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Legislation capping rate hikes on state run Citizens Property Insurance still needs approval from the Governor. The legislation caps Citizens rate increases at 10 percent. A freeze on Citizens rates expires in January. Without the cap, rates could go up as much as 50 percent a year. Insurance lobbyist Bob Lotane said the increase will slowly drain the state run insurer, making it better able to pay claims.

“That’s going to allow them to build up their reserves, so if we have a hurricane, they have more money to pay claims. Without that money they are going to have to resort to assessing, Citizens customers first and then every other policy holder in the state, so it’s kind of a pay me now or pay me later thing,” said Lotane.

1.1 million Floridians have Citizens insurance; they contribute about two billion dollars a year in premiums, leaving an estimated 400 billion dollars in hurricane exposure in the state’s hands.

The biggest opposition to Charlie Crist’s US Senate Campaign isn’t coming from the Democrats.

A pro-gay group is challenging Crist’s sexuality in a documentary called “Outrage.” The movie aims to out gay politicians. “Outrage” calls Crist’s marriage and dating life into question. Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer is a little outraged himself at the accusations.

“Those attacks are so outrageous, I had someone tell me the other day I had someone tell me the other day I was mentioned in the national magazines and movies and I have four kids so I think anytime you are dealing with something like that it is ridiculous. It’s outrageous and it doesn’t warrant a response on any credibility,” said Greer.

Crist sexuality was brought up during his campaign for governor. Crist has been married twice and has denied being gay. Outrage was released on May 8th. It’s playing at select theaters across the country.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer is officially making at run at the governor’s seat. The announcement comes as the other two members of the state cabinet consider jumping into the race 2010 Governor’s race. More announcements are expected soon, but as Whitney Ray tells us, the finger pointing has already begun.

Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink wants your vote for governor.

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to run for governor in 2010,” said Sink.

Announcements from Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson and Attorney General Bill McCollum are coming soon.

The official announcements are only a formality, the battle has already begun.

Sink is calling McCollum on the carpet over a 2 million dollar no bid contract to his former political consultant for this public service announcement.

“There are plenty of other companies that would have appreciated doing that business,” said Sink.

McCollum is firing back.

“Before she points the finger at a no bid contract, which is perfectly legal as former Attorney Genera Butterworth says, she ought to look at here own. She has plenty of no bid contracts there,” McCollum said.

The three sitting cabinet members will have to make joint decisions over the next 18 months, and with the fireworks that have already begun, the campaign promises to be explosive.

Governor Charlie Crist received the 66.5 billion dollar state budget Wednesday.

The spending plan includes two billion dollars in increased taxes and fees. Crist isn’t saying whether or not he’ll veto any spending items, but is reviewing legislation that would cap lawyer fees in worker’s compensation lawsuits.

“I’m reviewing them both still to be perfectly honest with you. I have great respect for Senator Gaetz and I know that particularly the House was concerned about he worker’s comp bill, so we are reviewing both of those very closely,” Crist said.

The governor has the power to veto spending items he doesn’t agree with. He has 15 days to review the budget before he signs it.

Just because a car wreck isn’t your fault doesn’t mean your won’t pay more.

Some insurance companies are charging new customers more because they have been victims of no fault car collisions. Florida’s Insurance Commissioner asked the state cabinet to freeze the accident surcharge. The governor approved the motion, but none of the other three members would support his call. Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson says he needs more time to review the law before he makes a decision.

“It will come up again. I don’t think it’s going to have any major effect on the insurance industry or the consumers one way or another for the next few weeks. I’m sure we’ll probably take a look at it again. I want to get better acquainted with that provision. I am still unsure about that, that’s why I never seconded. I can’t speak for the other two,” said Bronson.

The next cabinet meeting is scheduled for May 27th.

CFO Alex Sink is the first of three Cabinet members to jump into the Governor’s race, now that Charlie Crist is out. Attorney General Bill McCullom is expected to join the race next week, and Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Bronson says he is still talking to people.

Here is the Sink Release:

A plan to give a property tax cut to first time home buyers could become a focal point of Governor Charlie Crist’s senate campaign. This legislative session Crist pushed the plan to give a 25 percent tax cut to first time home buyers. As Whitney Ray tells us, voters will have the final say on the tax cuts and whether Crist goes to Washington.

When Florida’s housing market took a dive, so did the state’s economy. An estimated 300,000 homes sit empty in the state, leaving home builders with nothing to do.

“We saw in Florida a loss of about 175,000 construction jobs over the last two years,” said David Hart a Spokesman with the Florida Home Builders Association.

The Florida Home Builders Association is supporting a property tax cut for first time home buyers. Builders hope a tax break will help jump start the housing market and put them back to work.

The proposed constitutional amendment would save first time homebuyers an average of 1,500 dollars over the five years of the exemption. The first year break would be 25 percent. The discount would phase out over the next four years. The legislation was dead until Governor Charlie Crist revived the plan the last week of session.

“It is something I am very pleased about for the people of Florida. I know that property taxes and property insurance are enormous issues for all of us and reducing both of them is important and will continue to be so,” said Crist.

Last year Crist threw his wait behind another property tax amendment. Amendment One was passed last January, and will also be part of Crist platform for Senate. The property tax cut amendment and US Senate race will both be on the November 2010 ballot.

Florida’s Veterans will soon receive money for college through the new GI Bill.

To help veterans make the transition from combat to college the state is launching its “Boots to Books” website. The site will help veterans apply for their GI Benefits and show them how to apply to state universities and community colleges. Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs Admiral LeRoy Collins said Florida is ahead the pack in its efforts to help soldiers cash in their college benefits.

“The Post 9/11 GI Bill is the largest and most comprehensive package of education benefits since World War II and once again Florida is taking the lead with this Boots to Books Initiative,” said Collins.

The GI Bill goes into effect August 1st, but veterans can begin searching the site now. The web address is www.flbootstobooks.org

With just three weeks to go until the start of Hurricane Season Florida finally has an interim director to run the Division of Emergency Management.

The Division’s former director, Craig Fugate, is being tapped to head up FEMA. Tuesday Governor Charlie Crist promoted the division’s deputy director Ruben Almaguer to interim director. Almaguer said the state is ready to respond if a storm hits.

“The message is real simple and clear. Florida is in good hands. The same team that was in place last week is the same team that’s in place this week. The same capabilities that we had yesterday are the same capabilities we have today. Florida is in good hands because we have a strong leader in the governor, and with the local government emergency management directors and state agencies, Florida is prepared for the 2009 hurricane season. My question is, are you prepared for the 2009 hurricane season,” said Almaguer.

Tuesday Louisiana Senator David Vitter gave up his fight to block Craig Fugate’s appointment, clearing the way for his confirmation.

Governor Charlie Crist today made official his entry into the US Senate Race. He was immediately endorsed by the Chairman of the Republican US Senatorial Committee. And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the governor chose a decidedly low key approach.

The Crist announcement came in the form of a low key email just after 9 a.m. Then at a news event to introduce the new acting state emergency director, Crist had to be asked about the race and seemed almost bashful.

“The challenges that Florida faces are not just Florida challenges, they are national issues,” Crist said. “And as a result of that, I believe I can best serve the people of Florida, if they’re willing to allow me, as their next U.S. Senator.”

Then the governor was off to promote college for veterans and celebrate the state’s Spanish heritage.

By downplaying his Senate candidacy and showing up at three public events, the governor is basically saying to the public, ‘look, I’m doing my job.’

Crist’s popularity is astronomical. And although they can’t vote yet, he surprised these school kids from Pensacola by shaking each of their hands and making an impression.

He has the same affect on adults including state representative Clay Ford.

“He’s a shoo-in,” Ford said. “He’ll campaign hard, of course.”

Even Democrats concede he is the front runner.

“I think a lot of it depends on the type of campaigns that are run, but I would say the governor enters as the favorite in both the primary and the general,” Rep. Ron Saunders (D-Key West) said.

The First Campaign theme is already developing. Democrats are saying Crist is abandoning the state in a horrible mess. The Governor says he wants to go off to Washington to fix things.

Crist is expected to have primary opposition from former House Speaker Marco Rubio of Miami. Democratic Congressman Kendrick Meek and State Senator Dan Gelber are running on the Democratic side. There are also several lesser candidates interested in the race.

State Tourism Officials kicked off the Viva Florida! Campaign today urging Floridians to visit Pensacola and St. Augustine to celebrate the state’s Spanish heritage.

Pensacola was the first attempted Spanish settlement in the US and the first thanksgiving was celebrated by the Spanish in St. Augustine. Today Counsel General of Spain Santiago Cananas Ansorena told the assembled crowd that his government was thankful.

“I want to say, on behalf of the Spanish crown, on behalf of the Spanish government, and on behalf of the Spanish people, that we want to thank the state of Florida, its governor, its people for all your efforts in preserving our common heritage, our common history,” Ansorena said.

Prior to the ceremony, several dozen students from the Pensacola Episcopal Day School had a surprise encounter with the Governor. The students were at the Mission San Luis in Tallahassee to wrap up a year of study.

After just two years on the job, Governor Charlie Crist is expected to make his political plans known tomorrow. The Governor is widely expected to announce he will seek Florida’s open US Senate seat in 2010, which as Mike Vasilinda tells us, will lead to a political free for all in Florida Politics.

Governor Charlie Crist and his wife arrived back in the Capital via commercial airline after contemplating his political future over the weekend. Crist has been widely rumored to be seeking Florida’s vacant US Senate Seat . On Monday he did nothing to dampen the speculation.

“They are two incredible positions of public service, whether it’s the U.S. Senate or Governor,” Crist said. “So it’s a tough decision.”

National Democrats have spent the last two weeks running negative Crist ads in the Tallahassee market.

From all three cabinet offices to the Governor’s office, a Charlie Crist candidacy for the U.S. senate is likely to set off the biggest free-for-all in Florida politics in more than three decades.

All three Cabinet Officers are expected to seek the governor’s job, creating a domino effect across state office holders. Democratic spokesman Eric Jotoff says he hopes Crist does try to go to Washington.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for democrats to make gains and we’re ready, we’re energized and organized to take advantage of this opportunity,” Jotkoff said.

The names of at least two democrats are mentioned for just about every statewide office, but the GOP chairman is working to minimize the number of people competing in a primary.

“He would like the party to be unified going into the 2010 election,” Republican Party spokesperson Katie Gordon said.

If Crist does jump into the Senate race he immediately becomes the frontrunner. But 18 months is a long time until the election and frontrunners have lost before.

The Governor says he will end the suspense on Tuesday, but a time and place is yet to be publicized.

Eight houses in Port St. Joe are sinking after being built on wet land filled with wood chips and sold to black families by the St. Joe Company.  The company is fighting a law suit over the houses, which could end up costing taxpayers if the families default on government backed loans. Tuesday, the families and more than  50 people are expected to protest outside the headquarters of the St. Joe Company. Attorney Ben Crump says the goal of the protest is to make sure the companies stock holders know what St. Joe has done.

“We want the company do to the right thing,” Crump said. “That’s simply to let these people have decent housing. Give them a decent house to live in. They made that investment, an investment in the American Dream. They didn’t want anything else but their chance at the American Dream. They worked hard all their lives, some of them are working two and three jobs to get this house, they’ve got USDA loans from the government to buy their houses. So not only does St. Joe deprive them, they also deprived the U.S. government.”

St Joe has argued the families, which bought the homes in the late 1980’s, waited too long to bring their case to court.

Supporters of a central Florida man sentenced to death more than 30 years ago are asking Florida’s Attorney General to reopen the case. Tommy Zeigler was convicted of murdering his wife and their parents on a Christmas Eve. He has always claimed his family was the victim of robbers. The supporters say evidence discovered more than a decade after the trial should be considered, but courts have ruled it was discovered too late to be admissible.

“That’s why we believe the attorney general of Florida needs to open the case and say, let’s have an investigation and if this evidence is indeed credible, then let’s present it to a jury and let a jury decided whether this man is guilty based on all of the evidence,” supporter Ray McEachern said.

One piece of new evidence is a police report dealing with blood splatter at the crime scene that Zeigler supporters say proves Zeigler was himself a victim rather than a perpetrator. The report was never given to defense attorneys.

Heath Care, education and law enforcement groups are calling on the legislature to change the way it balances the budget. The budget passed Friday relies on increased fees, stimulus dollars, and spending cuts to make ends meet. As Whitney Ray tells us, the groups are calling for more tax reform to bring the state out of the economic crisis.

Higher fees on drivers, a cigarette tax and spending cuts will help fill a three billion dollar state budget hole. Lawmakers went into overtime to balance next year’s budget, but many complaints remain. State workers, including many law enforcement officers, will see a pay cut.

“They really got hammered this year. They are going to take a two percent pay cut most of them,” said PBA Spokesman Matt Puckett.

Democrats pushed for tax reform to save state employees from the budget ax.

“There were things left on the table, there were lots of ideas,” said Representative Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda.

Calls to end sales tax exemptions on bottled water and 50 other items and services were killed. A plan to collect taxes on internet sales also fell by the wayside. Instead lawmakers turned to Washington.

Federal stimulus dollars saved the state budget this go round, but the cash runs out soon. Advocacy groups say stimulus dollars are allowing the legislature to postpone the problem. John Hall with the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy said tax reform can’t wait.

“Florida can broaden the base of its taxation. Lower the rate and produce a revenue structure that fairer, able to withstand economic downturns and better meet the needs of this great state,” said Hall.

Advocacy groups say they’ll spend the rest of the year trying to convince legislative leaders to consider new tax ideas. None of the spending cuts in the state budget is final just yet. Governor Charlie Crist still has to sign off on the deal, but he’ll likely make few changes.