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On Thursday, Children's Services bill, SB 1216,
made its first stop in the Senate Committee on Children, Families and
Elder Affairs. Presented by sponsor Sen. Joe Negron, the bill
would require Children's Services Councils to have their budgets,
millage and land purchases approved by the county commission. The bill
would add another county commissioner to the membership of the
Councils' governing boards and would require voters to reauthorize
their local Children's Services Councils every eight years via
referendum. After committee members raised a number of questions, Sen.,
Negron agreed to temporarily postpone the bill. The bill is expected to
be on the committee's agenda again in the third week of
session. The companion bill in the House -- HB 1227
by Rep. Debbie Mayfield -- received its committee references this week.
Its first stop will be Military and Local Affairs.
A distinguished group of business people, citizen
leaders, CSC board members and child advocates attended the meeting to
address the existing accountability of CSCs, and the importance of
preserving what local voters had decided for their own
communities. Many thanks go to Maria Alonso (Chair, The Children's
Trust of Miami-Dade County), Judge Ronald Alvarez (Palm Beach County
Juvenile Court Judge), Dr. Mel Jurado (Member, Hillsborough County
Early Learning Coalition), Barbara Allan (business person from Palm
Beach County), Ted Granger (President, United Way of Florida), Kathy
Adams (Board Chair, Palm Beach Early Learning Coalition) and Emelio
Benetiz (Childnet, Broward County) for taking time to travel at their
own expense to share their insights with state lawmakers. Florida
CSC will continue to provide updates on this bill as session moves
forward.
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Lawmakers Get Down to Business
As
Florida faces its third consecutive year of budget shortfalls, the
Governor, along with House Speaker Larry Cretul and Senate President Jeff
Atwater, attempted to set the tone for the 85th Regular
Legislative Session. Their message was clear. Over the next 60 days,
legislators should focus on efficiency, transparency and
accountability. And with a projected budget shortfall of $3 billion, the
painful and all-too-familiar "belt-tightening" will continue.
Gov. Crist also emphasized that his top priority for the 2010
Legislative Session would be to maintain jobs and prosperity for
Floridians.
In
the interest of providing relief to Florida businesses -- and combating
Florida's nearly 12 percent unemployment rate -- the House and Senate
moved swiftly to pass an unemployment compensation bill on the first
day of session. The bill (HB 7033), which delays a scheduled
increase in unemployment compensation taxes, was also signed by the
Governor on Day One.
Among other priorities, Senate President Atwater said he
will ask voters to reconsider the class size amendment that passed in
2002. House Speaker Cretul said he would be looking at agency
consolidations. With half of Senate members and all of the House
members up for election in November, most of them are unlikely to raise
taxes this year. That leaves two ways to balance the budget: cut services,
and/or raid trust funds.
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House Releases Early Budget Allocations
House Speaker Larry Cretul released his initial budget
allocations Thursday, spending the largest share on public schools. He earmarked
$9 billion for schools, with $600 million coming out of trust funds in
an effort to avoid new taxes or fees. While that amount is a 9 percent
increase in state funding, it is largely offset by a loss in local
dollars due to declining property tax revenues. Cretul's allocations
for health and human services totaled $6.7 billion in general revenue,
supplemented with another $5 billion from state trust funds (mostly
federal matching cash). State dollars going to health and social
programs are up 19 percent over last year in Cretul's allocations - but
an anticipated reduction of more than $1 billion in federal stimulus
money and the sharp spike in Medicaid enrollment diminishes the effect
of the extra state money. The long-range financial outlook adopted by
the Legislative Budget Commission anticipates a shortfall exceeding $5
billion for FY 2011-12 due primarily to the full effect of the flame
out of federal stimulus funding," Cretul said in the memo.
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Early Learning Advisory Council
Meets with Governor
The Early Learning
Advisory Council (ELAC), composed of the board chairs of Florida's 31
early learning coalitions, met in the Capitol City this
week. Florida CSC CEO Vivian Alarcon also serves on ELAC as the
designee of House Speaker Larry Cretul. The group heard an update from
AWI Director Cynthia Lorenzo, Early Learning Director Brittany Birken
and several reports on topics ranging from Whole Child, the early learning
information system, and key legislative issues. The two-day
meeting concluded with a meeting with Gov. Charlie Crist who thanked
the volunteers for their service and assured them of his commitment to
maintaining and improving Florida's early learning system.
Florida Named Finalist for "Race to the Top"
Federal Dollars
Florida
was named as one of 16 finalists that could receive up to $1 billion in
federal grant money for public schools that could dramatically change
the way the state's schools operate. Race to the Top, the Obama
administration's $4.35 billion competitive grant program, awards money
to schools that present bold education reform plans. And if the state
gets the money, the way schools do business could dramatically change.
The state's plan calls for a merit-based pay system for teachers as
well as heightened graduation standards, both of which are the subject
of current legislation before Florida lawmakers. Education Commissioner
Eric Smith will travel to Washington D.C. in a few weeks to present the
plans to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and other U.S.
Department of Education officials.
Forty
states and the District of Columbia submitted applications for the
grant, which were scored on a 500 point scale. Duncan said the 15
states and D.C. all scored more than 400 points. The winners will be
chosen in April after the interview process concludes. The sixteen
finalists are Colorado, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia,
Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee.
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Early Learning
SB 2394 by Sen. Rudy Garcia
(R-Miami-Dade) would transfer the Office of Early Learning within the
Department of Education and the child care facility licensing
responsibilities of the Department of Children and Families to the
Office of Early Learning within the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
The bill is scheduled to be heard first in the Committee on Children,
Families and Elder Affairs. No date has been set yet.
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KidCare
SB 2082 was filed by
Sen. Nan Rich (D-Broward). The bill provides that children under the
age of 1 may participate in the Medikids program. It also provides that
an eligible child who is a lawful immigrant may enroll in the Florida
KidCare program regardless of the child's date of entry, and would
allow Medicaid-eligible children to be deemed eligible for 12 months of
coverage regardless of any change in circumstances. A similar bill (HB 1545)
has been filed in the House by Rep. Juan Zapata (R-Miami-Dade).
Vaccinations
HB 117 by Rep. Kevin Ambler
(R-Hillsborough) would have created impediments to vaccination and
potential public health issues. The bill was temporarily postponed in
its first committee and then was withdrawn.
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Children's Trust Act of Collier County
SB 1162 by Sen. Garrett
Richter (R-Collier) place a ballot measure before the voters in
Collier County to propose creation of an independent special district
to provide children's services in Collier County.If passed by electors,
it provides for a governing board, membership, terms, and powers and
duties of the board. It also requires certain reports and audits. The
bill has not received committee references yet.
TABOR
SJR 2420 by Sen. Mike
Haridopolos (R-Brevard), known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, is a
controversial bill that was filed last year and stalled in committee.
The bill would limit revenue increases for all local governments to
inflation, plus population growth, unless voters approve it or a
supermajority of local officials take a vote. The bill has been
referred to five committees. Its first stop will be the Community
Affairs Committee.
Concurrent Custody
HB 25 by Rep. Rich
Glorioso (R-Hillsborough) and SB 334
by Sen. Ronda Storms (R-Hillsborough), establishishes concurrent
custody for extended family caregivers who are caring for their kin
children. Both bills moved forward during the first week of session. HB
25 was unanimously approved by the Criminal and Civil Justice Policy
Council and will now go to the House floor for a vote. SB 334 was
unanimously approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and goes next to
the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee. The bill
will provide relief to the thousands of grandparents and other
relatives who face barriers in obtaining services when they don't have
a court order showing custody.
Call to Action:
Ask your delegation members to vote "yes" on these bills,
which will help kinship families to provide appropriate care for the
children living with them while also protecting the rights of
biological parents.
Booster
Seat Bill
SB 316 by Sen. Thad
Altman (R-Brevard) passed its first committee and is scheduled to be
heard in the Criminal Justice Committee next week. The bill would
require booster seats, in addition to seat belts, for children aged 4
through 7. It also provides certain exceptions, and redefines the term
"motor vehicle" to exclude certain vehicles from such
requirements. The companion in the House is HB 387 by Reps. Rich Glorioso
(R-Hillsborough), Richard Steinberg (D-Miami-Dade), and others.
Call to Action: Call to support Rep.
Glorioso who is working hard for the House bill to be heard in its
first committee of reference - Roads and Bridges.
Special Senior Services District
SB 146 by Sen. Nan Rich
(D-Broward) passed the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder
Affairs. It would authorize counties to create, by ordinance, an
independent special district to provide senior services throughout the
county. The special districts could also levy property taxes to fund
those services if the majority of voters in the county approved doing
so. The bill provides the membership of the governing council, powers
and duties of the council, and reporting requirements.
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TAKE
NOTE
FCSC Capitol Hill
Days
March 16-17
Tallahassee
Rally for
Afterschool
April 20, 2010
Washington, DC
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Children's Week
Seeks Nominations for Innovation Awards
Children's Week has
launched its first-ever Community Innovation Awards to recognize
communities that are pursuing systemic change through collaboration and
meshing of programs and funding to address critical issues facing
children and families. The awards will be given annually to communities
that embrace collaboration by working across multiple sectors and
providers to address problems facing children 0-18 and their
families. The awards are presented by United Way of Florida and The
Lawton Chiles Foundation. Download the nomination form here. The
deadline to submit nominations is Friday, March 12 by 5 p.m. The
awards will be presented at the 2010 Children's Week Community
Innovation Awards Luncheon on Monday, April 12, 2010 in
Tallahassee. For more information regarding the luncheon, please
contact Jason Zaborske at info@childrensweek.org or (850)
251-7274. For information regarding the 2010 Children's Week
Community Innovation Awards, please contact Ted Granger at tgranger@uwof.org
or (850) 488-8287.
First-Ever Florida
Prosperity Caucus to Convene March 10
The Florida Prosperity Partnership, a statewide organization
dedicated to fair tax policy, improving financial literacy and expanding
free tax preparation, has partnered with Rep. Alan Williams
(D-Tallahassee) to convene the first-ever Prosperity Caucus of the
Florida Legislature. Many Children's Services Councils across the state
are involved with wealth-building opportunities and even serve as
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites. The Caucus will meet on March 10
from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. in House Office Building, Room
28. Participants will discuss opportunities to help all Floridians
be able to live the American Dream.
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Capitol
Connection is also available online at the FCSC web site.
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