Lakeland Ledger – March 20, 2011

TALLAHASSEE | Florida courts are facing an unprecedented assault on their independence this year as state lawmakers are pushing more than a half-dozen measures that could weaken judicial power and could give the Legislature and governor more influence in selecting judges from the county courthouse to the Florida Supreme Court.

The changes also would make it easier for special-interest groups angered by any court decision to oust judges they don’t like.

House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park — and powerful business groups — are driving the sweeping changes, which will likely find a receptive audience in the strongly conservative leaders running the Florida Legislature. Read More

Sunshine State News – March 17, 2011

The Legislature sent its first bill of the year to Gov. Rick Scott Wednesday, when the House joined the Senate in passing the hotly contested SB 736, a measure basing teacher pay on performance and assessments instead of seniority and tenure.

Flanked by legislative leaders at a press conference after the vote was taken, Scott praised the passage of the bill. “This will help attract and retain the best teachers,” said Scott, adding that it was part of his plan to increase jobs in the Sunshine State. Read More

Miami Herald – March 16, 2011

Gov. Rick Scott will leave Thursday for his first foreign trade mission since being elected, a two-day trip to Panama.

A delegation of port officials, businessmen and Florida Chamber of Commerce representatives will head to Panama on Wednesday and Scott will join them a day later.

The trip is expected to cost about $27,000, Scott’s spokesman Brian Hughes said. Taxpayers will pay for about $5,000 while the remaining expenses will be covered by private donations to Enterprise Florida, the spokesman said. Read More

St. Petersburg Times – March 15, 2011

Associated Industries of Florida today sent the below letter to Senate President Mike Haridopolos regarding Destination Resort Legislation.

An inaccurate letter sent to you by Everett Wilkinson falsely claiming to represent the interests of the “Tea Party” begs clarification and a response from those who support bringing world class Destination Resorts, tradeshows and conventions to the Sunshine State. Read More

Pensacola News Journal – March 8, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — Florida legislators arrived at the Capitol in a festive mood Monday and raced through a few political formalities in preparation for two months of difficult wrangling over budget cuts, a major overhaul of public-employee pensions and preparations for the 2012 elections.

“There’s going to be a balanced budget 61 days from now,” said Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island. “And we’re going to do it without increasing taxes or fees.” 

Gov. Rick Scott said his State of the State speech this evening will stick to what got him elected. He told officials of Associated Industries of Florida, the state’s major business lobby, that economic development powered by tax cuts and reduction of state regulations will be his core mission for the session. Read More

Florida Capital Bureau Chief – March 07, 2011

Florida is a right-to-work state with endless summers, low labor costs, no income tax and one of the cheapest and most productive public work forces in the nation.

But with more than 1 million Floridians out of work, a jobless rate higher than the national average and an unemployment compensation trust fund that has long gone bust, Florida has to be even more business-friendly. Read More

Tallahassee Democrat – February 25, 2011

The head of Florida’s major business organization bluntly told legislators Thursday state employees should “have some skin in the game” with pension payments put into investment accounts — and consider themselves lucky to have jobs.

The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee spent two hours discussing and listening to testimony on changes to the Florida Retirement System, but took no votes on bills or amendments. Some members obviously are not ready to go as far as Gov. Rick Scott, whose budget proposal calls for state and local employees in the FRS to put 5 percent of their salaries into the pension pot, which is now entirely employer-paid. Read More

News-Press.com – February 7, 2011

EUSTIS — New Republican Gov. Rick Scott received wild applause from about 1,000 tea party activists when he said the $65.9 billion budget proposal he rolled out Monday would cut government waste and lower taxes.

Scott is proposing $5 billion in spending cuts, about half of that in education, in the next budget year beginning July 1 and another $2.6 billion more the following year.

At the tea party rally in a Baptist church, the new Republican governor compared his look at the current $70.4 billion budget to going up in an attic of an old home. Read More

St. Petersburg Times – February 3, 2011

Wake up and good morning. One of the consistent gripes I hear from the Florida business community (and Florida teachers) is how our traditional education systems does not offer enough technical or vocational options for young people who may not be disposed to pursue (or be the best candidates for) a college education.

That argument gets reinforced this week with the release of a two-year study at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. The current U.S. education system is failing to prepare millions of young adults for successful careers by providing a one-size-fits-all approach, and it should take a cue from its European counterparts by offering greater emphasis on occupational instruction, the Harvard study concludes. The study by the Pathways to Prosperity Project — formally called Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century — notes that while much emphasis is placed in high school on going on to a four-year college, only 30 percent of young adults in the United States successfully complete a bachelor’s degree, the New York Times reports in its coverage here. Read More

Sunshine State News – January 22, 2011

Gov. Rick Scott is fond of saying he wants to “make Florida the best place in the country to do business.” Associated Industries of Florida is hoping he’ll do just that — in fact, AIF may have more confidence in the new governor than other organizations.

“Yes, because the governor used to be on our board,” said Barney Bishop III, president and CEO of AIF, when asked if the group had high expectations for 2011. Read More