A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. Sponsored by Tucker/Hall – one of Florida’s leading public affairs and public relations firms. You need their team on your side during this Legislative session for media, grassroots and netroots support. Visit TuckerHall.com to read about their team and how they can help you.
AT GRIDIRON CLUB, OBAMA POKES FUN AT RUBIO’S SIP OF WATER
The Gridiron Club and Foundation is a prestigious journalistic organization in Washington, D.C. best known for its annual dinner, which typically hosts the American president as a guest. The dinner is based on good humor, which President Obama seemed to bring plenty of on Saturday.
“Before I begin, I know some of you have noticed that I’m dressed a little differently from the other gentlemen. Because of sequester, they cut my tails,” Obama quipped during the opening of his speech. The president then went on to excuse himself and his bad humor by stating that his “joke writers have been placed on furlough.”
Even without joke writers however, Obama managed to keep the crowd laughing.
“That, Marco Rubio, is how you take a sip of water,” Obama said, taking a deliberate pause mid speech to take a drink of water.
BUSH: ‘I’M IN SYNC WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM ON IMMIGRATION REFORM via ABC News
During an interview for “This Week,” Jeb Bush told George Stephanopolous that he was “in sync” with South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on the issue of immigration reform.
Graham, a key member of the bipartisan group of senators pushing for immigration reform, took Bush to task after the former Florida governor said Monday that he did not support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, which is a key component of the plan being pushed by the Senate group. Bush subsequently reversed course and said he could in fact support a plan that included a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already living in the United States.
“Senator Graham and I talked. He was responding to concerns that were expressed before the book was actually published,” Bush said. “I told him that I support his efforts and I applaud what he’s doing. And he concluded, after he heard what the thesis of the book is that we’re in sync. We’re on the same — on the same path.”
>>>POLITIFACT: “Over the years Bush has said he favored citizenship or legal residency, demonstrating openness to proposals that could be considered within a wider reform effort. So at times he has embraced both, or either one. … There’s no doubt, though, that the Jeb Bush in the book had a different opinion from the Jeb Bush on the book tour.
… SAYS THERE’S NO ‘BUSH BAGGAGE’
Bush says the Bush family name “will not drag down his political ambitions as he left open the possibility of running for president in 2016.”
“I don’t think there’s any Bush baggage at all. I love my brother. I’m proud of his accomplishments, Bush said. “I love my dad. I’m proud to be a Bush and if I run for president it’s not because of something in my DNA that compels me to do it.”
He added: “It would be that it’s the right the thing to do for my family, that the conditions are right and that I have something to offer.”
EXCHANGE OF THE WEEKEND as captured by Marc Caputo of the Miami Herald
On Sunday, the “Meet The Press” host learned that if you ask the former Florida governor a political-gossip question that attempts to pit him against a friend, he’ll parry and thrust.
Gregory: “Who’s the hottest Florida politician right now — Is it you or [U.S. Sen.] Marco Rubio? Who are we more likely to see in the White House?”
Bush: “Man, you guys are crack addicts. You really are obsessed with all this politics…. Marco Rubio’s a great guy…”
Gregory: “You know, I’ve been called a lot of things…”
Bush: “Okay, heroin addict. Is that better?”
SHAKY START FOR JEB 2016 – via Joe Henderson of the Tampa Tribune
First, giving a nod to hard-liners on immigration is an interesting gambit, considering how badly the GOP lost the Hispanic vote in 2012. Unless they repair that bridge, Republicans will keep losing elections.
Second, Bush was one of the first major GOP voices last year during the primaries to say the party had swerved so far to the right it had lost its way.
He was right. When GOP candidates started a mad sprint to see which one could take the most extreme position, the race was over, and Bush was positioned to be the party’s voice of reason.
He still is.
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CRIST NOW ADMITTING HE’S “THINKING” ABOUT RUNNING FOR GUV
Asked by a reporter if he would run as a Democratic candidate for governor, Crist (finally) admitted the idea is on his mind.
“Well I’m thinking about it, there’s no question about that,” said Crist who added he hasn’t made the big decision yet.
“I haven’t reached any conclusion, I’m just taking the opportunity to listen to my fellow Floridians and give it serious thought,” said Crist.
So what would be Crist’s focus if he does choose to join the race?
“Things that I think are important to all of our fellow Floridians: education, the environment, ethics; I mean these are things that aren’t new,” said Crist. “Talking about how we can help our economy move forward, fortunately we’re starting to see that in a small degree and I just hope it continues.”
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BUDGET ALLOCATIONS MAY COME NEXT WEEK ON SENATE SIDE via the News Service of Florida
Budget allocations, the amounts of money earmarked for each part of the proposed budget, are likely to be finalized by Senate budget writers by the end of next week, a spokeswoman for the Senate said Friday.
Katie Betta, spokeswoman for Senate President Don Gaetz, said Senate Budget Chairman Joe Negron and other leaders will work over the weekend to try to reach a final figure on how much will be allocated to education, and how much to health care and other parts of the proposed Senate budget. Once budget subcommittees know what they will have to work with, they can more easily begin crafting the details of the individual pieces of the proposed spending plan. House leaders haven’t said when they’ll produce budget allocations.
SENATORS TO DISCUSS MEDICAID EXPANSION TODAY via James Call of the Florida Current
The Florida Senate Select Committee on PPACA, which will make recommendations on how to implement the Affordable Care Act, meets Monday afternoon to discuss Medicaid expansion. A House select committee has already voted not to recommend lowering income eligibility and extending coverage to childless adults in the joint federal-state health plan for the poor.
“Sounded to me like, no, no, hell no,” said Senate President Don Gaetz about the House committee vote and other comments coming from House members.
Lawmakers also have to decide how to reconcile the state insurance code with the ACA and whether to set up an online insurance exchange, but expansion seems to generate the most interest and passion from residents and lawmakers.
SOBEL WILL TRY AMENDED CIVIL UNION BILL TOMORROW
Sen. Eleanor Sobel’s Children and Families Committee will hear on Tuesday an amended version of her proposal to provide domestic partnership benefits, which would spell out certain limited benefits unmarried couples could have under the law.
Sobel said in an interview Friday with The News Service of Florida that she listened to concerns during last week’s hearing on the bill in the committee and believes the measure that will be presented on Tuesday will have a better chance to pass.
Sobel pulled the bill (SB 196) from consideration at the panel’s meeting last week when it became apparent that the votes weren’t there to pass the measure. Under an amended version of the proposal to be heard Tuesday, the bill would spell out specific rights that unmarried couples could be granted if they’re on a domestic partnership registry, rather than the potentially much broader group of rights that could have been conferred by the original legislation.
Sobel said the new bill would seek to give unmarried couples, straight or gay, the ability to visit each other in hospitals, to share rooms in certain places like assisted living facilities, and the ability to jointly own real estate. “It will be more narrowly defined, more clearly defined,” Sobel said, noting that the new version will be based on existing domestic partnership registries already used in some Florida cities and counties.
Opponents of the bill said in last week’s Children and Families Committee meeting that it was too broad. Sobel, who is chairwoman of the committee despite being a Democrat in a Republican-controlled Senate, said just getting to bring the bill up for a committee vote and get it debated was an accomplishment. “Civil unions have never even been heard in the Florida Legislature,” she said. “This is a major milestone, the fact we’re even having this debate.”
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Advocates for domestic partnerships will speak at a news conference ahead of the Tuesday Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee meeting on why protections are needed. Janice Langbehn will speak about how she was denied access to her partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, for over eight hours as Pond slipped into a coma and died at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital. Sen. Sobel will also speak at the news conference along with other advocates for the bill. 12:30 p.m., Fourth Floor Rotunda, Senate side
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5 QUESTIONS FOR REP. KATIE EDWARDS here, including:
Q: You’re in a unique position as a centrist Democrat at a time of increasing bipartisanship in Tallahassee. Is it a role you embrace?
EDWARDS: I love it, and I think there are many more like me out there. I think there are people that really do want to focus, first and foremost, on getting Floridians back to work, and secondly, on improving our education system. Granted, there are lots of ideas on how we go about doing it, but I think in having the debate, we end up with a much better product than we would have had had it just been one person’s agenda or one party’s agenda.
Since the minority party, the Democrats, have increased numbers, that forces the Republicans to look at our numbers and say, “They should have a voice in the process and they should have their concerns vetted and heard in a very fair and transparent way.”
So I think at the end of the day it’s hopefully going to result in a better product than what we began with.
COLEY NAMED TO COMMITTEES IN FORD’S ABSENCE by Bruce Ritchie of the Florida Current
Rep. Marti Coley has been assigned to committees in Rep. Clay Ford’s absence from the Legislature for health reasons.
Ford missed committee meetings during the past month and missed the opening week of the legislative session.
An aide in his legislative office said Friday that Ford was recovering from surgery. Ford informedHouse Speaker Will Weatherford that he plans to return in a week or two.
Ford is chairman of the House Energy & Utilities Subcommittee. He also serves on theJudiciary Committee, the Regulatory Affairs Committee and the Rules & Calendar Committee. Energy subcommittee members this week said they missed Ford and looked forward to his return.
LEGISLATIVE STAFFING MERRY-GO-ROUND
On: Farisha Hamid has joined Sen. Audrey Gibson’s office as a legislative assistant.
Off: August Mangeney has left the job of legislative assistant in In Sen. Maria Sachs’ office.
On: Chris McElroy has joined the Health & Human Services Committee as staff attorney.
On: Sue Mullins has been named a legislative analyst with the Senate Minority Office.
On: Kassandra Timothe is now in Sen. Arthenia Joyner’s office working as a legislative assistant.
On: Stephanie Dougherty has joined the House’s Local & Federal Affairs Committee as a staff attorney.
On: Hector Martinez is now a district secretary for Rep. Holly Raschein.
On: Brett Prater has joined Rep. Steve Crisafulli’s office as staff director.
Off: Jamil Rivers has left Rep. Kionne McGhee’s office
On: Janet Roder is now a legislative assistant in Rep. Larry Ahern’s office.
On: Michelle Tait is now a district secretary in Rep. Doug Broxson’s office.
TWEETS OF THE WEEKEND: @RichardCorcoran: Kate’s first Scripps Spelling Bee competition about to start! >>> @Richardcorcoran: Who knew they have half-times at spelling bees. #clearlymyfirstrodeo
***Today’s SUNBURN is brought to you by the Florida Medical Association: Affordable, safe, patient-centered health care in Florida starts with a physician-led team, with all health care professionals playing valuable and appropriate roles. Learn more here.***
LEGISLATIVE PREVIEWS via The News Service of Florida
In the House
Claims Bills: The House Select Committee on Claims Bills workshops a proposed committee bill. Among the suggestions that have been made for changes in the claims bill system are a limit on payouts, a cap on lobbying fees, and various other changes meant to make the claims bills less arbitrary. 3 p.m., 404 House Office Building
Pari-mutuels before House Select Committee on Gaming: The ongoing two-year review of gambling in Florida continues with the House Select Committee on Gaming getting an overview of the state’s vast array of pari-mutuel wagering, which runs from horse and greyhound race tracks to jai alai frontons, poker rooms, and slot facilities in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. The committee hears from industry and state regulatory officials. 4 p.m.,17 House Office Building
In the Senate
Senate Panel Discusses Medicaid Expansion: The Senate Select Committee on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will discuss a potential expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the law better known as Obamacare. Gov. Rick Scott has endorsed the expansion, but House Speaker Will Weatherford and other House Republicans have opposed it. The Senate select committee, which has been studying the federal health law for weeks, has not taken a position on the expansion. 1 p.m., 412 Knott Building
Campaign Finance Bill Up In Senate E&E: One of the Legislature’s busiest committees so far moves to campaign finance with Senate Bill 1382, a measure by Sen. Jack Latvala that would do away with “committees of continuous existence.” The Senate Ethics and Elections committee also takes up two measures by Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate — one aimed at reducing the use of paper in state government (SB 1352) and another exempting voters’ email addresses from the state’s Sunshine laws (SB 1260) — and Senate Bill 544, by Sen. Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, which would allow lawmakers to use public buildings without running afoul of the legislative gift ban. The panel will also consider a slate of confirmations. 3:30 p.m., 412 Knott Building
The Senate Agriculture Committee on Monday takes up legislation dealing with agritourism (SB 1106), and agricultural lands (SB 1190). Another bill before the committee (SB 674) would require animal shelters to keep records on how many animals they euthanize and require taxpayer-funded shelters to make those records available to the public. The committee will also hear a presentation on the impact of the 2010 BP oil spill from Mimi Drew, special advisor at the Department of Environmental Protection. 3:30 p.m., 301 Senate Office Building
The Senate Criminal Justice Committee takes up a bill dealing with distribution of pornographic material at schools (SB 86), abuse of juvenile offenders (SB 678) and a perennial dispute involving unions and “wage theft” (SB 1216), among several other bills. 3:30 p.m., 37 Senate Office Building
***Today’s SUNBURN is sponsored by Public Affairs Consultants Inc., one of the oldest and most well respected Public Affairs and Governmental Consulting firms in Florida. The PA Team of Jack and Keyna Cory and Erin Daly have represented clients before the Florida Legislature, state agencies and local governments for over 20 years.***
APPOINTED: Gary Bryan Anderson to the Florida Film and Entertainment Advisory Council; Carlos Beruff and George Mann to the Governing Board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
SCOTT APPOINTS THREE TO FISH & WILDLIFE COMMISSION
Scott announced the appointment of Adrien “Bo” Rivard and the reappointments of Ronald Bergeron and Richard Corbett to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
TRIPP REAPPOINTED TO BOARD OF GOVERNORS
Gov. Scott on Friday reappointed Fort Lauderdale attorney Norman Tripp to a seat on the state university system’s Board of Governors. Tripp, 74, whose appointment is subject to Senate confirmation, would serve a term scheduled to end Jan. 6, 2020, according to a news release from Scott’s office.
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AL LAWSON LOBBYING FOR BUSH ED GROUP
Former lawmaker Al Lawson, whose support for school choice sometimes split him from other Democrats, is lobbying for the Foundation for Florida’s Future — a group led by former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush that pushes for changes in the education system.
Lawson served 28 years in the House and Senate before making two unsuccessful runs for Congress, most recently losing in November to U.S. Rep. Steve Southerland.
He also is registered to lobby for the Florida Health Care Association, a nursing-home industry group, and Innovative Health Care Properties Inc., a nursing-home firm, according to state lobbyist registration records posted online.
CONSUMER ENERGY ALLIANCE, FLORIDA CHAMBER TO HOST ‘ENERGY 101″ BRIEFING
The Consumer Energy Alliance-Florida, in partnership with the Florida Chamber of Commerce, will present an “Energy 101” briefing featuring top business and legislative leaders on energy issues. Discussions will focus on key issues affecting energy policy for Florida and America. The event will be held from 1:00-2:30 p.m. in Room 333 of the Florida Capitol.
Presenters at the briefing will include Michael Zehr, Vice President of the national Consumer Energy Alliance and a former advisor to U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell; Leticia Adams, energy policy director for the Florida Chamber; Beth Richardson, Miami-based head of the Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Service team for the Consulate General of Canada; and David Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council. Key legislators have also been invited to speak.
EDWARD BRIGGS JOINS RSA CONSULTING
Edward Briggs has joined Brandon-based lobbying firm RSA Consulting Group where he will work with Ron Pierce and Natalie King.
Prior to joining RSA in February, Briggs was grassroots coordinator forSen. Tom Lee’s campaign in Brandon, and helped Lee as a legislative aide during his transition to Tallahassee. Before that, Briggs worked for the Republican Party of Florida in Tallahassee in Senate campaigns. He’s a native of Tallahassee.
GET READY FOR THE RETURN OF TALLYMADNESS — AN ONLINE VOTING COMPETITION TO DETERMINE THE “BEST” LOBBYIST IN FLORIDA
Just like college basketball fans who fill out their brackets as part of “March Madness”, political aficionados in the capital and beyond can vote on a series of bracketed match-ups pitting Florida’s top lobbyists against each other.
Right now, we are still accepting nominations for who should make the big dance. From there, a select, anonymous committee will then seed the lobbyists, 1 through 64. Voters will select the winner of each match-up, with first round voting beginning March 19.
If you would like to nominate a lobbyist or would like to serve on the select committee, please e-mail me at [email protected].
Voters can also follow @TallyMadness on Twitter, where sneak-peaks of current match-up will be provided, along with other interesting news and tidbits.
Those who visit TallyMadness.com are asked to e-mail any suggestions they have to improve the site — and later-round voting — to [email protected].
NEW LOBBYING REGISTRATIONS
Keith Arnold, Fowler White: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
Thomas Barlow: Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County
Ari Bruening, Robert Grow: Suburban Land Reserve, Inc
Roger Collins: Sunovion Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Isaac Dean: Florida Crystals Corporation
Tracy Horenbein, Florida Consultants: SGS Technologies
Jason Roth: United Way of Northeast Florida
Daniel Sumner: Citizens Property Insurance Corporation
William Warren: Foundation for Florida’s Future
***Come celebrate with Florida’s premier think tank, The James Madison Institute, on Wed., March 13, at JMI’s 25th Anniversary Gala to be held at The University Center Club at Florida State University. Watch the video invitation from event guest speaker, Speaker of the Florida House Will Weatherford. Follow updates on Twitter: #JMI25***
HAPPY BIRTHDAY belatedly to lobbyist Shawn Foster. Celebrating today is Amy Ritter, the exec. director of Florida Action Watch, Emily Thoemke and former Times reporter and now TIA spox Janet Zink.
WORTH A READ: Senior legislative aide Greg Giordano writes a weekly column, “To Tallahassee and Back.” This week he discusses the debate over expanding Medicaid. Check it out here.
