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A collective sigh of relief could be heard in Committee
Room 212 Thursday afternoon following a nail-biting 7-7 vote on
Children's Services bill HB 1227. The tie vote meant the harmful bill was not reported
favorably by the House Military and Local Affairs Committee, and
therefore dead. On Wednesday, the Senate version, SB 1216 by Sen. Joe Negron, passed through its second committee
(Community Affairs) with an 8-2 vote, Sens. Rudy Garcia
(R-Miami-Dade) and Jeremy Ring (D-Broward) voting no. With the bill dead in the House, it is presumably finished
for this session. However, Sen. Negron vowed he would be back next
year. Additionally, in the remaining three weeks of session, CSCs must
keep a watchful eye for unfriendly amendments on other legislation.
In Thursday's
committee meeting, a number of representatives voiced concerns about
the bill, questioning why it was even necessary when current law gives
a community the means to address concerns they may have with their
local CSC. Speaking to the bill's requirement of automatic referendum
every six years, Rep. Mark Pafford (D-Palm Beach) questioned House
sponsor Debbie Mayfield asking if she doubted county governments'
ability to address potential issues with their CSCs. He also questioned
whether she felt comfortable making decisions at the state level for
local communities with a CSC.
As time grew
short, Committee Vice Chair Chris Dorworth (R-Seminole) requested a
procedural maneuver that limited further debate and did not allow CSC
supporters to testify. In closing, Rep. Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota)
presented outstanding final debate questioning why, when CSCs have had
a record of success in serving children, anyone would make them a
target among all the other special districts in Florida.
Special Thanks
Florida CSC would
like to recognize and thank the House committee members who stood up
for Florida's children by voting "no" on the CSC bill. They
are: Reps. Ron Schultz (R-Citrus), John Wood (R-Polk), Mark Pafford
(D-Palm Beach), Mack Bernard (D-Palm Beach), Janet Long (D-Pinellas),
Keith Fitzgerald (D-Sarasota), and Evan Jenne (D-Broward).
To the many CSC
supporters who, this week, attended hearings to testify, many traveling
a long way, thank you. The list includes: Jeff Koons, Palm Beach County
Commissioner; Sheriff Robert Crowder, Martin County; Jane Murphy, CEO
of Hillsborough Healthy Start Coalition; Rayme Nuckles, CEO of the
Hillsborough Homeless Coalition; Brandon Wagner, Hillsborough County
Lobbyist; Kathy Adams, Chair, Palm Beach ELC and former board chair of
the Palm Beach CSC; Maria Alonso, Chair, The Children's Trust of
Miami-Dade; Don Rosen, Deputy Mayor of the City of Sunrise; Ted
Granger, President, United Way of Florida; Alisa Ghazvini, Association
of Early Learning Coalitions; and Karen Woodall, Coordinator, Coalition
for Fair and Comprehensive Tax Reform.
Also, a huge thank you to
the many advocates and members of local communities who contacted
legislators and state leadership to voice their support for CSCs and
Florida's children - proof once again that CSCs are "by the
people, for the children."
CALL TO ACTION: Contact members of the House Military
& Local Affairs Committee who voted "no" on HB
1227 and thank them for standing up for Florida's children.
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Legislature to Resume Budget Talks Next Week
There was no live action on the budget this week.
Nonetheless, high-level talks continued on big picture revenue issues
such as allocation of gaming funds and whether to spend pending Federal
FMAP dollars. It appears that recent developments posture the legislature
toward a budget not much unlike the plan presented by the Governor,
despite early criticisms of his approach. Announcement of
conference committee members is expected sometime in the middle of next
week, to be followed by an organizational meeting. Thus far, FCSC
funding priorities have fared better than expected, although the items
highlighted below require an intensive effort during conference
committee deliberations. Contact information for conferees should be
available in the next issue of Capitol
Connection.
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PROPOSED
CHANGES (+/-) COMPARED TO 2009-10 BUDGET AS OF 4/2/10
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ISSUE
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HOUSE
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SENATE
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COMMENT
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+ $35.5 M
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+
$2.8 M
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Despite
increase over last year, the Senate budget still represents a nearly
10% cut in VPK. The House has a 1% cut. Click here for
details.
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- $4 M
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$0
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House proposes eliminating Healthy Start
Coalitions and transferring service dollars to County Health Departments.
See Call to Action below.
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$0
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$0
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Legislative staff say base budget is covered.
House conforming bill cuts monthly stipend to $675, nearly half of
what it was.
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Maintenance Adoption Subsidies
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- $1.8 M
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Juvenile Assessment Centers
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Contact main budget chairs, Sen. JD Alexander and Rep.
David Rivera on all of these issues.
- Healthy
Start -- Contact House leadership (Speaker Cretul), the Chair of
the Full Appropriations Council on General Government and Health
Care (Rep. Rivera), and the Chair of the Health Care
Appropriations Committee (Rep. Grimsley) to restore funding for Healthy Start Coalitions
during conference negotiations.
- JACs -
Contact House members and urge them to restore $1 million in JAC
funding.
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Florida CSC participates in Live Web
Roundtable on Children's Issues
Amid the hectic pace of this week's legislative session,
child advocates and state lawmaker Rep. Alan Williams took time to
participate Thursday in a live web video discussion on children's
issues hosted by the Tallahassee
Democrat. The roundtable capped off a week-long series by the Democrat to highlight issues
affecting Florida's children prior to Children's Week next week. During
the hour-long roundtable, participants shared their perspectives on the
status of children in Florida related to the state budget, as well as
what Florida can do differently to make better investments in children
over the long term.
Participants included: Florida Rep. Allan Williams
(D-Leon); Florida CSC Director of Outreach and Operations Kriss
Vallese; Ann Davis, Executive Director of Capital Area Health Start;
Serena Moyle, site manager of Tallahassee momslikeme.com; Ed Feaver of
the Lawton Chiles Foundation and member of the board of directors of
the Early Learning Coalition and the steering committee of Whole Child
Leon; Chris Duggan, CEO of the Early Learning Coalition of the Big Bend
region; Ted Granger, President, United Way of Florida; Jack Levine,
founder of 4Generations Institute; Roy Miller, president and founder of
the Children's Campaign of Florida; Nick Millar, Governmental Affairs
Director for AMIkids; and Deborah Moore, Circuit Director, Second
Judicial Guardian Ad Litem Program.
House
Medicaid Reform Plan Unveiled
On Monday, the
House released its much-anticipated Medicaid reform expansion proposal.
The next evening, the House Select Policy Council on Strategic and
Economic Planning passed it. While it has some similarities to the
Senate proposal, it is fundamentally different in its overall approach.
Unlike the Senate proposal, which would expand the current 5-county
reform area to an additional 19 counties, the House plan would divide
the state into 6 geographic regions, with the first - Miami-Dade County
- being added to the current reform areas in 2011, generating an
estimated $40 million in savings next year. By 2015, all 2.7 million
Medicaid patients would be in a managed care setting in one of the 6
regions. The 6 regions are:
· Escambia County
(Pensacola) to Madison County, just east of Tallahassee;
· Nassau County in
the northeast corner of the state to Citrus County on the Gulf Coast;
· Tampa Bay area
south to Lee County;
· Orlando
metropolitan area and nearby areas of Central Florida;
· Broward, Palm
Beach and rural counties in South Florida; and
· Miami-Dade,
Collier and Monroe counties.
Republican leaders
have long sought to eliminate the fee-for-services payment method
Medicaid has used since it was implemented 40 years ago. They claim it
provides incentives for health care providers to perform unnecessary
services that will increase their fees. Under a managed care system, a
set fee is paid, thus capping the amount of services provided. This
approach, embraced by both the House and Senate proposals, is intended
to reduce the cost of the $19 billion program. Another provision
intended to ensure that Medicaid funds are used for services is a
requirement in both bills that HMOs and provider networks spend at
least 85% of the money on medical services and direct care management.
If they don't, they will be fined.
At the House
Council meeting, every human service advocate asking to testify was
opposed to the bill. In particular, hospitals and doctors contend the
legislation will make it harder to find doctors to work in emergency
rooms and that they will be forced to work with HMOs without being able
to negotiate better care for their patients (because the state contract
with the HMOs will set the standards), hospice and elder groups oppose
it because of the requirement for long term care to be included, and
disabilities groups oppose it because they have seen significant
reductions in service in the last few years and this portends yet
another, for a population whose needs are significantly underfunded to
begin with.
~ Source: United
Way of Florida, Legislative Link
newsletter
Children's
Week is Next Week
With dire budget
forecasts and harmful legislation under consideration, child advocates
have been in full gear since the very first day of the 2010 legislative
session, and before. However, in the week ahead, the Capitol City
and communities around the state will pause to celebrate what these
advocates fight for every day - children and families. With the
Children's Week kick-off beginning this Sunday, youngsters and their
supporters will gather en masse at the Capitol to advocate, celebrate,
learn and network about the most important issues facing
Florida: the health and wellbeing of our children. The event,
which the Florida CSC is proud to co-sponsor again, has grown in
attendance and offerings each year, and 2010 is no exception. If
you haven't made plans to attend, it's not too late to join
in. Details can be found here.
CSCs
Receive Overwhelming Support in Media, Letters
The outpouring of
support for Children's Services Councils in response to bills (SB 1216
and HB 1227) that would forever alter the way CSCs operate has been truly
remarkable. Newspapers across the state have written in opposition to
the bills. Additionally, child service providers, community leaders and
local citizens have written numerous letters of support to their
newspapers and lawmakers. Here are just a few of the many editorials
and letters written.
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ELC Bills
The Early Learning bill, SB
2014 by Sen. Stephen Wise (R-Duval), which addresses various
administrative and governance issues, passed favorably through
Children, Families & Elder Affairs and is pending a reference
review. It is scheduled next for Transportation & Economic
Development Appropriations if received. A similar bill, HB
1203 by Rep. Nelson (R-Orange) and members of the PreK-12
Policy Committee is now on the agenda for Full Appropriations Council on
Education & Economic Development.
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by Sen. Mike Haridopolos (R-Brevard), also known as
TABOR, was withdrawn from Government Oversight &
Accountability and is now in Finance and Tax. The bill proposes an
amendment to the state constitution to limit tax revenues and, if
passed by the electorate, would require voter approval of new taxes and
fees. The bill no longer includes local governments under the spending
cap, so it would only apply to state revenues. The bill needs a
three-fifths vote from both the House and Senate to get on this fall's
ballot.
Assessment Limits for Non-Homestead Property, Additional
Exemptions for New Homeowners
SJR
1254 by Mike Fasano (R-Pasco) is still in the
Finance and Tax Committee. The resolution proposes amendments to the
State Constitution to reduce from 10 percent to 5 percent the
limitation on annual assessment increases applicable to non-homestead
real property, provide an additional homestead exemption for new owners
of homestead property and application and limitations with respect
thereto. Similar Bill, HB 655 by Carl Domino (R- Palm Beach), is in
Rules & Calendar Council.
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Transition
Services for Youth
SB 1356 by Sen. Stephen Wise
(R-Duval) passed unanimously in Judiciary. The bill permits the
Department of Juvenile Justice to provide transition to adulthood
services to youth in DJJ's custody or supervision. HB 627 by Rep. Ari Porth
(D-Broward) remains in Full Appropriations Council on Education &
Economic Development, it's third of four committee stops.
Background Screenings
HB 7069 by
the Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council along with Rep. Snyder
(R-Martin) and Rep. Ari Porth (D- Broward) passed unanimously in the
House and is in Senate Messages awaiting approval by the full Senate.
The bill prevents individuals from working with children, disabled
adults or adults over 65 until they pass a background screening. It
also prevents those classified as sexual predators from ever being able
to work with vulnerable individuals.
Concurrent
Custody
SB 334 by
Sen. Ronda Storms (R-Hillsborough) was approved by the Senate Criminal
and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. The bill now
goes to the Senate floor. Companion bill, HB 25
by Rep. Rich Glorioso (R-Hillsborough), will likely be voted upon on
the floor of the House in the coming week.
CALL TO ACTION: Please urge passage of these bills, which provide a
legal remedy for extended family caregivers to obtain needed services
for children in their care.
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Juvenile Justice Blueprint
Bill
CS/SB 1072 by Sen. Stephen Wise (R-Duval) passed the Senate
Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee Tuesday and has
been placed on the calendar on second reading. A similar bill in the
House, HB 7181 by Rep. Kevin Ambler (R-Hillsborough), is on the
agenda in Criminal & Civil Justice Policy Council. The bill makes a
number of changes to juvenile justice laws in an effort to enhance
services for youth in the Juvenile Justice system. The bill encourages
the diversion of youth nine years of age or younger who are found by a
court to pose no danger to the community and are unlikely to recidivate
back into supervision; expands the definition of "child in need of
services" and "family in need to services" to allow
those youth to be served by the CINS/FINS network; promotes the use of
restorative justice practices to support victims of juvenile
delinquency; adds counties, municipalities, and the Department of
Juvenile Justice to the specified entities that are encouraged to
create pre-arrest or post-arrest diversion programs for youth nine
years of age or younger and youth who are first time misdemeanants;
prohibits a youth nine years of age or younger from being placed in
secure detention unless the youth has been charged with a capital
felony, a life felony, or a felony of the first degree; and requires
the DJJ to create the Disproportionate Minority Contact Task Force as a
way to address minority over-representation in the Juvenile Justice
system.
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Booster Seat Bill
SB 316 by Sen. Thad Altman (R-Brevard) passed
unanimously in Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations
and is on the Senate calendar on second reading. It would require
booster seats, in addition to seat belts, for children aged 4 through 7
and less than 4'9" to protect the child by properly using a crash
tested, federally approved child restraint device. It also provides
certain exceptions, and redefines the term "motor vehicle" to
exclude certain vehicles from such requirements. Sadly, the House bill
(HB 387) still has not been heard in its first committee, Roads, Bridges
and Ports.
CALL TO ACTION: With the Senate bill progressing, the holdup is in the
House. Contact Speaker Cretul and Reps. Cannon and Murzin to encourage
they move the House bill.
Bill
to Create Collier County CSC Passes House Committee
HB 511
by Rep. Matt Hudson (R-Collier) passed the House Military & Local
Affairs committee by an 11-3 vote this week. The bill provides a
charter to create an independent special district to provide children's
services in Collier County. The Senate companion, SB 1162, has not been
heard in committee.
Bills Propose Changes in State Employee Retirement Plan
Legislation (CS/SB 2022) by Sen. JD Alexander would require
public employees to pay one-quarter of one percent of their gross pay
into the Florida Retirement System starting Jan. 1, 2011. This would
help to offset a potential $15 billion shortfall in the fund, its first
deficit in a dozen years. The bill was read a third time on the Senate
floor and passed 26-7.
On
the House side, HB 5701 was approved by the full House and
sent to the Senate for approval or to be considered during budget
conference. The Senate returned the bill and agreed to discuss in
conference negotiations. The bill eliminates the retiree health
insurance subsidy, which equals $5 per month for every year of service
up to a maximum of $150 a month. The House and Senate are likely to
reach agreement on changes related to the Florida Retirement System as
part of the budget conference process.
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TAKE
NOTE
Capitol
Connection is also available online at the FCSC web site.
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