Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture has named the state’s first ever Cannabis Director.
Holly Bell, a banker from Nashville will serve in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, working to implement Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried’s vision for marijuana in the state.
One main priority, passing Legislation to regulate hemp in the state, to help Florida farmers.
“After 80 years of stalled progress we can finally be putting cannabis to work for farmers, consumers and patients here in Florida. That’s exactly what I worked on in Tennessee by bringing farmers, investors and government together to build an infrastructure to drive the economy,” said Bell.
The newly created position comes with a $110,000 a year salary.
House Budget leaders are already expressing hesitations about some of Governor Ron DeSantis’ key budget requests.
Environmental spending and a reduction in borrowing from trust funds are two major sticking points.
The House appropriations committee got its first overview of Governor Ron DeSantis’ $91.3 billion budget proposal Tuesday.
Democrats call it, “Probably the best proposed budget in, let’s say 8 years,” said Representative Evan Jenne.
That’s because of some major bi-partisan requests, like not taking money from state trust funds dedicated to things like affordable housing.
“What I hope is that setting that standard also comes with a veto threat,” said Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith.
DeSantis is also asking for $625 million in environmental spending.
House Budget Chair Travis Cummings says the House is far from meeting that goal.
“We’ve gotta figure out how we’re going to do that and where those dollars are going to come from,” said Cummings. “We think about $225 or $250 million.”
One thing House Republicans and Democrats both agree with the Governor on, disaster recovery needs to be a priority.
“There are families with small children living in tents and out of their cars just two hours from here,” Panama City resident Jennifer Burg told the committee.
Burg, part of a group called Michael’s Angels gave an emotional plea to lawmakers.
“Today we need your help more than ever to ensure that we are appropriated the funds we so desperately need to save our communities,” said Burg.
However, it’s not clear if that what the state can afford will be enough to satisfy those hit hardest by the storm.
“We can’t fund all the projects. I mean what I’m seeing so far, we’re going to need help from our federal partners,” said Cummings.
The Governor’s plan includes at least $2 billion for hurricane recovery, most coming from the Federal government.
The Senate Appropriations Committee along with numerous House and Senate appropriations subcommittees will receive budget briefings throughout the day Wednesday.
Five million, or nearly seven out of ten voters approved a ban on indoor workplace vaping in November.
State lawmakers got the message and are moving forward with implementing legislation.
Legislation creating the same restrictions on indoor vaping as those on tobacco brought out the state’s major health groups.
“The combustable tobacco product, the biggest problem is the nicotine that’s in it,” said Mark Landreth with the American Heart Association.
“If you use an e-cigarette, you are four times more likely to start smoking traditional cigarettes,” said Matt Jordan with the American Cancer Society.
It also brought out a small army of entrepreneurs who sell vaping equipment and juices, who say they are not tobacco merchants and shouldn’t be treated like one.
“We are not affiliated with a big tobacco company,” said Joshua Unger from Sarasota. “Our business is helping people quit smoking.”
“Vaping is 95% safer than combustible cigarettes,” said Delorres Orlando from Clearwater.
After almost an hour the legislation moved forward.
Committee Chair Senator Wilton Simpson says lawmakers are still learning what is proving to be a complex issue.
“I think we’ll get better information as we go forward,” said Simpson. “It may not be better information, but it will be more information.”
Under the legislation that is moving, vaping would be teated just like smoking cigarettes.
It would be allowed in bars and places where it’s the only thing being sold, but nowhere else.
The American Cancer Society wants vaping lumped in with tobacco, saying it will free up money to help people quit.
“Basically you used to smoke on planes, they let pregnant women smoke,” said Jordan. “Just because something is status-quo, it doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.”
However, the entrepreneurs would prefer lawmakers do nothing
In the end, if local governments don’t like what lawmakers do, the amendment allows then to enact stricter prohibitions.
State lawmakers were told at least $100 million is still being invoiced to SunPass and toll-by-plate users after the state switched vendors last summer.
Millions of bills are still in the process of being sent out after system failures raised questions.
DOT District Four Secretary Gerry O’Reilly says the state never planed for the system to work immediately, but was surprised when it went south.
“So there was never a plan to send out invoices a day after we went live. It was get it ramped up get it running, but that period from mid June to Mid August was crazy, and then when things settled down, from the agencies perspective, it was we’re going to check this and make 100% sure this works properly,” said O’Reilly. “Whatever was checked in the past is great, but we’re gonna do it again and prove to us that all the different scenarios that could be envisioned for a customer invoice have been checked, and that this system is producing this correctly.”
The final batch of bills, some of which date back to last July, will go out this week.
About 200 child care advocates wrapped up a two-day event at the State Capitol Tuesday morning.
The Rally in Tally is hosted by the Florida Coalition for Children.
It brings foster families and children together with care providers for training and speak to lawmakers about key issues facing the child welfare system in the state.
Executive Director of the Coalition Kurt Kelly says, the biggest priority this year is getting lawmakers to extend a Federal waiver that has helped fund millions of dollars in services.
“It could be a huge hole in the budget, anywhere between 25 and $100 million. So that means the citizens of Florida have to either pick that up or there are many services we would not be able to provide and that’s unacceptable,” said Kelly.
Suspended Okaloosa County School Superintendent Mary Beth Jackson’s appeal is moving forward.
A hearing before a Special Master set out a timeline for the case Monday morning.
The goal is to hold a pre-hearing conference in mid-March and a final hearing soon after.
Jackson was suspended by Governor Ron DeSantis at the recommendation of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran following a child abuse scandal in her district.
The Governor asserts Jackson failed to implement proper policies and reporting requirements.
Jackson’s attorney George Levesque argues she showed proper leadership by firing the teacher at the center of the scandal.
“We do have a story to tell. We believe that one of the best performing school districts in the state was very well run, that these are unfortunate situations, but the idea that Miss Jackson was so incompetent that she should be removed from office I think is just lacking,” said Levesque. “So what we’re asking for is tell us what she actually did wrong.”
The Special Master says he hopes to have a final report on the Senate President’s desk by the end of March.
A bill that would lift the state’s ban on smokable medical marijuana passed it’s first Senate committee stop Monday.
Senator Jeff Brandes is the bill sponsor.
“The constitution does not allow the Legislature to ban smoking,” said Brandes. “So this is allowing us to come up with a process for smoking.”
A court ruled the state’s ban was unconstitutional.
The state has been appealing the ruling, but Governor Ron DeSantis says he’ll drop the appeal and let the ruling force the Legislature’s hand if they don’t make the fix themselves by mid-March.
Lawmakers like Senator Gayle Harrell still have hesitations.
“Smoking itself, whether it is marijuana, whether it is cigarettes has significant health risks,” said Harrell.
Senator Aaron Bean is especially worried when it comes to kids.
“It causes havoc on an adolescent brain,” said Bean.
As a safe guard, the Senate Health Committee tagged on an amendment that would require non terminal patients sign a consent form acknowledging the risks of smoking and also require a second doctor’s opinion before smokable cannabis could be dispersed.
“To make sure that patients are truly informed about the risks,” said Harrell.
The amendment also limits the option of smoking to cases where a doctor has deemed it the only possible treatment.
Senator Brandes says if his bill gets too bogged down with amendments that restrict access, he’ll simply pull it and let the Governor drop the state’s appeal.
Brandes made it clear the newly amended bill was one he could not support, vowing to make severe changes going forward.
The Senate bill has two more committee stops before it would go to the Senate floor.
So far no House bill has been filed.
While that’s almost guaranteed to change, the legislation is expected to face even harsher scrutiny in the House than in the Senate.
Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing the largest budget in state history.
He says his budget is focused on the environment, education and public safety.
The Governor unveiled the $91.3 billion budget proposal Friday morning.
It’s $2 billion more than the current budget.
“You’re seeing big increases because of the disaster and these are things that we have to obviously tend to,” said DeSantis. “So I think all told this is not a budget that is spending money unnecessarily.”
DeSantis is proposing the state spend $1.7 billion on hurricane recovery.
That would be in addition to $1.9 billion from the Federal Government.
DeSantis following through with a campaign promise, is also recommending $625 million for the environment and to clean Florida’s waterways.
Environmental groups like Florida Conservation Voters are especially excited to see $100 million included for Florida Forever, which would go towards land acquisition.
“Protecting the land on top of it really helps make sure the water gets into the aquifer clean and when it exits through our rivers it’s cleaner,” said Jonathan Webber with Florida Conservation Voters.
The Governor also wants to add almost 600 employees to the Department of Corrections, mostly in positions that would focus on mental health.
Another big change, the Governor is proposing the state dissolve the Agency for State Technology and shift its responsibilities to the Department of Management Services.
The Governor also has ambitious plans for education funding.
DeSatis wants to increase per student funding by $224.
That’s double last year’s increase.
There’s also $100 million for school safety.
DeSantis also announced he intends to overhaul Florida’s Best and Brightest Program, by no longer factoring in college entrance test scores into awarding bonuses.
“Rather than relying on a 20-year-old test score to determine the bonus that may be awarded to a teacher, it could change and be the outcome and effectiveness of that teacher instead,” said Andrea Messina, President of the Florida School Boards Association.
Despite the historically high budget, the Governor’s budget proposal includes more than $335 million in tax cuts.
“Florida being a low tax state I think has been integral to our success and our growth,” said DeSantis.
The cuts come in the form of lowered property taxes and sales tax holidays.
Florida’s criminal justice system might see some major changes this Legislative session.
Some top Florida officials have expressed support for some reforms that have been shot down in years past.
State Senator Jeff Brandes says the time for criminal justice reform in Florida is now.
“As bad as the criminal justice system and the prison system was last year, it’s worse this year as far as funding, budget and personnel,” said Brandes.
Part of Brandes and other criminal justice reformers’ approach to reducing the strain on the system, is is to reduce sentences for certain low level crimes and find alternatives to prison for some offenders.
“Are people better served in community supervision, are people better served in mental health and substance abuse treatment programs,” said Chelsea Murphy with Right on Crime.
Many bills sponsored by Brandes in years past have failed to cross the finish line.
One example, raising the felony theft threshold from $300 to $1,500, but that proposal now has support from Governor Ron DeSantis.
“I don’t want some 15-year-old kid to do something stupid, but doesn’t mean he’s a bad kid and then end up with a felony because he stole a bicycle or something that cost $305,” said DeSantis.
Florida’s Attorney General Ashely Moody also says the state needs to improve its criminal justice system.
Her focus is primarily on mental health.
That’s the direction some other criminal justice groups say the state should really focus on.
“I think that’s where the reformers are missing it. They’re trying to play around on the sentencing stuff,” said Barney Bishop with Florida Smart Justice Alliance. “Don’t do that. The core problem is two issues. Substance abuse and mental health.”
Some of Brandes’ other proposed reforms include, giving judges discretion in mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, allowing courts the option to set no bail for low flight risk offenders who can’t afford to pay and allowing prisoners who enroll in educational programs to have up to 60 days removed from their sentence.
With the passage of Amendment 11 in November, lawmakers will now have the option of applying sentencing changes retroactively.
Which means new laws could immediately impact those behind bars, not just future convictions.
The bodies of five teens and two adults were returned to their graves in a cemetery known as Boot Hill at the former Dozier School for Boys in Marianna Wednesday.
They died in a fire more than a hundred years ago.
Survivors of the boys school, known for its abusive past, said their final farewell to their brethren.
The eight coffins were unloaded one by one, each brought in their own hearse.
Two contain former staff members at the dozier school for boys, five hold boys who attended the school and the eighth mixed remains.
All lost their lives in a fire at the school in 1914.
At the funeral, were men who attended the school years later.
Mark Engelsen, who attended Dozier from 1973 to 1974 drove all the way from Texas.
“A lot of things happened to a lot of people at this place and I’m one of them,” said Engelsen.
The remains were recovered as part of an investigation into the abuse at the school.
In total, the remains of more than 50 boys were unearthed.
The reason the seven are being buried on former school grounds is because they were originally laid to rest there.
Also nature of their death was not related to the abuse that plagued Dozier for more than 100 years.
The Florida Legislature formally apologized for the atrocities at dozier in 2018.
Charles Fudge who spent 1960 and 1961 at Dozier says the abuse both haunts and unites those who experienced it.
“We need love and kindness,” said Fudge. “Not torture.”
However, this ceremony was part of the healing process says James “Harley” DeNyke, who attended the school from 1964 to 1966.
“It helps the healing for a lot of us guys that are up there in our years now and brings peace,” said DeNyke.
More than 40 boys who’s bodies were also recovered in 2015 will be buried far away from the school grounds in a Tallahassee cemetery starting this weekend.
Governor Ron DeSantis flew Wednesday afternoon on the state law enforcement plane that had to make an emergency landing just three days after he took office.
Now, we’re hearing first hand what it was like for those on the plane and why lawmakers are ready to buy a new plane.
DeSantis has been flying on a rebuilt King Air, seized by federal authorities in a drug bust.
Three days after he took the oath of office, the plane made an emergency landing with the Governor, Attorney General and four staffers on board.
“Air things dropped from the ceiling,” said DeSantis.
“It was a pretty harrowing time,” said attorney General Ashley Moody. “We had to descend rather quickly.”
“But I’ve never had to do that before in my years of flying,” said DeSantis.
“We were just happy to get on the ground,” said Moody.
The state used to have a jet and a King Air, but they became a campaign issue for Rick Scott in 2010.
Scott sold the planes for $4 million and flew his own jet while in office.
After the emergency, legislative leaders say it is time for a new plane.
“I think absolutely necessary that the Governor have a way to get around the state,” said House Speaker Jose Oliva.
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried says if there is a new plane, she and other Cabinet members should have access to it.
“It is not easy for people to get up here to Tallahassee, and making sure we are available to them has got to be a top priority,” said Fried.
Diverting the plane for personal uses by Cabinet members prior to 2010 is what led to the planes being sold.
A used jet could cost the state around $8 million, and a new jet goes for upwards of $20 million.
If there is a new plane in the offing, it’ll likely be for the Governor only.
As for the plane the Governor is still using?
“Now the FDLE says they have fixed that,” said DeSantis.
It appears lawmakers will expand the program to arm and train willing teachers in the coming legislative session.
Support for arming teachers was included in the final report of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglass Commission, even thought many of its members originally opposed the idea.
Senate President Bill Galvano says he will push for expanding the program.
“The Coach Feis guardian program is something that I support,” said Galvano. “I believe the commission, that had a very diverse makeup and had some preconceived notions, especially about that provision, especially after deliberating, have come to a conclusion that typeof program does have value in the system, and I support that recommendation, obviously with the safeguards and training.”
Governor Ron DeSantis also supports allowing teachers who are qualified to carry as the last line of defense against future school shootings.
One of the lawsuits still floating around after the 2018 election seeks to have mail ballots counted up to 10 days after an election if they were mailed before polls closed, but speaking to reporters Wednesday, Governor Ron Desantis says an election needs to be final on election day.
The Governor says he opposes allowing late ballots to count.
“When you know that and we know the finite number of votes its very difficult to say that someone is manipulating the results because it’s there,” said DeSantis. “It’s only when we don’t know how many votes are out there that people can say Oh, someone just brought a truckload of votes in, so I want to avoid that.”
Under current law, ballots mailed from overseas by active military can be counted if they are received within 10 days of the election.
Cutting the cost of health care is the top priority of House Speaker Jose Oliva.
He says too many procedures are being done in hospitals, driving up the cost of health care for everyone.
His goal is to streamline procedures and make sure only the most urgent procedures are done in hospitals.
“We have to bring in some real market forces into it, so that people have to compete for that business. We have to find out if everything being done in the hospital setting, should it be done in the hospital? That raises the price,” said Oliva.
Attorney General Ashley Moody says Florida is now losing 17 people a day to opioid deaths, up from 14 a day last year.
Moody is convening a statewide task force to push for solutions.
Her plan is to take what is working in parts of the state and replicate success stories statewide.
“We have successes in Palm Beach County. They just announced they saw a forty-one percent reduction in overdose deaths. We are going to use those successes and build them and use economy of scale to duplicate those across the state. That’s the purpose of the task force,” said Moody.
The Attorney General is also continuing to push a lawsuit filed in June by her predecessor that seeks damages from drug makers over what is being called over zealous marketing of opioids.
No Comments »
