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Legislation that would reduce the number of weeks an unemployed Floridians could receive benefits is ready for a final vote in the State House. The bill was debated today in Tallahassee but before the debate could get started, as Whitney Ray tells us, lawmakers had to walk past dozens of angry jobseekers.

The debate surrounding how to pay Florida’s unemployed is reaching a boiling point. Dozens of angry jobseekers crowded the state capitol Wednesday. Devetria Stratford has been out of work for two years.

“I’m a hard worker. People want to holla about we lazy. I’m not lazy. The last job I held for eight years. I held another job for nine years,” Stratford.

The unemployed traveled from South Florida and Orlando. They voiced their frustration, and carried signs. The group was brought together by legislation that would shorten the number of weeks the state would pay the unemployed by six and make it easier for employers to dispute a claim.

Determined to have their voices heard, the unemployed workers lined the entrance to the House Chamber where lawmakers were preparing to debate the unemployment compensation legislation.

As Representative Carlos Trujillo tried to make his way through the crowd, organizers began questioning his support for the bill.

Trujillo: We are working to give employers the ability to grow businesses, to expand business, to have enough capital to continue to grow. People don’t want to receive unemployment. People want to work. We are trying to allow them to have that opportunity.

Protester: On one hand you’re saying that, but on the other hand you are threatening the jobs.

On average, the changes would provide a 25 dollar per employee tax break for businesses this year and additional breaks in the coming years. The bill’s sponsor says its one step closer to a more business friendly environment.

“A reduction in weeks will encourage new business to come to this state,” said Rep. Doug Holder.

With the House poised to approve the bill Thursday, the protesters will concentrate their efforts on the Senate, which is considering less severe cuts. The legislation would allow the unemployed to challenge a denied claim in an appellate court, but many argue the unemployed don’t have enough money to hire a lawyer.

A merit pay question and answer session sent the state Senate into overtime today.

Session was extended by 30 minutes as Democrats questioned the bill sponsor about judging teachers by their students test scores and the impact of placing them under one year contracts. State Senator Maria Sachs also raised concerns over how the state will afford to pay the best teachers more at a time when the state is cutting education funding by three billion dollars.

“We will qualify for federal funds, but will the state have the money to pay for the continuation of this, to further this education bill,” said Sachs.

The senate is expected to vote on the merit pay bill tomorrow.

The Florida Senate took a shot at the new federal health care regulations today, passing a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow Florida to ignore the new law of the land. If passed by the House, the amendment would end up on the 2012 ballot and voters would get to decide if Floridians should be required to buy health insurance. Senator Alan Hays says the people need a vote on the issue.

“I think it’s time for us to give the people of Florida an opportunity to assert their 10th amendment rights and tell the federal government, no we Floridians are not going to allow you to intervene with our choice of health care professionals,” said Hays.

Democratic Senator Nan Rich says it’s time to stop whining and follow the law.

“Congress and the President of the United States passed this law that will enable people in our state and every state to have coverage. It is a goal that has been sought by administrations both Democrat and Republican going back to Roosevelt,” said Rich.

The health care laws are also being challenged in the judicial branch. Two federal judges have ruled the law unconstitutional; two have ruled in favor of the law. That fight will end in the US Supreme Court.

It is now even harder for former felons to get their civil rights restored. Four years after Governor Charlie Crist and the clemency board granted automatic restorations of civil rights to non-violent felons, Governor Rick Scott and the new state cabinet are taking them a way. Scott and the Cabinet voted unanimously today to require all felons to wait a minimum of five years before they could ask to have their rights restored. Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho says the move will keep too many Floridians from the polls.

“I’m saddened for the citizens of the state of Florida that our governor and cabinet would consider continuing this racist and prejudicial legacy,” said Sancho.

19 people addressed the Governor and state Cabinet today; most of them were against the changes, although several law enforcement personnel said they were needed.

Florida lawmakers began their sixty-day session this morning facing the largest single percentage drop in state revenue since the great depression. In addition to cutting over three billion dollars from the current spending plan, Mike Vasilinda tells us the new Republican supermajority is eyeing some major changes.

Schools are facing a proposed ten percent cut. Teachers, firefighters, police, and other state workers are being asked to contribute five percent to their pensions, and pay more for health care to make up a three billion dollar shortfall.

It is against this backdrop that the Senate and the House began their annual 60 day session with the Speaker of the House predicting more gloom then light.

“We will have to reduce spending on good programs in order to preserve necessary programs,” House Speaker Dean Cannon said.

Governor Rick Scott listened quietly from the back, then left to work on his State of the State address.

“It’s going to be very optimistic,” Scott said.

The applause came from three Tea party constituents from Pinellas and Pasco Counties.

“Thank you for keeping your promise!” Tea Party consituent Lisa Ganno said.

Outside, three to four hundred Tea Party members, far fewer than the predicted thousands, gathered from across the state to support the governor.

“Let us stand together!” Jeanette Wynn of AFSCME chanted.

Across the street, a slightly smaller crowd of state workers and supporters gathered, including Republican Rob Wright who drove in from Sarasota.

“We want to make sure that the public knows that we support education,” Wright said. “And that we support the creation of more jobs, not by cutting state workers.”

And for the next 60 days, tensions are only going to increase, both inside and outside the Capitol.

The stakes are high and so are the emotions surrounding the issues facing state lawmakers in the 2011 legislative session. The day began in Tallahassee this morning with competing rallies. As Whitney Ray tells us, it didn’t take long until members from each group were locked in debate.

Charles Crites traveled from Tampa with a bus of Tea Party activists to usher in what they believe will be a new era of state governance in Tallahassee.

Charles owns a tow-truck business, and says Governor Rick Scott’s plan to cut taxes and lift regulations will help his business grow.

“By reducing these regulations I believe it’s going to be a big help especially to mom and pop businesses,” said Charles.

The crowd carried signs supporting the Governor’s agenda, and an hour into their rally on the steps of the Historic Capitol, Scott made a surprise visit.

“Hold us accountable. If we are not going down the path that we said, call us. Show up right here and complain,” said Scott.

Across the street, opponents of Scott’s plan, waved signs in support of state workers and education funding.

“We are registered Republicans and we want the state to understand that not everyone sees things in the same light as our current legislature and governor,” said Robert Wright from Sarasota.

And while the stakes are high so are the emotions. It wasn’t long before people on both sides of the argument began to debate. Karen Melin, a state worker from Tallahassee, walked through the Tea Party rally protesting government layoffs.

“It’s my job. I’ve been a state employee since 2002,” said Karen.

A Scott Supporter quickly made an attempt to convert Karen.

“We get upset whenever we feel like we are kicking in money for you,” the supporter said.

And the debate will continue on the House and Senate floors, where lawmakers will be asked to make tough choices over the next 59 days.

And there are rallies outside of Tallahassee as well. The Awake the State protests, the group against Scott’s budget plans, scheduled protests all day in more than 20 different locations. The protest began at 10est and last through 7PM.

On the eve of Florida’s sixty-day legislative session, House Speaker Dean Cannon has unveiled a proposal to split the State Supreme Court in two, add three justices, and curtail some of the court’s authority. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, Cannon says the measure is not payback for the three legislative amendments the court threw off the ballot last year.

This past summer, House Speaker Dean Cannon personally argued before the Florida Supreme Court, arguing the legislature’s amendment on redistricting should be left on the ballot.

Cannon lost; the court found the measure vague. Now, on the eve of one of the most controversial legislative sessions in history, Cannon is upping the ante with major court reform.

“Currently there are seven justices on the Florida Supreme Court,” Cannon said. “The proposed legislation provides that there would be five justices sitting on the Supreme Court of criminal appeals, and five justices on the Supreme Court of civil appeals.”

He wants to split the Florida Supreme Court into two courts, changing how judges are retained, and in a yet-to-be-discussed plan, he wants to add language to let lawmakers avoid court review of their amendments.

Going after the court is a big deal, so we asked the Speaker if this was retribution for their refusal to let amendment seven stay on the ballot.

“…because it’s not,” Cannon said. “It basically addresses the proposals, the things that they have identified. The court said we have crowded dockets”

And while the session is yet to start, the only substantive bills mentioned by leaders of the House and Senate all revolve around controversial issues, and not creating jobs.

The senate president says changing the courts is not on his agenda, but he says if it’s important to the House Speaker the Senate will consider it.

Most legislative leaders acknowledge that the 2011 session will be one of the toughest on memory as lawmakers work to cut at least three billion dollars from the current spending level. Florida schools face perhaps the biggest cuts they have ever seen, although House Speaker Dean Cannon doesn’t believe they will be as large as proposed by the Governor.

“The Governor proposed, I guess, a ten percent cut to the FEFP. I would hope we could reduce that to a lesser cut, but it would be premature for me to opine about that. I’ve got a lot of confidence in our approps. folks,” Cannon said.

The legislative session begins Tuesday at 10 a.m., but it will be late March before state economists predict the actual amount of cash lawmakers will have to spend.

Governor Rick Scott now has some key legislative support to repeal a prescription drug database scheduled to go online this spring. The database was created to track people who abuse prescription painkillers. As Whitney Ray tells us, the House has repeal legislation, but it may not fly in the Senate.

Another reason sited for repealing the database is some people feeling it’s an invasion of privacy for the state to keep a record of their medication.

Florida loses seven people a day to prescription pain medication. In just two counties, Palm Beach and Broward, nine million pills were prescribed in one six month period last year.

A prescription drug database, created to stop people from going from doctor to doctor to load up on painkillers may never be up and running. Monday, House Speaker Dean Cannon announced legislation to nix the drug monitoring system.

“I think a focus on that alone is short-sighted. The PDMP tracks the problem not the solution,” said Cannon.

The house wants to instead focus on keeping doctors from selling painkillers from their office. The database repeal legislation would be accompanied by a bill that would ban the practice.

“There is a real problem we have in the state of Florida and that is we have drug dealers masquerading as doctors,” said Rep. Robert Schenck.

Eliminating the database is a top priority in the House, but it will be a tougher sell in the Senate.

The database started as legislation in the Senate last year. Monday, Senate President Mike Haridopolos told reporters his chamber won’t act on the repeal.

“I personally think the database is a good idea and given the overwhelming support the Senate had last year for it I don’t think we are going to be moving in the opposite direction here in the Senate,” said Haridopolos.

While the two chambers begin work to stop Florida pain clinics, surrounding states will be watching. They say Florida pain clinics are killing their residents.

An unanimous Supreme Court has rejected arguments that Governor Rick Scott overstepped his authority when he refused more than two billion federal dollars to build high speed rail in Florida. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the initial suit was a long shot.

The Supreme Court decision was short and to the point: the two State senators did not prove they were entitled to any relief. High Speed Rail backers were clearly disappointed.

“This has huge implications for the state of Florida. It’s a tragic loss,” Brad Ashwell with the Florida Public Interest Research Group said.

One of the key sentences in the Court’s one-page order says very clearly that their decision was based on the limited record before the court.

The complicated arguments Thursday focused on a timeline of events, with Scott’s attorney telling the court,

“The governor is not in any violation of the law,” Gov. Scott’s counsel Charles Trippe said.

The case turned in part on the fact Scott had not violated current law. He was only vowing to veto future spending, which is well within his authority.

“Including his authority to exercise a line item veto, with respect to appropriations,” Chief Justice Charles Canady said.

A statement from the Governor’s office confirmed Scott had told Federal officials early Friday “the state would not be moving forward with any Federal high speed rail plan.”

Critics say he is being shortsighted.

“The history of transit, both at the state level and nationally, has been that the dollars typically go for highways and more roads, not high speed rail, not commuter rail, not transit,” Ashwell said. “That’s the pattern we really have to break.”

The 2.4 billion that would have come to the state, will now likely be awarded to another state.

Florida has already spent 110 million dollars on high speed rail.  It’s uncertain whether the state will be reimbursed.

Governor Rick Scott is dead set against a prescription drug database to track people who abuse painkillers. The US drug czar says Florida’s lack of regulation on doctor shopping is creating a nationwide problem, with people traveling hundreds of miles to visit Florida pill mills. The two power brokers were both in Tallahassee yesterday, but as Whitney Ray tells us, Scott can’t seem to find time to listen to the Czar’s case.

85 percent of all the Oxycodone sold in the US comes from Florida. That’s because drug dealers know they can go to South Florida, visit half a dozen pain clinics, and load up on prescription painkillers.

An estimated seven people overdose on prescription drugs and die everyday in Florida. People are also dying in other states from drugs purchased here.

Last year State Senator Mike Fasano passed legislation creating a prescription drug database to target people who go from doctor to doctor to load up on pain killers.

“People come from all over the United States to get prescription drugs, to get narcotics, to either use them or sell them on the street,” said Fasano.

Earlier this year, Governor Rick Scott announced plans to nix the database, first calling it a waste of money. Now saying…

“I don’t support the database. I believe it’s an invasion of privacy,” said Scott.

Scott’s opposition to the database is drawing attention at the highest levels. The US Drug Czar has been trying to meet with Scott to talk about how Florida’s lack of regulation is affecting law enforcement officers in other states. The US Drug Czar was in Tallahassee Thursday, hoping to meet with Scott.

“I’ve reached out to the governor. I haven’t heard back from him yet, but I understand with all that’s going on in the state,” said US Drug Czar Gil Kerkilowske.

But there wasn’t much on Scott’s schedule while the Czar was in town, just two items: staff/call time and 30 minutes of economic development meetings.

Talks of a meeting are still ongoing. We made a public records request for communications between the Drug Czar and the Governor’s Office. Our request has yet to be satisfied.

Legislation to shorten the number of weeks Floridians can receive unemployment pay while lowering business taxes is likely to pass the House next week. The 2011 Legislative Session begins Tuesday, but a bill to reform the unemployment compensation process is already ready for a vote. The bill would make it easier for an employer to challenge an employee’s claim, shorten the number of weeks a jobseeker could receive state benefits from 26 to 20, and lower business taxes this year on average by 20 bucks an employee. Karen Woodall, Director of the Florida Center for Economic and Fiscal Policy, says the savings are minuscule compared to the effect on jobseekers.

“The attitude up here is just really distressing because we should all be working on creating those jobs, getting people back to work and supporting them while they are caught in the middle,” said Woodall.

Looming is two billion dollars the state has borrowed from the feds to pay the unemployed. The money is due back with interest, with the first payment in September.

The seven justices of the Florida Supreme Court peppered attorneys for two state senators and the governor with questions this afternoon about the statutory authority to stop a high speed rail plan. Governor Rick Scott has said he will refuse 2 point 4 billion dollars to build the system between Tampa and Orlando, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the court is now considering whether he has the authority to say no.

From the moment court began, there were tough questions.

 “But isn’t that your point, that the legislature can turn it down or they keep it, but the Governor cant. Is that the only point you’re making,” said Justice Perry.

Governor Rick Scott’s refusal to accept federal money to build a high speed rail system got 40 minutes before the high court.  Scott’s lawyer was asked about the grant application that waits signing.

 “And does the Governor have the authority to tell them that they can not sign that agreement,” asked Justice Peggy Quince.

Afterwards, Scott’s staff seemed confident.

 “They made a good argument,” Brian Burgess, Scott’s Communications Director, told reporters outside the courthouse.

And the two senators who brought the suit were barely hopeful victory would be theirs.

 “If they rule for him then he’s effectively vetoed the laws that we passed and establishing that all system in design setting the blueprint for transportation in Florida,” said Sen. Joyner of Tampa.

 “He has a constitutional duty to faithfully implement the law. Faithfully means without question. To work hard to implement the law and instead, he has worked very, very hard not to implement this law,” Sen. Altman told reporters.

The suit is a last ditch effort to save the train and the federal money. Florida must find a way to take the money by Friday, or it will go to another state.

Hundreds of environmentalists, small business owners, and construction workers are asking Governor Rick Scott to change his mind about high speed rail. A 30 foot long petition with nearly 3-thousand names was delivered to Scott today, but as Whitney Ray tell us, it’s going to take a lot more than a petition to change the governor’s decision to reject the 2.4 billion dollars of rail money.

A 30 foot long paper scroll carrying the names of rail supporters made its way to Governor Rick Scott’s office Thursday.

The petition, signed by nearly 3-thousand Floridians most in just 24 hours, asks the governor to change his mind about high speed rail, and accept the 2.4 billion federal dollars for the project.

On the list are the names of hundreds of environmentalists, business people, and construction workers. They say the rail line from Tampa to Orlando would create 48-thousand jobs, alleviate traffic on I-4 and begin to ease the need for oil.

“High speed rail isn’t right leaning or left leaning, if it’s leaning anywhere it’s leaning forward,” said Patrick Gittard, with Florida Public Interest Research Group.

Scott didn’t come out to meet the organizers; a staffer took the petition to his office.

If the petition doesn’t change Scott’s mind, the Florida Supreme Court may force his hand. Two state senators are suing Scott, asking the high court to decide if his decision to reject the money is legal.”

Oral arguments were heard late Thursday afternoon. Supporters of high speed rail say they don’t care how the project comes to Florida, just as long as it comes.

“There are high powered officials pressuring the governor from every angle. We thought it was important today to make sure the citizen’s voices were heard,” said Brad Ashwell with PIRG.

The US Department of Transportation is watching the events. They’ve pledged to give Florida’s rail money to another state if a resolution isn’t reached by Friday afternoon. Florida Public Interest Research Group and Florida Conservation Alliance gathered the signatures. The groups say the state needs to develop alternative forms of transportation as soon as possible.

The US Drug Czar wants Governor Rick Scott to reconsider his opposition to a prescription drug database. Scott wants to cut funding for the system that’s meant to stop drug dealers from going from doctor to doctor to load up on pain killers. Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske says talks about a face to face meeting with Governor Rick Scott’s staff are ongoing.

“I know that there’s money available and I’ve reached out to the governor. I haven’t heard back from him yet, but I understand with all that’s going on in the state. I have met with the Attorney General and we’d like to be helpful in making sure people realize that it’s about both patient privacy and also patient safety,” said Kerlikowske.

Law enforcement officials in surrounding states say Florida’s lack of regulation on pill mills in South Florida is causing overdoses among their residents.