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Tropical Storm has spawned tornadoes and caused localized caused flooding. Disaster officials are calling the storm a wake up call and as the Governor says Florida would be better prepared if not for politicians in Washington.

Andrea’s rain began falling Thursday across the Panhandle. The first named storm kicks off what’s expected to be a busy hurricane season. Emergency managers say Andrea is a wake up call.

“It’s a good reminder to citizens in Florida that basically anywhere in the state you can be impacted by a tropical storm or hurricane,” said State Emergency Director, Bryan Koon. “Now is a great time to prepare.”

Governor Rick Scott met with emergency response coordinators Thursday morning. “We talked with emergency management teams and they’re ready,” said Scott.

Florida National Guard troops were also put on standby early Thursday. “To monitor and standby, and prepare to escalate. Depends on the impact of storm,” said Koon.

The governor worries the federal sequester is cutting the time National Guardsmen have to train. That could create problems later. “One thing I still remain very concerned about is President Obama’s sequester efforts,” said Governor Scott. “They are forcing our National Guard, 50-percent of our National Guard to be furloughed part of their time.”

The Guard and governor say the state will do whatever is necessary to keep Floridians safe. “Take this as a precursor, get ready. Three days of food, three days of water,” said Scott.

As many as 20 predicted storms are expected this hurricane season.

University Boards of Trustees are getting pressure from Governor Rick Scott to forego an automatic tuition hike based on inflation.

This year the hike is supposed to be one point seven percent. Scott is telling University Presidents they must lower other fees if they can’t circumvent the hike.

FSU Board Chair Allan Bense says different schools have different needs. “It’s one of those things where I think we as trustees need to decide what’s best for each individual university: Florida State, University of Florida, University of South Florida – whatever. I think those decisions should be based upon what each individual university’s needs are. Decide what’s best,” said Bense.

If Universities give up the automatic hike, they could face problems getting more money from lawmakers next year. But if they take the hike, they risk angering the Governor.

Nationally Florida ranks thirds for human trafficking. Now a new program will help officers identify victims. The hope is to stop criminals before they exploit victims.

Florida officials are fighting for freedom. ”The Florida Police Chief’s are committed to do what it takes to end human trafficking in our state,” said Quincy Chief of Police Walter McNeil.

In a new training course, officers will be taught how to spot human trafficking victims. ”Thank you for taking this online training to learn more about human trafficking so you can stop this horrific crime from occurring in our state,” said Attorney General, Pam Bondi.

In 2011, Florida had 3,949 reports of human trafficking. The volume makes Florida the third most trafficked state. “We’re going to continue everything we can as we told you we’re partnering up with the business community, attacking with new legislation and on an educational front,” said Bondi.

New recruits have been trained to spot trafficking since 2006. Now all officers will be able to receive training.

“It’s important in that they let us know back months ago that what we had in basic training with the way crime was developing in our state wasn’t enough,” said FDLE Commissioner, Gerald Bailey. “So, this is strictly situational awareness and as I try to stress there the most important part is going to help those front line officers.”

The introductory course is up and running now. So is an advanced course for officers.

If you lost your home due to foreclosure, you may already be receiving money from mortgage companies as a part of a national settlement. Now, various state programs will also receive its cut of the payout.

For four years, Florida homeowners were losing their homes because of shady lending practices and overzealous buyers. In 2010, the state had the dubious distinction of having the second highest foreclosure rate, behind only Nevada. Now Florida and 48 other states will share 26-billion dollars.

”The settlement will provide important relief to Florida homeowners and enable our state to get its fair share of the relief being provided across the country,” said Governor Rick Scott.

Florida’s cut is just shy of 9-billion dollars. Tuesday morning, Governor Rick Scott signed a bill that will appropriate 200-million dollars to various housing initiative programs. Florida Attorney General, Pam Bondi says the settlement is to protect Floridians and to keep banks from abusing the system. “We are doing everything to hold banks accountable and to be sure this money is being handled in the right way,” said Bondi.

Florida is set to receive 8-point-4 billion dollars from the settlement. The numbers are self-reported by the same banks which have already caused the problem. “It’s self reporting by the banks,” said Bondi. “I’ll tell you, I’ve had issues with the banks.”

Bondi says she is working closely with the monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement to get official payout numbers.

“We are doing everything to hold the banks accountable; and to be sure this money is being handled the right way,” she said.

Overall the state received 334-million from the settlement.

Oklahoma is the only state that wasn’t a part of the settlement

Tuesday morning Governor Rick Scott honored several Floridians during a cabinet meeting at the capitol building in Tallahassee.

The governor recognized people for the “Great Floridian” award, the Business Ambassador Award and Teachers of the Year award.

There were five districts across the state that had teachers winning the award. He said their commitment to education went above and beyond their line of duty.

“This is evidence that more of our students are receiving a quality education which provides more Florida families with the opportunity to pursue the American Dream,” said Governor Scott.

The next cabinet meeting is set for June 25.

Just days before the start of hurricane season, a deal made between Citizen’s Insurance and Heritage Insurance has sparked controversy among state leaders.

Through the deal, Citizens will pay newly-formed Heritage 52-million dollars to take over 60-thousand policies. Governor Scott says it’s a way to help make sure Citizen’s is a last resort insurer for Floridians. The payment citizens made to Heritage appears to be higher than it should be. Although the governor defends the deal.

“That board needs to make sure they do the right thing. They need to vet all these projects and do the right thing,” said Governor Scott.

The deal was made at the end of May.

More than 11-thousand petitions were pushed by mothers from across Florida urging the governor to veto a bill that would change sick-time laws across the state.

If Governor Scott signs Housebill 6-5-5 into law, it will remove any local government laws which require businesses to offer sick time benefits to employees. Those for the bill say it creates more jobs in the state and a more competitive environment. While opponents say the bill wrongfully discriminates against women and Florida’s poorest people. “A mother like me should not have to make a choice around whether or not to care for my children when they are sick…or losing a days pay of work,” said Orlando mother Denise Diaz.

The bill has yet to make it to the governor’s desk.

Across Florida, the cost of tuition will remain the same after the governor vetoed a bill that would have increased the cost of school.

The governor said his goal is to keep the cost of higher education as low as possible. Keeping the tuition low helps benefit families across the state. He says with an increase in tuition it makes it more difficult for Floridians to achieve the ‘American Dream’.

“Our universities have raised tuition fees 125-percent in the last ten years. It’s making it more difficult for our families to afford higher education,” said Governor Scott.

Tuition hikes have been sought by lawmakers in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Sick time; it’s something most employees need from time to time. But new legislation could change how local government requires businesses to provide sick time benefits.

David St Germain is like four of every ten workers. He works long hours with few benefits. ”I know a few people personally that live a little further away from work than they should,” he said. “Basically they have enough money to eat and get gas back and forth to work.”

Legislation heading to the Governor would keep workers like David from earning paid time off. The legislation prohibits local governments from requiring businesses to offer paid sick time. ”It doesn’t seem like the best thing for the people necessarily,” said St Germain.

Opponents of the bill say it wrongfully separates the poor and women from the rest of the workforce. ”Because they’re the ones most likely to be staying home with a sick child or home with a sick parent or grandparent,” said Spokesman for Florida Coalition of Local Control, Damien Filer.

The Legislation was a top priority of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The business group says the law is a way to standardize benefit requirements from county to county. “What we need is consistency. What we’re trying to do is make Florida more competitive,” said the Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, Mark Wilson. “We want jobs here in Florida and so we already have federal standards for this.”

A recent public poll shows 8 in 10 Floridians support a law making employers provide sick day benefits to employees. Tuesday, advocates will deliver more than 11,000 petitions seeking a veto to the governor’s office. “Mom’s are watching, families are watching to make sure the governor does the right thing by women and families in Florida,” said Filer.

Supporters say the bill would provide stronger workforces. Opponents say it will kill jobs in the state. If the bill is signed into law, it will get prohibit new sick time ordinances from being enacted and get rid of any current local sick time laws already on the books.

If you are planning a driving trip this summer, the Highway Patrol is giving you fair warning that when you come to an emergency vehicle you need to be prepared to move over a lane. If you don’t, you will face a greater chance of getting a ticket.

Every day, state troopers put themselves in harms way when they encounter law breakers. “I’m Trooper Baker with Florida Highway Patrol. The reason I’m stopping you today is for failure to move over,” said FHP Trooper, Mark Baker as he pulled over a vehicle for the Move Over Law.

Trooper Baker has been with the Florida Highway Patrol since 2009. Since then, he was hit by a car that didn’t move over a lane, as the law requires. “It actually hit me in my shoulder. I was out of my car, on the shoulder of the roadway on the white line itself; and he clipped me on the left shoulder,” he said.

The requirement to move over a lane when approaching flashing lights has been on the books since 2002; Lieutenant James Shaw says the state will be stepping up enforcement as highways get busy with summer vacations. “We tell our troopers to always be alert and aware of your surroundings. You never know where the danger is going to come from,” said Lt. Shaw.

Earlier this month a trooper was hit in Orange County and made it out with no serious injuries. Last December another trooper was seriously injured on I-95 near Fort Lauderdale when her cruiser was slammed into by a truck.

If you see flashing lights on the side of the road, it’s state law to move over to the opposite lane. If you’re unable to move over, you must reduce your speed by 20 miles per hour.

Drivers are not only required to move over for emergency vehicles, but tow trucks, too. Tow truck driver Danny Bartholf has been hit three times since 1980 moving disabled cars from the side of the road. “I try to cut my time in the danger zone to a very minimum,” said Bartholf.

If you fail to move over and get caught, the fine is 166-dollars.

Every state in the country has a move over law besides Hawai’i and Washington, D.C.

Hurricane Season officially starts this weekend, and even though it’s been almost eight years since a storm has hit the state; the cost of homeowner insurance has been increasing steadily  because every day losses.

Since the last hurricane hit Florida, homeowner’s rates have gone up by just under 10 percent. For condo owners it is 21 percent. Ratings expert John Rollins says hurricanes aren’t the only driver of higher costs. “Fire, water damage, vandalism, theft, smoke, explosions, these things we think of as common perils,” he said.

Thursday morning, just days before the start of hurricane season, Fidelity Property and Casualty was asking for a 28-percent rate. General Counsel of OIR, Belinda Miller, says setting rates is a delicate balancing act. “We need capacity in a way that treats consumers fairly and that results in them having insurance on their property when they have a claim and need it,” she said.

Fidelity wouldn’t talk with us on camera, but they said the reason they are looking for a pay increase to be profitable so they can pay out claims after the next storm hits. But Florida’s Consumer Advocate says what you pay is often driven by people scamming the system. “Many consumers get caught in the middle of people making repairs and for the bill being more than what the insurance company thought it should have been,” said Robin Westcott, Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate.

The economy is also a factor. “There’s an age old adage that says: ‘once the economy goes sour, insurance claims go up. It’s almost a direct correlation,” said Lisa Miller, insurance consultant.

Legislation signed by Governor Rick Scott this week creates a clearing house to help consumers find cheaper rates, but hurricane season will likely be over before the clearinghouse is up and running.

A Federal Court of Appeals sided with the lower courts saying Governor Rick Scott’s attempt to make all state employees subject to a drug test, violated the 4th amendment. The state’s largest public employees union and the ACLU worked to make it where the only state employees subject to drug testing are those in safety sensitive lines of work. The U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit is now making the governor go through all 85-thousand positions, proving why they need to take a drug test.

“We hope that the governor stops over-reading and starts to understand that the constitution protects the citizens of the state, including public employees,” said Special Counsel at AFSCME, Alma Gonzalez.

Without a safety-related reason or suspicion of drug use, people cannot be forced to give a drug test.

A bill waiting to be signed by the governor will drastically change how two of Florida’s largest power companies bill customers for a nuclear power plant that doesn’t even exist.

Until the bill is signed into law, power companies and the customer advocates will have to continue to fix the kinks with a former law on the books.

When Duke Energy or Florida Power and Light customers get a bill, they are being charged for a nuclear power plants that doesn’t even exist. A 7-year-old law has allowed major utility companies to collect more than a billion for the non-existent facilities. “We have to implement the law. We’re not the lawmakers; we’re just the implementers of the law,” said Florida Public Service Commission staff, Mark Futrell.

Wednesday morning the Florida Public Service Commission staff met with Duke and F-P & L to talk about how much customers should be forced to pay.

“New nuclear units in Turkey Point, we anticipate over the life of those units, would save 78-billion dollars in fuel costs,” said Peter Robbins, FPL.

After public outrage, state lawmakers tweaked the Nuclear Cost Recovery law this spring, limiting how long utilities can collect the monthly fee. Duke and F-P-L opposed the bill.

“If the bill lawmakers passed is signed by the governor, it’s likely to change how both sides proceed with the case…however, neither side is sure of the changes,” Matt Horn reported.

The Office of the Public Counsel, which represents customers, says it will present consumer testimony as the meetings and hearing proceed. “I think customers generally really don’t like paying for projects that don’t come into fruition,” said Office of Public Counsel’s Charles Rehwinkel.

The legislation on its way to the Governor requires more review by the Public Service Commission, but still does not require the fees to be refunded if new nuclear plants are never built.

It’s expected the customer testimony will be filed in the second part of June.

Florida Governor Rick Scott today signed legislation banning texting while driving. Even though the bill restricts makes texting and driving illegal, the new legislation is being called one of the weakest laws in the country.

After five years of trying, Florida is now the 41st state with a texting ban. “I’m excited we’ve finally gotten to the point to where the final signature is going on the texting ban,” said (R) District 74 Representative, Doug Holder.

Lawmakers anticipate the new texting ban will prevent accidents. As a secondary offense, police must see another violation to stop a driver. Drivers Ed Instructor Michael Blain says the law won’t have the same effect as a primary violation. “I think it would have been much better if it was a primary offense, allowing police officers to actually actively look for texting while driving,” said Blain.

Even though it’s new here, four states have similar laws. One of them, Virginia, is changing its texting and driving from a secondary to a primary offense in July.
Lawmakers here in Florida say this new law will still keep people safer than before. “There are eleven teenagers that die every day in United States from texting while driving,” said Representative Holder. “Twenty-five percent of all accidents are now attributed to texting while driving.”

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee study shows in the months following a texting and driving ban, the number of accidents go down. But, after a few months, the study shows drivers go back to old habits.

“It’s a good step in the right direction, it’s the first step,” said Blain. “I don’t think its Panacea; I don’t think its going to correct all of the problems.”

Opponents argued the law isn’t needed because it’s already illegal to drive carelessly. Distracted drivers caused more than 4 thousand accidents last year.

The texting law will go into effect starting October 1st.

After a year of low achievement scores in Florida classrooms, the Department of Education announced an upward climb for students.

According to the released results in Writing and third-grade reading and math, student performance increased. Even with stricter expectations.

In the last two years the state has moved from 11th to 6th for overall quality with the education system and Florida 4th graders boasting some of the highest reading scores globally.

Department of Education spokesman Joe Follick says the state will look at the results and see where they need to improve.

“This is good news,” said Dept. of Education spokesman Joe Follick. “We’re going to use these test results the same way parents should. Which is celebrate over gains, see where we need to improve; and work with districts and schools to keep improving.”

More test results will be sent out in the next few weeks.