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State lawmakers will begin their annual session in Tallahassee on Tuesday. 2010 brings more challenges than anytime since the Great Depression, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the legislative search for money is on in more ways than one.

The streets of the state Capitol are alive.

To merchants in Tallahassee, the legislative session is worth about 2 million dollars a week.

This flower shop will have one of its biggest days of the year, as well wishers continue a decades-old tradition of giving flowers on opening day.

“We’re very fortunate to have this one day, where the restaurants get it for two months,” florist Katie Addington said.

Lobbyists were walking from one location to another, checks in hand. Lawmakers can’t accept contributions during the session, so the push is on to pick up as many checks as possible.

Attorney General Candidate Dan Gelber was one of three statewide candidates making the rounds. His Republican Counterpart, Pam Bondi, who faces no fundraising restriction, was also in town.

“Meeting a lot of good folks,” Bondi said. “A little money raising.”

Because 2010 is an election year, Democrat Luis Garcia says expect the unexpected.

“When politics get in the way, good government goes out the window.” Garcia said.

In the Capitol, the list of needs outpaces available cash by up to three billion dollars, but Representative Dean Cannon says new taxes aren’t on the list.

“We will find a way to take the dollars that Floridians have sent us and spend them wisely,” Cannon said.

Will there be new revenue?

“I doubt it,” he said.

And if this were NASCAR, the announcer would be saying “Start Your Engines,”  the 60 Day race is about to begin.

Governor Charlie Crist is slated to deliver his State of the State address 24 hours from now at 6 pm Tuesday night. He is expected to stress jobs and ethics in government.

A select house committee is moving ahead with legislation to allow oil drilling off the Florida coast. State Rep. Dean Cannon says it could be four or five weeks before specific language is drafted, but he says it is becoming increasingly clear that residents don’t want to see rigs off the coast.

“What are the different ways you can ensure that you can’t see it from the beach, basically,” Cannon said. “If it turns out to be five miles that’s fine, it may need to be further. There may be other ways to achieve that same goal but the main goal that I think there’s a pretty broad consensus on is make sure we don’t see this from the beach in a way that in any way blights the views cape from our coastline.”

The panel was also told that oil drilling and the environment can co-exist. A previous report by the Century Commission questioned whether there was enough oil in Florida waters to make a difference, but Cannon says we won’t know until someone starts looking.

A plan to keep predators at least 300 feet from children cleared its first committee hurdle in Tallahassee today.

The legislation, which initially was drafted to set a statewide standard on where sex predators could live, now includes no such limitation, but Sponsor Rich Glorioso from Plant City says he doesn’t care where predators sleep, it’s what they do when they are awake that concerns him.

“What we’re trying to do is create a circle of safety around these kids, to protect our children,” Glorioso said. “As we said earlier, where they’re sleeping at night, residential restrictions have been proven they don’t work. Where they’re sleeping is not the important part, it’s what they are doing when they are awake. And so we want to create that circle of safety, that 300 foot circle of safety, around the kids. So if the kids are in a field playing soccer, that predator can’t loiter within 300 feet of those kids.”

Current restrictions on predators have resulted in uneven treatment from county to county, and has forced some predators to live under bridges because there is no suitable housing far enough away from children.

By the end of the month as many as 100-thousand Floridians could be kicked off the unemployment rolls. A program extending unemployment benefits to thousands of Floridians expired Sunday. As Whitney Ray tells us, if Congress acts this week the program could continue without a hiccup.

All eyes are on the US Senate this week as lawmakers consider extending the enrollment period for Emergency Unemployment Compensation. The window closed on thousands of jobless Sunday. But Congress could vote to reopen enrollment.

“There are a couple of different scenarios we’re prepared for. Let’s say Congress passes an extension this week. It’s very likely our customers would feel no effect and experience no lapse in benefits,” said AWI Spokesman Robby Cunningham.

But if no action is taken an estimated 20-thouand Floridians every week would stop receiving checks. By June the number could reach 400-thousand. The Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy says the state would loss millions.

“Consider the unemployment insurance benefits alone we’re talking 30.5 million dollars a week that aren’t in Florida’s economy,” said John Hall, director of the center.

And for every unemployment dollar spent, economists say there’s a dollar 64 cent return in business growth. And, while Congress debates the pros and cons, state lawmakers are considering two bills: one that would stifle a business tax increase aimed at paying claims and another that would pump 444 million dollars into the unemployment checking account.

Lawmakers balked at the money last year because it allowed part-time employees and some people who quit to claim unemployment.

“The people who are complaining about, well its going to cost the employer more money down the road and on and on and on,’ but it just makes no sense for us to leave 400 million dollars on the table,” said State Senator Tony Hill, who is sponsoring legislation that would allow the state claim the extra dollars.

And as lawmakers debate, the unemployment rate continues to rise.

For updates about the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program go to www.floridajobs.org and look under UC Hot Topics.

Thousands of Florida drivers are unable to renew their driver licenses because of new federal restrictions. The Real ID standards went into effect on January first and require you to provide more identification. As Whitney Ray tells us, many people have lost or destroyed the birth certificates and social security cards they need to get a license.

David Kirkland has missed hours of work and made multiple trips to the DMV just to renew his drivers license.

“Here, then over to the Social Security Office, back home to get a couple of things of mail,” said Kirkland.

New federal restrictions require four forms of ID to get a license. Since the Real ID program began in January, half a million people have received a Florida license; that’s down 260-thousand drivers from a year ago. Marsha Allen wasn’t aware of the new requirements.

“I discovered that I need four different types of verification just to get a renewal and I’ve been driving for over 20 years,” said Marsha.

She headed back home Friday to get her birth certificate, passport, social security card, and a couple of utility bills.

People who aren’t able to find their documents have to attempt to replace them, but there’s a catch 22 because many of the agencies that renew the documents require a drivers license.

DMV Spokeswoman Ann Howard says licensing offices will work with people who encounter road blocks.

“Just bring in as much documentation as you have and we will work with you one-on-one,” said Howard.

The new restrictions were adopted after 9/11 when several of the terrorists were able to get Florida licenses. Real ID is supposed to weed out the bad guys.
For more information about what is needed to get a Real ID go to www.GatherGoGet.com

An accused child molester appeared before a Leon County judge this morning with a black eye, and scratches: his wound healing after family members of his alleged victim caught him in the act.

Erik McDonald was arrested yesterday for the sexual assault of a toddler. Police say he broke into a house and began molesting the child, when family members awoke. They grabbed objects in the living room and began beating McDonald. Tallahassee Police Spokesman David McCranie says if the family hadn’t acted the situation could have gotten worse.

“The family was a hero; this could have easily turned into a tragedy where someone died, a kidnapping of the child or heaven forbids he runs out of the house and we can’t find him or we don’t know who he is for months and months and he’s still in society. So, I applauded them for their heroic efforts and I’m glad that it wasn’t any worse than it was,” said McCranie.

A judge denied McDonald bail in a court hearing this morning. McDonald is taking medicine for schizophrenia and told police voices told him to molest the toddler.

Former Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio is catching heat tonight for using campaign cash to pay for personal expenses. Rubio charged 110-thousand dollars on a Republican Party credit card. He says he repaid all charges that weren’t related to promoting the Republican brand. As Whitney Ray tells us, he’s also blaming his US Senate rival for the leaked credit card statements.

If you contributed money to the Republican Party of Florida your donation may have bought former House Speaker Marco Rubio a 400 dollar meal at the Macaroni Grill, a 130 dollar haircut or a 3-thousand dollar car rental.

Over a two year period Rubio charged nearly 110-thousand dollars on an RPOF credit card, according to a newspaper report. His Senate campaign manager says he reimbursed the party for all personal expenses.

Shortly after the story broke, Rubio released a campaign video in an attempt to change the subject. Then he claimed his primary rival Governor Charlie Crist leaked the credit card statements to the press. Crist bristles back.

“The people have a right to know how people spend there money, how they comport themselves, how they conduct themselves before they put themselves up for public office. That’s happened to the speaker. He apparently doesn’t like it. That’s too bad. Welcome to the NFL,” said Crist.

But there may be more than just political penalties tied to the spending allegations. Florida Democrats are calling for a federal investigation into 3.6 million dollars charged on Republican Party credit cards.

“Crimes probably were committed at the RPOF, that there was illegal activity at the RPOF,” said Eric Jotkoff, a spokesman for the Florida Democrats.

A spokesman for the IRS would neither confirm nor denied they were investigating the Republican spending scandal.

The party has also denied requests from its own members to release the spending statements to the press. On the day the party’s former chairman announced his resignation, a paper shredding truck was spotted outside party headquarters.

Rubio’s campaign manager told us the former speaker was unavailable to answer questions about the spending because he was out of the state.

Sink on Questionable Spending and Ethics Reform

The Democratic frontrunner in Florida’s governor’s race is calling for more transparency in campaign spending.

Alex Sink’s plan would ban gifts from lobbyists, increase transparency into the spending of campaign contributions and require state workers to attend ethics training. Sink is releasing her plan as former House Speakers Marco Rubio and Ray Sansom are both catching heat over thousands of dollars spent on RPOF Credit Cards. Sink says more transparency would help donors know how their contributions were being used.

“We ought to be having reporting on any credit card transactions at political parties. I’m going to require our state employees not to take any gifts at all from lobbyist or vendors,” said Sink.

Sink says if she is elected governor she will push for more protection for whistleblowers working in state government who are more comfortable sharing their stories with a journalist than rather than reporting to their own agency.

As Republicans and Democrats battled it out on the airwaves in a day long health care summit, the editor of one of the industry’s top journals was in Tallahassee to discuss reform.

Susan Dentzer, of the Health Affairs Journal says medical costs are out of control and the issue has become too political. Dentzer says whether or not you like the current reform legislation, it’s at least a start.

“If you look at the facts on the table in front of us and said you know we’ve got to do something and even what Obama is proposing is incremental compared to the scope of the problems we’ve have so we could argue about how incremental it ought to be and various proposals, but I think the facts are pretty clear that we need to act,” said Dentzer.

Dentzer has spent more than 30 years coving health related issues.

Florida Governor’s race is heating up as both parties release attack ads. The ads target TV audiences, but as Whitney Ray tells us, they’ll also get a lot of play on the web where a majority of young voters get their news.

Florida is still nine months away from choosing its next governor and the political punches are already beginning to fly.

Tuesday the Republican Governor’s Association released this ad claiming Alex Sink cut thousands of jobs as head of Bank of America’s Florida Branch. Sink says no way.

“They’re clearly desperate and misleading,” said Sink.

Wednesday the Florida Democrats fired back, releasing this anti McCollum ad airing around the state. McCollum says he’s proud of his time in Washington.

“I’m proud of my service of Congress and my record there,” said McCollum.

By airing the ads on television and posting them online campaigns are able to target two audiences, TV viewers and younger voters who spend more time on the web.

The ads are coming earlier than usual, a trend political scientist expect will continue. The TV and internet ad battle will really kick off once Sink and McCollum begin spending their own campaign cash. Both of the ads we just showed you are being financed by political groups.

Former Governor Jeb Bush is publicly chastising Governor Charlie Crist’s support of the economic stimulus package. Bush told anchors on a political talk show Crist’s endorsement of the spending is “unforgivable.” Crist says tell that to the firefighters, police officers, and teachers who were able to keep their jobs, he says, because of the spending.

“Everybody has a right to their opinion and I respect that, but I also understand that 87-thousand jobs would have been lost if we didn’t have it, 20-thousand educators. I can’t, in good conscious, not support those people. I work for them,” said Crist.

The criticism from Bush is in line with remarks Crist’s primary rival for US Senate is spreading on the campaign trail. Still, Bush has yet to endorse a candidate.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce is asking state lawmakers to protect businesses for tax hikes, lower property tax, and increase their focus on education. Members of the chamber were at the capitol today to celebrate free enterprise and announce their 2010 legislative agenda. Governor Charlie Crist addressed the chamber and says the business climate in Florida is improving.

“Crime has continued to decline. Education happens to be up. Property taxes are down. Property insurance is lower. You are covered and we haven’t had a hurricane. Thank God for that one. Things aren’t so bad,” said Crist.

Crist did concede that the state is facing challenges and says he’ll talk more about the struggles facing small business owners and employees during his State of the State address next Tuesday.

There are an estimated 50-thousand gangsters living in Florida. The Attorney General’s Council on Gang Reduction came up with the estimate earlier this year as part of its first ever report. The council is taking credit for helping busting 12 Latin King Gang members in Orlando earlier this month. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Jerry Bailey says data sharing among different agencies and departments is helping bust more bad guys… but adds there’s room for improvement.

“We’re going to have to be able to talk better, to share more of the information, but the big thing is getting it all into a centralized database so that gang that’s working today in Palm Beach County and tomorrow in Leon county – that we can better track their movements and their activities,” said Bailey.

The 50-thousand gangsters counted belong to 11-hundred gangs. The council says knowing the state’s gang population gives them a starting point to measure their progress.

Florida Governor’s race is heating up as both parties release attack ads. The ads target TV audiences, but as Whitney Ray tells us, they’ll also get a lot of play on the web where a majority of young voters get their news.

Florida is still nine months away from choosing its next governor and the political punches are already beginning to fly.

Tuesday the Republican Governor’s Association released this ad claiming Alex Sink cut thousands of jobs as head of Bank of America’s Florida Branch. Sink says no way.

“They’re clearly desperate and misleading,” said Sink.

Wednesday the Florida Democrats fired back, releasing this anti McCollum ad airing around the state. McCollum says he’s proud of his time in Washington.

“I’m proud of my service of Congress and my record there,” said McCollum.

By airing the ads on television and posting them online campaigns are able to target two audiences, TV viewers and younger voters who spend more time on the web.

The ads are coming earlier than usual, a trend political scientist expect will continue. The TV and internet ad battle will really kick off once Sink and McCollum begin spending their own campaign cash. Both of the ads we just showed you are being financed by political groups.

More than 50 cities in Florida have installed cameras at busy intersections to catch red Light runners, even though a 2005 opinion said the cameras, while illegal, could not be used to fine motorists. Now a judge is saying the fines levied by the cities is unconstitutional. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, State lawmakers will likely have the final say.

In 2005, then attorney general Charlie Crist issued an opinion saying local governments could install all the red light cameras they wanted…but they couldn’t fine people based solely on the camera.

More than 50 cities ignored the advice. But now a South Florida judge has used the opinion to say the fines are unconstitutional.

State Representative Ari Porth is a co-sponsor of red-light legislation that has languished in Tallahassee for most of a decade. He believes the judge’s decision and a tight budget might finally light a fire under lawmakers.

“I think there are benefits financially for the cities and for the drivers on the road,” Porth said.

Under the plan, half of the 155-dollar fine would go to the state, with 25 dollars of each ticket going to support trauma centers.

In one study, in an intersection like this one, when motorists were told there was a camera, the number of red-light runners dropped from 50 a day to just 20.

Nationally, support for the cameras is overwhelming. We found the same support in random interviews.

“Absolutely no problem. Abide by the law,” one driver said.

“I think it would be good. I think it would help keep people accountable,” another said.

“Put the cameras up there and give them tickets,” driver Koceem Stanbury said. “That’ll slow them down.”

And while safety is important, in the end, it will likely be the search for cash that motivates lawmakers to finally legalize with dozens of cities have been doing for years.

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Former House Speaker Ray Sansom resigned his legislative seat on the eve of a scheduled disciplinary hearing over whether he misused his official position. The resignation effectively ended the legislative hearing, so, as Mike Vasilinda tells us, taxpayers will have to wait for criminal proceedings to know the truth about the tangled relationship with a well-healed donor.

In November 2008, Ray Sansom was at the apex of power in Florida. 15 months later he resigned his legislative seat on the eve of disciplinary hearings that he misused his official position.

Sansom’s attorney says the deck was stacked against justice.

“He couldn’t defend himself in this process,” Gloria Fletcher, Sansom’s attorney, said. “There was no way for him to compell the attendants and witnesses.”

At the core of the charges, is a six million dollar appropriation Sansom steered to a hometown college. It appears to be for an airport hangar for a well-healed contributor. Sansom, the college president, and the contributor, all face felony grand theft charges.

“Any violation would have had to have been proved by clear and convincing evidence,” Galvano said. “So that’s where I’m going to leave it and I’m going to respect the resignation.

Sansom joins at least nine other legislators who have chosen to resign rather than face discipline or even expulsion at the hands of their colleagues.

Representative Rich Glorioso regrets lawmakers will not get to the bottom of the story.

“I wanted to see the evidence laid out so we could make an honest decision about what we were going to do,” Glorioso said. “Unfortunately we didn’t have that opportunity today, so it’s going to leave a lot of voids in our mind.”

But the truth, if it’s ever to be known, will have to wait for criminal proceedings.