Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Mitch Perry, Ryan Ray, and Jim Rosica.
It can’t always be about Donald Trump.
It can’t always be about Jeb and Marco.
Occasionally, you have to eat your broccoli.
Occasionally, you better eat your Wheaties.
Wednesday and Thursday will be all about the presidential debate. But today is about policy and bills and legislation.
IT’S TOO SOON TO DECIDE U.S. QUOTA FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES, BILL NELSON SAYS via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
It’s too early to decide how many Syrian refugees should be allowed into the United States, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said … “To be determined” … The burden should be shared by all European nations, he said.
Bowing to international pressure, President Barack Obama said … the U.S. will take in about 10,000 refugees from war-torn Syria during the coming year: “The refugee crisis is not just a European problem; it’s a world problem, and we have obligations.” Nelson said the ultimate solution for Russia and Iran to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to forge a political settlement for a peace in the region. “Until we get that kind of settlement, you’re going to still have people fleeing Syrian and therefore creating this refugee problem.”
VERN BUCHANAN WANTS MITCH MCCONNELL TO BRING IRAN DEAL DEBATE TO SENATE FLOOR via Kevin Derby of the Sunshine State News
Buchanan … urged U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell … to bypass a filibuster and bring a measure against President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran to the Senate floor. “The Senate’s refusal to debate or vote on the most important nuclear arms agreement in decades is appalling and a national embarrassment,” Buchanan wrote in a letter sent to McConnell … “National security is too important to be held hostage by partisan obstructionists who won’t even allow a debate on the issue … It’s time to play hardball and break the filibuster – too much is at stake.”
DAVID JOLLY CALLS FOR HIGHER STIPENDS FOR MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS via Kevin Derby of the Sunshine State News
Jolly … is the House sponsor of a bill raising monthly stipends for Medal of Honor winners to $3,000 a month … Lindsey Graham … is the Senate sponsor. Currently Medal of Honor recipients receive slightly more than a $1,000 a month in stipends … currently 79 Medal of Honor recipients who are alive.
“The acts of bravery, courage and valor demonstrated by this group of heroes who fought for our nation goes well above and beyond the call of duty,” Jolly said … “This is one small way that we can repay a tremendous debt of gratitude for these individuals who have done so much while protecting our freedom.”
ANDY GARDINER DEFENDS DECISION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDING via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
Gardiner … defended his chamber’s position on funding the state’s business incentives, three months after Florida’s economic development czar complained lawmakers were starving him of money. “(W)e need to change how we fund economic development,” Gardner said in a memo to senators. “A business would not set aside the total funds needed for a long-term investment years before the first payment is needed,” he said. “Instead a business budgets to ensure that funding is available when needed, similar to the way we currently budget for all the other programs in the toolkit.”
DOROTHY HUKILL WANTS FURTHER CUT TO STATE CELLPHONE TAX via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
Sen. Hukill has filed legislation to further drop the state tax on cellphone service and cable and satellite television … her bill (SB 256) … would cut the “communication services tax,” or CST, another 2 percent to 2.92 percent, and the separate rate on direct-to-home satellite service to 7.07 percent … “I think (the CST) is still too high … we can do better and pick at it some more.”
TOM LEE WILL TRY AGAIN TO OVERHAUL ALIMONY, CUSTODY LAWS via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
Sen. Lee won’t give up on trying to amend Florida law on alimony and child custody … filed a bill (SB 250) to change the way divorces are handled in state courts. The latest legislation … would enact a raft of provisions, including: Requiring a judge to “make specific written findings of fact regarding the relevant factors that justify an award of alimony” … Changing the calculations for alimony amounts to make it less easy to obtain … Excluding undistributed “earnings or gains on retirement accounts” when determining income for alimony purposes … Creating a legal presumption that “approximately equal time-sharing with a minor child by both parents is … in the (child’s) best interest” … Requiring a judge to consider “the frequency that a parent would likely leave the child in the care of a non-relative … when the other parent would be available and willing to provide care” when deliberating custody time.
AS MEDICAID COSTS SOAR ANOTHER $600 MILLION, HOSPITALS POINT TO FEDS, UNDERFUNDING AND HMOS via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald
(In) the midst of the good news that Florida will have a surplus of $635 million in revenue, the cost of providing health care to the poor and uninsured continues to soar … cost of Medicaid will rise by $600 million as more people become eligible for the program and the federal government steers the state $400 million less in Low Income Pool money than it received this year to reimburse hospitals for charity care.
Safety Net Alliance Hospital Alliance of Florida issued a statement … explaining that the state’s chronic underfunding of Medicaid and federal requirements governing reimbursement rates for Medicaid HMOs are the reasons for the growth in the Medicaid budget — not hospitals. “In fact, hospital costs will experience one of the smallest percentage increases across most of the major Medicaid program categories,” the group wrote … hospitals that provide the bulk of the uncompensated care in Florida are advancing another argument.
AARON BEAN SAYS MEDICAID EXPANSION UNLIKELY IN 2016 via Ryan Benk of WJCT.org
Senate Health Policy Chair Aaron Bean … is predicting Medicaid expansion won’t be a factor during the next legislative session … his focus will be on bringing down health care costs, rather than expanding coverage in 2016.
Bean’s statements may signal that the upper chamber intends to move closer to the House when it comes to addressing health care next session. Bean wants to expand telemedicine and allow patients to pay primary care doctors directly without involving insurance companies.
“I’ve already reached out to my counterpart … Jason Brodeur … I’ve already asked could we meet together. Is it possible we could all come together and relook at all these programs to see can it deliver better care? Can it deliver better access? Can we get better results?”
CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ORGANIZATION LED BY BARNEY BISHOP BLEEDING BOARD MEMBERS via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics
A Tallahassee-based advocacy group led by veteran lobbyist Barney Bishop has had a mass exodus of board members … including one who accused Bishop of being motivated by “self-aggrandizement and personal gain.”
(Group) founder and former chair Lori Costantino-Brown … members Pamela Alvarez, Catherine Craig-Myers, Jim DeBeaugrine and Mary Lynn Ulrey had all turned in resignation letters to the Florida Smart Justice Alliance … Craig-Myers said the resignations were from those who supported a motion to fire Bishop and lost.
And last month, the Internal Revenue Service posted a notice it had “automatically revoked” the alliance’s tax-exempt status … The reason for the revocation: The organization has not filed its annual financial disclosure as required by federal law for three consecutive years.
In her Sept. 3 resignation letter, Costantino-Brown said the organization “no longer represents the ideals it was founded upon” … she could not “support or engage in an entity that is associated with Mr. Barney Bishop in any capacity.”
“It was brought to my attention over the last few months that Mr. Bishop’s operations with regard to ‘smart justice’ were directed towards self-aggrandizement and personal gain, as well as substantially damaging to its reputation and advancement of mission,” Costantino-Brown wrote.
FIRESTORM OF OPPOSITION KILLS NEW DRIVER LICENSE ISSUANCE PLAN via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times
Florida’s highway safety agency, bowing to fierce opposition from elected county tax collectors … scrapped plans to switch to a radically different system of issuing millions of driver’s licenses.
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles … said the current system would remain in place, in which most motorists are given licenses or state ID cards in over-the-counter transactions … quietly been studying a new so-called central issuance system, under greater control of a private vendor, in which motorists would get temporary paper licenses until their real licenses arrive in the mail. That system is in use in nearly three dozen states. “We have determined that the central issuance model would not enhance customer service and could be perceived as an inconvenience” … Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano was a vocal critic of the idea and claimed it was being studied to benefit a private vendor, which state officials said was untrue.
FUNDING SHORTAGE LEADS TO BACKLOGGED CRIME LABS, AGING PATROL VEHICLES AND HUGE LAW ENFORCEMENT TURNOVER via Jeremy Wallace of the Tampa Bay Times
Florida’s law enforcement agencies are struggling under the weight of more demands on their time and not enough money to keep pace … having a widespread impact on solving crimes as well as protecting law enforcement officers and the public: Processing crime scene evidence in state-run labs is taking twice as long in some cases … More than a quarter of the state’s Highway Patrol officers are driving pursuit vehicles that will be “increasingly unsafe” if not replaced … And poor pay has resulted in massive staff turnover, forcing the state to provide less experienced detectives to help local authorities solve serious crimes including homicide. While the state has used its surplus to cut taxes by more than $400 million, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Florida Highway Patrol have struggled to maintain some services, most notably processing evidence in the crime lab.
Beyond public safety risks, underfunding has had a trickle-down effect, forcing local governments to spend more on services that used to be handled nearly exclusively by the state.
UBER FIGHT GROWING FAST AND FURIOUS IN FLORIDA via Eliot Kleinberg of the Palm Beach Post
Taxi companies from Broward County and Tallahassee twice sued the state over its handling of Uber and Lyft … Scott went on record … as agreeing with several South Florida legislators that uniform statewide rules are needed. Meanwhile, the Broward County Commission is set to vote … on its new law regulating such companies … The Palm Beach County Commission is scheduled to vote on its similar new law on Sept. 22 … Palm Beach County has already been sued by five taxi and limousine companies in the county. In May, they filed a class action lawsuit claiming the county is giving special treatment to Uber. That suit is pending. Meanwhile, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties all have handled the fight between taxis and Uber-like firms differently, producing a regional chaos that has led the three counties to at least agree that the state Legislature needs to pass a statewide law.
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SHOT: @MaryEllenKlas: Update on Florida #redistricting: Court is observing Rosh Hashanah, so deadline is moved to Tuesday for submission of maps.
CHASER: @JaredRosenstein: Was there not a single jewish attorney present when they agreed to Monday #OyVey
HOUSE STICKS TO SCRIPT IN CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING PLAN SENT TO COURT via John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post
The Florida House offered no surprises … by recommending to a court a pair of congressional redistricting plans it advanced during a doomed special session last month … standing by the plan it approved on a 60-38 vote last month. Lawyers for the chamber also submitted … a staff-drawn “base” map that had been prepared in cooperation with the Senate … “for informational purposes” … For Palm Beach County, all the maps likely … will reconfigure the vertically shaped districts held by U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel … and Ted Deutch … instead stacking them horizontally.
House Redistricting Chairman Jose Oliva … had touted the House-approved map … saying it was better because it kept two more cities wholly in congressional districts than what the Senate was proposing … Riviera Beach and Sunrise … In the House map, both cities were kept completely within District 20, now held by U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings.
By contrast, the base proposal and the Senate map tucked a portion of Riviera Beach’s Singer Island into District 18 seat of U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy … along with almost 17,000 voters in Sunrise placed in the reconfigured District 22 held by Frankel.
SENATE GIVES COURT TWO MAPS – GALVANO COMPROMISE AND ORIGINAL via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald
The Florida Senate took a gamble … submitting one congressional redistricting map that has never been voted on, and another that was rejected by the Florida House as part of its official submission as ordered by the court … The Senate’s decision to include two maps could lead to speculation about the Senate’s motives. In addition to submitting the map approved by 23 senators, it also included a map proposed by Sen. Bill Galvano … drafted by Senate staff at his direction six days after the session ended.
Galvano said his map was intended to compromise between the map that passed the House and changes sought in the Senate, with the exception of keeping Hillsborough whole — a change that House leaders suspected was intended to benefit an unnamed Republican. Instead, Galvano’s revisions … incorporates all the changes made to the base map drawn by the House and Senate staff and notes that 23 of the 27 districts “are identical to districts in the last map passed by the House” and retains “17 of the 27 districts” in the base plan.
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RICK SCOTT STAYS MUM ON PLANNED PARENTHOOD FUNDING via Christine Sexton of POLITICO Florida
Scott … refused to say whether conservative Republicans in Congress should tie Planned Parenthood funding to a budget-continuation bill … refused to directly answer whether it was a good decision for Republicans to link the issues.
“I got elected to run Florida … I’m sure they can make their own decisions up there.”
When the reporter pressed — noting that a government shutdown could adversely affect Florida — Scott replied, “I am going to worry about my own budget.”
SCOTT APPOINTS EX-CANDIDATES TO BOARD OF MAJOR HOSPITAL SYSTEM via Christine Sexton of POLITICO Florida
Scott has appointed two Republican office-seekers to the South Broward Hospital District Board of Commissioners. One of the appointees donated to his political committee … Karen Harrington, who lost bids to unseat U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in 2010 and again in 2012, was appointed to the board by Scott earlier this week … also reappointed … Douglas Harrison, who in 2012 ran against Democrat Richard Stark for the state House of Representatives.
Harrison … contributed $1,000 in 2014 to the Let’s Get to Work campaign … an assistant city attorney for the city of Miami and currently serves as the secretary and treasurer for the hospital district. Harrington is the owner of Rickey’s Restaurants in Broward County.
SCOTT AND GOP LAWMAKERS CLASH OVER SPENDING ON JOB INCENTIVES via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times
A clash intensified … between Scott and his fellow Republicans who control the Florida Senate over hundreds of millions of tax dollars used as bait to attract jobs from out of state. Senate President Andy Gardiner … questioned for the first time whether Enterprise Florida has the legal right to keep hundreds of millions in job incentive money in escrow bank accounts where it draws virtually no interest … cited problems with one incentive program in particular, the Quick Action Closing Fund, in which Enterprise Florida puts money in escrow. The money is paid to employers over a period of up to 12 years as they create promised jobs.
Scott … is board chairman of Enterprise Florida … “Let’s deal with the facts. If we recruit a company to come to our state, you have to allocate the dollars. Those dollars are absolutely committed to those companies.”
Gardiner said the Senate’s position is that Enterprise Florida isn’t spending all the money it gets from the Legislature, yet keeps demanding more.
TWEET, TWEET: @DeniseGrimsley: Runners ran in the dark this morning in Sebring thanks to the Governor’s veto for replacement lighting on Hwy 27.
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Gov. Scott will attend the Blue Origin announcement at Cape Canaveral, beginning 9:45 a.m. at the Exploration Tower, 670 Dave Nisbet Drive in Port Canaveral. Then, the governor will recognize students and business leaders with the Young Entrepreneur Award beginning 2:15 p.m. at the Miami Venture Hive, 1010 NE 2nd Avenue in Miami.
FLORIDA CLERKS TO USE NEW FORMS AFTER GAY MARRIAGE RULING via the Associated Press
Florida’s court clerks are going to start using new marriage and divorce forms that no longer use the words “husband” and “wife” … began sending the new forms to county clerks. Clerks asked for new forms after Florida’s ban on same sex marriage ended … The new forms will have the words “spouse” instead of husband and wife or bride and groom … start using the revised forms on Oct. 1.
FLORIDA’S FIREFIGHTERS LEFT IN A STATE OF CONFUSION BY NEW FIRE ALARM LAW via Katie Mettler of the Tampa Bay Times
Lawmakers say they never intended for an obscure change in the state building code this year to outlaw installation of 9-volt battery smoke detectors by fire departments across Florida … But that’s how fire officials, particularly in the Tampa Bay area, interpreted the law’s contradictory language.
“This really was just bad legislation,” said Tampa Fire Rescue Chief Tom Forward. “No one will absolutely put fingerprints on it, and that’s the part that’s got me obviously irate.”
Last year, the Florida home-building industry sought to change the law to save contractors money. The new statute, 553.883, states that family homes undergoing low-level construction or renovation can install required smoke alarms powered by 10-year lithium batteries instead of adding more expensive, hard-wired alarms … That’s not what’s confusing … It’s the next paragraph — declaring that those longer-life alarms “must” be installed — that has left state officials at a loss and fire departments frustrated … fire officials believe the law barred them from handing out cheaper 9-volt-powered fire alarms. Those inexpensive devices are one of their main tools in improving the fire safety of the most vulnerable: the poor and elderly. Authors of the bill, however, say it was meant to apply to contractors — not firefighters. The law’s language, however, doesn’t specify whom it applies to.
LATEST ON THE LEGISLATIVE STAFFING MERRY-GO-ROUND via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools
With a tip of the hat to Legislative IQ powered by LobbyTools, here are the latest movements – both on and off – of the legislative merry-go-round.
On: Luke Strickland is a new legislative assistant in the Senate Majority Office.
Off: Christine DonFrancesco is no longer a legislative assistant for Wellington Democrat state Sen. Joseph Abruzzo.
Off: Katie Martin is no longer a legislative assistant for Lakeland Republican state Sen.Kelli Stargel.
On: John Kotyk became a legislative assistant for Elkton Republican state Sen. Travis Hutson.
Off: Gina Herron has left as legislative assistant for Senate President Andy Gardiner.
On: Kevin Deo is Gardiner’s new legislative assistant.
Off: Jesus Tundidor is no longer legislative assistant for Hialeah Republican state Sen.Rene Garcia.
On: Miguel Abad is Garcia’s new legislative assistant.
Off: Nicholas Abrahams is no longer legislative assistant in the Ocala office for state Sen. Charlie Dean.
On: Kyle Langan is Dean’s new legislative assistant in Ocala.
On and Off: Legislative Assistant Tracy Brooks moved from state Sen. Darren Soto‘s Kissimmee office to his Orlando office.
ALAN HAYS SEEKS PRESIDENCY OF HOMETOWN COLLEGE via Steve Bousquet of the Tampa Bay Times
Republican state Sen. Alan Hays of Umatilla wants to be the next president of Lake Sumter State College north of Orlando … one of 50 recommended finalists from an original pool of 202 candidates. Dr. Charles Mojock, who has been college president for more than 12 years, will retire at the end of the year. The Leesburg-based college was created in 1962. Hays would be the second legislator to join the current ranks of college presidents: former Rep. Joe Pickens of Palatka is president of St. Johns River State College in northeast Florida.
POLICY NOTES via Legislative IQ powered by Lobby Tools
BUDGET COMMISSION CONSIDERS LONG-RANGE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK
Joint Legislative Budget Commission hears a presentation on the Long-Range Financial Outlook and considers amendments to the current budget. Presentations coincide with the Legislative Budget Request deadline for state agencies. Meeting starts 3 p.m. in Room 212 of the Knott Building
RECOMMNEDATIONS ON ASSESSMENT TESTING
A series of public meetings will hear recommendations on how the state will score the new Florida Standards Assessments exams for language arts and math. The first meeting starts 4:30 p.m. at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale.
PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION WORKSHOPS 10-YEAR PROJECTIONS
Florida’s Public Service Commission meets to address issues over water, telecommunications and power companies, as well as a workshop on 10-year plans for electric utilities, power-plant upgrades and other matters. Regular meeting begins 9:30 a.m., with the workshop at 1:30 p.m., at the Betty Easley Conference Center, 4075 Esplanade Way in Tallahassee.
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DUVAL GOP CHAIRMAN LAKE RAY TALKS DONORS, TALLAHASSEE, JAX HRO via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
Local political parties tend to attract strong egos. As HD 12 Representative Lake Ray settles into this role on the GOP side … he is cognizant of a real challenge more than one candidate for party chair earlier this summer voiced: how to broaden the party, as it was in the past.
Ray … said fundraising was going well … The goal: broadening the donor base, making donations “more regular from a larger number of people” … To that end, outreach to some of those who expressed interest in the role has been a priority … Ray is reaching out to those who may have “been active for a while, then disappeared,” including previous chairs and the “original REC backbone,” and opponents like Jack Webb, who will become a part of the REC going forward, and old-school Republicans from back in the day, when “being Republican was not a path to electoral success.”
As well, an important resource will be Jerry Holland, a friend of Ray’s from days when they both served on City Council, who has “one of the best political minds” of anyone Ray knows … Ray understands from his time in Tallahassee, fundraising is a perpetual thing … “it can be very difficult to ask” for donations from recent contributors.
CONTEXT FLORIDA: SCOTT’S RECORD OF SHAME, WINDOWS 10, HURRICANE GERRYMANDERING AND LAKE POINT
On Context Florida: Diane Roberts tallies up Rick Scott’s scorecard of shame when it comes to the environment. Her personal favorite is the $174,078,574 in designated Amendment 1 money for salaries and overhead in the Department of Agriculture, DEP, FWC and the Department of State. The state is supposed to be paying salaries and insurance anyway, Roberts says, while pointing out that subsidizing the Department of Agriculture in its aiding and abetting of big polluters is just moronic. And contrary to the will of Floridians. Windows 10 is here and people are jumping all over it like hipsters at Urban Outfitters, writes Blake Dowling. But a general best practice is to wait out the latest and greatest and let it stabilize before jumping aboard. Jac Wilder VerSteeg says it appears there is – or shortly could be – a practice that could be described as hurricane gerrymandering. If this strangeness comes about, blame the late, not-so-great “Hurricane” Erika. The National Hurricane Center is considering major changes to the way it warns folks that hurricanes might strike. For A.G. Gancarski, watching Best of Enemies, the new movie about the series of debates Gore Vidal and William Buckley had at the 1968 Republican Convention in Miami and Democratic Convention in Chicago is a lesson in parallelism. Sally Swartz reports on victories in the ongoing battles between Martin County residents and governments and Lake Point – plus an unrelated win upholding Martin’s protective growth plan – which gave county residents reason to celebrate last week with four big wins.
Visit Context Florida to dig in.
FLORIDA IN MIDDLE OF PORT, AIRPORT BUILDING. IS IT ENOUGH? via Mike Schneider of the Associated Press
With Florida on pace to host a record 100 million visitors this year, the state’s tourism infrastructure is being challenged like never before … four large-hub airports and five major seaports are undergoing billions of dollars in renovations and construction, but some experts says Florida will have to adapt to even further increases in demand to remain competitive … airports are getting more crowded as the state’s airports add direct flights to far-flung cities and tourism numbers surpass pre-Great Recession levels … Half of Florida’s visitors arrive by air … only Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport has the risk of overcapacity by 2030, if runway expansion projects aren’t finished … But the FAA has put three other Florida airports on a “caution list” … need to be monitored for delays. Congestion could be troublesome by 2020 at Miami International Airport, the state’s busiest airport with 40.5 million passengers annually. By 2030, congestion could also hit Orlando, Tampa International Airport, as well as Miami … seaports also are growing more crowded as the cruise industry builds bigger ships, attracts more international tourists and continues to be the fastest-growing segment in the tourism industry, with a growth rate of about 7 percent a year … 15 seaports are undergoing $3.5 billion in capital improvements over the next five years with construction projects that will reverberate through the cruise industry since almost two-thirds of all U.S. cruise passengers pass through Florida’s ports.
PORT EVERGLADES RECORD TRADE TOPS PORT MIAMI via Doreen Hemlock of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Last year, Port Everglades reported record trade with the world for the fourth straight year, handling $27.15 billion in goods, up 6.75 percent from the previous year, a new report found.
That growth was stronger than the 0.36 percent gain in the U.S. trade as a whole last year. The value of goods handled also surpassed the $23.71 billion imported and exported at PortMiami, where trade declined by 2.4 percent last year, WorldCity found in its 64-page publication.
Port Everglades last year ranked No. 14 among all seaports nationwide by value of trade, trailing far behind the $290.18 billon handled by the Port of Los Angeles. That seaport handles mainly imports from Asia and has a $210.2 billion trade deficit of imports exceeding exports, the census numbers show.
In contrast, Port Everglades has more balance between imports and exports, based largely on shipments to and from Latin America and the Caribbean. It had a slim surplus last year, with $13.62 billion in exports (including many high-tech goods) and $13.51 in imports (including fuel products), the report said.
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— ALRIGHT, A LITTLE 2016’ING —
POLL DU JOUR: Donald Trump tops the GOP field with 33%, followed by Carson with 20%, according to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll. Jeb Bush places third with 8%, followed by Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio with 7% each, Rand Paul with 5%, Mike Huckabee and John Kasich with 3% each, and Carly Fiorina and Walker with 2% each. As for the Democrats, Clinton leads with 42%, compared to 24% for Bernie Sanders and 21% for Biden. Trump’s standing has jumped nine points among Republicans since mid-July, while Clinton’s support has dropped 21 points among Democrats.
NEW GRAVIS MARKETING POLL IN FLORIDA: DONALD TRUMP 34%, BEN CARSON 22%, JEB BUSH 15% via Mitch Perry of Florida Politics
A new Gravis Marketing poll shows … Donald Trump continuing to have a strong lead in Florida … garnering 33.6 percent of the vote … retired pediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson is in second with 22.4 percent of the vote. In third place is former Florida Governor Jeb Bush with 15.2 percent of the vote.
There’s then a significant drop to fourth place, held by Carly Florina with 6.2 percent … followed by Ted Cruz at 5.7 percent, Marco Rubio at 5.4 percent and John Kasich at 5.3 percent. Mike Huckabee is at 1.8 percent, and Scott Walker is down to 1.1 percent. Five other candidates get below 1 percent of the vote.
Republican voters in Florida were asked who they would support if the race were between favorite sons Bush and Rubio, Rubio wins easily, 51-31 percent, with 18 percent undecided.
Hillary Clinton … leads in the Democratic Primary in Florida with 41.6 percent support, followed by non-candidate Joe Biden at 21.4 percent. Bernie Sanders is third with 12.5 percent.
— “Jeb hits Obama on cyber security failures, Hillary email server” via Bill Gertz of the Washington Free Beacon
— “When did Jeb Bush become the smarter brother?” via Anna North of the New York Times
ASSIGNMENT EDITORS: Bush heads to California ahead of the CNN/Reagan Library GOP Candidates Debate where he will attend a fundraiser and take part in a technology roundtable discussion with tech leaders at WeWork innovation workspace. Both events are closed to the press.
— “For presidential contenders, attending Rick Scott’s inauguration is the kiss of death in 2015” via Florida Politics
JIMMY JOHNSON AIDS FORMER PLAYER TURNED POLITICIAN via Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun Sentinel
Randal Hill, the former wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins and the University of Miami Hurricanes, is turning to his former coach, Jimmy Johnson, to help attract attention and raise money for his political campaign to unseat Congresswoman Frederica Wilson. Hill has quietly been running since July … official launch would come Sept. 24, with a fundraiser featuring Johnson at a law firm on Brickell Avenue in Miami. Hill was a member of the 1987 national championship Miami team … coached by Johnson … played in the NFL for seven years, including two stints the Dolphins, then embarked on a 15-year career in law enforcement.
FUNDRAISING SURGE FOR JACK LATVALA via Jeremy Wallace of the Tampa Bay Times
Sen. Joe Negron … in May raised $623,550 for a political action committee he leads called Treasure Coast Alliance … now has raised almost $1.1 million just since the start of 2015 … But now State Sen. Jack Latvala is on a fundraising binge of his own … refusing to concede that Negron has the 2017 presidency locked up … since August 1, Latvala … raised $442,431 for his political action committee, called Florida Leadership Committee. That surge – including $190,000 in the first five days of September – means Latvala now has raised $1.3 million for his committee.
FUNDRAISING TURNS GLOOMY FOR FLORIDIANS FOR SOLAR CHOICE COMMITTEE via Florida Politics
Floridians for Solar Choice brought in just $591 for August … more than $135,000 … a major drop off from past months when the committee routinely posted five-digit hauls, mainly from major backer SACE-Action Fund. SACE did give $7,521 of in-kind contributions in August, though, mainly in labor. The committee spent $86,000 on petition-gathering efforts last month, with another $28,000 going to… attorney fees and $13,500 going to labor costs … also paid about $4,000 for signature validations split among 23 different county supervisors of election offices … August totals put Solar Choice at about $31,000 in negative cash flow … signature-gathering efforts seem to be paying off, though, with state records showing 139,323 valid signatures … up from 121,000 two weeks ago.
GARY PRICE SCORES ANOTHER FUNDRAISING WIN IN AUGUST FOR SD 23 PRIMARY RACE via Florida Politics
Gary Price scored another fundraising win in August, besting Republican Reps. Matt Hudson and Kathleen Passidomo in the contentious three-way primary for Senate District 23.
The former Naples City Council member took in $14,120 for the month, more than Hudson and Passidomo combined, and spent $7,624. The August haul puts Price at about $109,000 cash-on-hand, including $20,000 in loans the candidate made to his campaign. With the exception of July, Price has taken the lead in each month since he entered the race, though that likely has a lot to do with Hudson and Passidomo having to halt fundraising during the pair of special sessions this summer.
FORMER TOM FEENEY ACCUSER BECOMES SECOND DEM TO FILE IN HD 47 RACE via Florida Politics
A Democrat who accused former U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney of election rigging has filed to run for the House District 47 seat against incumbent Winter Garden Republican Mike Miller … Clint Curtis filed for the seat … making him the second Democrat to enter the race after Henry Lim filed in early August.
Curtis is best known for a series of allegations against Feeney in the mid-2000s, including a statement that Feeney hired him to write software to rig touch screen voting machines in Palm Beach County for the 2000 election. Feeney said he had never met Curtis before and denied the vote rigging allegations, noting that Palm Beach County didn’t use touch screen voting machines until after that election. Curtis ended up running for Congress against Feeney in 2006, but lost on … by 16 points.
HAPPENING TONIGHT — A joint fundraiser for state Reps. Mike Miller and Mike La Rosa, hosted by House Majority 2016, will be on Tuesday, September 15 at 5 p.m. in the Governors Club BC Room, 202 1/2 South Adams Street in Tallahassee.
