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19 thousand times last year, Floridians complained about robo or sales calls to the state. Now, state lawmakers are responding with a tougher law and higher fines, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, whether it will stop the flood is anybody’s guess.
Hardly a day goes by without an unwanted call.

Nat sot “Hi, this is a one time only call.”

In an effort to keep up with technology, The legislation bans a new practice of sending sales calls directly to your voicemail.

Senator Dana Young (R-Tampa) is the bill sponsor.

“They are ruthless in their desire and willingness to call people’s cell phones.”

The bill also tried to tackle another new technology. It’s known as phone spoofing. That’s when telemarketers use a number that they think you will recognize in hopes  you’ll answer.

“Right now they can use an artificial number and so there is no way to trace it back to the solicitor, but under this legislation, they would be required to use a number that can actually be called back, and that number would be required to be accurate” says Young.

Fines for violating Do Not Call also increase,  from a thousand dollars per violation to up to ten thousand. Despite being on the do no call list, Barbara Rodman estimates she gets more than 300 banned calls a year.

“There is no point to it.”

So we asked if the state was doing a good enough job. The answer. As good as can be expected.

“And it’s just very hard to get these solicitors because they are very creative in ways to disguise where they are calling from.  A lot are calling from overseas. Now whether we can catch them, I don’t know, but it gives us one more tool in the toolbox to try and crack down on this practice” says Young.

And If all else fails, new apps on the market seek to do what government can’t, stop unwanted calls.

The legislation cleared it’s last committee today on an 11-0 vote and is headed for passage by the full Senate.

In 2016 there were 688 red light cameras in use across the state. The devices are designed to make intersections safer, but lawmakers looking to end the use of red light cameras say they actually cause more accidents than they prevent.

A video compilation, released by the state’s biggest red light camera provider, shows red light offenders around Florida.

The company’s message… cameras at the intersections could prevent some of the horrific crashes.

The video was released ahead of a major vote in the Florida House, which bans the cameras throughout the state. Co-sponsor Dane Eagle says the implementation of red light cameras has actually increased accidents by 9%.

“When you’ve got the camera up there distracting them, their eyes are off the road they’re worried about other things,” said Eagle.

Opponents say that while red light cameras may result in more minor crashes, on average they’ve lowered red light running by 5%.

“That car doesn’t go into the intersection, where then you’re talking about a potential catastrophic car accident,” said Representative Jared Moskowitz.

Florida and local governments take in more than $150 million each year from red light runners.

The idea of losing that much cash has kept the legislation from moving in the Senate.

“This bill has been a genesis of dollars, money. So we’ve got to be willing to bite the bullet,” said State Senator Travis Hutson.

At the heart of the argument is the sentiment that local municipalities should have the final say in using the cameras.

“If a local municipality wants it for safety for their municipality they should be the ones who make the decision,” said Representative Lori Berman.

Supporters of banning the cameras argue cities and counties have used the cameras as a crutch.

“If cities and counties need to raise taxes then they should do that and face the voters, not do it through red light camera tickets,” said Eagle.

According to a survey of local governments that have red light camera programs, nearly half of the revenue generated by tickets went towards paying camera vendors.

The bill is expected to be passed by the House of Representatives Friday.

If the ban becomes law, local governments would have until 2021 to stop using the cameras.

State Democratic Lawmakers announced seven new pieces of legislation aimed at combating the opioid crisis Thursday morning.

The bills range from privacy protections for drug counselors, expanding Medicaid to cover addiction services and creating new requirements for insurance companies to cover mental health services in the same way they cover other illnesses.

There are also new programs being proposed such as a statewide needle exchange, outreach to addicted parents, and increased education for college students about the dangers of addiction.

Representative Kionne McGhee says he’s confident the proposals will stand a chance at passing because of the bi-partisan nature of the issue.

“I can almost assure you, there’s not a single Legislator here, either in the Senate or in the House, who has not seen the effects of what these drugs are causing in our community. So for the 20.3 million American who are out there,” said McGhee. “I can tell you as I stand here with my colleagues who have proposed the bills, that better days are here. Better days are coming. This is not a partisan issue.”

Other bills filed Thursday include warning labels on opioid prescriptions and a $10 court fee for drug related cases to go towards helping rule counties fight the crisis.

The Florida Senate Rules Committee today approved new rules for training Senators and staff about sexual harassment. The rules come after two resignations last fall. One because of an affair with a lobbyist, the other after multiple complaints from staff and others. Senate Rules Chairman Lizbeth Benacquisto says the training is mandatory and annual.

“Prior to the opening day of every regular session, all Senators shall complete a course at least one hour in length, that addresses workplace harassment, sexual harassment sensitivity, and the proper handling of such issues in the workplace. It’s also states that Senators filling a vacancy complete the course before being sworn into office” Benacquisto told committee members.

Afterward, we asked why the training could be done in private sessions.

“If the training is interactive and gives the opportunity for an individual to ask a question, what do you think about this? You know, they might not be as free to ask that question in front of other people, and it might be about something that is happening to them, and for them to be able to ask those question about whats being done to them in private is appropriate” the Rules Chair told us.

The rule also prohibits retaliation, but at least one Democrat is worried the rule doesn’t specifically spell out what constitutes retaliation.

Legislation approved by a Senate Committee today allows local elected officials to have one on one conversations as long as they don’t agree to something that will later come before them. That’s already the case law, but Sponsor Dennis Baxley says his bill will give officials confidence they aren’t violating the law by clarifying what courts have already decided,

Sot: Sen. Dennis Baxley

R-Ocala

“they’re afraid to have dinner at the same place together. They’re afraid to go to a social event together. That’s inappropriate and dysfunctional, and it needs a level of common sense and I think this bill applies it.”

The bill has been opposed by the First Amendment Foundation in the past because it could open the door to conducting government behind closed doors.

Children under 18 could no longer marry with a parents consent under legislation approved by committee in the state Capitol today. Former Tampa resident Sherry Johnson has pushed for the bill. She was a child bride at eleven.

“I was raped at the age of eight years old, by my mom’s bishop, then by my mom’s husband, then by the deacon at the church. I got pregnant at the age of nine. At the age of ten I gave birth to my daughter. At the age of 11 I was forced to be married to my rapist. And in that relationship, seven years, six children came out of that because I wasn’t able to get a divorce before the age of 18” Johnson told us and the committee.

“Knowing that this is happening continuously in the state of Florida, and there just needs to be a stop to it. We need to look out for our children. It’s very important for us to look out for out children because they can’t protect themselves. They need us to protect them” says Johnson.

Mary McLeod Bethune is one step closer to representing the state of Florida in Statuary Hall in the U-S Capitol. A state Senate committee today approved her to replace Confederate General Kirby Smith. The General only spent time as a child in Florida. Mary McLeod Bethune founded what I now Bethune Cookman University, but University President Herbert Grimes says the founder was much more than an educator.

“We have to consider her as one of the first civil rights advocates. She worked for four different Presidents, from President Hoover, Coolidge, Roosevelt and Truman. She was even involved in helping to craft the charter for the United Nations in 1945. Her work goes beyond just being an educator. It impacted all of this country” says Grimes.

Replacing the Confederate General is expected to cost a little over three hundred thousand dollars, a cost the Univers

Competing bills introduced for this years legislative session would keep the state on standard time or daylight saving time, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, a compromise is

in the works moving the state to daylight saving time so that Floridians could avoid the twice a year spring ahead or fall back.

Daylight saving was enacted in Europe in 1916 as an effort to save coal during the war.    A hundred years later, State Senator Greg Steube thinks it’s outlived it’s usefulness.

“You start talking to more and more people and its like seventy-five or eighty percent of citizens in the state think it’s dumb” says Steube.

In the House, Heather Fitzenhagen is co sponsoring legislation to keep daylight saving all year long.

“And now the way things are when we fall back, it’s too dark when we get home to be able to go out and have the kids play or do their sports, or to grill out” says the Ft. Myers lawmaker.

Mother Sarah Ward has mixed feelings but says like most people, making the change can be stressful.

“When we get to spring, it’s exhausting and it takes a good week or two before we can get back on track” says Ward.

A supporter is newly appointed Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis. He still lives in Panama City…which is in the Central Time Zone.

“I get both times on my calendar for every single event because some times I’m in a different time zone, whether I’m in Pensacola, Panama City, or Miami. Two times are challenging” says Patronis.

Steube also wants to put Florida all in one time zone…The Eastern Time Zone.

Some, including the state’s Agriculture Commissioner, think lawmakers have better things to do.

“Amongst all the things we’re dealing with, that’s never come up” says Putnam.

But sponsors believe the extra hour of daylight in the winter would be a boon to restaurants, tourists and golf courses.

Daylight saving was once the subject of a three day special session of the legislature in 1974. In the end lawmakers did nothing but waster their time. Sponsors say this year will be different.

Governor Rick Scott delivered his eighth and final State of the State speech today to open the annual legislative session. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, he is pushing for the largest budget in state history.

“Let the Governor be received.” Chimed the Senate President.

For Rick Scott, his final State of the State address was bittersweet…evoking rare bit of humor from the Governor.

“I know how disappointed you all must be that you won’t get to hear another great speech like this” Scott said to laughter.

The Governor shared credit for creating a million and a half jobs since taking office.

“The results speak for themselves.”

Scott is also proposing the smallest tax cuts in his 8 years. Just 180 million. He wants a a three week sales tax holiday for hurricane and back to school supplies.

“After the storms we experienced last year, we need to have a longer sales tax holiday so people have time to buy the supplies they need.”

He’s also proposing a cut in the cost to renew a drivers license. From 48 to 20 dollars.

“My dad was a truck driver and if he had  extra money back in his pocket, in my family that wold have been a big deal.”

The Governor is also calling for more protection for sexual harassment victims It comes as two married State Senators admitted to an affair captured on video.

“It’s very important that we all stand together and send a very strong message. Florida stands with victims.”

One of the first fights lawmakers are likely to face is over school funding.

Scott is pushing a nearly 3 percent increase in school funding. He finances it with the case from higher property tax values, but House Speaker Richard Corcoran is drawing a line in the sand.

“The Florida House will never support raising taxes.”

The school funding has the potential to be the most divisive issue of the coming 60 days.

Budget tensions are especially high this session after Hurricane Irma depleted most of the extra tax revenue the state was expecting this year. Economists will make a new estimate in mid February which will determine the final budget numbers.

State of the State Package Script:

Florida lawmakers begin their annual 60 day legislative session tomorrow complicated by a sexual harassment scandal that resulted in resignations, and as Mike Vasilinda

tells us, the political aspirations of some key players.

Governor Rick delivered his first State of the State in 2011. He called for massive budget and tax cuts.

“Government can not afford what some have come to expect” Scott told lawmakers in 2011.

Fast forward 7 years and Scott is seeking a three billion dollar increase…He’s not likely to get all he wants, in part because the state must deal with millions in Hurricane Irma expenses.

“It was a real, a real catastrophic event” says Rep. Ben Albritton. He chairs the House Ag and Natural Resources Budget Subcommittee.

Here’s how he describes the coming budget battle: “We’re gonna have bumps, we’re gonna have bruises. We also going to have some smiles. We’re going to have some encouraging moments and we’re gong to have some tough moments. That’s the way it works.”

While Tuesday is a festive day, it will be complicated by recent allegations of sexual harassment.

State Senator Jack Latvala resigned in December after a damaging Special Masters report.

“This one’s different for a whole host of reasons” Lobbyist Ron Book says of the coming session. This will be his 44th session as a lobbyist.

“Statewide elections cycle, um, divisiveness from a partisan perspective, and then you have the sexual harassment stuff.”

But Senator  Jeff Brandes says the past is the past.
“I think we expect we’re going to get to work on the big issues now. The distractions are behind us” Brandes told us.

Add to the mix the Governor’s likely run for the U-S Senate, the House Speakers chase for the Governor’s mansion, and dozens of lawmakers jockeying for higher office. It adds up to the likelihood that  issues requiring heavy political lift remain on the sideline.

The 87 billion dollar budget proposal by Governor Rick Scott is 18 billion dollars higher than his first budget in 2011, due mostly to an improved economy. He is also seeking the fewest tax cuts of his 7 years as Governor.