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State lawmakers recently passed “Lets Kids Be Kids” bill, focusing on allowing foster children to live lives as similar to their peers as possible.
State lawmakers were in Washington trying to help reform the national foster care

19-year-old Martan Gordon is adjusting to life after being in Florida’s foster care system for more than eight years. “It was basically go to school come home or group home. Wherever I was and that was basically my life,” said Gordon.

Laws had forced kids and their foster care families to get approval from social workers and judges on nearly every decision made, creating a feeling of isolation. “We have bubble wrapped these kids and deprived them of any kind of normalcy when it comes to childhood,” said Senator Nancy Detert.

Federal lawmakers listened to Florida’s new bill giving insight on possible changes at the federal level. “States might examine a law Florida enacted just this year, that is to ensure that foster youth are treated like every other child,” said U.S. Representative Dave Reichert.

Secretary of the Florida Department of Children and Families, David Wilkins says the strict rules made it difficult for not only kids in the system, but the adults trying to help those children. “Foster parents are burdened with paper work, court responsibilities, and jobs responsibilities all surrounding protecting the child,” he said.

Now federal officials are looking to Florida to see what changes to make so foster kids everywhere feel some sense of normalcy while living in the system.

After the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in December, State leaders promised that “everything” was on the table when it came to guns and school safety.

Efforts to put a guidance counselor in every school to spot trouble, require schools to hold more frequent lockdown exercises…or a bill to arm teachers all died when lawmakers went home.

Representative Dennis Baxley chairs a committee that heard some gun bills. We asked why more gun bills, pro or con, didn’t pass. “Definitely a sense of not over reacting to some of the spectacular things that happened like Sandy Hook” says Baxley.

The NRA’s lobbyist was in the gallery when the only gun bill..out of 15 introduced…passed.

The bill clamps down on the ability of the mentally ill to buy a gun. Sponsor Audrey Gibson says it passed because the NRA supported it. “At lease we are at the table talking about it..and we should continue to talk about other ways to make sure we stop gun violence” says the Jacksonville State Senator. After a law enforcement memorial for fallen police officers, Fraternal Order of Police President James Preston says they would have liked some clarification to the controversial Stand Your Ground. “If there is an opportunity to recede or back away from the violence, that would be our preference, but if you have to protect yourself, then by all means, the public needs to be able to do that” says the FOP President.

The bill that would have done that never got a hearing. “We never even had the discussion about stand your ground” said State Senator Chris Smith, the sponsor of legislation to prohibit someone from pursuing someone and then claiming Stand Your Ground.

But the NRA says lawmaker looked and decided nothing was broken that needed fixing.Last year a task force held seven public hearings on Stand Your Ground and made minor recommendations to tweak the legislation, but even that bill was not heard by lawmakers.

State lawmakers have sent the Governor a bill closing a loophole that has allowed mentally ill people to purchase guns. The legislation requires those who voluntarily commit themselves to sign away their firearm rights until they are well. The legislation is the only bill dealing with guns that will be approved by lawmakers during the 2013 legislative session. Sponsor Audrey Gibson calls it the beginning of a conversation. ”It’s something that is a rallying point because of the some of the incidents that have happened in our country. And as I told Marion , at least we’re at the table talking about it. And we should continue to talk about other ways to make sure we stop gun violence” says the Jacksonville Demcrat.

At the beginning of the session there was great speculation the Stand Your Ground law would be reviewed. NRA’s Marion Hammer, who watched today’s bill pass, says there was not need for a review. “There is nothing wrong with the legislation. There are problems with the way people are interpreting it, and that’s an easy fix. So, there was no “Stand Your Ground” or Castle Doctrine legislation” says the longtime NRA spokesperson.

A Stand your ground task force held meeting across the state and made several recommendations on stand your ground changes, but no legislation was heard.

Governor Rick Scott has been championing a twenty-five hundred dollar a year pay raise for every teacher in Florida since February.

Today is the fifty-second day of the annual sixty day legislative session, and lawmakers have yet to agree to the raises. They would prefer merit based pay hikes, but Scott says teachers have done their job and deserve an across the board hike. ”We’ve had a dramatic turnaround in this state. We can brag about our education system; number six in the country. But we constantly have to work on how to do we improve it. Right now one way to improve it, in my opinion,  is the classroom, the payroll increases” says Scott.

Scott’s second priority, a sales tax break on manufacturing equipment is also in limbo. He has been using veiled threats of vetoing priority projects of legislative leaders if he doesn’t get his way.

Legislation named the “Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act” was signed into law today. The measure requires law enforcement agencies to get a search warrant before flying over your home or property with an unmanned drone. Supporters say it’s better to have rules in place before most law enforcement agencies are flying over your house.

By signing legislation requiring police to get a search warrant if they want to fly an unmanned drone over your property, the Governor says he and lawmakers are protecting  fourth amendment rights. “We want our own privacy. We believe in a fourth amendment. Now, there are exceptions”says Governor Scott.

There are three exceptions to the ban on drone use: The first is if police are stalking a suspected terrorist. Drones can be used if evidence has been presented to a judge and a search warrant issued. The third is swift action is needed to save a life or prevent serious property damage.

Only two law enforcement agencies in Florida are known to now have drones. Sponsor Joe Negron, says having rules in place before more own them is important. “There is an industry that wants to sell hundreds and thousands of these drones all over the country and before they’re up in the sky, hovering around, monitoring people in their cars and their backyards, I think it was a good idea to say, here’s the rules we’re going to have in Florida on that.”, says Sen. Negron, R-Stuart.

Most law enforcement agencies initially opposed the limitations on drone use until they saw how much legislative horsepower was behind it.

House Sponsor Rich Workman (R-Brevard County), likens to use of drones to the early days of wiretaps. “It was pretty well willy-nilly used. It seemed like a good way to find the bad guys. But it also invaded people’s privacy that weren’t guilty.”

One of the biggest fears has been that police would use drones to monitor neighborhoods, and farm lands looking for crimes being committed. The ban takes effect July first.

House and Senate negotiators have said no to the Governor’s across the board pay hike for teachers, opting instead for merit based increases. Both plans cost 480 million dollars. The Governor says the across the board raises are one of only two priorities he has and believes the legislature will come through. “We need to do an across the board twenty five hundred dollar pay raise for each and every one of our classroom teachers. Our k-12 school system is doing an outstanding job” says Scott.

Scott got a boost from Orange County School Superintendent Barbara Jenkins, who says implementing merit pay a year earlier than scheduled for 2014 would be difficult. “We are convinced that it is a time to reward our teachers for their hard work and for our great outcomes. It’s also a great mechanism for us to retain our talent and to recruit new talent as Florida lags behind the nation on average teacher pay” says Barbara Jenkins.

Two weeks remain in the legislative session. What’s uncertain is if the differences in pay plans are philosophical, or if lawmakers want something from the Governor in return.

Increased health care for up to a million Floridians remains up in the air tonight as legislators in Tallahassee push drastically different plans. The end result could be no additional coverage for anyone.

Under a plan being pushed by the state House, 113,000 low income Floridians would pay a 25 dollar monthly co-pay for private insurance. A plan favored by the Governor and State Senate, would cover ten times more people. It’s funded completely by the federal government for the first three years. But it is that federal funding where House Republicans are drawing the line.

Rep. Charles McBurney R-Jacksonville, told the panel “What the government giveth, the government taketh away.”  Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando, called the Feds record into question “Furthermore the federal government does have a demonstrated check record of being an unreliable funding partner.”

In pushing for the larger coverage, Democrats made a reference to Boston, where first responders rushed to a crisis. Rep. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg says Florida should be rushing to solve a health care crisis. “We lend a helping hand. That’s what America is all about” said Rouson.

Despite the plea the committee shut down the federal money plan on a party line vote.

Rep. Mia Jones,  D-Jacksonville, says the GOP is still angry they lost the election “It’s really not about providing coverage under those plans, it’s simply about saying no to the Affordable Care Act.”The decision not to take federal money sets up a very real possibility the lawmakers could leave the State Capitol in two weeks and do absolutely nothing to expand health care.

Doing nothing says House Speaker Will Weatherford, would be profitable to taking federal money. “If it’s taking federal money that we can’t count on going home, I think we would prefer to go home” Weatherford said in an exclusive interview.

The plan being pushed by the House Speaker, gives eligible enrollees two thousand dollars to buy coverage of their choice. The House plan does not cover single, childless adults, which is one of the major differences from the Medicaid expansion favored by the Governor.  His plan also saves the state an estimated 430 million dollars on money it now spends on the medically needy program.

Internet Cafe Ban “Too Broad”

The Florida Arcade Association, made up of two hundred amusement centers is filing a law suit, saying the law that closed internet cafes was so vaguely crafted, it had the unintentional consequence of also shutting down legitimate businesses who cater to seniors. Trimmel Gomes says the arcade association want the law declared unconstitutional.

“Senior arcades, this is for seniors, they go it’s a place for good, clean entertainment and we’re not internet cafes and that’s the problem here. We should not have been lumped in to the internet cafe ban” says Gomes.

One consequence of the law is that it bans amusement machines that take anything but coins.

Three teachers from three counties, Escambia, Alachua, and Hernando, have filed a lawsuit in Federal Court, challenging a 2011 law that tells districts how to evaluate teacher performance.

All three are former teachers of the year. The say they are not receiving equal protection under the 14th amendment because they are being measured by test scores of students they have never taught. Florida Education President Andy Ford calls the system absurd.

“It’s very compelling that when you have teachers who have been honored by their faculty and in their districts as being a Teacher of the Year to have an unsatisfactory evaluation or evaluation that’s less than perfect. Based on student test scores of kids you’ve never taught  in a grade level you never taught.  It is just absolutely absurd and we need a new system” says Ford.

Beth Ann Moore is a high school teacher in Hernando County and says her evaluation is based on students she has never taught. “Seems like I should be evaluated on students I teach and the subjects that I teach. So that way I am truly getting an evaluation of my teaching abilities and also seeing the growth of my students in my subject area” says Moore.

A second plantif in the case is Kim Cook. She teaches grades one through three in Gainesville. Cook filed the lawsuit challenging the states system of evaluating teachers because her scores were based on students at another school that she has never seen. ”And they were students I’ve never met at a completely different school. I’ve had no part in instructing them whatsoever. ”

Reporter: “So you have been evaluated on based on performance of students you’ve never taught.” ”That’s correct” says the elementary school teacher.

The case was filed in Federal Court in Gainesville.

Consumer advocates are claiming a small victory tonight. Legislation to shrink state-run Citizens Property Insurance and raise rates on new customers is stalling. As Whitney Ray tells us, the bill was on the Senate agenda for final passage but the vote was postponed.

Twenty four hours before a crucial vote on Citizens Property Insurance consumers spoke out.

“I am in Citizens, not because I chose to be in Citizens but because I was forced into Citizens,” said John Thompson.

Because of sinkholes, no private company will insure Thompson’s home. Monday he came to Tallahassee to explain his dilemma to lawmakers.

“Do I have the solutions no, but time and time again I feel that I’m failed because our legislators don’t listen to us. They listen to the insurance lobbyists,” said Thompson.

Thompson’s gripe may have been heard. The bill was set for passage Tuesday morning but the vote was postponed.

“At the request of Senator Simmons, committee substitute for Senate Bill 1770 is temporarily postponed,” said Senate President Don Gaetz.

The delay may mean the votes to pass the bill weren’t there. In the meantime insurance and business lobbyists continue to push for its passage.

The bill would prohibit Citizens from covering properties worth more than a million dollars, then reduce the eligible values by 100-thousand dollars each year for the next five years.”

David Hart with the Florida Chamber of Commerce says if Citizens doesn’t shrink soon everyone will be paying more.

“We are actually all still paying back Citizens for the losses in ‘03 and ’04,” said Hart.

Citizens insures more than 400 billion dollars in risk. When the state run company can’t pay, all Florida property owners see their insurance bills increase.

After the bill was temporarily passed Shawn Shaw with the Policyholders of Florida released this statement: ”The delay of this bill to raise rates and stall our housing recovery shows that policyholders and consumer advocates are making a difference. We will continue to pound lawmakers with the facts – this bill would hurt our housing recovery, harm policyholders, and make rate making even more political.”