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If you pay more in property taxes this coming year, would you consider it a tax hike. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, it’s a battle state lawmakers are about to have, and depending how it turns out, it could cost you more.

Property values in some counties are up 9 percent this year. As a result, school districts will collect 569 million more from property owners

“That’s not a tax increase”  says Senate Budget Chair Rob Bradley.

The Governor, and lawmakers like Bradley who want the money to boost school spending say it’s not a tax increase, because the tax rate did not go up. Bradley uses the analogy of buying a two lawnmowers months apart.

“You will pay more taxes on the second lawnmower than the first lawnmower because the price has increased, but that’s not a tax increase. the tax rate is the same” says Bradley.

But Rep. Matt Caldwell, who chairs the House Governmental Accountability Committee calls the comparison Apples and Oranges.

“At the end of the day the taxpayers are paying more than they were last year” says Caldwell.

The issue is important because lawmakers, not local governments, set the required local effort, which is designed to equalize school funding across the state.

Lawmakers have actually reduced the required local effort over the last two years.

Last year the House drew a line in the sand. Rep. Paul Renner wants to keep it that way again this year.

“We certainly want to lower the tax burden on citizens this year, not increase it” Renner told us.

Rick Scott is siding with the Senate this year. The bulk of his proposed increase for public schools comes from higher local property values.

This year, Governor Rick Scott is seeking fewer tax cuts  and more spending ahead of what is expected to be a run for the U-S Senate.

We asled the Governor’s Office for a statement. Here’s what they sent:

Q: Why did local funds increase in the FEFP?

• The local millage tax rate will not increase and will remain at the Fiscal Year 2017-18 level of 4.308. This means there is no tax increase because the rate will not change.
• The amount of local funding provided in the FEFP calculation primarily increased due to a 6.15 percent, or $117.1 billion, rise in the school taxable value that was the result of an increase in the value of Florida property. When property values rise, it’s a good thing for Florida families.
• While Florida is currently experiencing increased local revenues because property values are rising, the state has also experienced significant reductions in local revenues when property values decline, as it faced during the national recession.

Q: Has state funding increased at a higher rate than local funding in the FEFP since Governor Scott has taken office?

• Yes. During Governor Scott’s administration, state funding for Florida’s K-12 public schools has increased by $3.2 billion or 36.7 percent, from a total amount of $8.7 billion in Fiscal Year 2011-12 to $11.9 billion in the 2018-19 Securing Florida’s Future budget. During this same time period, the local contribution to the FEFP has risen at a slower pace, increasing by $1.6 billion or 20.8 percent.

The House Select Committee on the Hurricane Irma response began delving into why its taking to long to remove tree limbs and other debris since the storm passed. Rep. Paul Renner says its important to know what went wrong before the next storm.

“We want to look and see what happened. you know, did people skirt their contractual obligations and what the remedy should be going forward for that. And how do we make sure in the next storm that we get debris picked up in the shortest time possible, Look at best practices” the Palm Coast representative told us.

In some counties, debris was taken to a central staging area quickly, where other contractors than permanently disposed of the debris.

50 or so Haitian refugees walked the hallways of the State Capitol today, they came to ask the estate to send a message to Congress Give Haitians in the US on temporary status, which is set to expire early next year, at least 18 months to make arrangements to go home. The Committee voted overwhelming for the resolution sponsored by State Senator Daphne Campbell.

“Everyone understands they re not asking to stay on temporary status all the time. Just give us the time to be ready, that’s all” says Campbell.

Q: Give enough time?” we asked.

“Yes, make decisions or be prepared. You know if I have to leave, I can sell my home, my business, to know where I am going to leave my children” says Campbell, who is of Haitian descent.

Some of the 60 thousand Haitians here have been in the US on temporary status since an earthquake rocked the island nation in 2010.

Florida lawmakers are moving ahead with plans to replace the statute of a Confederate General representing the state in the US Capitol with that of a civil rights icon and educator, As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the move is not with it’s critics.

In 2016 lawmakers voted to boot Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith from Statutory Hall in the US Capitol. Smith became one of two statues representing the state in 1922. The other is air conditioning inventor John Gorrie.

Months later, a special committee narrowed more than 130 recommendations down to three. Civil Rights Icon Mary McLeod Bethune was the top vote getter.

At the time, Daisy Grimes was a special assistant at Bethune Cookman University.

“She stood bold for what she believed in. And she believed in this country. She believed in the goodness of this country and what it could be” said Grimes.

Lawmakers dodged the change last session. Now it’s back.

Sen. Perry Thurston is the bill sponsor.

“Dr. Bethune served as the first African American woman to head a federal agency” he told fellow Senators.

Opponents, like Don Russ of Jacksonville, tried to convince budget writers that keeping Smith was a way to remember history.

“I got to tell ya, you need to reconsider what you are doing” Russ told Senators. He later stormed away from the podium after accusing Chair Rob Bradley on not listening and already having his mind made up.

Only Dennis Baxley voted no. His Great-Great-Great Grandfather was a poor farmer who fought for the south.

“I’m very concerned what this does to us as a culture, we go through cultural purging” said Baxley before the vote.

Supporters of Kirby Smith say if he is indeed removed from the nation’s Capitol, he ought to be brought home here to Tallahassee to the old Capitol.

David McCalliser of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Tampa wants Smith brought back to Florida.

“We need to turn this into a positive thing and respect our veterans.”

Who would pay to replace Smith, or bring him back to Florida, aren’t addressed in the legislation.

A 2016 estimate says it will cost $388,000 to replace the Kirby Smith statue,  which includes bringing Smith back to Florida.  The 2016 law replacing him suggested the money would have to be raised privately.

Governor Rick Scott’s final budget is asking for a two hundred dollar per student increase. Nearly six hundred million of the increase would come from local taxpayers in what is know as the Required Local Effort, or RLE. The plan doesn’t’t increase property owners milage rates, but it does use the growth in property values to fund schools. Senate Budget Chair Rob Bradley says that doesn’t qualify as a tax increase.

“We’re very committed in the Senate to K 12 education. A very important part of that commitment is making sure we have the RLE. And so, it’s not a tax increase. We agree with the Governor” Bradley told reporters after his first meeting as budget chair.

Whether or not paying more is a tax increase or not has been a point of contention between lawmakers last year and the year before.

A woman who has filed a sworn complaint against Clearwater Senator Jack Latvala continues to work for the Florida Senate. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the woman’s attorney is concerned about retaliation against her client.

Senate Committee rooms were empty and locked Tuesday morning. One Senator called it unusual with a legislative session starting in seven weeks. The slowdown comes as Senators grapple with a now formal sexual harassment allegations against Clearwater Senator Jack Latvala.

“I believe you called him a  “bombastic bully?” We asked.

“ I did say that.”

Tiffany Cruz is the attorney representing the woman who filed the complaint. The woman continues to work for the Senate.

“She’s going to do her work as long as she can do her work without any retaliation coming to her. She’s a strong woman” says Cruz.

Latvala denies the allegations, The Senate has hired the Tampa law firm Jackson Lewis, which specializes in representing employers. Lawyer Cruz says an action against the Senate hasn’t been ruled out.

“That’s certainly a right that she has. Its available to her, and she enjoys her work and she serves the people of Florida and that’s what she likes to do” Continued Cruz.

Latvala was behind closed doors. His attorney has asked that  the Senate Rules Chairman Lisbeth Benacquisto be disqualified from the investigation based on our interview with her last week.

“Have you received a sworn complaint?”

“I have” she told us.

Latvala’s lawyer argues Benacquisto violated Senate rules by verifying that a complaint had eve been filed.

And the Senate President Presidents office says the rules Chariman won’t have to disqualify herself.

The woman who filed the complaint has yet to be interviewed by the Senates Law firm.

The attorney is also worried lawmakers are fast tracking the investigation to get it over with before the session starts in early January. She believes that will keep witnesses and victims from coming forward if they believe Latvala could regain his powerful chairmanship.

The Florida Chamber listed 41 priorities for lawmakers this coming year. The wishlist is topped by ending insurance abuses,  worker compensation insurance costs. Chamber President Mark Wilson says dealing with the future growth of the state is a must.

“We’re gonna grow by five and a half more people. We’re going to add fifty million more visitors. And we’re going to add five million more drivers, and so when we look at infrastructure, when we look at water, when we look at the environment. when we look at energy, the bottom line is that we need twenty percent more water by the year 2030, and the focus of the Florida Chamber is to work with the legislature to cocoa on what the science says we should do” wilson told reporters.

The Chambers list for 2018 is ambitious. It was asked whether the ongoing sex scandals would make it hard to get anything done. Their reply. The Governor, Speaker, and  Senate President can agree on anything and get it done.

Greek organizations at Florida State University remain unable to participate as a group in this weekends homecoming events. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, there is also one fewer fraternity on the FSU campus.

20 year old Andrew Coffey was at least the 136th person who has died in the US as a result of hazing. The deaths date back to 1838. Coffey died a mile from Campus after a night of drinking.

The Greek letters at the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity have been removed. The Fraternity’s charter was revoked Frida by it’s national organization. It sited violations of social event policies the day Coffey died.

The death led FSU President John Thrasher to cancel all greek activities indefinitely.

“Have you spoken with the family?” we asked.

“I talked to the mom Friday night the day the young man passed away.. And I had a very…a conversation that was private and serious. I’ll just leave it at that” said Thrasher.

Trouble is not new to the fraternity. Last year, the chapter at the University of South Florida was suspended after a 16 year old girl was raped.

9 Pi Kappa Phi chapters remain active in Florida.

The remaining 54 Fraternities and Sororities here at FSU remain banned from taking part in any homecoming activities this coming weekend.
Asked for how long the suspension of Greek activities will last, FSU President John Thrasher said it was up to the Greek organizations to come up with what he’s calling the new normal.

“Not long. I hope really no long. A lot of things can happen in a very short time, if we get the cooperation of everybody, and I think we will” says President Thrasher.

Coffey’s death remains under investigation.

While Pi Kappa Phi has had its troubles, it has also produced two former Supreme Court justices in Florida, as well as the former CEO of Public, M. Clayton Hollis. University of Florida Alum Ben Hill Griffin, for whom the football stadium at UF is named, was also a member of Pi Kappa Phi.