An all-out effort by citizen's groups is being generated, to call legislators and save the Florida Dept. of Community Affairs. Last year, the pro-growth-at-any-cost legislature cut the DCA budget to the bone. This year, they want to be sure that the only people left standing are the ones who sweep the floors at night.
This issue bears directly on Miami Dade's zoning issues (read, powerful Republican campaign contributors) outside the Urban Development Boundary. Like Lennar's Parkland et al. and Sergio Pino, Rodney Barreto, and their partners in Krome Gold. Is there anything these interests and their lobbyists won't do to salvage their bad investments by hijacking our government?
In a meeting last night involving budget negotiators, the House Offer #1 to the Conference Committee on Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations proposed a $1,000,000 reduction to DCA’s general revenue operating budget.
If passed, this would mean the elimination of 15 to 20 of DCA’s already depleted professional planning positions.
This action appears to have been taken as a result of Secretary Pelham voicing his strong concerns over the House’s modification and adoption of SB360 as well as SB362 which would substantially weaken growth controls, promote sprawl and encourage inappropriate development in rural areas. 1000 Friends joined with the Governor’s Office in applauding Secretary Pelham for speaking out on these bills as drafted.
Here is what Secretary Pelham wrote:
"SB362 and HB/CS/CS/SB360 contain numerous provisions which will substantially undermine Florida ’s growth management laws. Among other things, these provisions open up the state’s major rural areas to unchecked development, and eliminate transportation concurrency and the DRI review process in major portions of the state without providing any alternative means of addressing transportation and other extrajurisdictional impacts.
"After careful evaluation of SB362 and HB/CS/CS/SB360 and the many concerns raised about these bills, the Department has concluded that the bills do not constitute good public policy and will seriously undermine Florida ’s growth management laws. Therefore, the Department opposes SB362 and HB/CS/CS/SB360."
Please call immediately the House and Senate Conferees listed below preferably or your local Representative and Senator to oppose this outrageous and unwarranted effort to gut DCA and growth management.
Senate Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations --
Senator Fasano, Chair, 850-487-5062, fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Hill, Vice Chair, (850) 487-5024, hill.tony.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Diaz de la Portilla,(850) 487-5109, portilla.alex.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Dockery, (850) 487-5040, dockery.paula.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Gardiner, (850) 487-5047, gardiner.andy.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Smith, (850) 487-5112, smith.chris.web@flsenate.gov
Senator Storms, (850) 487-5072, storms.ronda.web@flsenate.gov
House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations -
Glorioso (Chair), (850) 488-0807, rich.glorioso@myfloridahouse.gov
Evers (Vice Chair), (850) 488-8188, greg.evers@myfloridahouse.gov
Gibbons (Democratic Ranking Member), (850) 488-0145, joe.gibbons@myfloridahouse.gov
Bovo, (850) 487-2197, esteban.bovo@myfloridahouse.gov
Brise, (850) 488-4233, ronald.brise@myfloridahouse.gov
Carroll, (850) 488-5102, jennifer.carroll@myfloridahouse.gov
Drake, (850) 488-4726, brad.drake@myfloridahouse.gov
Gibson, (850) 488-7417audrey.gibson@myfloridahouse.gov
Horner, (850) 488-8992. mike.horner@myfloridahouse.gov
Hukill, (850) 488-6653, dorothy.hukill@myfloridahouse.gov
Long, (850) 488-6197, janet.long@myfloridahouse.gov
Ray, (850) 488-4388, lake.ray@myfloridahouse.gov
Schenck, (850) 488-6641, rob.schenck@myfloridahouse.gov
Steinberg, (850) 488-0690, richard.steinberg@myfloridahouse.gov
9 comments:
There is NOTHING the builders won't do to keep control. They care NOTHING about anything but themselves. They are panicked because the party is OVER and they have no idea of how to earn a living other than rape and pillage the Florida landscape. They are DESPERATE and desperately STUPID. They will not exit the stage quietly. They will not admit DEFEAT. They will not admit they have been WRONG about EVERYTHING. They don't even pretend to care about "Florida" anymore. It's all about saving the SPRAWL MONSTER at any price.
It seems that every year their strategy is to find something for people to go off the wall about... but this year, it really is the Republicans turn to get the boot.
Grrrrrrr.
DCA is/was great when I needed customer service to answer questions. Too bad, they apparently are too good at their jobs to suit Rodney et al.
carpe noctem. Bad people.
Yesterday I had two moments where I almost became a Democrat...and for those hard righters who think I don't know the philisophical differences between the two parties, you are wrong.
I am ashamed to see that many Republicans in my state have confused capitalism with exploitation of people and/or natural resources. Capitalism, in the absense of morality or social conscience, is an ugly thing. If we cannot recognize that, than we ought to just go ahead and allow trafficing of children and kidnapping as acceptible capitalistic ventures.
Clean water and air are every citizen's rights. No one has the right to poison me or steal from me that which is rightfully mine.
Governor, you have a good man in Pelham. He is about the right things. He is moderate, intelligent, relatable and fair.
Incumbent Florida Republicans - take note. Moderate rights are watching you very closely.
Not dumb, just greedy!
Here's what the St. Pete Times wrote, in its editorial section (why doesn't the Herald OPED page just pick up the SP Times editorials?)
Legislature leaves a record of failure
Published Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Florida Legislature is expected to shut down its annual session today and leave only the state budget and a gambling compact with the Seminole Indian Tribe to be negotiated in a weeklong extension. For that, Floridians should be thankful.
The 2009 Legislature has little to be proud of and much to be ashamed of. In a time of crisis, it has allowed partisanship and rhetoric to substitute for leadership and solutions. For the most part, Florida is no better off 60 days after the Legislature convened — and in some ways it's worse off.
At least, in shutting down most everything today, some of the session's most ridiculous ideas will die for now — from opening the door to offshore drilling to making it harder for Floridians to vote. But there is still the chance, in this final day, that the Legislature could inflict serious damage, such as gutting the state's growth management laws under the guise of economic development. Should those measures go too far, Gov. Charlie Crist should ready his veto pen.
There have been a few, brief bright spots. Seat belt enforcement will become a primary offense, which will save lives. Public universities will have the right to increase tuition up to 15 percent, moving a bit closer to the national average. A new tracking system should curb prescription drug abuse. And lawmakers, before day's end, should approve gradual rate increases for Citizens Property Insurance, whose rates are actuarily unsound after several years of rate freezes. Hopefully, lawmakers also will curb double-dipping by limiting when public employees collect both a pension and a paycheck.
But for the most part, legislators serving in an extraordinary time did not perform extraordinarily well. Chief among their failures was an unwillingness to address an inadequate and inequitable tax system, perhaps because $5 billion in federal stimulus funds — though initially ridiculed by some Republicans — allowed them to offset a $6 billion budget shortfall.
A House review of sales tax exemptions was superficial and went nowhere. A bid to make it easier to collect taxes on Internet sales faded away. And the few property tax proposals still floating around would only increase the current inequities between like-situated property owners. While lawmakers are poised to close one loophole to prevent wealthy property owners from avoiding real estate taxes, they are expected to ignore another loophole that allows out-of-state companies to pay less corporate income tax than Florida companies.
The Legislature also may finish most of its business without adopting the governor's renewable energy plan even as the rest of the country is starting to take climate change seriously.
Most unexplainable is the rejection by Republicans of $444 million in federal money that would have expanded unemployment benefits for 40,000 Floridians. They also declined to make it easier to apply for KidCare, the state's low-cost child health insurance, or to expand the program's eligibility even though the federal government would pick up the majority of the cost.
This legislative session will be remembered more for its failures than its successes. The few victories for Floridians have involved killing of bad ideas rather than approving good ones. At this point, the less lawmakers do today — and the sooner they go home — the better.
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I would be glad to welcome the Dade delegation back...just to get them out of Tallahassee. However, by having them home, they can team up with the crazies running the government here. So, how can we win?
Gimleteye writes:
Watch what happens after the moderates like Mayor Carlos Alvarez term limit out and Gov. Crist runs for Senate. I expect the GOP radical right to move their candidates into position soon enough.
The "moderates like Mayor Carlos Alvarez"? Obviously, you sure got that "gimlet" straight into your "eye", or is it into your mouth? Where the hell have you been living? Alvarez is as big a crook as all the rest who have passed through that mayoral office. A real Penelas boy! Hey! If you're going to keep on writing about Miami, move back to Miami!
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