Governor’s 2008 State of the State Address and Democratic Responses

Governor Charlie Crist delivered his second State of the State address this evening before a Joint Session of the Florida Legislature on March 4, the opening day of the 2008 Regular Legislative Session.

The Governor’s informational release and complete speech transcript is below, or click here.

The response from Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller is reprinted below that, or click here.

The response from House Minority Leader Dan Gelber is reprinted below that, or click here.

To read the transcripts of remarks given earlier today by Senate President Ken Pruitt and House Speaker Marco Rubio, click here.

Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

 

 

Above: Governor Charlie Crist addresses the People of Florida during his second State of the State address on March 4, 2008.

 

Governor Crist Speaks To The People During Second State Of The State Address

Focuses on first year accomplishments and education, health care, energy and economic development

March 4, 2008

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist this evening addressed a joint session of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate to outline his priorities for the people of Florida during the upcoming the 2008 Legislative Session. Breaking with tradition, Governor Crist gave the State of the State Address at 6:00 p.m., rather than during the morning as past Florida Governors have done.

“We will plan for the future while still protecting and caring for our most vulnerable – our children, our elderly and our disabled,” said Governor Crist. “Fiscal discipline has afforded us financial reserves to invest in our future during difficult economic times while still providing these protections. We have reserves for times when we need them – for times when we need to sustain our commitment to those who rely on us most.”

Governor Crist called for the Legislature to continue putting the needs of the people of Florida before partisanship. He spoke of the challenges facing Florida’s families and business – sky rocketing gas prices, the threat of home foreclosure and a softening housing market. He urged legislators, like Florida’s families, to take advantage of the opportunity to prioritize spending by focusing on the most important needs of the people of Florida.

Before outlining his 2008 priorities, Governor Crist briefly reflected on the first 14 months of his administration and the accomplishments of the 2007 Legislature, including taking steps to lower property insurance rates and property taxes, reforming Florida’s elections, providing teacher bonuses, and keeping Florida’s communities safe by passing the Anti-Murder Act. He also spoke of restoration of civil rights, the Florida Discount Drug Card and the increase in adoptions of children from state care.

Governor Crist also highlighted his budget priorities for the current legislative session, which include education, health care, energy and economic development. The Governor has recommended a plan to increase competition and efficiency in the health care marketplace to improve access and quality health and dental care for Floridians. His education priorities include transparency in school spending and incentives for middle schools that enroll students in physical education. His proposed $200 million climate, energy and economic development package will boost Florida’s renewable and alternative energy.

In the audience for the State of the State Address were several individuals who represent the thousands of Floridians who will benefit from Governor Crist’s priority issues:

· Vivian Wilson, Tallahassee. One of 13 siblings, Vivian now has nine children of her own, including three adopted from state care. While raising her six biological children, she often thought it would be good for her only daughter to have a sister. As she learned about the many children in need of loving permanent homes, Vivian chose to adopt three teenage sisters in 2006. Since becoming a part of Vivian’s family, the girls have gained confidence socially, academically, and intellectually and are accepting challenges they used to avoid.

· Lisa Burford, West Palm Beach. Lisa contacted Governor Crist last year because her conviction for embezzlement and loss of her civil rights had closed many doors to employment and the economic security of her family. Since having her civil rights restored, those doors have begun opening for her again, and she was able to cast a ballot in the January primary election.

· Michael Randolph, Fort Myers. Michael wanted to relocate his family of four to another home closer to work and school, but had been reluctant to move because of high property taxes. Since voters approved Amendment 1, the Randolph family is planning to relocate now that they can take a portion of their Save Our Homes tax benefit with them.

· Suzy Corace, Cape Coral. Suzy teaches physical education at Trafalgar Elementary School in Lee County and was selected this year as the county’s Teacher of the Year. She inspires students at her school to exercise and eat right. She runs the school’s track club, where over 120 students attend a full hour before the school day begins and learn about running and track and field events.

· Michelle Lingo, Escambia County. A reading coach and media specialist at Hallmark Elementary School, Michelle is Escambia County’s Teacher of the Year. Michelle believes that teacher bonuses like the ones available through the Merit Award Program passed by the 2007 Legislature will help keep Florida’s best educators from transitioning out of the classroom.

· Miriam Silvermintz, Wellington. Miriam wrote to Governor Crist to express her concerns about the difficulty she and her family of four experienced while trying to get health insurance. Her husband’s heart condition is being managed, but is considered a pre-existing health condition by insurers. The only way they are able to purchase health insurance is as a small group, which is available to them only because Miriam is a small business owner.

· Dave Duncan, vice president of facilities for Publix Supermarkets. Governor Crist applauded Publix as an exemplary Florida business that is expanding its use of renewable energy. Publix is evaluating the effectiveness of solar electric systems at several test sites, including their headquarters in Lakeland. The company’s goal is to reduce energy costs by using solar energy.

· Army Sgt. Allison Jean Justice, Jacksonville. Sgt. Justice volunteered to deploy to Iraq in September 2006 after enlisting in 2002. She served as a flight medic for one year where she saved the lives of numerous soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Sgt. Justice was in the Gallery representing all of Florida’s servicemen and women.

Governor Crist also shared an excerpt from an e-mail from Jackie, a full-time college student who lost her health insurance when she lost her parents about a year ago. Her e-mail told of how her medicines cost more than her doctors’ visits and how the Florida Discount Drug Card will help her afford her prescription drugs. She wrote, “I have already applied for the card, and I know this will help young adults just like me in the same situation. This is a very big step for health care, and I cannot thank you enough.”

Governor Crist’s State of the State Address is available at www.MyFlorida.com or www.flgov.com.

Governor Charlie Crist’s 2008 State of the State Address
March 4, 2008

Good evening. Mr. President, Mr. Speaker, Lt. Governor, Mr. Chief Justice and members of the court, members of the Cabinet, the Legislature, honored guests, and my fellow Floridians across our state. Good evening to you all.

I also want to recognize my family seated in the gallery, my mother, my father, my sisters and their families. Thank you for your support. I love you very much.

I want to thank Sergeant Allison Jean Justice from Jacksonville for her service to the American people. Whether serving in Iraq, Afghanistan or other places around the world, the members of the Florida National Guard and our Armed Forces are protecting our freedoms in distant places. General Burnett, good to see you. And Representative Mike Scionti, Captain Scionti – welcome home.

It is good to be here with all of you this evening.

In many ways, tonight marks a new beginning. We begin a new tradition of speaking to our fellow Floridians at a time of day when every Floridian can explore the opportunities and challenges that lie before us. So, tonight we open another window into the workings of their government. For the Floridians listening to this address for the first time – a special welcome.

Thank you, President Ken Pruitt and Speaker Marco Rubio for your great work. Because of your leadership and the tireless work of the people in this chamber, and the work I know that you will continue to do, tonight my friends I can report to you that the state of our state is indeed strong.

A year ago I stood here before you as Florida’s new Governor. Together, we have faced many challenges – from spiraling property taxes and insurance rates, to devastating tornadoes that claimed 21 lives. And together we have taken on these challenges.

Florida’s families and business are faced with extraordinary economic times – sky rocketing gas prices, the threat of foreclosure and a softening housing market. And, like Florida’s families, these challenging times will require us to meet the demands of declining revenues.

And how will we do this?

By keeping taxes low, creating jobs, and fueling an economy that ranks ahead of most nations of the world, we set a model at which others can marvel.

Pessimists see problems, while optimists see opportunities. You know I am an optimist, but no matter the perspective, we can dare to be great.

In early 2007, this Legislature passed, and I signed, a law lowering property insurance companies’ costs with the condition they pass those savings on to policy holders by cutting rates.

Since then, no new rate increases have been approved. Thank you, Commissioner Kevin McCarty for your great work on behalf of the people. Rates have dropped an average of nearly 16 percent – and we will continue fighting for the people. I would urge my fellow Floridians to visit ShopAnd CompareRates.com to find lower rates.

The message was clear: This Governor and this Legislature can, and will, work together to help Floridians realize – and keep alive – the dream of owning a home.

And acting as the people’s trustees, you passed a $15 billion property tax cut – the largest tax cut in our state’s history. And voters made their voices heard loud and clear with the passage of Amendment 1, bringing another $9.3 billion in property tax relief.

…A $25 billion tax cut over the next five years, all right back into the pockets of Florida’s families.

And at a time when families need it most. Families like the Randolphs…

(Video was shown of personal story about property taxes)

These property tax cuts are just the beginning. We can and should continue to fight for property tax relief and I encourage the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission, led by our great former Speaker of the House Allan Bense, to give the people the opportunity to vote for another tax cut. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Just as Amendment 1 gave the people of Florida the opportunity to let their voices be heard, so has the significant election reform you passed last year. By moving up our state’s presidential primary, Floridians turned out in record numbers to truly make an impact on who will become the next President of the United States. And when we dutifully cast our paper ballots this November, we will do so knowing that the integrity of this process, the very foundation of our democracy, has been protected by the actions of this body. Just 90 miles south of us in Cuba, there are those who dream of having this privilege and we must honor them by casting our ballots in November.

One of my top priorities is making certain that every child in Florida has the opportunity to live in a loving, safe and permanent home. Together, we are increasing the number of successful adoptions. Thanks to the hard work of the Office of Adoption and the Department of Children and Families – Secretary Butterworth, what an incredible advocate you are for the children of our state – and their many workers in the field, who are ensuring that more of Florida’s children find loving homes.

Homes like Vivian Wilson’s. Vivian chose to adopt three teenage sisters. She is proud of the way the girls have gained confidence socially, academically and intellectually – proud that they are accepting challenges that they used to shy away from.

And as much as we focus on finding adoptive families for foster children, we are also focused on protecting those who remain in the state’s care. That’s why I’ve recommended $9.8 million to purchase “all-in-one” case management devices. Developed with our friends in the private sector at UPS, we can revolutionize how we protect Florida’s foster children. Up until now, we have done a better job in this country tracking packages than we have tracking the children placed in our care. This tool will help our caseworkers focus on doing casework instead of paperwork in living rooms instead of behind a desk. Our children deserve no less and I urge you to support this funding.

I believe in second chances. Every child of God is entitled to a second chance. Not only must we compensate those like Alan Crotzer who have been wrongfully accused, we must also forgive those who broke the law and paid their debt to society and provide them the opportunity to restore their dignity and their self worth. Thanks to the good work of my fellow Cabinet members, the civil rights of thousands of Floridians have been restored – Floridians like Lisa Burford. Here’s Lisa’s story:

(Video of personal story about restoration of civil rights)

I am proud to say Lisa was able to cast her vote on January 29th.

I am also especially proud of initiatives we have launched in the past year at little or no cost to taxpayers. Proof that government can serve the people without spending their money.

Since December, we have helped over 28,000 Floridians receive discounted prescription drugs through the Florida Discount Drug Card. People like 20 year old Jackie who sent me this e-mail:

“Dear Mr. Crist, I’m a full-time college student and lost both of my parents by the age of 19. I have not been able to go to the doctor due to prescription drugs costing more than my doctors visit. I have applied for the card and I know this will help young adults just like me.”

The success of the program lies in the state’s ability to negotiate on behalf of millions of Floridians to lower drug prices. Eligible Floridians can go to FloridaDiscountDrugCard.com to sign up.

And what will we do in the coming year to continue moving Florida forward?

We will plan for the future while still protecting and caring for our most vulnerable – our children, our elderly and our disabled.

Fiscal discipline has afforded us financial reserves to invest in our future while balancing our budget during difficult economic times.

We have reserves for times when we need them.

For times when we need to sustain our commitment to those who rely upon us most,

For times when we need to invest in ourselves and our future,

For times when waiting can be too costly.

My legislative package sets clear priorities and outlines a comprehensive plan for moving Florida forward.

It strengthens the pillars that make our state great, the pillars that must be in place for us to be strong:

• Healthy Families
• World Class Schools
• Safe Neighborhoods
• A Vibrant Economy
• Sustainable Natural Resources

These pillars must be our priorities.

The lack of health insurance is the primary barrier to accessing health care. In Florida, 3.8 million people have no health insurance – including 650,000 children. And this barrier exists not just for the poor and disadvantaged. Florida’s hardworking families and small business owners are facing the same barrier every day – business owners like the Silvermintz family. Here’s their story:

(Video was shown of personal story about accessible health care)

This lack of access to health care is unacceptable. Together we can seek a comprehensive, market-based strategy that can provide uninsured Floridians with affordable health and dental care.

I am proposing $63.9 million for the Florida Health Access System. This three-year pilot joins the State, local hospitals and county health departments in partnerships to provide preventive and primary health care services to the uninsured.

Communities across our state have found it difficult to provide access to health care for their people. This is not of their doing, but that of government.

Anti-competitive, bureaucratic barriers to affordable health care must be eliminated.

I propose $60.6 million to be targeted toward enrolling more than 46,000 additional children in the KidCare program.

Child obesity is another threat to Florida’s children.

The Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness is charged with developing a state plan to promote physical fitness and sound nutrition. Last week, we challenged our elementary students and schools to do even more by participating in the Governor’s Fitness Challenge. With us today is one of our state’s outstanding PE teachers – Suzy Corace, Lee County’s Teacher of the Year.

We must maintain our commitment to protect Florida’s natural beauty and resources. We must establish a successor to Florida Forever. To strive for natural water flow, I also propose that we fully-fund Florida’s share of Everglades restoration and continue restoring Lake Okeechobee and downstream coastal estuaries.

Serve to Preserve is this Administration’s commitment to lead – and we are leading by example. We will work to conserve energy within State government and, together with the private sector, reduce our carbon emissions.

A recent Orlando Sentinel editorial recognizes that our choice is not whether we can afford to go green… but that – even in this tight budget year – we can’t afford not to.

Our economy is inextricably linked to our environment.

Many businesses are recognizing that there is gold in green. Publix is one such business. Allow me to introduce Mr. Dave Duncan, Vice President of facilities for Publix Super Markets.

(Video was shown of personal story about energy and economic development)

Thank you, Dave and Publix, for your leadership.

We must continue to fuel Florida’s Innovation Incentive Program to bring cutting-edge, world-class research centers to the state. These centers are economic catalysts that drive discovery and collaboration, diversify our economy and bring high-wage, high-skill, secure jobs to Florida.

And this strategy is already working.

What Florida has done for biotech, it can also do for clean tech.

That’s why I’m recommending a $200 million economic development package for solar, wind and other renewable energy, and to promote biofuels in Florida and encourage alternative fuels such as ethanol. We have the opportunity to enhance the use of this cleaner fuel, while also providing a broader market for sugar cane and citrus waste. Thank you Commissioner Bronson for your work to explore non-food sources of ethanol production in your Farm to Fuel efforts.

Our current path in education has reaped significant gains in student achievement in reading and math over the past five years. Florida’s school performance has now risen from 31st to 14th among all states and risen to 7th in achievement.

While the vast majority of teachers are committed, some demonstrate exceptional creativity in bringing out the best in their students – our children.

In the same way, the Merit Award Program you created last year rewards our best and brightest public school teachers. I recommend we fully fund these teacher bonuses for those who improve student achievement and who work diligently to improve their teaching skills through national peer review.

It is important we continue to tell our best teachers – Teachers like Michelle Lingo, Escambia County’s Teacher of the Year: Thank You for a Job Well Done.

Florida’s universities and community colleges provide the next critical step in the education of our people. These institutions are producing the future leaders of our state, our nation and the world. We must continue to invest in higher education.

My budget provides for more than $5 billion for higher education and that is an increase over last year.

Not only is it essential that we stand by our schools, we must also stand by our neighborhoods.

In the Preamble to the Constitution, one of the primary roles of government is defined as ensuring domestic tranquility, which means keeping our people safe.

We are fulfilling this responsibility with tougher laws and increased enforcement along with crime prevention strategies within the criminal justice system. Effective legislation such as Stop Turning Out Prisoners and 10-20-Life is making an impact on the crime rate, while the Anti-Murder Act will prevent future tragedies. Thank you for passing this important legislation. And we must also work together to address crime in our state, including gang activity.

I was proud to launch the Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit in 2005 to thwart the actions of those who target our children. Attorney General Bill McCollum has made fighting this crime a top priority. Thank you, General.

For families to feel safe, for them to be truly safe, they cannot be worried about losing their home to foreclosure. That’s why I recently announced the Florida HOPE taskforce charged with making recommendations to help families who have found themselves victims of the housing crisis. Chief Financial Officer Sink, the Lt. Governor and I look forward to working with you on this very important issue.

All of us in this chamber are guided by our instincts, but we must also continue to be responsive to the people who sent us here. Their wisdom and their experience in the real world makes up a significant portion of the knowledge base from which we must lead.

Even in this election year, we must remember our first duty is to the people, not to our parties. Our first duty is to work together, and our first duty as, Abraham Lincoln declared, is to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Abraham Lincoln declared to the nation this is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

I admit to not having all of the answers and believe all of you in this chamber will admit to the same. But we know where to find them.

We can find answers in the hearts of the people of Florida. They are our most important resources. The people of Florida offer us our daily education and inspiration. They look to us to be their voice.

We too must inspire. Yes, we face some challenges – or opportunities – but all of us would do well to remember Ronald Reagan’s words. He said we must:

“…keep our rendezvous with destiny … uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and, above all, responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.”

Fellow Floridians, President Reagan inspired us to see what is possible and dared us to be great. He was daring us to be leaders.

I love Florida, I love her with all of my heart. Her possibilities are endless, and our optimism should be boundless.
Together we are moving Florida forward.

Thank you and God Bless the Great State of Florida.

 

 

Above:  Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller

Response from Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller:

March 4, 2008

“Good evening. My name is Senator Steve Geller and I am the Democratic Leader of the Florida Senate.

“I’m here tonight to give the Senate Democratic response to Governor Crist’s State of the State speech.

“We are very pleased to hear that Governor Crist is continuing the strong bipartisan tone that he set last year. We agree with many of the things that Governor Crist has said. And we also strongly believe that we can best accomplish what we need to for the citizens of the state of Florida by working together in a strong and bipartisan fashion.

“This year, unfortunately, we believe that the budget is going to be the dominant issue in the state of Florida. This one issue will suck all of the oxygen out of the room. Real people are going to suffer real damage as a result of this budget. This will be the first time in Florida’s history that in two consecutive years we will have less actual dollars to spend than we did the year before. Normally we say we have a budget shortfall if we don’t have enough to keep up with inflation and population growth. These two years we actually have less money than the year before. And this year we may have to cut anywhere from two to four billion dollars from the budget. That’s two to four billion dollars less than we had last year. Real people will suffer real damage. Florida’s most vulnerable citizens are at risk here. Our youngest, our oldest, our students, our sickest.

“We are pleased to hear that Governor Crist shares our concerns with protecting Florida’s most vulnerable citizens. We believe that we must look at all of the options in our state budget. Governor Crist has come up with some creative ways of trying to minimize the pain. We don’t know yet if we’re going to be supporting them. But we are pleased that we are going to look at all of the options. And that’s something that we believe, that we as Senate Democrats think that we need to do. We need to explore all options. We believe that we need to have an open mind and explore everything. This means that we’re going to need to look at both sides of the ledger. “Right now, we’re being told  we can only look at one side of the ledger; we can only look at spending.

“We’re saying that we need to look at everything. It is very clear to us, unfortunately, deep cuts are inevitable. The question is, whether we can blunt the worst impact of some of those cuts.

“So here’s our proposal as Senate Democrats: Let’s put everything on the table.  We’ll look at income. We’ll look at out-go. We’ll try and make things fairer. If we only look at out-go, if we only look at spending cuts, you’re probably not going to get many Senate Democrats to vote for the final budget.

“Under Governor Bush, we cut taxes so that we had just enough to get by during the best economy in modern history. Well, think about it. If you have taxes low enough that you have just enough to get by in the best economy in modern history, what happens when you’re no longer in the best economy in modern history? We think we’re seeing that today. Real people are going to be hurt.

“We continue to hear from the majority party, or certain members of the majority party, how losing billions of dollars of revenue is such a great opportunity for the state. We don’t understand that. A great opportunity for what? To hurt people? We don’t think so.

“Some people have suggested that this lean economic time will make government leaner. Again, we need to ensure whether times are good or times are bad, that we’re always working to eliminate waste in government. We need to ensure that when our citizens, our taxpayers, pay a dollar of taxes, that they receive a dollar of services at all times – whether the economy is good, or whether the economy is bad.

“But rhetoric alone, talking about smaller government, isn’t going to solve our problems. This is a very complex state, and it can’t be governed by bumper-sticker solutions. We always hear people saying: “We want smaller government, we oppose big government.” And some of the questions I’ve never understood. On our state budget, about half of our budget goes directly to education. Are they saying that big government, that we have too many teachers or that we’re paying them too much? We don’t think so.

“Local governments – 50 to 60 percent of city budgets are made up of police and firefighters. Are they saying that we have too many police or too many firefighters? Again, we don’t think so.

“We, the Senate Democrats, think we need to look at everything. Now let me be clear. When it comes to increased revenue, we will oppose any broad tax increases. We would oppose an increase in the sales tax, we would oppose an increase in property taxes. There are many other tax increases that we would oppose.

“But we do believe that it is important to close some of the tax loopholes and make sure that everybody’s paying their fair share. Let me give you three examples:

“There is something called the real estate transfer tax, when people pay taxes to buy and sell property. If you or I sell our homes, we’ll pay this tax. Some very large corporations have figured out ways to evade this tax. They’ll put the real estate that they’re selling into a real estate trust, they’ll put the real estate trust into a corporation, and then they’ll sell the corporation and claim that they never sold the real estate. They’re getting the benefits, they’re getting our services, but they’re avoiding paying the taxes. We could raise a $100 million a year or more just by closing that loophole.

“Senator Deutch has filed legislation on an issue called combined reporting which lets multi-state or multi-national corporations do business in Florida transfer their tax liabilities so that they don’t have to pay taxes here in Florida. That puts our Florida corporations that do have to pay taxes here, at a disadvantage. You could raise $400 million on that.

“There’s a lot of special interest tax breaks, most of which may be justified, but many of which are not. These tax breaks – many of which never passed as separate bills, they were just added on in the middle of the night to other, more important tax breaks – these need to be examined. We could make hundreds of millions of dollars from closing some of these.

“Again, there will still be cuts. But we believe, and we’re pleased to hear that the governor agrees, that we can blunt the worst of these.

“We also believe, as Senate Democrats, that the cuts enough are not alone, nor is revenue. We need to invest in the future of Florida. And, again, we’re pleased to hear the governor agrees with us on many of these issues.

“We believe that the best investment that you can make in the state of Florida is establishing a good educational system. Our K-12 educational system is a disgrace in terms of funding. Our state university system is also a disgrace in terms of the amount of resources that we’re putting in. We are not funding enough slots in our state university system. It’s getting too hard for Florida students to get into these schools. And when they do get in, they find the schools are overcrowded.

“We have rightly invested a lot of money in luring high-tech companies to the state. Scripps, Torrey Pines, Burnham, Max Planck, etc., these and other high-tech companies want to do public-private partnerships with our state universities. But they have to have a good state university system to do that with.

“Another area that we believe in investing is in the area of work force housing. We’re talking about housing for our teachers, our police, our nurses, etc. The construction industry has been one of the very important parts of the Florida economy. We believe that we can help jumpstart the economy and provide these people a place to live by investing more in affordable housing.

“One other area that we need to have affordable housing in is for our veterans. This is a national disgrace. We send our brave soldiers overseas to fight for us, and when they come back, too many of them end up homeless. This is a disgrace. It appears that we’re treating our soldiers with disdain when in fact they deserve our honor for the service that they’ve given to our country. And we insist that we do something in this area.

“Let me discuss a final area that we think we should invest. Senator Jeremy Ring has legislation which would take one percent of the state pension system and invest those assets here in Florida. Right now, most of those assets are being invested in publicly traded companies either in other states or in other countries. We’re doing a lot to help the economy of California, of Dubai and of China, but we’re not investing enough here.

“Senator Ring’s bill is modeled on legislation which is currently being used in California and ten other states, and it’s been a tremendous success in those other states. It has shown how important it is to invest here at home.

“We’re pleased to hear that Governor Crist shares our concerns about protecting Florida’s most vulnerable citizens. We’re pleased to hear that Governor Crist also believes that he needs to invest, that we need to spend money also on education and the state university system. We also hope that Governor Crist will join us in our innovative plans to jump start the economy and to move our state forward.

“And It is very clear to us that spending cuts alone will not provide the protections that we need here in the state of Florida. It’s very clear to us if we’re going to move our state forward, we will need not only the spending cuts, but also the investment and the additional revenue that we can get by requiring a fairer tax code.

“Governor, we look forward to working with you, and with the leadership of the House and Senate. And we thank you for the bipartisan tone that you have established, and we look forward again to this year’s Session.

“Thank you.”

 

 

Above:  House Minority Leader Dan Gelber

Response from House Minority Leader Dan Gelber:

Good Evening, I’m Dan Gelber, Democratic Leader of the Florida House. It’s my privilege to deliver the Democratic response to this evening’s State of the State. You just heard from my good friend, Charlie Crist. I appreciate his efforts to break the logjam of partisanship that defined the Bush era. We both care deeply for our state and both believe that Florida’s best days lie ahead. Optimism and good intentions alone, however, will not be enough to steer our ship through these waters, because the one-party, my way or the highway politics of the last eight years has worn at the very fabric of our state. Today, Florida leads the nation in residential foreclosures.

Homeowners and renters are being pounded by out-of-control windstorm insurance costs, and a grossly unfair property tax burden. Family incomes have flat lined over the last decade, and declining sales tax revenues have caused multi-billion dollar deficits in our already stretched and tattered state budget. For the last three years, Florida has the worst high school graduation rate in the nation. Many of our schools are now labeled as “dropout factories” One in five of our neighbors– nearly 4 million of us, and almost one million children — don’t have health insurance. The housing market, once the strength of our economy, is now the anchor.

Now, some of my colleagues across the aisle try to explain away our state’s trouble by blaming national economic events. They are, simply, in a STATE OF DENIAL. The reality is that most of our woes are self-inflicted, the inevitable product of poor planning and even poorer choices. Like a child who thinks you won’t notice the broken vase swept under the living room rug, many of my Republican friends insist on pretending that this is merely a hiccup when the truth is this recent economic downturn merely laid bare the deep and troubling fault lines in Florida’s economy that have manifest under their watch.

Still, I am convinced that Florida has the talent and the resources to transform ourselves into a world economic power, but not until we are willing to admit and address our shortcomings and move beyond policy making by sound-bite and bumper-sticker and instead engage an open and honest discussion about our economic shortcomings and failures. Here are the steps we would recommend – and the missteps we hope our colleagues avoid.

First, we have to focus on our long neglected economy and in this regard every great economic challenge in our state begins and ends with public education. We have spent the last decade fueling our state economy on the vapors of growth and construction, while ignoring investment in the kind of education and workforce development that attracts high wage industries.
Our last in the nation high school graduation rate and continued neglect of our higher education institutions is unquestionably the biggest barrier to fostering a vibrant workforce that is able to meet the demands of a global, competitive job market and transition our state to a high wage economy. Some of my Republican colleagues think we can solve our education woes by expanding taxpayer-supported vouchers, but it is a solution that only takes money away from public schools.

Some have offered gimmicks – like the so called 65% solution – which serious education experts agree does absolutely nothing to address our challenges. Instead, we must increase our public school academic standards, and focus on the skill sets required for the next generation of workers and that are vital to a knowledge-based job market Right now, our entire education system is organized around the results of a one day test. The FCAT is a test not a solution – and indeed overreliance on it as the sole organizing principle of our school system has narrowed our curriculum and made minimal competence the ceiling for achievement rather than the floor.

I believe there is an appetite for change – and am heartened by the interest of many Republicans — to reform our accountability system perhaps by using more expansive end of course exams in high school in lieu of a one-size fits all FCAT. In elementary school we need to start measuring more things that matter rather than simply minimal competence in a few subjects. But accountability reform is meaningless if your classrooms are overcrowded and teachers horribly underpaid. Efforts to emasculate the class size amendment need to be rebuffed as we get closer to its full implementation next year. We are already seeing its benefits with some modest increases in national test scores in elementary classes and an improvement in Advance Placement participation in high school. Now would be the very worst time to decide we simply can’t afford to put our children in manageably sized classrooms.

In times of economic anxiety, Americans tend to seek the kind of training and self-improvement that you might expect. That is why our colleges are bursting at the seams with new enrollment and students seeking to improve their job skills. In my hometown, Miami Dade Community College – one of the biggest colleges in the world – has nearly 100,000 students who are the first person in their families to seek higher education and move from low wage to high wage opportunities Republican proposals that continue to balance the budget on the back of higher education are unbelievably shortsighted and the worst thing possible we could do in times of economic downturn.

This is why I, along with Senator Ted Deutch have introduced legislation that will close a tax loophole that allows mega-companies to hide their income in other states to avoid paying their fair share. The revenue generated by closing this loophole will be earmarked to reduce property taxes and give over $100 million in recurring funds to our state universities and community colleges. Next, we must work to reduce the cost of homeownership. Property insurance and property taxes are taking up an ever increasing slice of the family budget. Some in Tallahassee claim that we have “solved” the problem, but you and I know better. We must not retreat from our battle with the insurance industry and we must guarantee more meaningful rate reduction. The bipartisan measure we passed in January 2007 was just a first step in the right direction from a Republican legislature that had been far too obedient to the insurance industry. We have a long ways to go.

We believe we must give the Governor and CFO more authority and more weapons in this fight so that they will have a level playing field with an industry that has previously gotten its way with Tallahassee. We must force the industry to open their books and computer models so we can challenge what they use to justify unjustified rate increases Friends, we must also continue the fight to deliver tax relief through true reform. I don’t believe Floridians passed Amendment One because they believed it was good policy. They passed it because, quite frankly, they believed something was better than nothing, and had little faith the legislature would do more. I hope that the Taxation and Budget Commission will continue to address the inequities in Florida’s tax code.

But that doesn’t mean that shouldn’t keep working in the legislature—and we should start by cutting the state imposed property tax. My Republican friends who love to endlessly demagogue this issue never mention that under Governor Bush and the Republican legislature, the state imposed property tax for education has increased by more than $4 billion dollars over the last ten years, while close to the same amount was doled out in tax breaks to special interests and a privileged few. By cracking down on corporations who receive too much of a free pass in Florida, we can move much of the burden of education spending from homeowners and back to Tallahassee where it belongs. You and I pay our taxes in a responsible fashion—and so should they.

Next, our health care crisis. And it is a full blown crisis. In 1998 about one in twenty of our neighbors lacked access to primary health care – today nearly one in five are – nearly 4 million working Floridians – lack a health care safety net. Democrats continue our call to expand the successful KidCare program that provides quality health insurance to Florida’s children. This goal is within reach as a small increase in the cigarette tax – as suggested by Representative Waldman — would provide enough revenue to ensure that every child has health insurance. It seems like a wise tradeoff, as to leave almost 1 million children without health insurance is simply amoral. I am pleased that Governor Crist is focusing on health care. I think it makes sense to replicate outreach programs – like the model in the South Broward hospital district – throughout the state.

I also think it makes sense to look at other ways to deliver innovative insurance products that may bring down the cost to within reach of more of our residents. However, we have to be careful because if we relieve insurers of too many mandates we will simply be delivering the illusion of insurance to people who need real help. With regard to our Medicaid population, both the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Inspector General have criticized the two Medicaid pilot projects in Broward and Duval counties. They have neither reduced costs nor improved care for our Medicaid population. Now would be a horrible time to expand these programs to other counties, especially my county of Miami-Dade where the programs defects will only be amplified.

My fellow Floridians, state economists tell us that Florida’s revenue base has not been this bad in decades. This week, we will cut more than $500 million, just to balance this year’s budget. Republican leaders have indicated that the bulk of those cuts will come from public education—a move that is both wrong and shortsighted. Making hard times harder is not the answer. We must do better. My Republican colleagues are going to be faced with a choice: do we gut programs critical to middle class families or do we crack down on corporations who are receiving a free pass, while the rest of us make up the difference. You have been clear in your message: you want a new direction and you want leadership that avoids the rank partisanship of the past. My friends, that is what my caucus strives to achieve. In the last sixteen months, you have elected Democrats to replace Republicans in nine seats—the most ever in a two year cycle—and we know that you will take them back if we aren’t listening. We live in one of the most amazing places on the planet, but our destiny is yet to be written.

By working together, we can achieve greatness. Thanks for listening. God bless you and this great state we call home.

 

Frank Mayernick at (850) 251-8898
Tracy Mayernick at (850) 445-3000
at Colodny Fass

To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an email to ccochran@cftlaw.com.