to the Republicans 79, which is just short of a veto-proof super majority. “I think she did a good job as leader designee in raising money, and I think she did a good job of recruiting candidates,” said Democratic Party strategist Barry Edwards. “The problem for her was the state party didn’t provide an infrastructure for her with voter registration to bolster her efforts.” … Republicans registered 304,320 votes since 2012, while the Democrats only added 95,771. Edwards says that Cruz was reviewing House races on a weekly basis to shift resources to seats she though the Democrats could win. “The unfortunate thing for is her is that the playing field kept on getting reduced, because of Trump and because quite frankly, the Hillary campaign wasn’t very good,” he says.
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STATE AGENCIES OUTLINE SPENDING HOPES WITH TIGHT BUDGET LOOMING via Michael Maline of Florida Politics – The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is having trouble retaining actuaries … asking for $31.6 million for FY 16-17, including $488,651 to boost its actuarial firepower … This would pay for a new analyst in its property and casualty insurance actuary unit, and reclassify eight staff actuaries as senior analysts in that and the life and health unit. Additional promotions would bring the total to around $1.2 million, but the office would save in the long run by reducing a high turnover, Fox said. The Department of Financial Services wants $42.5 million to continue work on its financial and cash management systems upgrade. The agency seeks $325.8 million overall, a 21 percent increase over existing spending. One key item for the Division of Hotels and Restaurants, part of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, was $141,000 to boost training for alcohol and tobacco enforcement agents. The department’s request totaled $152.9 million. The Florida Lottery wants $761,000 to create a sales incentives program that agency budget director Travis Ervin said would generate revenue, and $837,000 to “streamline primary business functions.”
The Department of Revenue’s $552.6 million budget request includes $1.3 million in a federal grant that will allow its child support program to install technology to make sure people seeking information through its telephone and web chat systems are who they say they are. The Agency for State Technology … hopes to spend $3 million to store more data on the cloud, and $343,000 to study the feasibility of leasing instead of buying desktop computers for state workers. In other legislative budget requests, the Department of Corrections is asking for $147.3 million for increased staffing, to replace old buildings, and for new vehicles, including transport vans. The Department of Juvenile Justice has a request in for $577.9 million, with no additional new full-time employees. That includes $5.3 million in funding for intervention programs. The Department of Law Enforcement seeks $20.9 million, a 7 percent increase from the current year.
DEO PRESENTS BUDGET REQUEST via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools – The Department of Economic Opportunity is asking for $1.2 billion total, noting that only $2.5 million of the ask comes from the General Revenue. Requests include $85 million for its incentives toolkit, an amount Gov. Rick Scott also proposed as part of his legislative priority to bring jobs to Florida. Other requests outlined were $76 million in continuation funding for Visit Florida and $12 million for quick response training program from CareerSource Florida. DEO funding promises to be a point of contention in the upcoming session, as Speaker Corcoran recently criticized government spending for economic development as “corporate welfare” and questioned the continued existence of Enterprise Florida in the coming years.
— EPILGOUE —
WHAT BRIAN BALLARD IS READING — WITH DONALD TRUMP’S ELECTION, A BONANZA FOR LOBBYISTS via Eric Lipton of The New York Times – The stunning surprise of the election, and the political chaos it created, is a boon for Washington’s lobbying corridor known as K Street. Corporate America is both excited and anxious about the prospect of Trump’s presidency, seeing great opportunity to shape the agenda after an extended period of frustration over gridlock in Congress. With Republicans poised to control both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, [former Sen. Trent] Lott said he had not seen such a chance to help clients since he left the Senate in 2007 — whether by making changes to the federal tax code for Amazon or increasing military spending on new ships for Huntington Ingalls Industries. “Trump has pledged to change things in Washington — about draining the swamp,” said Lott, who now works at Squire Patton Boggs, a law and lobbying firm. “He is going to need some people to help guide him through the swamp — how do you get in and how you get out? We are prepared to help do that.” Across Washington, lobbyists and trade association executives were busy reviewing their priorities, which include repealing financial regulations instituted during the Obama administration, pushing for cuts in corporate taxes, overhauling Obama’s signature health care plan and spending billions on roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
WHAT FLORIDA POLITICOS SAY ABOUT THE TRUMP ELECTION via Adam Smith of the Tampa Bay Times – JC Planas: This is the first presidential election in my lifetime where I have to say that I am truly puzzled. Not happy, not sad, just puzzled. Allan Bense: Four takeaways from the election: 1. It’s the economy, stupid. 2. People are mad, especially at entrenched elected officials, and came out to vote. 3. People really don’t like Hillary and were not motivated to get and vote. 4. The FBI announcement of reopening Hillary’s emails and her link to Anthony Weiner gave life to Trump‘s campaign, and he was on message the entire week. Mark Ferrulo: Last night was rough for a lot of us, damn rough. But the sun did come up this morning and one thing is clear — the work of progressive organizations like ours is more important than ever. Brian Burgess: The 2018 conventional wisdom is out the window. Case in point: does Pam Bondi want to be governor? Because having support from the ‘President of America’ probably won’t hurt her chances. Patrick Slevin: This was Clinton‘s election to lose. The Obama legacy cast too far a shadow that she couldn’t get out from under, which largely explains her underperforming and underwhelming candidacy. Ana Navarro: I hate polls. I hate pollsters. That is all. Brad Coker: Democrats can’t win with the “Obama coalition” unless Obama is on the ballot. Absent the “Obama coalition,” Florida is still a Red State. Frank Tsamoutales: Like many industry verticals, Clinton was “ubured”! Now it is time for the country to heal.
IN THE END, MIKE FERNANDEZ DIDN’T VOTE FOR HILLARY CLINTON OR TRUMP via Patricia Mazzei of the Miami Herald – After declaring he’d cross party lines and endorsing Clinton, Miami health care executive and Republican donor Fernandez … ultimately didn’t vote for her — or for Trump, whom he’d campaigned against and called “abysmally unfit.” Trump “has a stink of a dictator,” Fernandez told the Miami Herald in an email Thursday, citing the president-elect’s past contention that only he can fix the country’s problems. “But at the end, I wrote in JEB BUSH!” Fernandez emailed Republican friends … to mention an anecdote about George Washington making way for newly sworn-in successor, John Adams … “The people have spoken; the politics of the election are over,” he wrote, without saying he’d written-in Bush. “Donald Trump is now our elected President. In our system of a Constitutional Republic, regardless of what the different choices might be, the nation goes on functioning. That is the beauty of our democracy.” Among the reply-all responses came one from Bush, who has declined to disclose how he voted after saying he wouldn’t support Clinton or Trump, either. “Well said,” he wrote. “Very well said.”
WHETHER SOLAR SKIRMISH CONTINUES WITH UTILITIES IS UP TO THEM, AMENDMENT 1 OPPONENT SAYS via Bruce Ritchie of POLITCO Florida — With the defeat of solar Amendment 1 on Tuesday, the regulation of renewable energy in Florida returns to the status quo.And the status quo has verbal and regulatory sparring between utilities and a coalition of environmentalists and rooftop solar companies who support a distributed energy system in the future. “We want utility scale solar, community solar and customer-owned solar,” Smith said. “The utilities trying to choke off customer-owned solar is unacceptable.” Amendment 1 would have allowed continued regulation of solar by state and local government and prohibited those without solar energy from subsidizing those with it. Opponents said the measure was misleading and could thwart the development of solar. Amendment 1 received 51 percent of the vote, which is less than the 60 percent required to make it into the constitution. … Utilities contributed more than $20 million to the Consumers for Smart Solar political committee backing Amendment 1. The ballot measure was offered in response to a proposed amendment backed by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy that would have removed regulatory barriers to solar. The purpose was to allow the sale of solar energy by companies installing rooftop solar panels.
EVEN AFTER VOTERS’ APPROVAL, UNCERTAINTY CLOUDS MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN FLORDA via Michael Auslen of the Tampa Bay Times – Even though Floridians voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to allow medical marijuana, patients are months away from being able to purchase the drug. Before growers can put plants in the ground or dispensaries can open their doors, state health regulators face a July deadline of writing rules to govern an expanded medical marijuana program. And this spring, the Florida Legislature will undoubtedly consider a cannabis bill as well. Complicating matters is an existing law that lets a limited number of patients use strains of marijuana low in THC, which causes a euphoric high, and the terminally ill use full-strength cannabis. Six nurseries are already growing, processing and dispensing cannabis under an existing program.
Sen. Jeff Brandes who has advocated for medical marijuana in the Legislature for three years, said he is already working on a bill to regulate marijuana. He believes it will be the only major bill on the subject in the Senate. In its current form, the bill would end the existing program, he said, noting it doesn’t make sense to have two sets of rules. What’s more, he wants to allow more people to grow, process and sell cannabis. “I am not willing to compromise about opening up the market, period, full stop,” Brandes said. “We are going to have a free market system here in Florida.”
$8 MILLION SPENT BY OUTSIDE GROUPS IN CD 7, MOSTLY TO HELP STEPHANIE MURPHY UPSET JOHN MICA via Scott Powers of Florida Politics – Updated campaign finance documents filed with the Federal Election Commission this week show outside groups such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democrats’ House Majority PAC combined to spend nearly $6.3 million on advertising either supporting Murphy or attacking Mica. And that does not include spending by the Florida Democratic Party, which paid for several mailers down the stretch that still haven’t shown up in posted campaign finance documents. Mica got some help from Washington too, but not nearly as much and not nearly as soon. The National Republican Congressional Committee and the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Affairs combined to spend just over $1.6 million to support Mica or bash Murphy. Murphy won 51-49, and Mica blamed the “massive amount of money” spent against him as one of the reasons his failed re-election campaign was “difficult and challenging.” The outside money went a long way toward defining the campaign. Neither Mica, a 12-term incumbent, nor Murphy, a newcomer, had anywhere close to that kind of money in their official campaign funds, though the most recent filings for total contributions run only through Oct. 19, so do not include anything the candidates were able to raise or spend in the last three weeks. Mica had raised $1.2 million by that time, and Murphy about $600,000.
DAYS AFTER CONGRESSIONAL WIN, CHARLIE CRIST TEXTS TRUMP via Charlie Frago of the Tampa Bay Times – So after winning a hard-fought Pinellas County congressional race, the genial former governor said he texted president-elect Trump … to wish him well, and congratulate him on a victory that has left Crist‘s fellow Democrats stunned and thousands protesting in the streets. “We all hope for his success,” Crist wrote. Trump has not yet replied. But Crist, who knew Trump while serving as Florida’s Republican governor, said Washington, D.C. needs more politicians willing to bridge what is now a gaping political divide. “What our country needs now more than anything is civility, kindness and grace in our elected officials,” Crist said. “It’s what I heard most on the campaign trail. We have to get our act together as a people. We have to come together and do what’s right in the eyes of God, if you will.”
MEDICAL MARIJUANA, TRUMP, LAGOON TAX: BREVARD POLITICS SHIFTING via Matt Reed of FLORIDA TODAY – I had been watching for a political wave to hit central Florida and had drawn my own conclusion about Tuesday’s results. To test it, I recited those bullet points to FLORIDA TODAY reporter and “Boiled Down Brevard” columnist Jessica Saggio. What did she make of them? “Sounds like Brevard County has gone libertarian,” Saggio said. “Seriously.” My theory exactly. Political scientists have foretold this shift for years. As the population ages, baby boomers have begun to replace the staunchly conservative Silent Generation with retirees who are fiscally cautious but more socially and environmentally progressive. At the same time, Generation-Xers – like most of those elected Tuesday to state and county offices in Brevard – have supplanted boomers as the biggest, most influential cohort of middle-aged Floridians. On average, they tend to be fiscally cautious, tech-savvy, business-minded, socially libertarian (pro-choice, pro-gun rights, pro-conservation), and distrustful of expanding the social safety net. Like-minded millennials are still learning to “adult,” as Saggio puts it, but are becoming more engaged and powerful in Florida every year. This doesn’t necessarily mean more people will register with the Libertarian party or vote for its candidates. Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson won just 3 percent in Brevard Tuesday despite getting network news coverage and traffic galore in social media. (Too bad – I liked him.) Instead, it probably portends more elections at every level in Brevard in which voters demand fiscally responsible – if not conservative – leaders and rules to keep them that way. But knowing those leaders may act against voters’ left-leaning values on education, the environment, medical freedom or other issues, they are forcing that part of their agenda through ballot referenda.
WHY BROWARD COUNTY WAS LATE WITH ITS VOTE COUNT ON ELECTION DAY via Amy Sherman of the Miami Herald – The sluggish results were a result of nothing sinister. Just the slower process Broward uses to report results. County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes initially scoffed when asked by reporters as the night went on to explain why Broward lagged behind other counties in posting results. “We are not comparing to other counties,” she told reporters at her election night headquarters in Lauderhill. But Snipes said she already has plans in the works for technology upgrades that should speed up the process in the future — a step Miami-Dade took in 2015. Here’s how results from Election Day precinct voting get posted in Broward: An elections worker at most of the 577 precincts drives 6 to 8 miles to one of 16 regional sites to deliver flash drives with voting results. From those regional sites the results are sent electronically to the elections website. (The process works differently for some of the locations dubbed “the big 15” — locations that have multiple precincts. Those results are driven directly to the office in Lauderhill.) Snipes said that the county commission approved her budget request for equipment to send results directly from the precincts, eliminating the time spent driving from precincts to regional sites. Snipes wants that system in place for the 2018 election, which will include the governor’s race, a U.S. Senate race and other statewide races. Snipes said she didn’t know by how many minutes the new equipment will speed up the process. “It’s hard to predict — that will be first time we’ve done it,” she said. “It’s designed to speed up the process, to make everything happen right there at the polling place.”
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ALICE BLACKWELL APPLIES FOR STATE SUPREME COURT SEAT via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – Blackwell of Orange County, originally a Lawton Chiles appointee, is the latest applicant for a seat on the Florida Supreme Court. That brings to seven the number of those who have filed to replace Justice James E.C. Perry. He is retiring at the end of the year. The deadline to apply to the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission is 5 p.m.Friday … Because Perry represented that appellate district, applicants must be from that area: Brevard, Citrus, Flagler, Hernando, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Putnam, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia counties. Gov. Scott, a Republican, will name Perry’s replacement, making it his first opportunity to pick a state Supreme Court justice. Now, Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston the only reliable conservative votes on the seven-member court … In 1997, she was the first woman in the 9th Judicial Circuit, covering Orange and Osceola counties, to be named administrative judge of the civil division. She now handles complex civil litigation.
EIGHTH SUPREME COURT APPLICATION IS FILED via Florida Politics – State Attorney Brad King of the 5th Judicial Circuit has applied for the upcoming vacancy on the Florida Supreme Court. King’s application was received Thursday, according to Tallahassee attorney Jason Unger, chair of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission. King – the elected chief prosecutor for Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion and Sumter counties in Central Florida – is the eighth applicant to replace Justice James E.C. Perry, who’s retiring at the end of the year. The deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Friday. Gov. Scott will name Perry’s replacement, his first chance to pick a state Supreme Court justice.
SEMINOLES HOLD THE CARDS, SO FLORIDA MIGHT NEGOTIATE via Nick Sortal of CDC Gaming Reports – The state of Florida’s misplay of allowing “designated player” games at racetrack card rooms has turned out to be quite fortuitous for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, but it also might provide the spark needed to goose along a long-term gambling deal statewide. Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that when racetrack card rooms started their versions of Ultimate Texas Hold ‘em, 3-Card Poker and Pai Gow those games cut into the $250 million annual monopoly the tribe negotiated with the state. The state has permitted banked card games since 2011, and formally approved them in 2014, Hinkle wrote. Hinkle called the games, in which a player stands in for the bank, an “egregious example of the cardrooms’ attempt to evade the prohibition on banked card games.” They are offered in about half of Florida’s card rooms and take in an estimated $15 million of the state’s $147 million annual poker revenues. In casinos outside of Florida, these games are not located in poker rooms, but in blackjack-like pits. So now the Seminoles have big-time leverage with state. Blackjack is here to stay and the state isn’t going to be able to use the threat of pulling it as a bargaining chip. “The Seminole Tribe is very pleased with Judge Hinkle’s ruling and is carefully reviewing it,” Seminole spokesman Gary Bitner said. “The Tribe believes the ruling provides for its future stability and ensures 3,600 Seminole Gaming employees will keep their jobs.” Don’t look for an appeal. Hinkle’s ruling was carefully worded, and covered every point. It was almost as though he were trying to write an appeal-proof ruling, although state officials say they are reviewing it. The Seminoles have paid the state a cut of blackjack revenues even since that agreement expired, but they could now threaten to stop doing that. This whole situation means the state is motivated to sit down at the bargaining table, pronto.
MIAMI BEACH PASSES FOUR-MONTH MORATORIUM ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES via Joey Flechas of the Miami Herald – Commissioners voted 5-1 … to start a moratorium, with Commissioner Michael Griecoopposing it. Commissioner Rick Arriola, who sponsored the ordinance, said the measure is meant to give the city time to create regulations for where the dispensaries can be located. Mayor Philip Levine was absent. Grieco said he was concerned that the commission might be ignoring the will of a majority of Miami Beach voters by creating a moratorium longer than the one already built into the passage of Amendment 2, which is 60 days. That 60-day window is supposed to allow the state Legislature to pass any relevant laws for implementation and the Florida Department of Health to create rules for dispensaries related to licensing, security and other issues. While arguing that the city should hustle to develop its own zoning regulations within the 60-day window, Grieco pointed to existing regulations on low-THC cannabis for cancer patients as an indication of what the state will do in the next few months. “We know where they’re going to go,” he said. “We can get a draft legislation in place so when they’re ready to go, we can press play.” Arriola proposed the moratorium in the wake of discussions with Ocean Drive business owners as he brokered a plan for revamping the popular tourist attraction … he said he wants to move fast but wants to pass sensible legislation to make sure residents and businesses aren’t complaining about neighboring dispensaries later. “I voted in favor of this myself,” he said. “I don’t want to go against the will of the people. It’s just that government moves slow.”
APPOINTED: Lynda Bell to Florida Communities Trust.
APPOINTED: Doug Holder to the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority.
PERSONNEL NOTE: DOUG MCALARNEY LEAVES LOBBYING FIRM TO STAFF HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE – Doug McAlarney has left Tallahassee’s Liberty Partners lobbying firm to become staff attorney for the House of Representatives’ Education Committee. Jennifer J. Green, the firm’s president, told FloridaPolitics.com of the move. McAlarney had joined the firm this January. “While I hate to lose an asset from the Liberty Partners team, I am thrilled that Speaker Corcoran’s administration recognized Doug’s valuable experience and talent,” Green said. “He will serve the state of Florida well.”
PERSONNEL NOTE: VALERIE WICKBOLDT JOINS DEP’T OF REVENUE – The FSU grad bids farewell to the conservative James Madison Institute to become Revenue’s communications director. She had been JMI’s vice president of communications, having been with the Tallahassee think tank for four years. “Through my time at JMI, I’ve met some wonderful people who deeply care about Florida’s families and the state’s economic future,” she said. “I’m very fortunate to have had this experience.”
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MARIO DIAZ-BALART HONORS VETERANS WITH CONGRESSIONAL VETERAN COMMENDATION — Rep. Diaz-Balart, a Miami Republican, honored a group of local veterans this week for their service in the U.S. Armed Forces. Diaz-Balart presented U.S. Army Sgt. Gary E. Cardenas, U.S. Army Sgt. Miller Couse, U.S. Air Force Col. Rogelio Barbaro Figueroa, and U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Joshua Adam Hobson with the Congressional Veteran Commendation. The program is nominations-based meant to recognize wartime sacrifices and peacetime community involvement of veterans residing in Florida’s 25th Congressional District. The honorees will be interviewed and their wartime collections will be added to the Veterans History Project, sponsored by the Library of Congress.
FREE ADMISSION AT FLORIDA STATE PARKS ON FRIDAY IN HONOR OF VETERANS DAY — Gov. Scott announced the Florida State Parks will offer free admission at the state’s 174 state parks for all families and visitors Friday in honor of Veterans Day. “This Veterans Day, I encourage all Floridians to take a moment to recognize our many military heroes and thank them for their selfless service,” said Scott in a statement. “I also hope families and visitors will take this opportunity to visit the best state parks in the country free of charge and enjoy the beautiful state our veterans have worked so hard to protect.” The offer, according to the Governor’s Office, does not include the Skyway Fishing Pier State Park. All other uses, like overnight accommodations and tours, will be charged as usual on Nov. 11.
PINELLAS COUNTY TO HOLD VETERANS DAY TRIBUTE IN CLEARWATER ON SATURDAY via Anne Lindberg of Florida Politics – Veterans Day is officially Friday, but Pinellas County has scheduled Saturday for its celebration. Pinellas County Veterans Services is partnering with the Tampa Bay Veterans Alliance to pay tribute to veterans and active duty personnel Nov. 12 at the newly-dedicated Florida Veterans Memorial Plaza at Crest Lake Park, 201 Glenwood Ave. (at Lake Dr. and Gulf-to-Bay) in Clearwater. The pageantry and full ceremony begin at 10 a.m., followed by lively musical entertainment at 11 a.m. The ceremonial program includes drill team demonstrations, presentation of colors, special guest speakers and special acknowledgment of the U.S. military and veterans. Residents will have an opportunity to view exhibits and military vehicles. The event is expected to end at 1 p.m. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. “Together with our community, we are proud to salute our veterans,” said Michael Hill, director of Pinellas County Veterans Services. “We invite our residents to join us as we honor and express our gratitude to our veterans, active duty personnel and Gold Star mothers and families.” The Tampa Bay Veterans Alliance is a nonprofit organization developed to provide the citizens of Tampa Bay area communities an opportunity to show their appreciation to the veterans of the U.S. military services.
THANK YOU to Alan Suskey for his service.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY this weekend to our wonderful friends, Jeff Kottkamp and Taylor Biehl. Best wishes to my paisan, Pinellas GOP chairman Nick DiCeglie. On Sunday, it’s the great David Ramba‘s day to celebrate.
