Latest news with #FloridaPhoenix
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here we go: Legislators back to pass a budget
Florida Capitol in Tallahassee. (Photo by Jay Waagmeester/Florida Phoenix) The state's budget expires in 27 days and legislators are back in town to make sure there's a spending plan in place July 1 to avoid a government shutdown. Leadership unveiled budget 'allocations' Monday night that show how the Legislature will spend about $50 billion in general revenue, or state funds, across various government agencies. Most of the money will go to two areas: education and health care with the former receiving more than $22 billion and the latter about $17.5 billion. The budget will also include 2% pay raises for roughly 100,000 state employees. Those workers won't have to worry about increased health insurance costs either because the chambers have agreed to pump hundreds of millions into the state employee health insurance trust fund to keep it solvent in lieu of increasing costs for state workers. As a reminder, monthly premiums for most employees are set at $50 a month for individuals and $180 a month for families. Senior-level employees have an even better deal on their monthly premiums: $8.34 for individuals and $30 a month for family plans. The pay raises were first reported by Florida Politics and confirmed in a statement the Senate released from Sen. Cory Simon, a Republican whose district includes Leon County, home to the state government and tens of thousands of its employees. Simon praised Senate President Ben Albritton and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Ed Hooper for the investment in state employees calling it 'important for recruitment, retention, and morale.' 'Florida has one of the lowest per capita populations of state workers in the country. We have a lean, but strong and talented state workforce, and it's important to me that we invest in maintaining top talent to serve the people of our state. 'A pay raise for our hardworking and dedicated state employees has been a priority of the Senate throughout the entire budget process. The allocations finalized last week include funding for a 2% across the board pay increase for state workers ($1000 minimum). Also important, what often goes unseen is the significant investment the state is making in state employee health insurance. Again this year, employees are being held harmless from increases in premiums and copays,' Simon said in the statement. 'As we move forward into the conference, the Senate will continue to prioritize additional targeted increases for law enforcement, firefighters, and other professions where we need to further increase salaries to remain competitive with the private sector.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Florida law enforcement officials express concern about scams on seniors, but offer few details
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister in Tampa on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Mitch Perry/ Florida Phoenix) A host of top law enforcement officers briefed reporters in Tampa on Monday about their concerns about senior citizens in Florida being scammed by prisoners — alhough they offered few details. They did say that the culprits exploiting older Florida residents are state prisoners whose weapons in these cases are contraband phones, cryptocurrency, and drone devices. According to Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, a 92-year-old man has been robbed of more $800,000 over a two-year period and one of the perpetrators is an incarcerated individual. He added that more information would come later. 'We will have formal charges, but it got to the point where we started connecting the dots and realized we need to put the public on notice that a lot of these calls and outreach to seniors, it could very much be a scam,' said Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon announced that in conjunction with the attorney general's office and other agencies, 'Operation Triple Threat' took place last week in three correction facilities containing approximately 3,000 inmates to search for illegal cellphones. All told, he said, officers captured 400 phones. He did not name the prisons. Nor did the Department of Corrections respond immediately to an inquiry. When asked asked how many cases involve prison inmates taking financial advantage of seniors, Uthmeier said 'at least three known cases,' although he added that no formal charges have been brought to date. 'We're still expanding to see how far it goes, but at least a few different perpetrators and likely several more than that as far as victims,' he said. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass also appeared at the media availability. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Florida AG Uthmeier again defends his stance in state immigration case
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier in Tampa on June 2, 2025. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier says it's pretty basic why he won't tell local law enforcement officers in Florida to stand down from enforcing a new state law on immigration enforcement, as a federal judge ordered him to do earlier this year. He says it's because he's not their boss. 'These guys — they don't work for me,' Uthmeier said on Monday in Tampa, referring to two Florida sheriffs standing next to him: Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister. 'They're independently elected county officers and they do a great job, but at the end of the day, they are their own officers. I'm not going to direct them when I don't have the authority and I don't believe the judge has the authority to do so.' Uthmeier spoke just days after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams heard legal arguments about whether she should hold him in contempt of court regarding the implementation of a new state law on immigration (SB 4-C), which makes it a misdemeanor for people in the U.S. illegally to enter Florida. Following a legal challenge by attorneys representing immigrant rights organizations, Williams blocked enforcement of the law on April 4. The issue that remains tethered to Uthmeier is a letter he sent to state law enforcement agencies, sheriffs, and police chiefs on April 23, when he wrote that he couldn't stop them from making arrests under the new law, and that, to him, 'no lawful, legitimate order currently impedes your agencies from continuing to enforce Florida's new illegal entry and reentry laws.' Judge Williams has said that Uthmeier not above the law and must abide by the court's orders. Uthmeier said on Monday that the issue goes to the separations of powers and legal jurisdictions. 'Nobody respects the rule of law more than me,' he said in response to an inquiry by a Phoenix reporter. 'But on your first day in law school you learn about the jurisdiction that judges have. And the orders of judges apply to parties before the judge in the case. The case in question in the Southern District. There have been prosecutors that have been sued in that case but no law enforcement agencies. So, when that judge asked me to direct law enforcement to stand down on enforcing the law, I'm not going to do that, because I do not have the authority to do that.' Uthmeier's office as well as the statewide prosecutor and state's attorneys have appealed Williams injunction barring enforcement of the law to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 'Again, I'm abiding by the court's order, but law enforcement has a job to do, and as long as they're not a party in the case and there's no injunction that is lawfully binding them, then I'm not going to stand in the way,' he said. Uthmeier, a former chief of staff to Gov. Ron DeSantis, was appointed by the governor to succeed Ashley Moody and become Florida's attorney general in February. He has already announced that he will run for a full term next year. DeSantis is backing Uthmeier's stance in this case, saying last month in Tampa that the federal judge in this case has gone beyond her authority in calling on Florida law enforcement agencies to stop making immigration arrests. 'She's trying to exercise authority that she does not possess. Fine,' DeSantis said at the time. 'There's parties to the case and she's rendered a decision even though it's a flawed decision that will be appealed. … You can't go out and then say some sheriff in the Panhandle is somehow subject to your order — they were not involved in the litigation at all.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
DeSantis signs anti-squatting bills benefiting hospitality industry, retail property owners
Miami river skyline on May 30, 2025. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills on Monday that allow hotels and business property owners to have police remove squatters. Under SB 606, police can remove a person from a hotel and arrest them after receiving a written notice that they need to leave if they fail to check out on time and refuse to pay for their stay. Similarly, SB 322 allows a business space owner to submit a form to the local sheriff to remove someone unlawfully occupying the property without a lease. 'What we've seen is hotel guests just not pay and squat in the hotel,' DeSantis said during the bill signing ceremony in Sarasota. 'This forces the owner of the hotel to go through basically a traditional eviction process.' Retail property owners will have to pay the sheriff's office for serving the removal notice to the people squatting and for law enforcement to stay while the people leave. However, the alleged squatter can sue for wrongful removal and collect damages if any of their belongings are damaged, and recover their attorney fees. Both measures go into effect on July 1. Hotels and restaurants will have to inform guests about any service charges, such as automatic tips, on their menus and receipts under the bill sponsored by St. Augustine Republican Tom Leek. Gil Reyes, Suncoast chapter president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and general manager of the hotel where the ceremony took place, thanked the governor for signing the bill. 'This legislation is a win for Florida's hospitality industry,' he said. 'It brings our laws in line with current practices, offers clear guidance, and supports both property rights and consumer understanding again.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Would Floridians notice if state government shut down?
Florida's Old Capitol and New Capitol, viewed from the Leon County Courthouse on March 21, 2022. (Photo by Michael Moline/Florida Phoenix) While the Florida Legislature exhibits nowhere near the level of bile-spitting, brainless dysfunction you get in Washington, they haven't exactly been a model of a sleek, responsive government machine. For weeks, there was no budget. No hint of a budget. Instead of getting done the one thing the Constitution says they have to get done, they've been indulging in that sure-fire negotiating tactic: insulting each other. Then Friday: a trickle of white smoke emanating from the Capitol. Habemus budget! A budget framework, anyway. It's a bit short on details, other than 'permanent sales tax exemptions targeted toward Florida families,' elimination of sales tax on commercial leases, and a boost to the state's rainy-day fund. Money for education, health care, environmental restoration, culture, roads — little stuff like that — has yet to be spelled out. Seems House and Senate leaders will be meeting this week to thrash out details and plan, they claim, to hold a vote by June 16. Things remain contentious, and that's not counting the wild card in the process: our congenitally angry governor. He can veto appropriations he doesn't like or, knowing him, appropriations he thinks his legislative enemies particularly care about. The state budget is not yet a done deal. If it's not passed by June 30, we could even have a government shutdown. Thought experiment: Would you notice? Bears might: Shuttered FWC offices could slow down final approval for bear hunting, passed by this year after passionate lobbying from the Davy Crockett Caucus. State workers might: Their paychecks would be suspended. Holders of state contracts might: They'll be in limbo. Anyone wanting to visit a state park might: The gates will be locked. Still, most Floridians probably wouldn't realize their government isn't working. It often doesn't. Work, that is. Instead of addressing our numerous problems, from unaffordable housing to unaffordable insurance to inflation to flooding, elected officials prefer to spend much of their time worrying about pronouns, boasting about helping Trump's storm troopers arrest brown folks, or trying to rename the Gulf of Mexico. Floridians don't expect much. And not much is what we'll get. Floridians don't expect much. And not much is what we'll get. The Senate wanted sales tax 'holidays' for clothes, tools, hurricane preparedness, and 'Second Amendment Summer items,' i.e. cross bows, firearms, ammo. The House wanted to slash state sales taxes from six percent to 5.25%. Who knows which, and in what form, these proposals will survive the process. The governor hates all of it. He's been stomping around the state throwing tantrums about how lower sales taxes only help tourists and 'foreigners,' railing, 'I don't want to give Canadians a tax cut.' He might not have to worry about tax relief for those sinister Canadians much longer: They're selling their Florida condos and taking vacations in Mexico and Portugal instead. DeSantis' plan? Give every homeowner a $1,000 rebate. Then work up to abolishing property taxes altogether. Awesome! Lower taxes! Maybe no taxes! We hate taxes, right? Problem is, most of us love schools, sidewalks, roads, garbage pick-up, parks, police departments, fire departments, municipal pools, good drinking water, bike paths, animal shelters, electricity, and emergency medical services. Florida cities and counties depend on taxes to fund these. The House and Senate plan will reduce the state budget by $2.25 billion. That's likely to hurt everybody. No surprise. A number of measures passed this session are not exactly citizen-friendly. One example: Given our increasingly strong hurricanes and the floods they bring, the state should encourage people to rebuild more resilient structures. But no: A bill approved this session will block attempts to strengthen construction after storms. The idea is to 'streamline' the process (translation: Help developers who can sue if a local government institutes 'burdensome or restrictive' rules) so you can build your house or your business or your school back under the same outdated codes that failed to protect it last time. The bill also raises the price of flood insurance. Nice, huh? Another example: In a fit of good taste, the Senate refused to confirm some of DeSantis' more appalling University of West Florida board nominees, including yahoos who think the GI Bill was a bad idea or that women don't belong in higher education. Good for them. But legislators had a chance to do even more for higher education by putting college president searches back in the sunshine where they belong. Bills stopping the governor installing his hand-picked faith followers sailed through various committees, but in the end they were withdrawn. Fear of a gubernatorial melt-down? Line-item vetoes of pet projects? Presidents will still be chosen in secret subject to the whims of the governor and his tame boards of trustees. To be fair, the Legislature did decide to forbid oil and gas drilling within 10 miles of the Apalachicola Estuarine Reserve, and passed a bill to shield state parks from the kind of boneheaded nonsense the governor wanted in 2024: You know, 'improving' the parks with golf courses, pickleball courts, and luxury hotels. DeSantis actually realized (for once) he'd screwed up big time last year and signed the bill. This year, he demonstrated he hadn't quite learned his lesson. A secretive outfit calling itself Upland LLC wanted the state to give it 600 acres of preservation lands on the Guana River in St. Johns County in exchange for 3,000 acres of non-contiguous, less environmentally significant property scattered around four counties. Apparently, that swap sounded good to DeSantis. The state Acquisition and Restoration Council served up a report claiming there was nothing special about the Guana River land, no historic sites, no amazing habitat, nothing like that — never mind the ancient Native American shell middens, wood storks, roseate spoonbills, and old oak hammocks — and rushed the required public comment meeting. Genuine Floridians (the ones their government ignores) rose up on their hind legs and said hell, no. Loudly. Upland, its feelings hurt, pulled out of the deal — no thanks to DeSantis and his Department of Environmental Prostitution. Why, you ask, is this state so self-defeating? Or, to put it another way, why can't we have nice things? Florida has one of the most regressive taxation systems in the country, what the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy calls an 'upside down' model. The rich pay a far smaller percentage of their income than the middle classes and the poor. If the state decides to deprive itself — us — of tax dollars, we will all suffer. Florida's social safety net is already tattered. Twenty percent of children live in poverty. The state ranks 40th in child health and 45th in economic well-being. You'd think lawmakers would figure out helping to feed, educate, and take care of children is worth the money: Healthy, educated people contribute to the economy. But children don't vote. Or write big fat campaign checks. It's bad enough our so-called representatives can't do their jobs in a timely manner and must keep coming back for special sessions to decide which taxes to cut and by how much while simultaneously costing the taxpayer around $50,000 every day they hang around in Tallahassee. The governor, the most mobility impaired of waterfowl, his political career in the dumpster, his wife's charity under investigation for possible money laundering, still wants to abolish property taxes. Maybe he thinks that will give him a nice slogan to run for president on if we have an election in 2028. The Legislature wants to curry favor with their voters by giving them a break on stuff they buy. Everybody loves a bargain, right? But it's not much of a bargain if your quality of life goes to hell. Cities and counties are staring into the abyss, wondering how they'll fund everything citizens expect. School roofs won't be repaired, parks won't be maintained, bad water pipes won't be fixed, new cops won't be hired, EMS will be cut, potholes will proliferate. But hey, it's a small price to pay for a sales tax break on batteries and backpacks, right?
