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A major overall of the way schools are graded generated thousands of calls, emails and text messages to lawmakers over the weekend.  Educators are split on the changes.

How schools are graded has been controversial since the system began more than a decade ago. This year is no different.

“These calculations will focus more closely on student performance,” said Rep. Janet Adkins (R-Jacksonville).

The 130-page bill being considered is needed because the state is switching from the FCAT to yet another to be developed test.

25-year classroom veteran Patricia Crutcher drove five hours from Brevard County on spring break to tell lawmakers the current test is making her kids physically ill.

“Another student got so nauseous that I had to get the nurse to take her out of the room,” said Crutcher. “A third student got a nose bleed.”

Sandra Butler came from Panama City to say the same thing.

“We’re all for accountability, but it needs to be the right accountability,” said Butler. “They need to go into the classroom and find out exactly what’s going on, not the grades because of a one-day test.”

The bottom line: the schools won’t be penalized for one year as Florida switches standardized tests.

The one-year pass on penalties is what brought the Florida PTA to speak against the bill.

“We just think it’s too fast. It’s  moving too fast,” said Kathy Foulk of Florida PTA.

But school boards say a year is enough time.

“This would allow us at the local level to establish a base line next year and not be penalized as the grades go up or down,” said Wayne  Blanton of the FL School Board Association.

And while many of the specifics may change as the bill moves on, the one thing it does that won’t change, is affirm the state’s commitment to keep testing children’s’ progress.

The bill has one more committee stop before being heard by the full House.

The Mark Wandall traffic safety act was signed into law in 2010 and is better known as the Red Light Camera law.  Wandall was killed by a driver that ran a red light. His widow came to Tallahassee to remind lawmakers why it was originally approved.

“Red light safety cameras have a human value. One person had to die in order to save others, and that one person was my husband,” said Melissa Wandall.

A House committee heard Representative Frank Artiles bill Monday.  It isn’t a full repeal, but would put restrictions on the revenue stream the cameras take in.

“My bill does not eliminate red light cameras, it basically puts accountability for municipalities,” said Rep. Artiles.

The bill was originally written to cut a red light ticket fee in half, but it was amended and the fee will remain $158 dollars.

Red light tickets have been money makers for local cities.  A study released last month showed that the program generated more than $115 million dollars. The amount was split almost evenly between the state and local governments.

“We think that we should take a little bit more time to study the changes we made last year before we propose any new changes,” said League of Cities spokesman Casey Cook.

The proposal would require 70 percent of the revenue collected by local governments to go towards traffic safety.  Originally the bill would have banned cities from putting up more cameras, but that was scratched. Something that Melissa Wandall is thankful for.

“The statistics are showing that they are changing driver behavior at those intersections with red light safety cameras. I absolutely think we have to continue to put up those red light safety cameras,” said Wandall.

A Senate committee will hear a proposal for a full repeal later this week

Florida is spending almost $300 million dollars a year on voucher programs. House Speaker Will Weatherford wants massive expansion of the program which would nearly double the number of students who could attend private schools with state help.

The Florida Education Association, who is adamantly opposed to the expansion, released videos from a pro-voucher conference in 2011. The FEA says the videos show the program is a money grab.

“It makes more sense for us if the state does more to help students all throughout the state rather than a select few that might go into an unregulated voucher program,” said FEA spokesman Mark Pudlow.

The vouchers are funded through businesses that receive tax credits for their contributions and serve about 60 thousand students. The Senate dropped an expansion bill because the House won’t agree to testing voucher students.

Supporters of the bill in the House say that this is a setback, but the fight is far from over.

Representative Ritch Workman is a sponsor of a House expansion bill.  He said the move by the Senate was disappointing, but he still has hope.

“We are not laying over, we think it’s the right thing to do, we think this particular bill will get some momentum here,” said Rep. Workman.

The bill would have offered partial scholarships to families earning more than $60,000 and increased the money available to the program.

State lawmakers spent two hours discussing whether people who feel threatened should be immune from prosecution if they fire a warning or non-lethal shot. The change is intended to send a message to prosecutors whom lawmakers believe have misused the current Stand Your Ground law.

In 2012, Marissa Alexander was offered three years in prison for firing a gun in the direction of her estranged husband. She refused, claimed self-defense under Stand Your Ground, lost and got 20 years. A court has ordered a new trial.

Now lawmakers are moving quickly to add the words “threatened use of force” to the Stand Your Ground law.

“You should not be punished and sent to prison for refusing to take a life,” said Marion Hammer of the NRA.

They say they’re sending a message to what they believe are over-zealous prosecutors.

“We want to send a message to prosecutors everywhere that here’s the intent of Stand Your Ground, here’s the intent of our law,” said Rep. Neil Combee (R-Polk County).

The measure has cleared the full house and is slated for a final vote in the Senate.

Lawmakers say that they’re sending a message, prosecutors say, they’re not really listening.

Prosecutor Willie Meggs of the Second Judicial Circuit says the law already allows people to threaten the use of force without going to jail.

“If you can cause somebody to leave you alone that you’re in fear of by shooting a shot in the ground or up in the air,” said Meggs. “I think you’ve probably always been able to do that.”

But Meggs and others are worried about one part of the bill, which they say turns their job upside down. “The prosecutor has the burden of proving what a defendant was thinking,” said Meggs.

The legislation lets people who are arrested but later let go for threatening force to have their arrest records expunged. It also encourages people like Marissa Alexander to apply for clemency, sending a message to the Governor that lawmakers don’t think threatening force should send someone to jail.

Millions of disabled Floridians will either benefit or be hurt by legislation that seeks to standardize how gas stations assist handicapped drivers. While the legislation sets a statewide standard, it would also wipe out some local ordinances that go further.

J.R. Harding is a quadriplegic, he’s been unable to buy gas for all but six months of the last 24 years. That’s when Leon County adopted an ordinance to require gas stations to install buttons so attendants can help the handicapped.

“And I know they can help me during those days when the manager and the owner said so,” said Harding.

Other counties have adopted similar requirements. That’s sparking a fierce debate at the state Capitol. The fight’s really over whether or not counties that already have an ordinance get to keep it or if the state law makes the local ordinances obsolete.”

“Our convenient store owners would prefer not to be required to have these call buttons,” said Melissa Joyner Ramba of the Florida Retail Federation.

Sponsor Mark Danish (R-Hillsborough) says the bill’s patterned after a two-year-old law in Hillsborough County.

“It’s been working very successfully,” said Danish.

It requires a sticker on gas pumps, telling motorists how to call inside.

“The County people,” said Danish, “they have enforcement rules, and they said they haven’t really had to do it.”

The state’s Retail Federation calls it common sense.

“Should you have a sticker or should you have an expensive call button installed?” said John Fleming of the Florida Retail Federation. “And I think we heard today that there are many issues with the call buttons.”

But J.R. Harding says it makes no sense at all.

“I’m not able to drive and call and pull my phone out and do it because of the dexterity problems I have,” said Harding.

The fierceness of the debate caught many by surprise… sparking calls for compromise that would leave both sides happy.

Beer tastings could be popping up at stores around Florida, but the types of stores are limited and some say the limitations go too far.

Major beer companies like Budweiser are backing legislation that opens up beer tastings at stores around the state

(nat pop “maybe we should do a tasting after this meeting)

The legislation allows stores of 10 thousand square feet or more to offer malt beverage samples. It breezed through a House committee Thursday.

“It has to be indoors and it has to be specifically geared toward people over the age of 21. All of that language is in the revised bill,” said Rep. Kathleen Passidomo.

The bill once allowed tastings at all stores. The 10 thousand square foot mark was put in place partly to prevent easier access to alcohol by minors.

“They have really tight control so in terms of access to kids if we had seen it, we would have already seen it in wine and spirits which has been doing it for a long time,” said Eric Criss, the President for the Beer Industry of Florida.

The bill doesn’t let just any place have beer tastings but brewers say that can hurt small businesses.

Byron Burroughs is in the process of constructing a craft brewery.  The legislation won’t effect him, but he does worry that it puts the squeeze on independent brewers just starting out.

“In effect it will cut out any small wine and beer retailer that’s under 10,000 square feet or that just has a beer and wine license,” said Burroughs.

The bill limits servings to 3.5 ounce cups … a typical can of beer is 12 ounces.

Lawmakers are settling in for a gaming expansion fight this session, but it may be out of their hands in the future.

Huge gaming companies have their eyes set on making Florida a new type of casino destination state.  A proposal in the House Gaming committee won’t leave those decisions up to lawmakers.

“We are a gambling state in Florida but whether or not we expand that gambling footprint is so important that it’s one of very few questions that should be sent to the people of Florida,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fort Walton Beach).

Representative Matt Gaetz bill would allow voters to decide during elections what action the state should take on expansion of gaming and when.

Some on the committee were concerned that leaving a vote up to the people would take the power out of lawmakers hands.

Representative James Waldman is concerned that voters will cast a ballot for something lawmakers can’t fix.

“Our job is actually to make the laws and make sure we handle things properly. If we do this and, according to the amendment we will not be able to change anything we see wrong going down the line,” said Rep. Waldman (D-Broward County).

Supporters of the constitutional amendment say this would eliminate special interest groups from throwing money around and getting their vote passed. Representative Erik Fresen worried it would do the complete opposite.

“It’s going to be a nuclear arms race to do a 30 second ad and a mail piece for every single constitutional ballot that’s put there,” said Rep. Erik Fresen (R-Miami).

Even with the concerns, the committee moved to allow voters to have gaming expansion control starting in 2015

A service of remembrance for Florida’s 37th Governor Reubin  Askew,  was held in Tallahassee this afternoon. He was remembered as a strong, humble, and powerful chief executive with deep faith. Florida’s political elite and hundreds of everyday citizens came to say goodbye.

Reubin Askew suffered a stroke after a bout with pneumonia and died last Thursday.  700, including the state political elite past and present came to remember.

The former governor’s accomplishments were so numerous, former FSU president sandy D’Alemberte couldn’t list them in the six minutes he was given.

“Courage to run for governor are on a program to tax corporate profits,” said D’Alemberte, “the courage to appoint minorities to high office, the courage to oppose a referendum on school busing.”

Son Kevin Askew says his father had an unusual way of dispensing advice.

“As your attorney, I advise you to do this,” said Kevin Askew. “As your father, I advise you to do that. But sometimes, the two opinions clashed and I said, ‘Dad, what am I supposed to do?’ And he said well if you accept my advice as a lawyer, its 500 dollars an hour.”

Richard Davison co-taught a Master’s and PhD class with the governor. He says students didn’t always grasp who was in their presence.

“By the end of the semester they realized that Reubin Askew was not somebody who just was talked about,” said Davidson of the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, “he actually lived and made so much of the history of Florida, and so many issues that they dealt with.”

Former AP reporter David  Powell remembers an unusual politician. “He was determined to get his agenda done every year and knew how to do it,” said Powell.

Reubin Askew’s lesson for today’s politicians is that having convictions and living by them can resonate with voters.

A common refrain when someone dies is that they threw out the mold when they were made. With Reubin Askew that may be true.

Reubin Askew, who was the last Governor to serve in the Historic Capitol returned there today to lie in state. Askew died last week at 85. He is best known for his staunch support for government in the sunshine, and even the heavens cooperated today.

The sun began shining for the first time in two days just before the hearse carrying the former Governor arrived at the old Capitol. Askew worked tirelessly for open government, eventually going around a reluctant legislature and passing the first citizens lead amendment, known as the Sunshine Amendment, to require public officials to disclose their finances.

“I’m doing your business,” said Askew in a 2001 interview. “And frankly you have a right to know essentially what I’m doing.”

Florida’s current governor and the three who followed Askew paid their respects to his widow, children and grandchildren. Former Attorney General Bob Butterworth says the former Governor lived up to his nickname.

“People would call him goody toe-shoes,” said Butterworth. “In a positive way. Some people thought he was not going to be strong enough to be Governor. He might have been the strongest Governor we’ve ever had.”

Former FSU President Sandy D’Alemberte will give the eulogy at Wednesday’s funeral service. He lauds Askew for voluntarily giving up the power to appoint judges.

“It’s incredible to think about a governor saying, look I’m not going to appoint my friends,” D’Alemberte said.

In addition opening Government, Askew also appointed the first African Americans to high level state positions. Joseph Hatchett was the first African American appointed to serve on the state Supreme Court.

“He had the courage to take on new issues and to push the state forward,” Hatchett said.

Governor Reubin Askew was the last Governor to actually have an office here in the Historic Capitol. The irony is, he was the leading proponent of tearing the building down. And it was one of the few battles he ever lost. Graveside services will be held in Pensacola…the city where Askew was first elected, on Friday.

At the height of a recession and state budget shortfall in 2009, lawmakers raised taxes on cigarettes and vehicle registrations. The Senate passed a measure that would see at least the license plate fees coming off the books.

Florida nearly doubled the cost of registering a car during the recession. Now Florida’s Senate has unanimously voted to roll back license plate fees to pre 2009 levels.

“The reductions that will take effect through this bill will go to families that get up every day, take their kids to school, and drive their truck to work,” said bill sponsor Sen. Joe Negron (R-Stuart).

Fees went up in 2009 with then Governor Charlie Christ in office.  Governor Rick Scott has made the fee rollbacks a top priority. The bill would cut $395 million dollars a year and save most drivers about $25 bucks on tag renewals.

Sen. Chris Smith/(D) Fort Lauderdale

“A couple of years ago when the economy was down, we did the responsible thing, we did the responsible thing of raising these fees so we can keep the lights on,” said Sen. Chris Smith (D-Fort Lauderdale).

The rollbacks won’t help everybody. People who need to newly register their plates in Florida won’t have their fees reduced.

First time vehicle registration prices also went up in ’09 and can cost more than $400. Senator Greg Evers supports the current bill, but says new registrations need to be cheaper.

“Did we go far enough? I think next year is another year and I don’t think we can get it in this years budget,” said Sen. Evers (R-Pensacola).

Negron agreed and said the legislature needs to look at that in the future. He also urged drivers not to wait for the bill to become a law in order to renew their tags. Fee reductions will take effect in September if the bill becomes a law.

Three bills filed in the State House and State Senate are raising the concerns of women who want the right to choose when it comes to having a baby. Planned Parenthood brought more than a hundred women to the Capitol today to make their voices heard. Abortion foes were also at the Capitol with a much smaller presence

A hundred women wearing pink braved stormy weather to come to the Capitol over concerns their right to control their bodies might change this legislative session.

Three pending bills would restrict or ban abortions all-together, Laura Robinson made the trip from Sarasota.

“It’s extremely important, that’s why we’re all here,” said Robinson, “we’re all here to make sure that women’s rights are protected.”

Sarah Hutchinson from Catholics for Choice made it clear that Florida’s Bishops, who want restrictions, don’t speak for all Catholics.

“We imagine a world where women and men are trusted to make moral decisions about their own lives each according to his or her own conscience,” Hutchinson said.

A handful of Democratic legislators came to show support, but no GOP members showed up. Rep. Joe Saunders (D-Orlando) says his Republican colleagues are out of step.

“We keep seeing the same bills filed, we keep seeing the same bills move,” said Rep. Saunders. “The public is not where this building is when it comes to women’s health care.”

On the back side of the Capitol is the other side of the story. In the shadow of the State Supreme Court, which more than two decades ago called a fetus a specialized set of cells, a small group from Ft. Myers was collecting petitions to change the court decision. They want to give a fetus personhood status at conception.

“And we wish also that all the rights of all the females that are in fetus,” said Kathy Doan          of Personhood Amendment, “that those will be protected so that they could choose.”

None of the restrictive legislation is so far on the fast track and neither side is likely to claim victory in an election year. The Personhood Amendment is new, has no signatures verified, and faces an uphill battle for the 2016 ballot.

Democrats are hoping a push to expand Medicaid to more than a million Floridians has some legs for the remainder of legislative session. Lawmakers are concerned the state is pumping money into the system and getting nothing in return

Florida Senate Democrats are asking questions about Medicaid expansion.

“I call this the ‘what if’ press conference,” said Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood).

As in “what if they were able to use Federal money available to the state?”

“$470 million dollars we’re talking about. $470 million dollars in general revenue this year available for Medicaid expansion,” said Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith.

Expanding the program would cover more than one million working poor residents in the state and free up taxpayer money currently going into the federal system, but not coming back to Florida.

The Senate Democrats brought charts that outlined where the Medicaid expansion money could go. They touted programs like springs restoration, criminal justice, and K through 12 education.

The Senate voted to accept the federal dollars in the 2013 annual session. The measure was killed in the House.

“If we do nothing, if we continue to play politics as usual, Florida’s environment will continue to degrade,” said Sen. Darren Soto (D-Kissimmee).

Orlando Representative Joe Saunders, who supports expansion, isn’t confident his chamber will decide to accept the money this year.

“I worry that we’re going to see more of the same. I’m hoping over the next few weeks there’s still time. Hankies haven’t dropped and we’re still in session,” said Rep. Saunders.

A House bill and Senate bill have both been filed to accept federal money. The legislation has yet to be heard by any committees. Democrats picked the right day to hold their news conference – House and Senate Appropriations committees will put the finishing touches on their budgets this week.

Governor Reubin Askew will lie in state in the Historic Capitol next Tuesday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Funeral Services will be held at a Tallahassee Church on Wednesday at 2 in the afternoon, with the popular Governors final resting in Pensacola next Friday.

Flags on buildings across the state are at half-staff in honor of Governor Reubin Askew. That includes the mammoth Capitol building that Askew was directly responsible for building.

But Askew built more than just a Capitol Building or a legacy of ethics in government.

“Reubin Askew built roads,” said Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville), “he helped build the educational system in this state. He was a Governor who looked ahead. He cared about the next generation more than the next election.”

Askew was the first to serve two full consecutive terms as Governor. At his final Cabinet meeting in December 1978, he was humble.

“And I think being able to read the newspapers without being concerned of what extent there may be problems, I think will make a lot of difference,” Askew said, “but it’s been a great experience.”

Because Reubin Askew didn’t serve alcohol the entire eight years that he lived here in the Governor’s Mansion, the then Vice President Spiro Agnew cancelled a scheduled overnight, citing the official reason: security.

Aide Guy Spearman says the Governor didn’t expect his staff to follow his tee-totaling lead. “He didn’t smoke, drink or cus,” Spearman said.

At a ceremony commemorating his last year of teaching the Governor was asked if he missed public service. He responded that in the air force he used to love to jump out of airplanes, but he didn’t want to do it anymore.

Floridians haven’t been able to step foot in an internet café for about a year.  Sweeping change came in 2013 after the bust of Allied Veterans, a fake charity making millions through an illegal internet café gambling ring. Then Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll resigned in connection to the bust.

“The intent of what we did last year, which was to ban internet cafes across the state of Florida, was very successful,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford.

The intent carried unintended consequences, too. The law only allowed for “coin operated games,” putting strains on popular chains like Dave and Buster’s and Chuck E. Cheese that use payments other than cash on their gaming machines.Senator Kelli Stargel is proposing a bill that would allow for card payments or coupons to be used.

“It’s not a scaling back, what we did last year was absolutely necessary to make it very clear that internet cafes and the way they’re operated is not something we think should be legal,” said Sen. Stargel.

The bill is meant to keep the illegal internet café’s closed, but there’s wiggle room to reopen senior arcades if rules are followed.

Stargel’s bill allows for arcades with at least 50 games used for “bona fide entertainment purposes only.”

“If it’s in an arcade or if they’re in a bowling alley, or the bottom of a hotel establishment, or something like that, it’s going to be an amusement area, an arcade room, it’s not going to be an internet café,” said Sen. Stargel.

Weatherford isn’t sure the law needs to be changed

“I’ll let our committees and our people figure that out,” he said.

Stargel’s bill legalizes claw machines which opponents say are already considered illegal gambling devices, but are found throughout the state.

Stargel’s bill received unanimous support from the Senate’s Gaming Committee. The House has its own gaming bill that doesn’t have any language about arcade games.

An icon of Florida politics has died. Florida’s 37th Governor, Reubin Askew died this morning at age 85. A dark horse candidate in 1970, Askew is credited with ethics reform, creating a fair tax system, and restoring confidence in government. Reubin Askew became one of the most respected governors in America.

As a state Senator from Pensacola, Askew championed racial equality and the fair drawing of legislative districts. In this 2001 interview, he recounted threats made by the power structure at the time.

“He told me I would never see a university in West Florida if I kept voting that way,” said Reubin Askew, “and as brazen as I was, I looked him square in the eye and I said, ‘Dewey, I’m going to get a university and I’m gonna be here after you’re gone.'”

Florida’s 37th governor championed financial disclosure for public officials, going around a reluctant legislature.

“I’m doin’ your business and frankly you have a right to know essentially what I’m doing,” Askew once said.

Current Senate President Don Gaetz calls it a landmark of integrity. “Florida became the model for America in open government because of what Reubin Askew did,” said Gaetz.

As Governor Askew usually got what he wanted from lawmakers, keeping score cards on how they voted and threatening them with calls to their editorial board.

“There was no question you knew where he stood,” said former Askew aide Guy Spearman. “There was not ever a doubt as to what his position was.”

Generally liked by the press, Askew didn’t mince words when something was written he didn’t like.

In a 1978 clip, he takes a Miami Herald reporter to task for a story on a trade mission to Japan.

“I don’t care if we’d a gone in the bottom of a cargo ship,” Askew told the reporter, “you would have said it was a junket.”

Askew will lie in state at the Old Capitol, which ironically he once wanted torn down, but later admitted he was wrong. After his service, Askew went on to teach at nine of the state’s universities, ending his career teaching political science and government at Florida State, where the Askew School of Public Administration still operates today. A funeral service will be held in Tallahassee, with burial in Pensacola.