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Agriculture Critical To Florida
By Connie Mack
TALLAHASSEE -- Agriculture is a global industry in the throes of change. This means challenges, of course. But it also means opportunities - opportunities with potentially very profitable yields.
It is no exaggeration to claim that from the seeds planted in today's crop rows will sprout new paradigms for our national and world economies.
But the next few years are critical. Agriculture, perhaps more than any U.S. industry, is in a position to help shape the climate and energy policies and legislation that will determine to a large extent the workings of the new markets and economy.
Among these opportunities and challenges, the one drawing most attention in Florida today is global climate change. Climate change is exacerbated by the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As this build-up continues, weather patterns become extreme, generating hotter heat waves, colder freezes, stronger hurricanes and intensified crop-destroying droughts.
Exactly how we achieve the goal of reducing these gases is already energizing many forward-thinking and innovative American entrepreneurs who recognize that an economic shift is underway, a shift marked by the abandonment of aging, inefficient equipment and processes and the introduction of new technologies that are cleaner and more energy efficient.
This shift will make us more independent and secure, enhance our self-reliance and create new jobs and wealth.
With bold leadership, Gov. Charlie Crist already has begun pushing and prodding the state economy to awaken to these new possibilities. In July he signed executive orders during a historic summit in Miami that will cap CO2 emissions, a leading greenhouse gas. Florida, along with California and a handful of other states, is suddenly on the leading edge.
Perhaps the most exciting area for agriculture lies in establishing new economic incentives for market-based climate control.
It is now up to Congress to pass climate control legislation to reduce greenhouse gases. The question is whether it will include carbon credit offsets and commodity trading. If it does, then agriculture will have the opportunity to participate in a profitable new market: The selling of carbon credit offsets to businesses that have yet to reduce their emissions.
This system is called "cap and trade."
The first step in a cap and trade system involves government or another authority setting a limit, or cap, on how much pollutant a company (manufacturers, electric utilities and farms, for example) may emit. Credits or allowances are given to each organization corresponding to the specific amount of carbon they may emit. The total credits may not exceed the cap on emissions. A company that pollutes beyond its credit must buy the equivalent additional credits from those who pollute less than their allowance.
A farm, an electric utility or a manufacturing plant that reduces its emission below its allowance is rewarded by the system through the ability to sell, or trade, its excess credits. Because those who can do so will reduce their greenhouse emissions while those who cannot will buy credits, the result is a reduction in greenhouse gasses at the lowest possible cost to society.
Agricultural operations can create such carbon offset credits through capturing methane from manure, directly reducing emissions of farm machinery, reducing fertilizer applications, using low carbon (ethanol, biodiesel) fuel, using no-till and direct seed drilling techniques that do not release as much naturally stored carbon and by planting trees on marginal land.
While an unlimited market would be best, even a limited market allowing for agriculture carbon credits could be worth $8 billion to $10 billion, putting it in one of the top five commodities nationwide.
Unfettered agricultural GHG offset marketing also will stimulate innovation in agriculture and other land-based sectors, bring new methods and technologies to the market, stimulate new rural businesses, create new jobs and stabilize agricultural income.
We know that land-management practices in the United States can clearly meet a potential 20-year targeted cut of approximately 2,300 million metric tons of CO2 per year. The Consortium for Agricultural Soil Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases, a group of nine state universities doing research on agriculture's ability to reduce greenhouse gases, estimates that the agriculture industry alone could provide nearly one-third of the projected reduction in emissions needed by the utility industry.
However, of the many climate bills now being introduced in Congress, few include agricultural carbon markets.
It would be a pity if Florida agriculture missed out on the opportunity to vault to the forefront of coming economic changes. The seeds already planted should be allowed to grow, mature and yield.
Connie Mack, a founder of Liberty Partners Inc., is a former Republican United States senator from Florida.
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The State Of Lobbying In Florida
Florida Insider, 10/18/2007
In the 1930s, Florida’s governor and Cabinet spent over an hour arguing whether to authorize the purchase of a mule for the farm at the state mental hospital, according to The Florida Handbook.
Things have gotten knottier since then. Florida’s population has increased fivefold, and 10 times as many people live in cities. Most state residents have traded in their mules for cars and trucks and tractors and speedboats. They live lives that Depression-era people could have recognized only in a science-fiction comic book – the Internet, cell phones, cheap international air travel, free college education for many, and near-magical medical treatment for nearly everyone, and often paid for by someone else.
Today’s Floridians buy nothing that isn’t regulated or taxed, or both. Their communities hardly can erect a new “Stop” sign on the street corner without local government officials having to reference land-use or environmental regulations that read like Mayan hieroglyphs.
The world’s commonplace complexity has come to mean one thing – The Age of Big Government ain’t going anywhere.
Florida state lawmakers are like most of us in one important sense: They don’t have encyclopedic knowledge of all the arcana of modern society and governance at their fingertips. That makes it tough to vote the right statutes and appropriations into law. Especially when an average regular session of the Legislature sees hundreds and hundreds of bills filed for the 60-day session. Oh, for the days of mules and mental hospitals.
Enter lobbyists. Revile and regulate them. Envy their eelskin briefcases. Get elected or sell a newspaper by invoking a plague upon their houses. But for God’s sake, collar the nearest one before you embarrass yourself by voting the wrong way on the floor of the state House or Senate. Especially if you’re one of the scores of untutored lawmakers schooling your way through the ranks of Florida’s legislative process before your eight years are up and term limits send you packing.
Once the high-minded sloganeering about the evils of lobbying has subsided, the indispensable civic function of the profession remains. Because some lobbyists make oodles of money – many more of them don’t – an understandable presumption filters through media to the voting public that lobbyists are rascals and rogues who routinely pillage the process of Florida policy and lawmaking; that they have no legitimate purpose.
Ironically, it’s the big bucks paid to the best of them that proves the worth of lobbying in general. Why would anybody pay a nickel for a lobbyist if they weren’t essential? Critics of them would have us believe it’s all a big pyramid scheme.
One Tallahassee lobbying veteran put it this way: “If lobbying were abolished, you’d have to hire 2,000 new [legislative] staff members to provide information to legislators. Otherwise, you’d see an epidemic of uninformed decisions leading to unintended consequences. Lobbyists are foremost the purveyors of information.”
Roads to the top
So lobbyists aren’t going anywhere. The question that follows is, “What makes a good one?” A big bank account, sure, but that’s getting the cart ahead of the horse.
How about the most clients? Or maybe just one or two of the most prominent ones?
Do the wealthiest lobbyists excel at passing one opus piece of legislation? Or perhaps have one shot down?
Maybe they just monitor multiple bills for many clients.
Certainly the savviest and most ambitious lobbyists gravitate to the corporate giants. Those are the Tier 1 lobbyists, or the “royalty,” as we’ll dub them.
“You have to have at least one major client if you want people to quake when you walk by,” insisted one lobbyist. “A telecommunications, insurance, or healthcare client, or maybe a large municipality,” she said.
Added another, “A top-tier lobbyist is the one you hire if you have unlimited resources and you absolutely have to win.”
Tallahassee lobbying titan Ron Book put it this way: “There are different sizes and levels of accomplishment for different lobbyists. What the best ones have in common is their firm belief that everything has a way of getting done. They understand the process, and that politics is the art of compromise.”
He added, “Access to both [Republicans and Democrats] is a real key, and it’s rare. There are five, eight, maybe 10 lobbyists at the Capitol who can bring that kind of influence.”
And yet some firms stay in the promised land of high prestige and gaudy bottom lines primarily by juggling long rosters of clients. So many clients, in fact, that it’s hard to imagine that internal conflicts of interest don’t happen within a single firm. Say one lobbyist represents a telephone company, and another down the hall cable TV. Call it a pleasant problem for a wealthy firm – or perhaps an opportunity for a smaller firm or an independent lobbyist to steal a client.
Maybe the most admirable contemporary lobbyist is the one who’s underrated because he or she specializes in one critical and complicated area. Mike Rayner of BellSouth (now AT&T) comes to mind for his wizardry last session on the monumental compromise between the telephone and cable TV industries.
And don’t forget this secret: One rich client can make a lobbyist an instant star – if of with
Above all, lobbying remains the business of people and relationships. Technical competence, money for campaign contributions, and tireless work habits only get lobbyists so far without their ability to connect with key lawmakers as more than polite acquaintances.
Lobbyist Mike Corcoran illustrates the point. He’s respected enough out of hand, but gets that extra leg up on competition by having worked for a House speaker (Johnnie Byrd), and from going about his job with a delicate combination of strenuous effort and deferential humility.
Paved with good intentions
Is the road to public-policy hell paved with the good intentions of lobbyist ethics reform? Looking at the changes instituted in December 2005, it’s tempting to believe it.
That ethics bill has mostly insulated the biggest and baddest lobbyists against the threat of sustained competition from energetic upstart lobbyists, and from many dedicated in-house and not-for-profit lobbyists. They’re the ones who don’t always have long-cultivated relationships with lawmakers. The best way to overcome that handicap, of course, is to pull out a fat checkbook. Most don’t have that either.
The ban on all gifts, especially meals and receptions, has degreased the gears of policymaking. Critics of the lobbying process often condemn the schmoozing over dinner and drinks that used to go on, when in fact this building of truly personal relationships kept things arguably cleaner and more open than they are now. Today, the well-heeled lobbyists hold the upper hand for their ability to simply write checks, or bundle them on behalf of clients.
The “working class” lobbyists must counter by walking precincts to get their target lawmaker reelected and, hopefully, thereby win his or her familiarity and loyalty for future rotunda fights.
“Now it’s about time and money,” said a high-profile lobbyist. “And there’s too little time and too much money to make for good public policy. The old way was better,” he insisted.
Another unintended consequence of political reform in Florida sprouts from the populist soil of term limits. Too often, legislators are sent back home just when they’re starting to get their hands around the hyper-complicated budget process, for example.
This makes them more reliant on legislative staff – not to mention lobbyists.
Term limits, too, has altered the entry process into lobbying. “New lobbyists used to come more from state agencies than they do now,” according to one Capitol veteran. “Now they come more from legislative staffs,” he said. “And the turnover is fast and constant, because with term limits, there are no longer any long-standing committee chairs. Some even get fired before their allotted two years are up. There’s constant turnover, and constant pressure to start lobbying before ‘your’ legislator is term-limited out of influence,” he said.
Heavyweight lobbyists like Ron Book are plainspoken in saying the gift ban unfairly handicaps others, but not necessarily his own entrenched and respected operation. Aside from a sense of fair play on behalf of the lesser lights in his industry, who are handicapped by the gift ban, Book is personally more concerned with the new disclosure laws that require that he publicly file the amounts of money he’s paid by clients. Book has taken on the new ethics laws head-on; he’s challenged the new rules in federal and state courts.
“It’s wrong to force lobbyists to have to disclose their payments from private-sector clients. Public-sector ones are fine, because that’s taxpayer money. But there are constitutional protections that are plainly violated by the new laws.”
Book’s suit also seeks to end the Legislature’s new powers to audit lobbyists. “There is no due process required for an audit,” he said. “No probable cause. The way is open for just a wink and nod to prompt an audit if the right person wants to [single out a lobbyist]. Suddenly one day, someone can just show up at your office and demand your records. That’s not right.” He said there’s no evidence this has happened yet, but he believes the arbitrary power of the law could prove an overwhelming temptation to someone in power somewhere down the line.
Both suits are in the hands of appeal courts. Their final outcomes are uncertain. But this much isn’t: Lots of people will continue to want to want to evict lobbyists from the Capitol.
They’ll never succeed. Lobbyists are stubborn as mules.
Florida Insider is published by the Internet News Agency http://www.flinsider.com
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Florida Students Narrow Achievement Gap On National Test
According to the ‘Nation’s Report Card,’ Florida is a national leader in narrowing the achievement gap.
By Patricia Levesque
Floridians should be proud! According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress released this week, Florida’s fourth and eighth grade students continue to shine on the national stage.
For the third consecutive assessment, Florida’s fourth graders scored above the national average in reading and math – earning the highest marks in the last decade. According to these results, fourth graders scored better than fifty-eight percent of their peers in other states in reading and sixty percent in math, an increase from thirty-seven percent for both subjects since 2003.
For the first time since Florida began participating in the national assessment, Florida’s eighth graders scored above the national average in reading – a wonderful accomplishment. Florida was one of only six states to improve their eighth grade reading scores since the last test in 2005. In math, Florida’s eighth graders demonstrated continued progress, coming closer than ever before to achieving the national average.
Also called the “Nation’s Report Card,” the assessment is a biannual test in reading and math given to a demographic representation of students in each state. The test provides a snapshot of our education system nationally, regionally, and at the state level.
Florida’s reforms are working for all students
According to the Nation’s Report Card, Florida is a national leader in narrowing the achievement gap. Since 2003, the average score for African American fourth grade students jumped ten points in both reading and math; eighth grade students also increased by ten points in math and five points in reading. During the same time, the average score for Florida’s Hispanic fourth graders increased six points in math and seven points in reading. Florida’s Hispanic eighth graders increased five points in reading and six points in math. The average score for students with disabilities in reading and math also improved – between five and eleven points.
In fourth grade reading, Florida is one of three states to significantly narrow the gap between low and high income students and one of five states to significantly narrow the gap between white and African American students.
In fourth grade math, Florida is one of only two states to significantly narrow the gap between low and high income students. In eight grade math, Florida is one of only eight states to significantly narrow the gap between white and African American students.
This national test is a great tool. It measures students’ knowledge of reading and math across the nation, which allows us to compare our standards and schools with every state. Based on the results, the quality of education in Florida is improving and teachers and students are rising to the challenge. But we must continue to improve. Florida has come a long way, but should not stop until all of our students are performing on or above grade level.
Patricia Levesque, the former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Jeb Bush, is the executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. www.afloridapromise.org
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HOMETOWN DEMOCRACY Or Hometown Chaos?
By Thomas G. Pelham
TALLAHASSEE -- Hometown democracy or hometown chaos? Corrupt developer-controlled local officials versus anti-growth zealots?
The rhetoric and name-calling is escalating from both sides in the debate over Hometown Democracy's proposal to amend the Florida Constitution to require voter approval of every local comprehensive plan amendment. Unfortunately, the Draconian nature of the proposal and the extreme reaction from some opponents is obscuring a real problem.
State-mandated local comprehensive plans are the "constitution" for land use; they govern local decisions about when, where and how development may occur. These plans are required to cover a planning horizon of at least 10 years, but they may be amended as provided in the state's Growth Management Act.
According to the sponsors of Hometown Democracy, local plans are being amended much too frequently, and usually at the behest of developers. Thus, they argue that local plans are not controlling growth and that citizens cannot effectively participate in the amendment process.
The Hometown Democracy campaign has called attention to a serious problem: growing citizen dissatisfaction with the local planning process and especially the frequency of plan amendments.
Originally, the Growth Management Act allowed local plans to be amended only two times each year. Subsequently, however, the Legislature has enacted 32 exceptions to the twice-a-year limitation. Additionally, many local governments have developed a habit of considering and adopting dozens of plan amendments every six months. For example, in 2005 alone, Florida's local governments adopted over 8,000 plan amendments.
Local plans must be subject to amendment to respond to changed conditions, but plan amendments have become the rule rather than the exception.
As a result, the local plan is constantly changing, offers little stability or predictability, and has diminished credibility with the public. Instead of the 10- or 20-year visions they were supposed to represent, local comprehensive plans are in danger of becoming little more than six-month suggestions.
It is not surprising that many citizens have lost faith in the ability of local comprehensive plans to control growth and development.
To this very real problem, Hometown Democracy offers an extreme, impractical solution. It would require a public referendum on every plan amendment no matter how small or insignificant.
The requirement would encompass not only amendments that seek to change the fundamental policies of a local plan, but also changes - large and small - to the future land use map, to the permissible uses on a specific parcel of land and even to amendments to correct scrivener's errors.
The citizens of Florida have the power to give themselves the right to vote on every proposed local comprehensive plan amendment. But do we really want or need this right?
Do we want to subject ourselves and our local governments to the considerable expense of frequent special or general elections on plan amendments? Do we want the entire electorate of a county to decide in an election whether a gas station should be allowed on a quarter-acre plot of land at a particular intersection?
Do we want to require a referendum vote on proposed amendments to increase protection of environmentally sensitive lands? Do we want to delay the adoption of plan amendments that are necessary for important public projects?
Do we want to establish a system where only the wealthy can afford to apply for and wage an election campaign in favor of a proposed plan amendment?
These questions suggest just how disruptive the Hometown Democracy proposal will be if it is amended into the Florida Constitution.
The Draconian nature of the Hometown Democracy proposal should not blind us to the problem it seeks to cure. Rather than denying the problem and demonizing the proponents of the proposal, elected officials at the state and local level, as well as landowners, developers and other citizens, should acknowledge and seek workable solutions to the problem.
There are more measured and practical solutions than the meat ax wielded by Hometown Democracy. First, the state and local legislatures could limit the frequency of plan amendments. The state Legislature could begin by repealing some or all of the 32 exceptions to the current twice-a-year limitation. Limitations could also be placed on the frequency of certain types of amendments, especially those that alter the fundamental policies of the local plan.
Another way to discourage the frequency of plan amendments would be to require an extra-majority vote for some types of plan amendments. After all, Florida voters recently decided that a 60 percent majority vote should be required to amend the Florida Constitution. Perhaps a similar requirement would restore some dignity to the local comprehensive plan.
Regarding the use of referenda, state and local legislatures could limit their use to certain kinds of amendments. For example, only amendments that change an urban growth boundary or that are necessary for the approval of large publicly financed projects such as airports would be subject to referendum approval.
These approaches are not without controversy, but they are more practical than requiring voter approval of all plan amendments. More importantly, the adoption of such measures may persuade voters that Hometown Democracy is no longer needed because state and local officials have solved the problem in a more responsible manner.
Thomas G. Pelham is secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs
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An Elected County Mayor Will Provide Leadership For Hillsborough County
By Mary Ann Stiles
TAMPA -- It’s time to act on our bid for a county mayor. Now is the time for us to fight for accountability and leadership for our county.
Under our current system, no one person is held accountable for actions taken by county government. There are seven county commissioners, all with different views on where Hillsborough County needs to go.
And it takes four commissioners to remove the county administrator they must appoint, an unelected administrator who works behind the scenes and who has very, very broad power to run the day-to-day operations of our county as she sees fit.
In Hillsborough, no one person is responsible, and as a result, no one person can be held accountable since citizens cannot vote the county administrator out of office.
As The Tampa Tribune wrote in an editorial: “Hillsborough needs a leader, someone who can rise above the petty squabbles and address the greater good. We need someone who can talk to the mayors of the county's three cities and build good relationships with them. The current structure of seven equally powerful commissioners allows each to duck accountability for the overarching challenges gripping this county. Rather, it fosters a climate where commissioners grab headlines on issues of the moment, while ignoring the big picture.”
A lack of accountability has resulted in soaring property taxes, which are breaking the backs of citizens, businesses and homeowners alike. Since 2001, Hillsborough County’s property taxes have increased by 93.1%, almost three times more than growth and inflation combined.
Do these statistics upset you? And the county administrator, an unelected official, has been arguing against property tax cuts in Tallahassee.
The county government also collects the Community Investment Tax, a local sales tax which is in addition to property taxes, that is supposed to be used for needed capital projects. From now to 2026, the county expects to collect some $2.1 billion (yes, Billion) from the CIT tax. Hillsborough County is bulging at the seams, and has quadrupled its operating reserves to $125.6 million since 2000. This is all happening while people can’t afford to live in their own homes, and businesses are failing.
An elected county mayor would stand up to the county commission when $40 million in CIT funds is proposed for a sprawling sports complex in a remote area of the county at a time when there are pressing needs to build new infrastructure like roads to ease traffic congestion.
And a lack of accountability means the appointed county administrator -- without public notice or discussion, can quietly give all commissioners a $3,600 increase in their annual mileage allowance, which was discovered by The St. Petersburg Times: “Add the monthly perks to commissioners’ already not-so-modest $91,966 annual salary, and you’re pretty close to the six-figure.”
When was the last time you gave your boss a pay raise?
By having a county mayor, we will have an elected official –one person – to hold accountable to make sure our tax dollars are spent where they are needed most. An elected mayor for Hillsborough County, who would be the voice of the people, would have a mandate from the public; would be the person working to bring about change, and planning for the future of this county, and the needs of its citizens.
And if the county mayor does not perform, or, for example, fights against sorely needed property tax relief, the county mayor’s name will appear on your ballot at election time -- and can be defeated at the polls.
Prior to the special session on property taxes, the Hillsborough Legislative Delegation held a public hearing on June 5, 2007. Rep. Michael Scionti, D-Tampa, asked: “The question that keeps reoccurring in my mind that I recognize as well as we all do that Hillsborough County is one of the four donor counties in the state, and to me, a donor county tells me that we are collecting more taxes than we actually need. In fact, we’re able to share those taxes with surrounding counties.”
No one could answer just what percentage of Hillsborough County’s property taxes goes to fund the school systems of other counties; however, it was made clear that that is a legislative mandate that Hillsborough County share its collected taxes with other counties. The reasoning was that there is a constitutional requirement that education be funded equally across the state and in those counties that cannot raise sufficient taxes, other counties such as Hillsborough County donates some of its property taxes to other counties to insure “high-quality universal education throughout the state.”
This begs the question: Does Hillsborough County collect too much or does it collect what it needs to operate? Does the county collect extra money from you to make sure that whatever amount that is donated to other counties does not cut into the county’s operating budget? As taxpayers, we have the right to know.
At this meeting, the county administrator stated: “We have been very cognizant of the need to keep our taxes in line for the benefit of our citizens. Over a period of 14 years, our Board of County Commissioners has reduced the property tax millage rate in our countywide ad valorem funding 14 straight years for a total reduction of 1.58 mills.”
Rep. Trey Traviesa, R-Brandon, countered by stating: “I think the millage argument is a terrible argument. . . . That a millage cut is not a tax cut. We all know that. You can cut millage 11 years in a row, you can cut millage 111 years in a row, and you could still be taking more money from the people, more money than you should. There is no relationship between a millage cut and a property tax cut. . .”
(To add insult to injury, during the legislature’s special session on taxes, Hillsborough and other local government officials were at an Orlando convention paid for by taxpayers. The registration fee was $325 a person and $142 a night for 3 nights. Private companies spent a total of $236,000 to have booths or sponsor events such as a “Death by Chocolate” reception sponsored by Waste Management and a golf outing. Yet county officials have the nerve to say they have no place to cut the budget.)
The local governments have the ability to override the property tax cuts passed by the legislature, and you can bet the bureaucrats are already scheming how to keep their self-created empires and also make the state government look like the villains.
Do you think it’s fair that an unelected local government official gets to use your hard earned money to travel to Tallahassee so they can argue against property tax cuts? Furthermore, is it fair to fund an all expense paid weekend at a resort hotel in Orlando, and still complain that tax cuts are not practical and all county spending is prudent?
The elected Hillsborough County Mayor, will be the voice of the people, the one to reign in government run amuck, to build and plan for all our futures and that of our children.
Our forefathers founded a country that gave the government to the people for safe-keeping. The document that is the center of our government and our country begins with the phrase “We the People…” Our founding fathers and the Constitution made democracy the central idea of this great nation, and the right to vote, one of the most important rights we hold.
An appointed county administrator who is appointed and works for the Board of County Commissioners has tremendous power and is a position that we the people cannot vote against. A county elected mayor will give the power to the people. When Hillsborough County was small and rural, maybe such power was not necessary; however, with the growth of the county, and the county’s increasing budget, such power must be vested in we the people and not in an appointed position.
An elected Hillsborough County Mayor will be the voice of the people, the one to reign in government run amuck, to build and plan for all our futures and that of our children.
Members, the time to rise up is now: It is clear that we need our own Hillsborough County Mayor; a person who will serve at the pleasure of the people, an elected official we can hold accountable at the ballot box.
I hope that I can count on you to help me further this goal.
As you know, our initiative is on the ballot for the general election of 2008. To get our message to the people, we need your support. It is estimated that we will have to raise approximately one half million dollars to fight those who will no doubt lose some of their power and will pull out all stops to defeat this citizens’ initiative. Status quo for our county government is not longer acceptable.
You can help by either sending a check; go on line and make a contribution to the cause; ask your friends and neighbors to contribute, or if you know of a group that wants to hear more on this issue, we have speakers who will appear and tell our message.
Mary Ann Stiles, a lawyer, is heading a citizens group seeking an elected mayor for Hillsborough County.
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McCarthy: Higher Reinsurance Rates ‘Main Culprit for Rising Premiums’
Editor’s Note: This letter by Kevin McCarty, Florida’s Insurance commissioner, is in response to a letter by Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, which disagreed with an op-ed article about the property insurance crisis by McCarthy that appeared in FrontPageFlorida.com and other media. Rep. Ross’s comments in McCarthy’s letter are in boldface quotes.
By Kevin McCarthy
TALLAHASSEE -Thank you for your recent correspondence on August 1, 2007, in response to the recently published editorial.
The Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) shares your deep concerns over the availability and affordability of property insurance for Florida consumers as well as revitalizing a viable insurance marketplace for both domestic and foreign insurers. I will address each of your concerns and comments and look forward to our continued dialogue.
"While I agree with you that consumers should have affordable insurance to which to insure their homes and businesses, those insurance rates must be actuarially adequate."
Without question, Florida consumers should be provided an opportunity to purchase affordable insurance and pursuant to the laws established by the Florida Legislature, the Office is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring that companies do not charge rates that are excessive, inadequate, or unfairly discriminatory. You note in your letter and use the phrase that insurance rates must be "actuarially adequate." The term "actuarially adequate" is not an insurance term and holds no meaning in the context of reviewing insurance rates. The Florida Statutes do, however, under section 627.062(2)(e), define when a rate can be established as "inadequate" or "excessive" .
"Unlike Citizens, the private industry cannot assess taxpayers for any deficits. It is for thisreason that insurance companies are buying reinsurance in addition to the CAT Fund."
You are correct that companies are purchasing reinsurance in addition to the coverage provided by the CAT Fund. In the past, some insurers bought excess coverage and others simply availed themselves of the CAT Fund limits. As a representative of many legislative and gubernatorial hurricane and insurance solutions task forces over the past two years, I can attest that numerous insurance companies, insurance trade groups, and their representatives indicated that the rate increases they were passing on to consumers were unfortunate, but necessary, because the global reinsurance prices were spiking in Florida and the southeast after the eight hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.
As you know, the Governor and Florida Legislature addressed this increase in reinsurance (which rose as a percentage of each premium dollar from 7.1% in 2002 to 44.9% in 2006) by expanding the CAT Fund - the lynchpin of Florida's property insurance market.However, as evidenced by the recent rate filings made by several companies, some companies are purchasing higher levels of reinsurance with the savings the Florida Legislature required in House Bill I-A (a savings required to be passed on to policyholders).
For example, Florida Farm Bureau recently made a rate filing for a 30.3% rate increase based on the purchase of additional private reinsurance. In 2006, this company purchased enough reinsurance, through the CAT Fund and the private market, for a 1 in 120 year storm. As Florida consumers recently learned at the public hearing on July 10th, the company re-negotiated their reinsurance contract after the special session resulting in $6 million in savings. Rather than passing those savings on to policyholders, as required by HB lA, the company purchased additional reinsurance, enough for a 1 in 220 year storm.
"The CAT Fund itself has no reinsurance and the state has no experience in the reinsurance business and because of this, the financial rating companies have lowered the ratings of the insurance companies. When the State of Florida has no money to pay its claims, what are the insurance companies going to do?"
As you may know, the CAT Fund is reinsurance and the State of Florida has been in the business of reinsurance since the CAT Fund was formed in 1995. At that time, numerous insurance companies asked for and supported the creation of the CAT Fund and the reinsurance mechanism it employs for hurricane losses.
In the history of the CAT Fund, it has never been unable to pay claims. Currently, the CAT Fund has $57.158 billion in total claims paying capacity through insurer premiums, investment income, and bonding capacity. The costliest storm in history, Hurricane Katrina, caused $40 billion in total insured losses. Hurricane Andrew, which was a category 5 storm that hit South Florida, caused $20 billion in today's dollars in insured losses. The CAT Fund would have been able to handle either of these catastrophes.
"Unfortunately, you tout the expansion of Citizens Property and Casualty Insurance Company and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund as the solution to reducing rates in the State of Florida. These, however, are nothing more than price controls, and history has painfully taught us that this practice will not work in a capitalistic economy."
In response to the continued concerns over rising property insurance premiums, the Office consulted with the industry, and conducted our own internal studies based upon previous rate filings and rate filing data, which demonstrated the main culprit for rising premiums was rising reinsurance rates (from 7.1% on the premium dollar in 2002 to 44.9% in 2006). These "unregulated" entities, reinsurers, have intentionally offered exorbitant rates for Florida businesses in a "take-it-or-leave it" attitude knowing they did not need our business.
In response, the Legislature expanded the CAT Fund to offer reinsurance which served two purposes: 1) to lower current premiums; and 2) to encourage new private sector business. The CAT Fund can safely offer these rates below private sector rates as it is not subject to state or federal taxation, and does not need a profit margin. Furthermore, in July 2006, I visiting with the Lloyds syndicate in London and the message from them was quite clear - significantly higher premiums would generate only marginally more capital to cover Florida hurricanes.
The recent legislative changes with regard to coverage offered by Citizens is also well justified. Firstly, Citizens absorbed the commercial insurance business from the Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association. This makes logical sense as it streamlines government resources. Secondly, Citizens is now allowed to write the underlying (non-hurricane) coverage for policies in coastal areas. Citizen’s deficit after the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons is directly correlated with the risk the State of Florida has required it to write (i.e., wind only policies along the entire coast). Despite some of the anecdotal and subjective comments being made in the media, the "expansion" of all-perils coverage adds financial stability to Citizens and removes the potential "cherry-picking" by private insurers to allow Citizens the more stable "non-wind" portion of homeowners' policies.
As a businessman, you have to agree it is important for Citizens to write this portion of the policy, as it will increase its risk diversification, as well as collect additional premiums to pay claims and reduce the likelihood of future assessments.
"There has been no effort made by me or the Legislature to instill a private market that will compete for consumers' business. It is axiomatic that competition and market forces will result in better insurance products at better prices for consumers."
On the contrary, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation was the first Insurance Department in the nation to develop a team of experts solely for the purpose of business development within the insurance marketplace and this vision has become a template for other state insurance departments all over the country. Business Development oversees the Office's efforts of expansion and retention of insurance companies and serves as an ombudsman assisting companies with the regulatory process. Business Development has identified and targeted economic development entities around the state to leverage existing business development efforts. Despite the $36 billion in insured losses in 2004-2005, the Office has successfully recruited and licensed 27 new companies, infusing a total of $2.39 billion in capital into the State. This is due in no small part to the formation of the Capital Build-Up Program created by the Legislature during the 2006 Legislative Session.
Over the past year, the Business Development unit processed 260 licensure applications across all lines of business and completed those in an average of 65 days - almost two-thirds less than the 180 day requirement imposed by the Florida Statutes, which has directly led to new companies, capital and availability options for Florida's consumers.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has the most advanced regulatory technology system in the country. While it is not possible in this response letter to list all of the Office's technology efforts that assist regulators and insurers in working together to instill a competitive private market, it is important to note that Florida has what is considered the most comprehensive electronic insurance document submission system in the nation. While other states are still collecting documents via hard copy that can many times bog down the filing process, Florida has allowed insurers to submit documents with significant advances in speed and efficiency.Significant savings have been passed on to the insurers and consumers as well as providing new products into the marketplace in an efficient manner. For more information, please visit the Office's I-Portal (Industry Portal) at https://iportal.f1dfs.com/ifile/defilUlt.asp
"In addition, I am gravely concerned that OIR is not focusing more on the solvency of the insurance companies. Had we paid more attention to their financial stabilities during 2004- 2005, we may not have witnessed the fall of both Poe Financial Group and Vanguard Fire and Casualty."
I agree that the solvency of our companies is of utmost concern in order to provide protection for Florida's consumers and ensure claims are paid timely. As you know, Florida suffered through $36 billion in insured losses; and 1.8 million claims over all 67 counties during the 2004-2005 storm seasons. Four companies were rendered insolvent (three of the four were in one group- Poe). Very few companies purchased enough reinsurance for multiple storms in a single season (reinstatements). To put this in contrast with Hurricane Andrew in 1992,6 counties were affected, there were approximately 650,000 claims, and Andrew caused $15 billion in insured losses. Twelve companies were rendered insolvent.
As you know, after Hurricane Andrew, many carriers pulled up and left the state, others severely restricted new and renewal business in many coastal areas. These business decisions gave rise to Limited Apportionment Companies, or in layman terms, smaller capitalized companies that filled a niche to write coverage to Florida consumers that had little or no options. The Florida Legislature should be commended for providing regulators with the tools necessary to strengthen the solvency and financial review of companies over the past 15 years.
"I view OIR as being similar to an economic development organization whereby its main focus is to foster private capital competing for consumer dollars so that the burden of risk is shifted from the taxpayer to private capital."
Luring insurance business to our state is not easy. The Governor and the Legislature have adopted a long-term strategy that addresses the industry's immediate concerns (reinsurance costs), as well as creates a more favorable investment environment (building safer homes, retrofitting older homes, Capital Build-Up Program). As evidenced by our June 4, 2007 press release, the Office worked diligently to recruit eight new property and casualty insurers to Florida and we have experienced some initial success in encouraging new business to enter our state. Although it is difficult, we must be patient and allow the Legislature's initiatives time to show dividends.
"Unfortunately, the legislation passed in January and your efforts to continue to chastise the private market have done nothing but increase the burden of exposure in the State of Florida which will now be borne by all policyholders via assessments on their property insurance, automobile insurance and business liability insurance."
As mentioned previously, the CAT Fund was established and became a tax tree entity because of its broad base of assessable policies. Since 1995, insurers have benefited from the CAT Fund's reinsurance through premiums 4-6 times less expensive than that they could have bought in the private reinsurance market. These savings have been passed on to policyholders. Under the current structure, they will continue to pass on those savings. As stated above, the CAT Fund has $57.158 billion in total claims paying capacity. Citizens has claims-paying ability this year of approximately $9 billion, or $3-billion more than the total of all Citizens claims paid in 2004-05. Furthermore, the bond rating of Citizens has been upgraded since the reforms.
"If we are ever going to solve the insurance crisis in the State of Florida, then we must not only encourage the return of the private insurance market, but the industry must also be allowed to compete for consumer business in a regulatory environment which encourages competition."
The Office is doing its part in making Florida's insurance regulatory environment less burdensome through innovative ideas, technology, and hard work. For example, the employees of Property and Casualty Product Review processed 1,477rate and form filings in the month of June 2007. On average, each review was completed within 26 days - far less than the requirement in Florida Statutes, but more importantly a regulatory work-ethic and environment that allows for competition by putting new insurer products into the market efficiently. The insurance crisis and the subsequent economic crisis facing our state are not easily solved. I certainly respect that you may have differing opinions on some or all of the initiatives. Although it is important to allow the initiatives time to take effect, it is important to re-evaluate our progress, and determine if other measures need to be undertaken. As the Governor mentioned previously, this is a first step, not a final step.
Thank you for your continued involvement and leadership on this issue.
Kevin McCarthy is the insurance commissioner of Florida.
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Insurance Policyholders Should Get Savings
By Kevin McCarty
TALLAHASSEE -- Florida’s policymakers faced a formidable task as the Legislature convened for the January 2007 Special Session: to develop a strategy to handle the insurance crisis. Not only had Florida policyholders been subject to rising premiums, but as the Special Session convened, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) had over 90 pending residential rate increase requests ranging from 2% to over 100% -- most within the 30-40% range. Consumer complaints, news media reports and the 2006 election cycle taught us one thing: Floridians demanded rate relief.
Solving the Problem
The challenge for the governor, and the Florida Legislature was to provide rate relief in a fiscally responsible manner. When questioned about rising insurance premiums, prior to and during the Special Session, the industry overwhelmingly pointed to the increased cost of “reinsurance” or back-up insurance as the primary culprit. Florida policymakers addressed this problem (at the request and support of many insurers) directly by expanding the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (CAT Fund) to provide more inexpensive reinsurance to the industry. Paragon Strategic Solutions, Inc., a representative of the insurance industry, analyzed the changes to the law and predicted a 23% average rate savings for consumers. This analysis was provided to the governor and Legislature in order to show the anticipated savings to consumers if the CAT Fund was expanded. The Office hired its own outside consultants to independently analyze the impact, which produced a similar calculated average savings of 24%.
Where are the Savings?
The new law required an immediate “presumed factor” savings filing by March 15, 2007 to implement new rates by June 1. Companies were allowed to accept the presumed factor of up to 24%, or make their own filings if the could support different savings. Many companies elected to make their own filings which claimed average savings of 12.2. Although less than predicted, this was a triumph for Floridians, as not only did this adjustment halt rate increases, but offered modest decreases. Yet this was a first step as the final “true-up” filing incorporating all savings was still forthcoming.
True-Up Filings
Companies have until September 30, 2007 to make this adjustment filing. The Office’s expectation was that these filings would contain additional savings, bringing the initial 12% savings more in line with the predicted 23-24% savings. This has not happened. As of July 17th, the Office has received 46 separate filings for residential policies, of which two ask for rate decreases, nine request no change, and 35 ask for rate increases. The rate increases are not inconsequential. Of the 35 rate increase requests, the average is 37.3%, which in many cases would completely eliminate all savings achieved during the initial presumed factor filings.
What Happened?
At a time when the property & casualty insurance industry achieved record profits in 2006, combined with additional state resources offered to these companies, the recent spate of rate increase requests is very troubling. On July 10, the Office conducted its first public rate hearing for the true-up filings, in this instance, for the Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Companies, which requested a 26.8% (amended to 30.3%) increase for their homeowners’ policies. The information presented was illuminating.
While the companies did, in fact, receive savings from the Florida Legislature’s initiatives, the companies did not plan to pass this savings to the consumer as the Legislature intended. Instead the savings would be used to purchase additional reinsurance, even purchasing reinsurance from their own subsidiaries, and to shore-up their financial surplus. Regrettably, Florida Farm Bureau’s filing appears to be indicative of filings from the rest of the industry.
Based on the evidence presented, the office issued a notice of intent to disapprove this filing. Moreover, we are in the preliminary stages of scheduling other rate hearings to review the reasoning for other companies’ rate increase requests. As your Florida insurance commissioner, I am resolved to use the Florida statutes and administrative rules to ensure that Florida policyholders receive the savings intended by the Governor and the Florida Legislature. I remain optimistic that the vast majority of companies will do the right thing by their policyholders.
Kevin McCarty is the Florida Insurance Commissioner. See http://www.floir.com
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With Online Candidate Debates, Voters Are the Winners
By Bill Sharpe
TAMPA -- The real message might have been missed during our recent Live Online Webcast Candidates Forums. The high visibility of the Gwen Miller vs Joe Redner campaign lead most the Tampa Bay media to at least watch, if not attend, the one- hour long forums. As we put greater responsibilities on our elected officials, we have shifted the election process to nothing but 20 second sound bites, colorful signs, candidates events that provide little more than a moment to introduce themselves - and usually to a very small crowd. Meaningful discussion of issues have been lost. That lack of discussion of neighborhood issues is what has lead to such small turnouts - only 16 percent of registered voters in the last election. And many people are not registered to vote.
Our online forum provides a full, uninterrupted hour of serious questioning and discussion about sustentative issues. Additionally, you are able to see the forum when and where you wish. The power of the Internet allows what no other media can - instant access whenever you want. We believe the www.TampaGold.com forums helped to change the political landscape of Tampa- area politics significantly. Our first forum in the District 4 race attracted over 550 viewers. People are paying attention.
Candidates and office holders can be clearly and concisely held to their promises. Their knowledge and personalities can be better judged by voters.
We thank our panelists Greg Truax, editor and publisher, FrontPageFlorida.com; Tom Keating, president and CEO of the Ybor Chamber of Commerce; Chris Vela, member, Friends of Kiley Gardens and Tampa Bay Architectural Designer; and Ed Turanchic, former County Hillsborough County Commissioner and President, Intown Homes. Several reporters and elected officials expressed how much of a service we were providing. We thank them for that. Tampa Digital Studios helped us produce it right, but, almost all of the main stream media could have done it, and probably better than us. But, they didn't.
The Shawn Harrison / Mary Mulhern (citywide Tampa City Council Race; Mulhern won) race was determined with less than a 600 vote difference. We are proud to give the public and the candidates the opportunity to get and give detailed information. It is up to the public to take advantage of it.
The next city council members will serve a four- year term. Can't you take an hour to get to know your candidates and the direction they want your city to go? With the Internet, the hour can be when and where you want, it does not get any easier to become informed.
The District 1 and District 7 Forums will stay available for your viewing at http://www.tampagold.com until well after Election Day, March 27, 2007. Now it is up to you.
Bill Sharpe is editor of TampaBayGold.com and moderated the debate. See a replay of the Miller-Redner debate on http://www.tampagold.com
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Florida’s Public Schools: Heading In The Right Direction
Florida ranks first nationally for student participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams.
By Patricia Levesque
TALLAHASSEE -- For more than two decades, education has consistently been the top issue for Floridians. It should be. A well-educated citizenry is the foundation of a dynamic economy, healthy communities and self-sufficient families.
Eight years ago, Florida embarked on a comprehensive overhaul of our public education system. In one bill, the foundation was set for great change in Florida’s education system. The principles were simple: raise academic standards and set high expectations, publicly report on how schools were educating our students, increase funding and expand state assistance for schools, and create rewards and consequences for results.
The critics said the plan wouldn’t work, but the results are shattering their predictions of disaster and doom.
Under the A Plan for Education, Florida started holding schools accountable for whether students were learning and mastering the necessary skills for each grade. We did this by grading schools the same way students are graded, on a scale of A to F. Half of the school grade is based on student performance – specifically, how many students are performing at or above grade level according to FCAT scores. The other half is based on learning gains or progress, which gives schools credit for improving the performance of struggling students even if they aren’t yet on grade level.
Grading both performance and progress ensures teachers focus on all students, not just underperformers or high achievers. The method measures quality without sacrificing high standards or placing unrealistic expectations on teachers and students.
Teachers and principals rose to challenge. Since we first started grading schools in 2000, the number of A and B schools quadrupled – from 515 to 2,074 – and the number of D and F schools plummeted – from 677 to 153 – a drop of nearly 80 percent. During the same period, standards were raised four times – making good grades even harder to achieve.
School grades directly reflect rising student achievement. Since 2001, the number of elementary schools students (grades three to five) reading at or above grade level jumped from 54 percent to 70 percent and doing math at grade level increased from 52 percent to 66 percent. During the same timeframe, the number of middle school students reading at grade level increased from 48 percent to 57 percent and doing math at or above grade level increased from 47percent to 56 percent.
The following year, Florida launched a strategic partnership with the College Board to challenge high schools students and better prepare them for college. The partnership expand the availability of Advanced Placement courses and exams, offers free courses to high school students practice taking the SAT and provides the PSAT to all tenth graders for free.
Today, Florida ranks first in the nation for student participation in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams. Last year, approximately one-third of all high school students took at least one Advanced Placement course and at least one Advanced Placement exam. Since 2001, participation by Hispanic and African American students in the Advanced Placement program more than doubled.
While middle and high schools have made notable progress, FCAT scores and school grades clearly indicated more needed to be done. In 2006, the Florida Legislature launched the A Plan for Education to bring the same attention and focus to middle and high school that the A Plan brought to elementary schools.
Under the recent reform, more rigorous course work is required for graduation from middle and high school. Starting this Fall, Florida will be the first state in the nation to require all entering high school students to declare a major. We believe that this new reform will make the high school experience more relevant, interesting and fun for students, so more students will continue to graduate and less will dropout of high school. Hundreds of majors have been created around the state and the rest of the country is watching how this bold policy works out.
Finally, this year Florida is implementing the most comprehensive pay for performance plan for teachers in the country. While controversial, higher pay for better performance as measured by student learning will be an essential catalyst for rising student achievement. Outstanding teachers should be paid more and parents should know which teachers are doing their jobs well and which ones aren’t.
As Governor Bush says, “Success is never final, reform is never complete.” Florida is on the right track to create a world-class public education system. The foundation is solid and policies are being implemented each year to build for the future. Florida parents and citizens should be proud of the progress made and hopeful for the great progress to come.
Patricia Levesque is the former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Jeb Bush and the executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. http://www.afloridapromise.org
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Cable Consumers Benefit From Competition
By Connie Mack
TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Legislature has taken action in recent days to give consumers the most basic of individual freedoms - choice. For too long, consumers have had few if any real alternatives to their local cable provider. This lack of competition holds consumers captive and withholds the benefits of choice and competitively-priced products and services.
Under the current, antiquated system, local governments negotiate a franchise agreement with cable providers, delivering a near exclusive contract for providing service. The Federal Communications Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice have both identified this local system as a substantial barrier to competition, and the lack of competition proves that.
Our lawmakers in Tallahassee have removed that barrier in recent days. The Legislature has adopted the Consumer Choice Act of 2007 that will deliver competition, choice and cost savings in the video services (or cable) marketplace.
The bill provides a single statewide franchise application, which invites new providers to compete for Florida customers and encourages investment and innovation.
I don't need to tell Florida's consumers about the benefits of competition - it leads to better prices and better customer service. That's why it's so important to remove the unnecessary regulations that have impeded competition in the video services market. Other states such as Texas, California, Indiana - and soon, hopefully, Georgia - are already experiencing the benefits of competition and new investment in an open video market. I look forward to Floridians enjoying the same.
While competitive markets provide consumers with service protections, this bill contains additional, strong anti-discriminatory protections. The Consumer Choice Act specifically prohibits the denial of service to potential customers based upon their race or income. This bill gives Florida cable and video consumer’s protections through the Attorney General's office, making sure that complaints are investigated and that large fines may be imposed on companies that discriminate.
The Consumer Choice Act also maintains important authority for local governments and protects local governments' communications services tax revenues. The bill retains local government control over local streets and sidewalks (rights-of-way). And, finally, it ensures local governments continue receiving current public, education and government programming.
In sum, this bill is good for Florida - for consumers, for cities, for business. It will create investment and innovation and give consumers choice, cost savings and control. This legislation is consistent with the principles of those of us who stand for competition, for free markets and, most of all, for individual freedom.
Connie Mack, a former Republican U.S. senator from Florida, is an adviser for Liberty Partners of Florida, a lobbying firm.
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Penny For Pinellas Up For Vote
Pinellas Voters Should Vote No
“The Penny is nothing more than local pork.” – Darryl Paulson
By Darryl Paulson
ST. PETERSBURG -- Enough is enough! After 20 years and $2.3-billion in additional taxes to pay for public projects, Pinellas County government and its 24 municipalities want another 10-year, estimated $1.9-billion extension of the Penny for Pinellas local option sales tax. This comes at a time when Florida property taxes have risen 80 percent since 2000.
Citizens across Florida, including Pinellas County, are demanding tax relief. Gov. Charlie Crist has made property tax relief a priority of his administration, and across the bay in Hillsborough County, the county commission voted to tie any increased spending of property tax revenue to inflation and growth. Why hasn't Pinellas done the same? Although Pinellas has cut the tax rate by .7 mill, it has not rolled back taxes to compensate for escalating property values.
If you hate "earmarks" and pork barrel projects that dominate Congress, then you really ought to hate the Penny. The Penny is nothing more than local pork. The county government will get $818-million if the voters approve the Penny again. St. Petersburg will get $355-million. Every one of the 24 municipalities is guaranteed enormous amounts of "free money." It is time for the municipal hogs to stop feeding at the trough.
The Penny encourages fiscal irresponsibility on the part of government. Instead of setting priorities to determine which projects are essential and must be done at once, which are desirable but can be postponed until the future, and which would be nice but are things we can live without, the unlimited resources from the Penny encourage governments to fund many more projects than they normally undertake. Every homeowner has to make tough choices about where to spend limited resources. So should local government. An example of how "free money" skews spending decisions: St. Petersburg City Council member Bill Foster suggested using Penny funds to improve Albert Whitted Airport because airport supporters are a "huge political machine" that could help the Penny extension effort.
In January 2001 the Pinellas County Commission had to cut $162-million from Penny projects because they had overextended themselves and not monitored Penny project cost increases. The response of county commissioners was surprise. Commissioner John Morroni described the overspending as a "shockeroo!" Isn't it comforting to know how effectively the commissioners conducted financial oversight? When was the last time you overdrew your checkbook by $162-million?
Among the questions every Pinellas resident ought to ask is why should they be forced to subsidize spending in the county's most affluent communities? Why institute a tax that is particularly cruel and burdensome to the low-income residents of Pinellas? Although the tax is a penny on everyone, low-income residents pay a much higher tax rate because they spend every penny of their disposable income; wealthier residents do not. Citizens for Tax Justice found that Florida's poorest citizens pay 14 percent of their income on taxes compared to only 3.6 percent for the wealthy. The reason for this is that Florida relies heavily on the state sales tax, which the St. Petersburg Times called "one of the most regressive forms of taxation" in a 1997 editorial.
Why is Pinellas the only one of Florida's 67 counties that needs an additional one cent sales tax for 20 years and is now requesting a third 10-year extension of the tax? Other counties have levied a half cent tax and some have levied a full penny. Pinellas stands alone in imposing the maximum tax for two decades and wants another 10 years and $1.9-billion.
Why did the Pinellas County Commission schedule the election in March when it will be the only item on the ballot in much of Pinellas County? There is abundant evidence that when there is only one item on the ballot, few people will vote. The turnout for the last Penny vote in 1997 was 23 percent, compared to a turnout of more than 60 percent in general elections.
Why do we need a third 10-year extension of the Penny when former County Administrator Fred Marquis said at the time of the second vote that there would not be a need for another extension of the Penny? He said that the county would have completed its projects and "quite frankly, I don't think we could reasonably spend the money." Why another 10 years and $1.9-billion? It is because governments will always find ways to consume all available resources.
We have already supported the Penny for 20 years to the tune of $2.3-billion. If you think taxes are high enough in Pinellas, vote no. If the pretty pictures of parks that are part of the Pinellas propaganda blitz do not easily sway you, vote no. Enough is enough!
Darryl Paulson is a University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, professor of government.
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Greer: “Our Greatest Victories Are Yet To Come”
Editors Note: Newly-elected Republican Party of Florida Chairman Greer’s remarks as prepared for delivery at a lunch following the party’s annual meeting on Saturday.
By Jim Greer
LAKE BUENA VISTA -- Governor Crist, Lt. Governor Kottkamp, Chairman Jordan, members of the Florida Legislature, Officers and members of the Republican Party of Florida.
Today, I am honored and humbled to have received your support and vote to serve as your chairman, an office that has great responsibility, a responsibility to our governor, the voting members who have elected me and to all Republicans.
I would like to recognize my family who has supported me in all of my endeavors in my public and private life, my loving wife Lisa, my three beautiful children, Hunter, Amber and Austin, my wonderful mother Virginia who is with us today and my father who is looking down from heaven with pride, parents who taught me many important lessons in life and always believed that I had a destiny in public service. I would also like to thank my in laws Coy and Beth King for their support.
The election for the office of chairman is over and it is now time that we unite as a party and work together as the standard bearers of the Party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.
Over the last several months, I have had the great opportunity to travel the State of Florida and meet most of our REC committee members and Republican Party leaders. I have listened to your suggestions and enjoyed developing friendships that I hope will last a lifetime, and for that I thank you.
Today, we begin a new chapter in the leadership of the Republican Party of the great State of Florida. Before we turn the page of this new chapter, I wish to recognize the service of Chairman Carole Jean Jordan to the Republican Party. Her leadership has contributed greatly to our party’s successes.
I wish to also commend all of the hard working and committed staff of the RPOF. To the current and former executive directors, Andy Palmer, Terry Kester and Jennifer Kennedy, thank you for your past and future service to our party.
It is also with great appreciation that I thank Governor Charlie Crist whose confidence and support in nominating me to lead this great organization will not be forgotten. Governor Crist is one of the finest public servants I have ever known, his commitment to improving the quality of life for all citizens is unparalleled. It is my privilege to call him my friend, but it is an even greater honor to call him our governor.
As we look to the future and the challenges that lie ahead, we must also take a moment to reflect upon the accomplishments of the past. In this last election the voters of the State of Florida continued to support the principles and values of the Republican Party. Florida showed the nation that less taxes, less government and more freedom is the right path to prosperity.
I am a lifelong Republican. Since the time I was a young boy and my mother and father spoke to me about the importance of responsibility through the time at the age of 15 I got my first job as a maintenance person at a grocery store, up until today when I have been blessed to have founded a successful business, I have always known the importance of self reliability. I have never wavered in my belief that life’s accomplishments and at times failures, are of our own making. It is not the government’s responsibility to provide opportunity; it is our individual responsibility to seek it. That is why I am a Republican.
Fellow Republicans, today, January 27, 2007, we begin building a foundation for victory which to be successful will rely upon a strong grassroots effort, reaching out to African American and Hispanic voters, building coalitions and raising the needed financial support to fund our party’s objectives.
As your chairman, I intend to enhance the organizational structure of the RPOF including my first official appointment which I make today of Andy Palmer as a single Executive Director of the organization reporting to the chairman. I furthermore intend to establish a department of field operations whose duties will include overseeing the work of our field representatives and supporting our County RECs.
I will promote new ideas, seek out advice and encourage discussion throughout our party, requiring only that our discussions and deliberations are never intended to disrupt and never stray from our core values.
As chairman I intend to add additional field staff to provide resources and support to county Republican executive committees. In addition, I intend to create a bench building program whereby our party will identify quality Republican candidates on the local level who can successfully seek higher office when the time is right. Furthermore, I intend to enhance the communication between the office of chairman and our local party leadership.
All of us must be a messenger in promoting our party’s principles, recognizing as Abraham Lincoln once said, “Our government rests on public opinion…whoever can change public opinion can change our government.”
2008 will bring before us our next presidential election and as chairman, I am committed to working each day to ensure that the citizens of Florida cast their vote for the Republican nominee.
With the exceptional leadership of our governor and a commitment by each of us, our greatest victories are yet to come.
God bless the Republican Party of Florida and the United States.
Jim Greer is chairman of the Republican Party of Florida
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Early Voting Trends Point To Dean Victory In Senate Special Election
By Jay O'Callaghan/Florida Insider, 06/25/2007
Republicans have shown more momentum in turning out their voters, according to an analysis of the more than 2,500 voters who have voted early in the most important contest to be decided Tuesday - the state Senate District 3 vacancy created by Republican state Sen. Nancy Argenziano’s appointment to the Public Service Commission.
Republican state Rep. Charles Dean, R-Inverness, and former New Hampshire legislator Suzan Franks, a Democrat from Citrus Hills, are facing each other in the final phase of what has become a minor diversion from the early summer doldrums in North Central Florida. The election is the aftermath of a divisive June 5 GOP primary in which the more moderate Dean defeated a staunch social conservative, Rep. Charles Baxley, R-Ocala, by a narrow margin of 45% to 43%.
A party breakdown of those who voted early favors Dean, with Republicans making up 43% of those who have voted early, compared to only a 35% GOP voter registration among all registered voters in the district. Democrats have a 48%-35% voter registration lead among all registered voters, but lead by only 49%-43% among those who have voted early. And many of the Democrats in the district, especially in conservative rural counties, which cast 36% of the early vote and have 31% of the registered voters, have in the past voted Republican for president, governor, Congress and in state legislative races. Also Dean, a former sheriff, has benefited from the support of the powerful political machines of local sheriffs in those counties.
Another reason Dean is favored is that his home base of Citrus County cast a majority of 1,345 (53%) of the total 2,526 early votes in the entire district. Citrus has only 30% of the district’s voter registration, but a much larger share of the early voters than it did in the primary.
Only 116 (5%) of the district’s early vote came from Baxley’s home county, conservative and Republican Marion County, which has 30% of the district’s voter registration. While this may hurt Dean slightly on Tuesday, another factor favoring him is that the only real liberal Democratic area in the district – eastern Tallahassee – cast only 142 (6%) of the early vote. That’s well below its share (9%) of the total district voter registration. The rest of the early vote (923/36%) was distributed among the other 10 mostly rural counties in the district from eastern Tallahassee to west of Jacksonville.
Dean is expected to run strongly in Citrus County, based on his service as sheriff of that rapidly growing coastal county, as well as his easy election to three terms representing Citrus’s state House district. His moderate record also fits in well with the county’s politics. Citrus County, with a heavy senior population, has given strong support to more moderate Republicans like Charlie Crist and Nancy Argenziano in the past. Although Franks is from Citrus also, she is little known outside of her work in the local and state Democratic Party. She was a New Hampshire state legislator as recently as 2000.
Also, the internals of the Citrus County early vote show little likelihood of a liberal Democrat upset. Republicans lead 49%-39% among the 1,345 early voters in Citrus. If there was an upset brewing there would be a surge in female Democrat voting among early voters. Only 54% of the Citrus early vote is from women voters, and Republicans lead among those Citrus female voters by 48%-42%.
As they were in the primary, election officials are concerned that there will be a very low voter turnout on Tuesday. They believe that so many voters are on vacation during June that absentee ballots and early voting may be more important than usual. So Dean has an edge in that his home area seems to be turning out much heavier in early voting than other areas in the district, and has cast more absentee votes in the past. Plus, Republicans have almost always shown that they can deliver a big absentee vote in special elections in Florida.
In the lesser known House District 43 (Citrus and parts of Hernando and Levy counties) contest between Republican Citrus property appraiser Ron Schultz and Democratic Inverness Councilwoman Sophia Diaz-Fonseca, a large GOP early voting turnout in Citrus County favors Schultz.
Jay O’Callaghan is an experienced observer of Florida elections, having served as a senior legislative analyst in the Florida House of Representatives during redistricting from 2000-2002. He can be reached by e-mail at Jocallag@gmail.com. Florida Insider is a publication of the Internet News Agency http://www.flinsider.com
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Restoring Civil Rights Called ‘Simple Fairness’
By Jack Kemp
Florida has a civil and voting rights challenge.
However, change is afoot thanks to Governor Charlie Crist. His desire to end Florida’s civil rights crisis deserves everyone’s support, including the members of his Cabinet. It is an admirable step -- one that has been long coming.
Along with Kentucky and Virginia, Florida stands alone in permanently disenfranchising ex-offenders for life, even after they have completed all terms and conditions of their sentence and post-incarceration supervision. Its disenfranchisement laws affect nearly one million Floridians – that’s one out of every 15 men, women and children.
In Florida, people with past felony convictions lose not only the basic right to vote, but also the right to run for public office, sit on a jury, hold numerous occupational licenses and in many cases even get a decent paying job.
It is a matter of simple fairness that once a person has completed his or her entire sentence, he or she should have their rights restored. This strengthens our democracy. My work visiting prisons in Florida, and that of my wife as a member of the Prison Fellowship, convinces us that the prospect of being able to start with a clean slate after fully completing one’s sentence provides an important element of hope during incarceration. I am further convinced that the ability to fully participate as a productive citizen – including becoming a full voting member of society – reduces the rate of recidivism and is an incentive for the prison population to change behavior for the good.
States throughout the nation have abandoned their voting bans. Most recently, the legislature of my state, Maryland, passed a law returning the right to vote to all ex-offenders who have completed their sentences and finished parole and probation, with the exception of people convicted of election fraud.
Many individuals are not eligible for civil rights restoration because they owe restitution. Without a doubt, every person ordered to pay restitution should pay it. Yet, the irony is that they cannot pay restitution until their civil rights are restored, since civil rights restoration opens up employment opportunities that are now closed to them. The requirement to re-pay restitution before regaining civil and voting rights should not be part of a fair solution.
As Governor Crist and the Clemency Board work on comprehensive civil rights restoration reform, they should help remove the financial barriers to restoration of civil rights.
The long-term solution in Florida is a Constitutional Amendment that would eliminate the current inequities. But right now, Governor Crist and at least two of his Cabinet members can reform the Executive Clemency process and help end the civil war-era voting ban for hundreds of thousands of Floridians.
The fundamental right to vote is the very foundation on which our democracy stands. It transcends political party affiliation, race, gender and class. In Florida, groups such as the League of Women Voter, NAACP, ACLU and other members of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition have worked tirelessly to end the inequalities of the voting and civil rights ban. Now, Governor Crist and his cabinet can take a significant step in moving Florida to join most other states in the country and most other nations in the world by restoring voting and other civil rights to ex-offenders.
It is appropriate that this historic reform take place under the leadership of the party of Mr. Lincoln.
Jack Kemp is a former U.S. Congressman, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former Republican nominee for vice president.
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