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The head of Citizens Property Insurance wants to explore handing over the more than a million policies to a private company. Citizens board chairman told members today privatization may be the answer to the concerns surrounding Citizens ability to pay claims. Governor Rick Scott says its worth considering.

“If looking at things like privatizing Citizens is something that will help drive down the cost of insurance of our state I want to look at it very closely,” said Scott.

Citizens holds properties the private sector deems too risky to insure. Many of the properties are on the coast. If a major storm wiped out a large number of those properties, Citizens could pay claims so taxpayers would to foot the bill.

One out of every five dollars of personal income in Florida comes from government programs, and by years end many of those programs will be scaled back. The research comes from Moody’s Analytics a New York based research group, but what it means to Florida, as Whitney Ray tells us, is fewer dollars for people to spend on food, clothing and other necessities.

The recession has more Floridians enrolling in unemployment, food stamps and social security programs. But by years end, many of those programs will be cut.

Tuesday Florida House Democrat Alan Williams was speaking up to save Medicare. He says the cuts will hurt.

“I think it leaves a lot of folk behind and it leaves a lot of services that could be given to our citizens when they need them the most,” said Williams.

On top of Uncle Sam closing his wallet, the state is also scaling back the amount of money it gives people in need. August 1st changes to the state’s unemployment compensation system will keep thousands from claiming benefits.

Rob Weissert, the Vice President for Research at Florida TaxWatch, says the changes mean fewer dollars for Floridians to spend at Florida businesses.

“This change will likely have a negative impact on real Floridians and on Florida’s fiscal situation, but it could be a positive in the long run,” said Weissert.

The positive, says Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, is that the cuts are expected to help businesses create jobs. Carroll says the strategy is already starting to work.

Carroll: Right now we are also seeing that in the short term that our revenues coming in are higher that expected.
Reporter: So it’s all about jobs.
Carroll: Jobs jobs jobs.”

But with 20 percent of the personal income in Florida coming from the government, if those jobs don’t come soon the recession will likely deepen.

Since Florida has no income tax and relies heavily on sales tax to fund government, cuts in entitlement programs could hit Florida harder than other states.

A new drivers license program is making it easier to identify veterans.

Today the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles rolled out its new veterans license, which is just the same as a regular license except for a small “V” in the bottom right hand corner. The change was adopted after years of lobbying by Daniel Garza a retired Army staff sergeant and CEO of Tampa based Operation Enduring Gratitude.

“The initial reason I wanted it on there was a bunch of merchants and retailers who want to give us discounts on a daily biases, but they don’t know who we are,” said Garza.

Veterans who want to change their license need to bring their DD-214, which is proof of an honorable discharge and pay one dollar for the V.

As fireworks light up the sky over the Fourth of July weekend, so did the lights of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Today FHP released its Independence Day holiday statistics. 85-hundred citations were issued. Three thousand of those were for speeding. 90 were for driving under the influence. FHP Regional Chief Grady Carrick says troopers work overtime to watch the roads during times of celebration.

“The Florida Highway Patrol along with our other state and local partners are serious about traffic safety and we are serious about helping people enjoy the holidays in a safe and responsible way,” said Carrick.

Along with the arrests were 12 crashes that resulted in 13 deaths.

Art may be on the chopping block to help fill the budget deficits in some Florida cities and counties. Broward County is considering a vote on every art project with a six figure price tag. Since 1979, the state has spent 11.5 million dollars on art and, as Whitney Ray tells us, there have been numerous efforts to stop tax dollars from paying for the creations.

A tranquil fountain of dolphins greets visitors at the Florida state capitol. In the courtyard a statue reminds them of the sacrifices made by law enforcement.

“We want them to see that this is the reality of what law enforcement, correctional officers go through everyday,” said Matt Puckett, Spokesman with PBA.

The Florida Police Benevolent Association donated the Officer Down statue in 2009, the same year a bill calling on the state to stop buying art failed in Tallahassee.

Over the past 30 years the state has spent 11.5 million dollars on art. That’s about 360-thousand a year. Division of Cultural Affairs Spokesman Chris Cate says the pictures, paintings, and sculptures enhance the Florida experience.

“Public places are a great venue to promote Florida’s artists, Florida’s talent, Florida’s environment,” said Cate.

State law allows an art budget of up to 100-thousand dollars per new building.

Florida’s First District Court of Appeal went way over its art budget, so Florida’s CFO stopped payment to the artist. Now more than 350 framed photographs sit wrapped in paper while the artist sues the state for the money she was promised.

With the state and local governments cutting programs and laying off workers to fill massive budget deficits, some people are asking if now is the time to spend tax dollars on art.

“I don’t care about no pictures hanging up, I’m trying to get to my destination, get to work, take care of my family,” said Anthony Jackson.

At least one Florida County is taking action. Broward County may soon require a vote for every six figure art purchase. A bill introduced to require the state to only buy art from Florida artists failed this session.

The way eyewitnesses identify crime suspects will soon be the same in every police agency in Florida.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is calling for every agency to adopt its new lineup policy in an attempt to cut down on the number of innocent people charged with crimes. Last year the Florida Innocence Commission found that sometimes investigators would unconsciously send body language signals to eyewitnesses about which person was their suspect. FDLE Spokesman Keith Kameg says that will change this fall.

“These standard today provide a uniform way of looking at things, how we talk to possible witnesses, how we identify, how we present the lineup, we want to make certain that there’s no bias,” said Kameg.

Many Florida police agencies already practice the new lineup rules, which include having an officer with no relation to the case show an eyewitness the lineup pictures. But those that don’t will have to adopt the new policies by November 1st.

The US Department of Education is ordering a study of Bright Futures, to find out if the scholarship program is improving higher education in Florida. A 780-thousand dollars grant has been given to a FSU professor to conduct the study. As Whitney Ray tells us, the study comes after two years of cuts to the 400 million dollar program.

Without Bright Futures Sarah Davis wouldn’t be an FSU student.

“I probably would have gone to a community college close to home,” said Davis.

The story is the same for Taylor Costello from Coral Springs.

“I would probably stay at home because Bright Futures covers a lot of tuition and instead of money going towards housing and stuff, I would have to pay for tuition,” said Costello.

Wesley Sima probably still would have pursued his MBA at FSU, but he would have entered grad school with debt.

“It’s some weight off your shoulders not having to go through college knowing that you have to limit your money,” said Sima.

The way Bright Futures influenced these students and thousands more statewide is the subject of a study ordered by the US Department of Education. Dr. Shoupping Hu was awarded a 780-thousand dollar grand to conduct the study.

“We want to figure out why the Bright Futures really encourages or helps the student go to the institution that they may not be able to go,” said Hu.

The study comes after back to back years of the state legislature watering down the scholarship program.

The merit based scholarship is now harder to get. It also covers fewer classes. Students applying this year must now fill out a financial aid form. Junior Eddy Hernandez calls the changes disheartening.

“The fact that they’re cutting back on us it’s more money out of pocket,” said Hernandez.

The last Bright Futures study was conducted in 2003. Since then lawmakers have been making major changes based somewhat on the old data but mainly on the rising cost. Last year 177-thousand students received the Bright Futures at a cost of more than 420-million dollars.

The new study won’t be finished until 2014. The 2003 study found that the scholarship program helped more minority students attend college, kept smarter students in Florida but it didn’t study how many of the Bright Futures students actually earned a degree.

There are five-hundred internet cafes statewide. Some are registered as charities, some sweepstakes. Some both. But what goes on inside often times is gambling, and the state doesn’t have the right to shut them down. A bill was filed this week to give the state the authority to stop internet cafes from allowing customers to play games. Rep. Scott Plakon filed the bill. We spoke with him during the legislative session when he announced he would find a way to stop the cafes.

“Having 500 store front casinos in our state right next to the drycleaner is a problem that needs to be solved and needs to be addressed by the legislature and I’m hopeful next year that we’ll be able to do that,” said Plakon.

Supporters of the cafes say they’re completely legal and if any of them are violating the law, it’s up to local governments, not the state, to police the businesses.

Last week state workers were laid off to save money, now it’s city and county governments turn to balance their dwindling budgets. The state gave pink slips to 13-hundred of its workers. As Whitney Ray tells us, those layoffs could pale in comparison to layoffs in cities, counties and schools.

Rocked by state worker layoffs, Workforce Plus, the capital area employment agency, is offering cash to businesses that create jobs for the unemployed.

“We are putting together our resources identifying quickly, here are some steps that get you there quickly,” said Kimberly Moore, CEO of Workforce Plus.

Businesses creating jobs can receive up to 12-hundred dollars per job. The offer is only good for businesses in and around Tallahassee, where state budget cuts hit hardest, but it could be expanded statewide as layoffs touch cities, counties and schools.

When the bell rings signifying the start of school this August, there will be a lot of open spots in teacher parking lots across the state. School districts dealing with fewer dollars will be making the tough decision about who to keep and who to let go.

Fewer dollars from the state and falling property values are putting a big dent in education budgets. The story is the same with county governments.

“These are hard decisions and when you look at the fourth year of budget cuts, the first year you cut the fun stuff, you cut some of the parks, maybe you cut back on library hours, the second year you go a little deeper. Now we are in the fourth year,” said Cragin Mosteller, Spokeswoman for the Florida Association of Counties.

Early estimates showed as many as 10-thousand layoffs in schools alone. It now looks like there won’t be as many school layoffs, but no one will know for sure until August. That’s when school and county budgets will be finalized.

The prescription drug database set to go online next month is being delayed until October. The news comes one day after 105-thousand painkillers were seized at 24 Florida pain clinics. As Whitney Ray tells us, a new law is giving the state’s drug enforcement strike force the authority they need to rid Florida of its title as pill mill capital of the nation.

State agents seized 105-thousand painkillers Tuesday, raiding 24 Florida pain clinics. But no arrests were made.

Jenn Meale, a spokeswoman for the Attorney Generals office, says the raid should serve as a warning to pain clinics. But if the message hasn’t sunk in by August 1st.

“That doctor will faces stricter penalties and that includes criminal and administrative penalties,” said Meale.

The Attorney General, FDLE, The Department of health and local police formed a drug enforcement strike force to bust pill mills. The strike force was created in March, but lacked authority to raid clinics until this month when a law banning doctors from selling certain drugs took hold.

The law only bans doctors from selling powerful pain killers and other addictive drugs. They can still sell glasses and other prescription right from their clinics.

More tools to stop pain clinics will go into effect later this year. Among them the long awaited prescription drug database. State Senate Mike Fasano ushered the database through a lack of funding and political attacks.

“For those who have concerns Whitney, this is a database that will only track narcotics, the Oxycontins, the Xanax of the world and only doctors and pharmacists will have access to it,” said Fasano.

There are an estimated 8-hundred pain clinics in Florida. They now have a choice. Stop selling powerful pain killers or risk prison. Doctors caught breaking the law could be charged with a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a 5-thouand dollar fine.

This morning there were 96 wildfires burning in Florida, That’s down from more than 430 active fires just two weeks ago, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the danger isn’t over.

Parts of Florida got about an inch of rain over the holiday weekend. And recent rains have dampened wildfire, but 96 fires were still burning on Tuesday morning, down from more than 400 two weeks ago when a North Florida fire claimed two firefighters’ lives. Because of the rain, the states drought index has been steadily declining.

“What you see on the map, you see Pensacola to Tallahassee and parts of North Florida into Jacksonville, they are still very dry on the drought index map,” said Jim Karels, Director of the Florida Forestry Service.

20 counties continue to enforce burn bans, and no campfires are being allowed in state parks.

But Florida is not out of the woods yet. Much of the state is suffering through a rain deficit of more than a foot. Firefighters say a tropical system is the only thing that will end the deficit and reduce the risk of more fire, and without significant rain, firefighters worry about a resurgence.

“It really only takes four or five days with these kinds of conditions and real hot, dry weather, and we are right back into some pretty severe fire conditions. We haven’t gotten out of it, we’ve gotten slightly better,” said Karels.

Wildfires have claimed more than 30 homes this year, as well as more than a hundred out buildings.

Pretty soon teens applying for a learners permit will be able to take the written portion of the test online. The test will go online as soon as the DMV works out the details with a qualified vendor. As Whitney Ray tells us, this is the second attempt at an online drivers test. The first attempt showed as many as 40 percent of the test takers may have cheated.

A statewide pilot program allowing would-be-drivers to take their learners permit test online, failed. Forty percent of those who passed the online version flunked a supervised retest. The offline tests were nixed, but are coming back this summer.

“Online testing is not going away, it’s really the wave of the future,” said Ann Howard, a DMV Spokeswoman.

Howard says lessons were learned from the pilot program, and new safeguards are in place.

To safeguard against cheating test takers will have 50 seconds to answer each question. The parents will also have to declare they didn’t help. Finally, one in a hundred students will be called to the DMV to retake the test. If fraud is found….

“If mom and dad decide they’re going to fudge it a little bit and cheat a little bit their license will be suspended, because that is fraud,” said Howard.

No worries for the parents of 16-year old Peter Iskander. With his brother as his translator Peter passed the written portion of his test Tuesday. His brother doesn’t like the move to online test taking.

“A lot of people can rely on someone to get that test done by their friends or parents,” said Peter’s Brother.

Cheating will be hard to catch, but the written portion is just half the battle. Test-takers will still have to buckle up next to a driving instructor and guide a vehicle safely through obstacles. The online test will cost between 30 and a hundred dollars. Tests will still be given at the DMV free of charge.

The death penalty is dead in Illinois beginning today, but in Florida it’s still very much alive. Governor Rick Scott signed his first death warrant. Now a man accused of killing a Coral Gables police officer more than 30 years ago is set to die. As Whitney Ray tells us, Manuel Valle will be the first Florida prisoner killed with a new controversial drug, many say gave a Georgia man a painful death last week.

Convicted Georgia killer Roy Blankenship may have been awake for the first three minutes of his execution. Experts say the anesthetic meant to render him unconscious before the final drug was administered may not have worked.

Now Florida is set to use the same anesthetic on Manuel Valle. Valle was convicted of killing a police officer 33 years ago. Governor Rick Scott signed his death warrant Thursday night.

We tried to ask Governor Rick Scott if he had any concerns about the new drugs, but Scott avoided our cameras breaking a long standing agreement with the Capital Press Corp to stop at the airport and answer questions anytime he was flying out of town.

We also wanted to ask the governor why he thought it was time to end the Florida Commission on Capital Cases. The commission provided oversight of the death penalty.

“Its role was to review the administration of death penalty cases, post conviction to receive public comment,” said Mark Schlakman.

Schlakman is the director of the Center for Advancement of Human Rights. He says the whole system is flawed and is calling on the governor to order a review.

“A comprehensive incredible look, a balanced look at the administration of Florida’s death penalty process to see what works, to see what doesn’t,” said Schlakman.

In 2006, the American Bar Association, issued a report claiming death row inmates in Florida weren’t given adequate legal representation among other issues. Human rights advocates say with no more oversight those problems will only get worse. The last execution to be carried out in Florida happened more than a year ago on February 16th, 2010.

Despite hard economic times Floridians are still finding money to gamble. The Florida Lottery saw an increase in sales for the first time since 2007. Four billion dollars worth of tickets were sold last year. Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O’Connell says the increase in sales means more cash for schools.

“This good news is to all the children in Florida for public education. We’re actually transferring $1.12 billion to Education Enhancement Trust fund. That’s good news and that’s why we’re all here at the lottery,” said O’Connell.

The Florida Lottery hopes to continue the lucky streak by focusing on marketing and promotions.

After years of negotiations and protests Florida SunRail will move forward. The Department of Transportation announced today that the state will help build the Orlando commuter rail. Secretary Ananth Prasad says the rail will help alleviate traffic in parts of Central Florida.

“It’s providing choices to Central Florida commuters, obviously I-4 is one of the most congested highways, interstates to Central Florida, and commuter rail and SunRail provides transportation alternatives,” said Prasad.

Tea Party groups have been calling on Governor Rick Scott to kill the project like he did with high speed rail earlier this year. Scott says his hands were tied. Some tea party members are now dropping their support for Scott.