I recently submitted an e-mail about the Governor, the Speaker of the
House and the Senate President appointing a committee along with OPPAGA
to evaluate Katherine Harris' overseas spending.
To make a long story short, I highly question the objectivity of OPPAGA
and a republican appointed committee to do this fiscal evaluation.
Not that I'm siding with the Democrats and siding against the
Republicans,its just that I see a great invitation for biases.
OPPAGA though they would never admit it, is highly influenced by the
Legislature, whom just so happened to be headed by republicans (Speaker
and Senate Pres.). I've even heard some members of OPPAGA refer to
the Legislators as "the Legislature and their infinite
wisdom." Infinte wisdom!? Then why do we have a body such as
OPPAGA in place if the Florida Legislature has such "infinite
wisdom"? You do the math.
Though OPPAGA claims to be a neutral body, it isn't. That's why
this fiscal evaluation should be conducted by a neutral, outside source.
To make matters even more questionable, who is this special committee
that will assist OPPAGA? Will it be consisting of democrats and
republicans? These questions have yet to be answered.
... Florida Government Watcher, 8/25
I worked for the Legislature outside of Career Service for many
years. I witnessed several rounds of politically motivated firings,
promotion of incompetent but well-connected people (such as sons of
political contributors), and selection of vendors with ties to the
selector. The Legislature exempts itself from Federal
laws concerning overtime, which leads to abusive situations. I
was told by top-level staff that female employees are paid less than
males. It goes on and on...
Jeb won't have to cut 25 percent if he keeps this up. Those of
us who can will simply find work elsewhere, preferably outside of
Florida.
...25percent 3/26/01
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Roll
Back Increase
Leave it to the Florida Legislature to turn their
salaries into a political issue during an election year. 7/29/02
Legislators'
pay raises anger public employees - TALLAHASSEE -- Word that
Florida lawmakers quietly slipped themselves a 5 percent pay raise
this month -- double that given other state workers -- drew a storm of
criticism Thursday from groups representing teachers, child-care
workers and other public employees forced to endure months of
belt-tightening. 7/26/02
The
pay raise that 'slipped by'
Florida legislators' claim they didn't know about a
pay raise is a hollow one. 7/26/02
Legislators
uphold ban on gay adoption - A group of Florida legislators
defends the state's ban on gay adoptions as "the best interest of
children" in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Monday with a
federal appeals court 7/9/02
Legislators
have little to fear
TALLAHASSEE -- By the way Florida legislators voted this year, one
could think they didn't care about coming back. In fact, most do. The
truth is that they thought they had nothing to fear.
More
conscience in redistricting
Democratic voters still outnumber Republicans in Florida, 43 percent
to 39. Democrats easily won the last two U.S. Senate races. They
carried Florida for their presidential ticket in 1994 and fell only
535 votes short of doing the same in 2000. Yet they hold barely a
third of the seats in the state House, the state Senate, and the
congressional delegation. The disparity is not coincidental.
Redistricting
looming large over lawmakers
If Florida legislators already don't have enough to do in 2002,
they're faced with redrawing the state's new political map for the
next 10 years. Buffeted by an uncertain economy and falling tax
collections, lawmakers will have to deal with the laborious, highly
politicized process of setting district boundaries for next fall's
elections.
The
gobblers still gobble
To hear Florida's legislative leaders tell it, they deftly cut the
budget during the recent special session, trimming out every piece of
fat. But while they were cutting programs for the low-income elderly,
slashing school funds, and reducing funds for a highly effective
program to keep teens from smoking, they missed some budgetary lard.
What
recession?
The salary increases for Congress and the FIU
president are outrageous.
Trust
in leaders on automatic pilot
Americans used to wash their dishes by hand, read to
inform themselves, get up to change the television channel. In short,
they would exert themselves to get what they wanted.
Future without reform ensures second-rate state
Inside Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole, Alice's view of reality lacks
common sense. She's living in a dream. Too many of Florida's political
leaders are living in their own rabbit hole - Gov. Jeb Bush highest
among them.
Watching
the Legislature, our troops shouldn't be proud
TALLAHASSEE -- Words that failed Florida as a tourist slogan, ".
. . The rules are different here," now fit the current management
of our House of Representatives, where venerable rules and traditions
are ignored at the whim of the leadership
A
little maturity required - Upon what meat doth this our Caesar
feed, that he is grown so great? -- William Shakespeare, Julius
Caesar.-- Somebody needs a spanking, but it's not over football
this time. Now that Florida's Capitol Police are finally in a
professional command, the improved security is too much for Speaker
Tom Feeney and some other spoiled darlings in the House of
Representatives.
Dáte:
Florida, Oceania sister states
By S.V. Dáte, Palm Beach Post Capitol Bureau
TALLAHASSEE -- When is a budget cut actually a budget increase?
When it threatens your outlook for reelection.-- Such seems to be the
collective realization of most Florida Republican officeholders in
Tallahassee who, in the waning days of the just-finished special
session, have adopted Ministry of Truth tactics from George Orwell's
1984.
There, the rulers of Oceania decreed that war was peace, freedom was
slavery and ignorance was strength.
Here, the rulers of Florida similarly decree that a smaller budget is
actually larger, that less money per student is more, and that, even
if it were less, less actually is more...
The
sound of spin
Despite efforts in Tallahassee to portray last week's scaled-down
budget in the best possible light, the cuts will hurt, leaving unmet
many of the state's needs
Failing
readiness test
A society that fails to adequately invest in its people will be caught
off guard for social and economic challenges. That's why social
service and education advocates are so alarmed by lawmakers' budget
cuts this week. National rankings in both place Florida in the middle
of the pack at best, in some cases close to the bottom. The
ramifications include a populace unready, as one recent report noted,
to compete in the 21st-century knowledge economy, and a growing gap
between the haves and have-nots. Until we make a sincere commitment,
our preparedness in those areas - as in fighting terrorism - will
continue to be lacking.
Editorial:
Stiffing the schools
The Palm Beach Post
Three area legislators made their choice Wednesday: Another tax break
for the wealthiest 4.5 percent of Floridians matters more than $130
million for school districts. The House voted 102-17 to delay the
third cut...
A
shameful retreat on arsenic
The arrogance and greed that have come to grip the Florida Legislature
were on full display Tuesday in Tallahassee. There, lawmakers siding
with big-business lobbyists killed a bill to outlaw arsenic-laced wood
from Florida's public playgrounds.
More
shenanigans
Our position: The Florida Senate is at it again this
week in its assault on public records. The Florida
Senate, historically a tight-knit fraternity that rarely airs its
dirty laundry, is swirling in a soap opera of personal feuds,
Machiavellian maneuverings and political intrigue... Some say
privately they have heard from Bush emissaries, gently suggesting that
good job opportunities await them in Tallahassee or Washington if they
help Webster.
Lobbying
lawmakers costs groups $3 million
Interest groups have spent nearly $3 million to lobby state lawmakers
this year, or about $18,000 per lawmaker. "It was a good
investment," said lobbyist John Law. "We didn't get the
issue we wanted, but we got our message out to many Floridians
Ex-House
speaker fined for violation of lobbying rules"It was a fair
outcome," Thrasher said from his Jacksonville office after
Thursday's vote. He did not attend the commission meeting.
Capitol
Corner: Steamed at sneaking, snookering
Things that get sneaked into the budget. Part II:
Gov. Jeb Bush was steamed. In addition to the secret felons purge law
mentioned in this space last week (which, incidentally, the governor
hasn't expressed an opinion on either way), lawmakers tucked not just
one, but seven other "gotchas" into the 2001 appropriations
bill.
Revenue advisor eyes job as judge - TALLAHASSEE -- One of the four
people who will decide next week the size of Florida's budget deficit
-- a number that could have political consequences for Gov. Jeb Bush
-- is an attorney who is hoping the governor will soon make him a
circuit court judge....Hawkes' dependence on Bush for his career
aspirations, and the fact that he is not an economist, has given
ammunition to House Democrats, who formally requested Thursday that
Hawkes be removed from the Revenue Estimating Conference. House
Speaker Tom Feeney last week appointed Hawkes, his chief policy
advisor, to the conference, which forecasts how much money the state
is expected to collect from taxes and fees.9/7/01
Political
standard of truth is abysmal
As part of the orientation process for new members every two years,
the Florida Legislature has a media panel discussion, with four or
five reporters imparting tips on how to get along with the press.
A
lame excuse
As House majority leader, Mike Fasano should be aware of what's
happening to bills in the final hours of the session.
Listen
Up! Action Overdue
The voters spoke loudly and clearly when they
approved a constitutional amendment that requires polluters to help
clean up the Florida Everglades. It's about time state lawmakers
remove the cotton from their collective ears and enact the appropriate
legislation to make the polluter-pay mandate a reality.
Retirement
amendment adds up for politicians The amendment, tacked on to a
bill sponsored by state Rep. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, will
allow some veteran sheriffs, public defenders, county commissioners
and other local officials to collect retirement pay and seek
re-election to their six-figure-salary jobs.
Bennett:
Loophole lets some officials take lumps and pensions
By George Bennett, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Thanks to a new loophole that Florida legislators crafted this year
for their fellow elected officials around the state, Palm Beach County
Commissioner Addie Greene plans to take advantage of...
Time
to send a message (lost the link - sorry)
There is a prohibition against former Florida legislators lobbying the
Legislature for money for two years after leaving office. John
Thrasher acts as if the Sunshine Amendment applies to everybody but
him.
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