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Supporters of the new health care regulations unrolled a 60 foot long petition signed by more than 76-hundred Floridians in the state Attorney General’s Office this morning.

Petitioners want the Attorney General to drop his lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of health care changes. The Attorney General was out of town, but Damien Filer with Progress Florida says he’ll get the message.

“I think that there is enough momentum behind this, in fact there was a poll that came out yesterday that showed that Floridians overwhelmingly oppose his efforts to do this. Bill McCollum is the Attorney General of Florida, he’s suppose to be the people’s attorney, and he’s not representing the interest of the people of Florida and I think that he’s going to get that message today.” Said Filer.

A Monday Quinnipiac poll released shows that 54 percent of Florida voters opposes the suit… with just 40 in favor of the AG’s efforts.

Emotions were high at the state capitol today as a victim of years of sexual abuse finished a 500 mile walk from Tampa and collapsed on the lawn of the old capitol. Lauren Book-Lim was molested by her nanny as a child. She spent the last 20 days walking to raise awareness of sexual abuse and to encourage victims to speak out and hold their heads high.

“I think that the pain that I suffered as a child was awful and should never, ever happen to a child. But today, it’s not so much pain; it’s elation, it’s excitement, it’s huge relief. We’re just so proud to be here and I’m just so glad that I was able to do this and speak for other survivors,” said Lauren.

Her Father, Ron Book, one of Florida’s most influential lobbyists, was over come with pride for his daughter’s effort to stop sexual abuse.

“The ability for her to go out there and just try to tell people, look
at me, I’m OK, shed your shame, shed that embarrassment, don’t be
afraid. It’s a big deal. There was not a day of the walk that she did
not get incredible stories,” said Book.

Lauren is asking lawmakers to boost funding for programs that help sex crimes victims and is leading a program to teach kids how to report sexual abuse.

A controversial bill paving the way for state dollars to be spent on religious organization is drawing strong opposition. The bill would allow state funding for religious schools, a proposal that, as Whitney Ray tells us, has been a long time goal of former Governor Jeb Bush.

Legislation that could open up a pipeline to funnel state dollars to religious schools is being dubbed the Religious Freedom Act. The Florida Education Association, the ACLU, and a slew of Democrats are fighting the plan.

“This bill will do nothing more than further religious discrimination in this state,” said State Representative Adam Fetterman.

Supporters say the plan would protect businesses and charities with a religious affiliation from being discriminated against in the dash for state cash.

“This amendment simply says that if the government is spending money and there are religious organizations that apply for that money, they can’t be discriminated against,” said State Senator Joe Negron.

A similar plan was pushed through the legislative process by Former Governor Jeb Bush, but in 2006 the state Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional.

Bush reemerged shortly before the start of this year’s legislative session pushing drastic education reform. More tax dollars for private schools is still on the agenda. State Senator Dave Aronberg says Bush is having his best session to date.

“He may not be here, but his presence is being felt here. A lot of legislation that is being pushed has his name all over it,” said State Senator Dave Aronberg.

The Florida Education Association, who successfully defeated Bush’s merit pay plan, says it’s not fair for the former governor to be pulling the strings.

“Yes he is but he doesn’t have to face the voters anymore and he doesn’t have to face you guys,” said Pudlow.

If the Religious Freedom Act passes both chambers, voters would get a change to weigh in on the issue in November. The last legislative hurdle is the state House. The Religious Freedom Act is soaring through the Senate… but with just two weeks left in this year’s legislative session the House may run out of time to hold a hearing on the issue.

More than 2 hundred motorcyclists road their bikes onto the grounds of the state Capitol today seeking tougher penalties for motorists who hit and kill bikers. Often, car and truck drivers are given just an 89-dollar ticket for failing to yield the right of way, even when deaths are involved,. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, on average, Florida drivers are killing a motor or bicyclist every day of the year.

Their looks are deceiving. These are doctors, engineers, Vietnam veterans.  They belong to a group known as Abate. It started out as A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments and ended up American Bikers Aimed towards Education.

They were here to push the latter. This sign says it all. They want tougher penalties for everyone involved in a fatal accident. Often they say motorists get a slap on the wrist  and a civil citation for running a red light, but nothing more.

Tina McElhenny lost her son in 2002.

“We had to fight for 6 months just for her to receive a ticket,” McElhenny said. “And then it was dismissed because he was the only witness and unfortunately he was killed, by her.”

Here in Florida, bikers die on the road at an average of more than one a day.

It took more than ten minutes to read the names of all of the bikers killed last year. A bell sounding for each one of them.

In addition to tougher penalties, they also want everyone involved in a fatal accidents to have their blood alcohol tested. Even some lawmakers were surprised to learn that’s not already the law.

“If that careless driver kills someone, then that driver could go to jail,” Sen. Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) said. “Right now, it’s like a slap on the wrist.”

The group, which is highly organized, has a track record of winning more than they lose.

The tougher penalties would also apply to drivers who hit pedestrians and bicyclists. Despite their anger, the bikers are not backing legislation to allow red light cameras. They fear they will be unable to see a light changing when they follow vehicles through intersections.

The threat of extra innings in the state legislative session appears to be behind state lawmakers charged with balancing the budget.

Weekend budget negotiations between the House and the Senate fell apart because the two chambers couldn’t come to an agreement over how to spend 800 million federal Medicaid dollars. Talks resumed today. State Senator Evelyn Lynn says she’s still prepared to leave Tallahassee April 30th.

“We have to negotiate. Our money is never the same, so who is going to give and who is going to take,” said Lynn. “I think we’ll finish on time.”

Even if lawmakers reach an agreement on time, there is still a chance that Governor Charlie Crist will veto their legislative spending plan and call a special session to rework the budget before July first.

Governor Charlie Crist’s veto of Senate Bill Six is earning him praise from teachers and Democrats, but grief from Republican peers. Yesterday’s veto cost him a few key endorsements and a campaign advisor. Capitol Correspondent Whitney Ray tells us, the veto could set the stage for Crist to run as an independent for US Senate.

This announcement Thursday, “I veto Senate Bill Six” opened up a floodgate of praise.

35-hundred phone calls and emails poured into Governor Charlie Crist’s office between noon and 5:30 Thursday, thanking Crist for striking down new restrictions on teacher pay and contracts.

But not all the feed back flowing into the governor’s office is positive. Just next door the Attorney General sent an email expressing his disappointment… Legislative leaders wrote letters chiding Crist’s decision… and the speaker designate pulled his endorsement.

And one day after the veto Representative Seth McKeel is throwing his political weight behind Crist’s US Senate Primary Opponent Marco Rubio

The bill sponsor, Senator John Thrasher says Crist’s decision adds insult to his already injured US Senate Campaign.

“I don’t know what his chances are now… but they don’t look to good now… best I can tell,” said Thrasher.

A recent Quinnipiac poll shows Crist losing by 23 points if he stays in the Republican Primary… but winning in a three way race as an independent.

“you might think he has a better chance at being a US Senator if he changes his mind,” said Pollster Peter Brown.

If Crist runs as an independent it gives the state’s 175-thousand teachers a chance to cast a vote in his favor. If he stays with his party, only those teachers registered as Republicans would have a say.

Last month the state set a record for unemployment; this month the record was broken.

Florida’s jobless rate is now at 12.3 percent, the highest since the state began keeping unemployment records in the 1970’s. More than a million Floridians are looking for work. Chief Economist for the Agency for Workforce Innovation Rebecca Rust says the numbers have been fluctuating slightly but it will be a while before they level off.

“This is expected when you are at the bottom of a recession that you will have some ups and downs in terms of the statistics. Usually the employment numbers should move in the same direction for about four months in a row before you can consider that a trend,” said Rust.

The national unemployment rate is 9.7 percent.

Florida civil rights leaders are livid tonight over a decision by the federal government not to pursue civil rights charges against officers who beat a 14 year old to death.

Martin Lee Anderson was killed in 2007, after seven officers at a panhandle boot camp took turns beating the teen for more than 30 minutes. The officers escaped criminal charges; civil rights leaders, including the family’s attorney Ben Crump, were hoping the Federal government would hold the officers accountable.

“All of us watched the federal government around the same time this was going on and they charged Mike Vick and sent him to prison for killing a dog and you don’t even bring any charges for killing this child,” said Crump.

A representative from the NAACP told reporters after the decision was announced that the organization will be asking the US Attorney General to investigate the case. The NAACP is planning to march on Washington if their cries for justice continue to be ignored. .

At eleven o’clock this morning the state had 17 million dollars to give to Floridians who bought energy efficient appliances.

By three o’clock today only five million dollars was left. The rebates are being offered as part of the federal stimulus package. Executive Director of the Governor’s Energy Office Rob Vaters says the rebate website has been hammered with people trying to file for a rebate.

“There has phenomenal interest in this program. We had prepared for an extremely high volume of hits on the internet. People have shown up as we expected. At one point the administrator was receiving 300-thousand hits per second,” said Vaters.

People who purchase an energy efficient water heater, refrigerator, washer, dishwasher, air-conditioner, or freezer can qualify for a twenty percent rebate. That is, if they purchase the appliances before the state runs out of money.

Teachers are rejoicing, while legislative leaders decry the governor’s veto of Senate Bill Six. Crist says the legislation needs more work, but as Whitney Ray tells us, another teacher tenure, merit pay bill isn’t likely to surface before the end of session.

It was the four letter word teachers were dying to hear.

“I veto Senate Bill 6,” Crist announced at noon Thursday.

And once the announcement was made Democrats, teachers and parents praised the governor.

“He listened. I felt he listened and I think a lot of our people felt he listened, because they were not turned away and they didn’t get form letters back.” heard our concerns,” said Latha Krishnaiyer, the president of the Florida PTA.

The bill to eliminate teacher tenure and base pay on student test scores was rushed through the legislative process.

“We were told no changes,” said Rep. Ed Homan.

Teachers testified for eight hours at a House Committee… but their concerns were ignored. So they reached out to the governor. Calling, emailing, and writing more than 60-thousand letters.

Democrats say the governor gave the teachers the hearing they didn’t get in the House. Representative Alan Williams forwarded letters from teachers in his district to the governor’s office.

“He calls himself the people’s governor and today I think he showed that,” said Williams.

The bill’s Sponsor John Thrasher says the message the governor was getting from teachers unions was flawed.

“They put out a lot of misinformation about the bill and I think that’s probably what got a lot of people angry about the bill,” said Thrasher.

Session ends April 30th, not enough time to revisit the issue, but legislative leaders say the battle isn’t over. And most of the opposition against Senate Bill Six say that’s okay, they just want to be brought to the table the next time tenure and merit pay is discussed.

The latest poll numbers show Marco Rubio with a huge lead over Governor Charlie Crist in the US Senate Race.

Quinnipiac released a poll today showing Crist trailing by 23 points… but if he runs as an independent… he wins by two. Peter Brown, a pollster from Quinnipiac University says Crist could lose some credibility if he drops out of the primary… but it could pay off.

“If he changed his mind it would ruin his credibility in some people’s minds, but even the stark members in the Republican primary, you might think he has a better chance at being a US Senator if he changes his mind,” said Brown.

Crist ‘s veto on Senate Bill Six would also play out better in a three way race than it would in a Republican Primary…. because about two third’s of the teacher Crist appeased with today’s veto couldn’t vote in the August Primary because they’re not registered Republicans.

Florida teachers are breathing easier tonight. After a massive email, letter and phone campaign from teachers, parents and students, Governor Charlie Crist has vetoed legislation that would have instituted a merit pay plan while abolishing tenure. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the Governor found fault with not only the legislation but the process that was used.

Governor Charlie Crist made his decision Wednesday night but waited until noon Thursday to announce it. He was quick and to the point.

“I vetoed Senate Bill 6 because this bill is contrary to my firmly held principle to act in the best interest of the people of Florida,” Crist said.

And then he reiterated what he had been saying all week. There is no provision for measuring teachers of special needs children.

“There must be more consideration given to their individual needs,” he said.

He also worried about what the teachers’ union has called the “Tallahassee Takeover.”

“There are considerable directives given to local boards and a requirement for state sign-off before the plans can even be approved,” Crist said.

He discounted promises of fixing the bad points later.

“Such assertions are not enough for me to sign this legislation today,” Crist said.

He also disliked the way lawmakers refused to listen to parents or teachers.

“Quite frankly it reminds me of what happened with the health care bill in Washington, where members of my party criticized the Democrats for sort of jamming something down their throat,” Crist said.

Finally, when asked, he reiterated his decision was not political.

“It has everything to do with the children of Florida,” Crist said. “I know in my heart it’s the right thing to do, Michael. This thing was rushed through.”

The veto effectively ends the battle for this year.

The Governor also said he will create a task force which will include parents, teachers, lawmakers and others to reapply for Race to the Top Money from the Federal government. Florida’s application was denied in part because teachers had not been allowed to weigh in with their ideas.

Florida teachers have had a long history of being angry over pay, education policy and school funding. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, current protests over a merit pay bill on the Governor’s desk are similar to battles teachers have one in the past.

As many as half of Florida’s teachers walked off the job in February  1968. Seventeen days later, new legislation, still on the books today, equalizing  funding for Florida schools sent them back to work.

Merit pay has been tried before and has never lasted because there’s never been enough money to fund schools, let alone merit pay.

Teachers’ anger came to a boil in 1982 over the merit pay issue. A thousand angry teachers filled the Capitol courtyard and booed then-Governor Bob Graham who was pushing the idea.

In  these pre-email days, teachers collected hundreds of letters.

Merit pay became law but it lasted just two years. Lawmakers ran out of money. Today, business leaders are citing the ’82 merit pay experiment as another reason for the governor to sign the legislation this year.

“We lost that opportunity nearly a quarter of a century ago,” Dominic Calabro with Florida Taxwatch. “We do not want to lose that opportunity today.”

But like years past, there’s no money for merit pay and that’s weighing on the governor.

“And that is part of the deliberation that I’m going through, in making a determination on the bill and whether or not we can afford it,” Crist said.

The deadline for a decision is Friday, but it could come sooner.

The main funding issue come from a provision in SB 6 that requires schools to hold back five percent of school budgets to develop tests, when schools are already facing state funding cuts.

Teachers, students, and parents have been staking out the capitol all day trying to get a face-to-face meeting with the governor to ask him to nix Senate Bill Six. Crist has until Friday, but could act sooner. As Whitney Ray tells us, he’s hinting at a veto.

The Senate Bill Six circus continued Wednesday… At a news conference with the governor, the sponsor of the legislation rushed out the door as we tried to ask a question.

Soon after, a parent stood up to question the speed at which Senate Bill Six soared through the legislature.

“How long did it take for SB 6 to pass,” he asked.

“I don’t know, but I think it was weeks though,“ said Crist.

Minutes later Crist hinted at a veto.

“You said that the tenure aspects were part of your concerns, why is that,” asked a WFSU reporter.

“Well, I’ll explain it in much greater detail soon,” said Crist.

The governor’s office has been packed all day with teachers, parents and even bus drivers asking for a veto.

Annie Pearl Curtis has been driving a school bus for 20 years. She worries that a provision in six requiring schools to hold back five percent of their budgets to develop tests will come out of her paycheck.

“Let me talk to him, aren’t we paying him?” asked Curtis.

The bus drivers didn’t get a meeting; two hours later teachers and student from Miami tried their luck. They brought hundreds of letters from teachers.

“It takes away experience. Advance degrees mean nothing,” said Eugenio Perez, a 9th grade teacher from Miami.

Crist has taken to calling some teachers on their cell phones to get their views on the bill. He says he’s willing to listen to everyone, but time is running out to make a decision.

Many of the teachers roaming the halls of the capitol today are registered Republicans. They wanted to remind Crist that they plan to vote in the US Senate primary in August.

Adoption agencies in Florida can no longer ask prospective parents if they own a gun. Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill today that removes gun and ammunition questions from the adoption process and says gun ownership cannot be a factor in placing a child. Former NRA president Marion Hammer applauded the governor for signing the legislation.

“He’s always been there for gun owners and I’m very happy that you’re signing this bill as well as the other one,” said Hammer.

One concern the law addressed is that some adoption agencies were making their own registries of gun owners, which is illegal. The new law will prevent that from happening. Last week Crist signed legislation barring further raids on the conceal carry weapons trust fund.