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A New Jersey mom is in Florida paddling to a change government policy.

Margo Pellegrino took a break from her 1,200 mile kayaking trip to meet with Governor Charlie Crist this afternoon. Pellegrino is kayaking from Fort Pierce to New Orleans to rally support for a clean oceans act. Pellegrino said on her trip she has seen the good the bad and the ugly.

“I’ve seen lots of schools of fish, little fish, and dolphins and sea turtles. And then I’ve seen some not so pretty aspects, well, pollution,” said Pellegrino.

Pellegrino is collecting “messages in bottles” at stops along the way. She plans to give the letters to lawmakers.

It’s been almost a year since the Florida Supreme Court voided the original Seminole Gaming Compact saying it lacked legislative approval. Friday lawmakers gave their approval. As Whitney Ray tells us, now the question is, will the tribe accept the new deal.

Card games and Vegas-style slots got legislative approval almost a year after the Supreme Court struck them down. The new Seminole Gaming Compact gives the Indian tribe Blackjack at its Broward and Tampa casinos but not at thee southwest Florida resorts.

“This bill has not been about blowing up and expanding gaming to every corner of the state of Florida,” said Representative Esteban Bovo.

The House moved from its no-new-gaming position to reach a comprise with the Senate.

“I don’t think that the fact that we are extending blackjack in the Indian facilities is making House members particularly happy. We would prefer not to have that in the bill,” said Representative David Rivera.

The selling point for the House was money. The state will receive 300 million during the first year of the compact, and at least 150 million each following year. All the money from the compact will be put into a trust fund for education.

The new compact includes the state’s parimutuels. Lobbyist Ron Book fought for the changes.

“It lowers the tax rate, it opens up the poker limits in parimutuel establishments. It ups the hours,” said Book.

And with the parimutuels, the legislature, and the governor happy with the agreement, all eyes are on the Seminoles to see if they’ll call or try to raise the bet.

The Governor and the Seminole Tribe will still need to work out the details of the compact. After the bill passed the tribe released a statement praising the legislature but reminding everyone there is still more work to be done.

State lawmakers that helped pass a prescription drug monitoring bill are now asking the governor to veto the legislation.

The reason, a prescription drug monitoring database in Virginia was hacked. The hacker claims to have 35 million prescription records and is asking for a 10 million dollar ransom. Representative Carl Domino said if Florida creates a drug monitoring database what happened in Virginia could happen here.

“Many people who voted for the bill now want it vetoed. I assume the governor will do the responsible thing and veto the bill because there’s not a single protection in that bill that will protect against what’s happening in Virginia,” said Domino.

Florida is one of only 12 states that doesn’t have prescription drug monitoring database. Drug dealers from as far away as Tennessee travel to Florida to stock up on painkillers.

Smokers, drivers, people fishing from shore, and those who use the courts will all pay more starting in July. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, state lawmakers are raising two billion dollars and calling them user fees.

Drivers will pay more for almost everything. Car tags will double. Renewing your driver’s license will cost an extra two bucks. Forgetting to renew a license will be even more expensive, going from one to fifteen dollars. Adding a new car to your family fleet will also cost more.

“It would go from 100 to 225 dollars,” Rep. Geraldine Thompson (D-Orlando) said.

Fishing from shore used to be free. It will now fifteen bucks unless you are poor.

“Imposing 1 billion dollars in new fees called taxes, the bad outweighs the good,” Rep. Joe Gibbons (D-Miami).

Homeowners could also see higher property taxes. School boards will get the option of adding an extra 25 dollars for every hundred thousand dollars of a home’s value.

“That discretionary millage would have to be first voted upon by a super majority of the school board,” Rep. Anitere Flores (R-Miami). “And then after that the voters would have the final say in the November 2010 election.”

Cigarettes will also cost more starting in July. A buck a pack more.

Health advocates say, in addition to almost a billion dollars for the budget, Florida will be healthier.

“It’s going to save lives, and most importantly, it’s also going to protect kids,” Paul Hull with the American Cancer Society said. “Over 300,000 kids will never take up a cigarette because of this measure today.”

Homeowners with Citizen’s Insurance may also pay more. Lawmakers authorized rate hikes of up to 10 percent a year. But all of the fees must still be approved by the Governor.

Law enforcement agencies are being required to develop policies for dealing with confidential informants under legislation signed by Governor Charlie Crist. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the legislation is the result of the death of a 23-year-old FSU graduate while working as a confidential informant in a drug deal gone bad.

A year ago, 23-year-old Rachel Hoffman was killed in a drug deal gone bad. Since then her parents and friends have worked to gain protections for confidential informants like Rachel.

“I don’t understand the reason why you would send a 23-year-old girl who got busted for marijuana in to buy a gun, 1500 ecstasy pills, and 2 ounces of cocaine,” Jason Jones, a friend of Rachel’s, said.

A grand jury found the Tallahassee police had violated their own policy. Four officers were disciplined, one was fired.

As a tearful father looked on and with a whir of cameras, Governor Charlie Crist used the first anniversary of Rachel’s death to sign the nation’s first legislation protecting informants.

“The emotional pain doesn’t leave, and I think that you just have to go through it,” Irv Hoffman, Rachel’s father said. “I wouldn’t wish it upon anybody else.”

Police agencies, who originally opposed the legislation can no longer promise more lenient sentencing for cooperating. It also requires them to consider age, maturity, and whether a person is in a court ordered drug program.

“I wish you all had an opportunity to know Rachel,” Margie Weiss, Rachel’s mother said.  “This is the only way to make sense of her life.”

The legislation says those in charge of informants must regularly review procedures  that are in place. The next stop for Rachel’s parents as they left the Capitol was to visit their daughters grave.

Two men are charged with First Degree murder in Rachel Hoffman’s case, and while the bill doesn’t offer as much protection as her parents originally wanted, they say they will come back to lawmakers next year for more.

Governor Charlie Crist believes the Seminole Tribe will accept the gambling compact being offered by lawmakers. The deal lets the tribe keep card games such as black jack at four casinos, but does not allow the banked card games at three others. It also requires the Indians to pay the state a minimum 150 million a year.

“To be perfectly honest, I was concerned that it might not happen,” Crist said. “I was just delighted by Senator Alexander’s great work, by Representative Galvano’s work, and the leadership, our Senate president, president Atwater, Speaker Cretul. They both had to make concessions in order for it to work. That’s kinda they way things are. That they came through so well for Florida’s children and education, it’s huge.”

The gambling legislation also throws a bone to dog tracks operating slot machines by lowering their tax rate from 50 to 35 percent.

State health officials say the fear of swine flu is lessening. Call volume to the state hotline is down from a high of eleven hundred calls a day to just over three hundred. Florida still has only five confirmed cases, but  22 probable cases.  Surgeon General Ana Viamonte Ros believes the lack of severity of the flu strain is one of the reasons for a calmer public.

“I think they’re calming down for medical reasons,” Viamonte Ros said. “The disease continues to be of low severity, from what we’ve seen. I think that we’re pushing out so much information already to the public and to our providers, that the need to call in, the need to ask more questions is subsiding because of just the amount of information already out there. So yes, I would say it is.”

Officials continue to advise anyone who is ill to stay home.

Governor Charlie Crist is one of about ten thousand state employees who make more than forty-five thousand dollars a year and who will be taking a two-percent pay cut. We asked the Governor what that would mean to him personally.

How are you going to cope with a two percent less in your personal paycheck?

“I’ll just tighten my belt a little,” Crist said.

Do you have an idea of what you might do without?

“What I might do without? Maybe steak?” he replied.

The Governor’s current salary is $132,931.56, which means he’ll do without more than one steak. His share of the budget pain comes to twenty-six hundred and fifty-eight dollars.

There’s good news tonight for people in danger of losing their unemployment pay before they can find a job. Lawmakers voted to extend unemployment benefits by 20 weeks. But while the state is grabbing 418 million federal dollars to extend benefits, as Whitney Ray tells us, it’s passing up the chance to receive another half a billion dollars more.

Valarie Gainous has been unemployed from more than a year.

“It’s been really hard. I’m a single mother,” said Valarie.

Making matters worse, Valarie’s unemployment benefits have run dry. Jobless Floridians are eligible for 59 weeks of unemployment pay, but for many that’s not enough time to find a job. That’s why lawmakers voted to lengthen the eligibility period to by 20 weeks.

“What we are anticipating is, probably by the end of May having a notification out to those who are potentially eligible and hopefully by the beginning of July, having that money in Floridians hands,” said Robby Cunningham, a spokesman for the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

An estimated 250,000 people will qualify to receive the extra 418 million in extended benefits from the federal stimulus package.

While the state is taking the money to extend benefits another 400 million is being left on the table.

To qualify for the money the state would have to loosen its unemployment qualification standards. Lawmakers turned their backs on the changes this year. Governor Charlie Crist hopes they’ll reconsider.

“I’m encouraged that the deadline isn’t until 2011 to get the additional money for unemployment compensation,” said Crist.

With the state paying out 60 million dollars a week in unemployment claims, more money will likely be needed before then. Lawmakers estimate the state’s unemployment compensation fund will run out of money by July. But unemployment benefits are mandated by the federal government so the state says people who are eligible will still receive a check.

While thousands of state employees prepare for a pay cut many private companies hired by the state will receive raises.

The companies negotiated raises into their contracts, but State Senator Al Lawson says it’s still not fair to give them more when state workers will receive less. Lawson is asking the governor to veto a two percent pay cut for state workers making 45,000 or more.

“I’m trying to emphasis to the governor that we have dollars in reserve that we can make up the difference. Whether he’ll have the courage to do it is another story. We didn’t have the courage in the legislature to do it. We do not need to balance the budget on the backs of the people,” said Lawson.

The full state legislature will vote on the final budget proposal Friday. The chambers have to vote the bill up or down and aren’t allowed to make changes. The governor has the power to veto spending and reduction items in the budget he doesn’t agree with.

The state is waiting on word from the CDC on 20 potential cases of swine flu.

There are no new cases to report in Florida. The CDC has been bogged down with samples from all over the county. All of the confirmed and potential cases in the state have been mild. Florida’s Surgeon General, Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros said the state is bracing for a long battle with the virus.

“We need to be ready for another wave, we don’t fear anything. We need to be informed and ready and do whatever needs to be done to get ready for something. Yes that’s usually the course. There are waves like you’ve already seen on the national level. The CDC is determining whether or not they will put into production a vaccine. It would not be ready for four to six months but for the next wave so to speak. And we know as much as you all know on the national news about that,” said Viamonte Ros.

Schools in Florida that shut down because of the initial swine flu scare will reopen by the end of the week.

Two Florida families have won a long fought battle to make the roads a bit safer.

Dori Slosberg and Katie Marchetti were killed in car wrecks. Dori died in 1996 and Katie died in 2006. Neither girl was bucked up. Since their deaths their families have been fighting a battle in Tallahassee to toughen safety belt laws. Wednesday Governor Charlie Crist signed a bill allowing police officers to pull over people if they aren’t buckled up. Dori’s father former House Representative Irv Slosberg has fought for almost a decade to pass this bill.

“I machine gunned out legislation, all sorts of highway safety legislation and I was successful. But my signature bill got away from me. Finally, success. Finally, Victory on the road. But unfortunately, my daughter Dori, and my other daughter Emily, who was severely injured in the crash, had to die before this victory. She was a great kid,” said Slosberg.

The legislation is expected to save 140 lives it’s first year alone. It will also bring 35 million federal dollars into the state.

After back to back days of gaining ground on an agreement to allow card games and Vegas-style slots at Seminole casinos, lawmakers have hit a bump in the road.

Wednesday morning the Senate moved back to its original position to expand gambling. House leadership turned their backs on the offer. Senator JD Alexander has been leading the negotiations for the Senate. Alexander said he’s trying to reach the best deal for the state senate.

“Quite frankly on a couple of issues we did come back again we’re having numerous discussions with senators about their concerns for their particular regions and at the end of the day if we can’t get 21 votes then we can’t get there from here, so we are trying to make sure we properly represent the senators,” said Alexander.

Lawmakers have until noon on Friday to reach an agreement that could be put in front of both chambers for a final vote. If they don’t make the deadline the federal government could give the Seminole Tribe permission to expand gambling and the state would miss out on half a billion dollars.

Lawmakers will meet at six o’clock tonight in an effort to reach an agreement on the Seminole Gaming Compact. If the House and Senate can’t reach an agreement a special session could be called or as Whitney Ray tells us, the federal government could allow the tribe to expand gambling and Florida would miss out on millions.

State lawmakers are gambling with a compact that could expand gaming at Seminole Tribe Casinos. Half a billion dollars is on the line, and extended session ends Friday.

House leaders want to limit the gaming expansion… even suggesting the tribe should stop BlackJack at most of its casinos. The Senate plan is more liberal.

The Senate version would bring in millions more than the House plan. The differences between the two proposals was keeping legislative leaders from reaching a budget agreement

Money from the compact was supposed to be spent on schools in next year’s budget. Now lawmakers want to stick the money into savings.”

Removing the money from the budget talks signals the negotiations could drag on. House Gaming Chairman Bill Galvano said there are still a lot of details to work out.

“There’s a lot of meat left on this bone, but at least we are here this morning, we’re resuming talks and I remain optimistic,” said Galvano.

Senate Budget Chair JD Alexander is pushing to make the Friday deadline.

“I think this is something we need to come to terms with and come up with a policy,” said Alexander.

Governor Charlie Crist says if the legislature doesn’t act, the federal government will and Florida would get nothing.

Friday state lawmakers will vote on next year’s budget.

The budget proposal was printed and given to lawmakers today. Drivers, smokers, and college students are being tapped to fill the 3 billion dollar budget deficit. The proposal includes increased licensing fees, a tobacco tax, and a tuition hike. Stimulus dollars are being used to boost K–12 education funding. Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association says using stimulus dollars to fund schools is only a temporary fix.

“We are still a little bit behind the times and if we want a top flight education system so we can get the best businesses to come to Florida we are going to need to address this problem at some point in time,” said Pudlow.

Educators said lawmakers need to change the state’s tax structure and eliminate some sales tax exemptions to find a permanent source of education funding.