A morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
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FORMER CLINTON AIDE SAYS IRS SCANDAL THREATENS HILLARY IN 2016 via the Washington Examiner.
Former Clinton White House counsel Lanny Davis said the growing IRS scandal has robbed Democrats of the so-called “trust edge” they held over Republicans and is now jeopardizing hopes that Hillary Clinton will replace President Obama in 2016.
Said Davis: “This hurts the Democratic Party and will hurt anybody who runs for president in 2016. It will make it almost impossible to elect a [Democratic] president…I’m nervous.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Because I’m asserting my right not to testify I know people will assume I’ve done something wrong. I have not. One of the basic rights of the Fifth Amendment is to protect innocent individuals and that’s the protection I’m invoking today, thank you.” — IRS official Lois Lerner, in a prepared statement before the House Oversight and Government Affairs Committee.
RUBIO CALLS FOR MORE IRS HEARINGS via POLITICO
Rubio showed his disappointment in the lack of facts coming from congressional hearings on the IRS, calling the proceedings “outrageous” and demanding a more investigative approach.
“I think both the House and the Senate should be having more investigative hearings and bringing people in to testify under oath so we can get to the bottom of what happened here,” the Florida Republican told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto on Wednesday. “It’s pretty outrageous that [IRS official Lois Lerner] went to the committee, kind of testified, got her part of the argument out and then left and said ‘I’m not going to talk anymore.’”
THE WHITE HOUSE’S PR PROBLEM
First Read: “While there is still no evidence connecting the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups directly to the White House or to the president personally, or to his re-election campaign, it doesn’t mean the White House doesn’t have a P.R. problem on its hands. And this P.R. mess is largely self-inflicted. For starters, its explanation about when it learned of the inspector general’s IRS investigation keeps changing… Then we discover that the IRS official Lois Lerner plans to plead the 5th Amendment at today’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Both developments make it SEEM like the White House or the administration has something to hide — even if the evidence (so far) is that Team Obama wasn’t directly connected to this IRS story.”
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ON RUBIO, KEY LIME PIE, AND DEBT CEILING QUARRELS by contributor Karen Cyphers
Who remembers the Key Lime v. Pecan Pie wars of 2006? Marco Rubio, then Speaker-Designate of the Florida House, voted to endorse the key lime as Florida’s state pie. Arguably, it was a tasty fluff issue for the legislature to debate.
But that’s not what Rubio was talking about Wednesday on Capitol Hill when attempting to debate the issue of raising the debt ceiling (again), when he was scolded by Sen. John McCain who jabbed that Rubio’s concern was out of place, holding hostage Senate business, and disrespectful to Americans who “deserve a budget.” Rubio countered that bringing the issue to the floor is “not a trivial matter. It’s not like I’m arguing that key lime pie be made the official pie of the United States.”
To appoint conferees to the budget, Senate leaders must get unanimous consent. Rubio is among a short list of Senate Republicans who object to these requests, insisting that assurance must first be given that the debt ceiling will not be raised in the process. To McCain, it is not “the regular order to demand certain conditions on the conferees” and chided Rubio for not trusting the process or House Republicans, on their end. “The regular order of Washington has given us a $17 trillion debt,” Rubio jabbed back. “I don’t think you can run up a $17 trillion debt without some bipartisan cooperation.”
Sounds like a serving of sweet, humble pie.
PAUL RYAN WRITING A BOOK
Ryan “is working with attorney Bob Barnett to release his first major book next year, and it’ll feature a mix of autobiography, political analysis, and policy prescriptions,” National Review reports.
So far, Ryan has been doing the writing by himself. The early theme of the draft is a broad discussion of American renewal, with an emphasis on the Republican future and the party’s need to articulate what he calls the ‘American idea.’
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GUV SAYS DEAL-MAKING IS HOT IN CHILE via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post
Scott said Wednesday that the Chilean company, Crystal Lagoons Corp., maker of the world’s largest swimming pool, is moving its worldwide headquarters to Miami.
Nearing the end of a four-day trade mission to Chile, Scott said the agreement with the Santiago-based company, which makes exotic water bodies used in resorts across the world, was among several sealed on the Enterprise Florida trip.
Scott also announced Wednesday a joint venture between Florida’s Advanced Magnet Lab and several Chilean companies that is expected to yield work within the state on wind turbine generators, aero-propulsion and space exploration products.
OP-ED OF THE DAY: “THE FLORIDA PHENOM” via Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal (Paywalled)
Is Florida back from the brink? Not all the way, but the latest state employment numbers were plenty bullish. The unemployment rate in the Sunshine State fell to 7.2 percent, and another 17,000 jobs were added —which placed it third in job creation, trailing only first-place Texas and New York.
No state collapsed more during the real-estate bubble than Florida. Property values fell in some of the pricier markets—Naples, Fort Lauderdale, Marco Island—by 50 percent or more. Unemployment climbed above 11 percent.
Now the needles are all pointed in a northward direction, and the man in charge during the turnaround is Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
… The state has seen employment rise by just over 350,000 since 2010.
… Sure, there’s a national recovery, but the unemployment rate in Florida “has fallen almost twice as much as the national average,” the governor noted. Mr. Scott credits pro-growth policies. “We cut taxes 24 times,” he said, including business and property taxes by $200 per homeowner. The budget deficit has been tamed. The housing oversupply has been cut by one-third.
NEW CATCH PHRASE FOR SCOTT? ‘IT’S UNDER REVIEW’ via James Rosica of the Tampa Tribune
Scott’s office already has one catchphrase: “It’s Working.”
He might consider one more: “It’s Being Reviewed.”
One form or another of the word “review” is a favorite of the governor and his staff when asked the status of legislation and other state business.
For example, “We’ll review it and see what it does,” Scott said when asked whether he would sign a bill passed this year that speeds up the state’s capital punishment process.
“We’re reviewing it,” he said of another bill, which would have ended lifetime alimony in Florida. He ultimately vetoed that one.
“It’s under review,” a spokesman was quoted as saying, when asked whether Scott would sign a new death warrant for Miami killer John Errol Ferguson, whose federal appeal was recently rejected.
On Wednesday, asked for an update on the Lieutenant Governor search, Scott’s press office sent a brief email in response: “This is something we are reviewing.”
SCOTT VETOES LEGAL AID MONEY FOR THIRD YEAR IN A ROW via Margie Menzel of the News Service of Florida
For the third year in a row, Gov. Scott has vetoed funding for legal aid to low-income Floridians.
The money had been slated for lawyers to help in cases of elder and child abuse, domestic violence, disabilities, consumer fraud and immigration, legal-aid officials said Wednesday. The program, funded through the Florida Access to Civil Legal Assistance Act, also helps clients gain access to federal benefits.
“The Legislature understands the need,” said Kent Spuhler, executive director of Florida Legal Services. “They were providing funding even during the recession. But we have never been able to convince the governor.”
Scott axed a $1 million appropriation for the legal-aid program Monday, as part of issuing $368 million in vetoes to the fiscal 2013-14 budget.
He wrote in his veto message, “The following is vetoed as the Civil Legal Assistance funds, distributed through the Florida Bar Foundation, have been vetoed for the past two fiscal years. The Attorney General is distributing $5 million from the National Mortgage Settlement directly to civil legal aid offices to assist homeowners in danger of foreclosure. The Attorney General will receive an additional $10 million, through Senate Bill 1852, to distribute directly to these civil legal aid offices in Fiscal Year 2013-2014.”
The problem, Spuhler said, is that those funds are only for cases related to foreclosure and housing, and not for cases dealing with issues such as domestic violence and defrauding the elderly.
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GAETZ: WEATHERFORD SHOULD BE GOVERNOR, SENATOR, “OR EVEN HIGHER” via William March of the Tampa Tribune
Gaetz told reporters he thinks House Speaker Will Weatherford “should be governor of Florida, he should be a U.S. senator or even higher.”
The comments came during a tour of Tampa Bay Technical High School in Tampa by Gaetz and Weatherford, when reporters asked them about possible future political aspirations.
Weatherford, considered a rising star in the state Republican Party, danced around the question.
“My aspirations are to spend the next year working with the Senate president doing what we did (during his first year as speaker) and then going home and being with my three daughters who are under the age of five,” he said. “They don’t get to see me very much, and so that’s my priority.
MOST LAWMAKERS MAKE THE GRADE IN THE FLORIDA CHAMBER’S 2013 REPORT CARD via contributor Karen Cyphers
At first glance it isn’t clear if the Florida Chamber merely grades on a curve, or if Florida’s lawmakers are impressively aligned on a pro-jobs agenda: in its 2013 Legislative Report Card, nearly six out of ten lawmakers scored an “A”. But at closer look, the Chamber’s grading methodology is impressively thorough, reliable and clear; a refreshing change from political scorecards issued by various other groups which toss out grades like beads at Mardi Gras.
Much like student averages in the classroom, lawmaker “grades” may in part depend on having a strong leader at the head of the room.
This year, both Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford earned 100 percent marks from the Chamber — clearing the way through their priorities for others to do the same.
In sum, 20 Senators and 73 Representatives earned As, 40 of whom joined Gaetz and Weatherford with perfect Chamber scores. If a lawmaker failed to meet the Chamber’s mark, it was not for a lack of information. Armed with 30 lobbyists, local chapter representatives, and a robust Board of Directors, the Chamber provided what could easily be considered the most thorough “study guide” in its “Where We Stand” Business Agenda. Further, lawmakers were notified prior to each vote that could impact their score that their vote would be counted toward it. In total, more than 8,000 votes on Chamber priority bills were tabulated toward this end.
PRIDE TO KEEP LICENSE PLATE CONTRACT via the News Service of Florida
After lawmakers stepped in, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued an order Wednesday that will allow a prison-industries firm to continue making the state’s license plates.
PRIDE Enterprises, which has provided license plates for about 30 years, launched a challenge early this year to a bidding process for the contract. An administrative law judge in April sided with PRIDE, and lawmakers passed a budget bill early this month that largely resolved the issue. That bill (SB 1502) will allow PRIDE to continue contracting to make license plates, though it requires the company to re-bid a type of sheeting used on plates and return 70 percent of any savings to the state. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles filed the order in the state Division of Administrative Hearings, saying the case was “moot.”
STATE SEEKS STAY IN TEACHER PAY CASE
Pointing to new legislation that could affect the case, the Florida Board of Education is asking a federal judge to put on hold a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2011 law that ties teacher pay to student performances on tests. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker has scheduled a telephone hearing Friday to consider granting the state’s request for a stay in the lawsuit, which was filed in April.
The Florida Education Association is helping spearhead the challenge to the 2011 law, arguing that some teachers’ constitutional rights would be violated because they would be evaluated on test scores or subjects they don’t teach. But in a motion filed last week, the state pointed to a measure (SB 1664) that was approved by the Legislature this spring and said it would change the criteria for evaluating teachers. “If and when the governor signs SB 1664 … in the coming weeks, however, the alleged harms of the 2011 act, the nature of the plaintiffs’ claims and the defendants’ response to the claims stand to substantively change,” the motion said. Legislative leaders had not sent the bill to Gov. Rick Scott as of Wednesday.
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HEADLINE OF THE DAY: “Bondi, other AGs ask Urban Outfitters to quit selling drugging accessories” via the Palm Beach Post
REALTORS: HOMES SALES UP 17.4 PERCENT ACROSS FLORIDA via the News Service of Florida
Statewide single-family home sales are up 17.4 percent from a year ago, Florida Realtors reported Wednesday.
The statewide sales mark was trumped in some markets. Single-family home sales jumped 32 percent in Jacksonville in the comparison of April 2013 to April 2012 numbers, 24.5 percent in the Tampa-St. Petersburg region, 46 percent in Tallahassee and 35.5 percent in Okaloosa County. Sales increases were less pronounced in the southern half of the state, where median sales prices are higher than the $165,000 statewide level. In the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market, with a median price of home sales at $250,000, the market recorded a 13 percent increase in single-family home sales. Naples, with a median sales price of $350,000, reported a 6 percent increase in single-family home sales.
Statewide, there were 20,662 single-family home sales in April. Over the same time, the state has seen its supply of single-family homes drop 33 percent. Florida Realtors chief economist John Tuccillo credited the sales increases to a stabilization of the distressed property market with the number of short sales dropping, while foreclosures and real estate owned property sales remained steady. “Because the government is selling foreclosed properties in bulk and also using online auctions, our sales numbers actually understate the vigor of the market,” Tuccillo said in a Realtors’ news release.
Florida’s median single-family sales price continues to be below the national mark of $185,100.
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BO BOHANNON NAMED CHAIR OF THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION
Hubert “Bo” Bohannon was recently selected as chairman of the board of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists (FAPL). Bohannon is principal and managing director of the Tallahassee office of The Fiorentino Group (TFG). He replaces outgoing FAPL Chair Jennifer Green and will serve a two year term.
“It is an honor to be entrusted with this leadership role,” Bohannon said. “I look forward to growing FAPL over the duration of my term and continuing to enhance the integrity of our profession.”
“We are honored that FAPL selected Bo as chairman of the board,” said Marty Fiorentino, president and founder of TFG. “His professionalism and knowledge of the political process will undoubtedly benefit the association.”
MORE EB-5 LOBBYING ACTIVITY
Another client has registered to lobby to make the pilot EB-5 program permanent. The EB-5 South Florida Regional Center has hired Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. to lobby on the program.Omar Franco, a former aide to Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart , is the lobbyist listed on the contract. The Senate Judiciary Committee recently approved an amendment to make the program permanent. It’s set to sunset at in 2015.
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