Governor Mike Huckabee at the Defending the American Dream Summit

From the Desk of Nancy Pelosi

"We need to work toward the goal of equalizing income in our country and at the same time limiting the amount the rich can invest."

When asked how these new tax dollars would be spent, she replied: "We need to raise the standard of living of our poor, unemployed and minorities. For example, we have an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in our country who need our help along with millions of unemployed minorities. Stock market windfall profits taxes could go a long ways to guarantee these people the standard of living they would like to have as 'Americans'."

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Floridians want Republican in White House

Florida voters love the Republican they put in the Governor's Mansion, and they want a new one in the White House, according to a Mason-Dixon poll released today.

Gov. Charlie Crist remains wildly popular and fellow Republican, Arizona Sen. John McCain, would beat either of his two leading Democratic presidential rivals, according to the poll.

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Second term for Pruitt sounding possible?

With both Republican and Democratic polls showing the race between Sen. Jeff Atwater and former Sen. Skip Campbell a dead heat, there's a growing chorus of Republicans saying maybe it's time to alleviate the uncertainties and give Ken Pruitt another term. Atwater has been designated the next Senate president but it's a tough election year for Republicans and Campbell has shown the district has voted increasingly with Ds in recent elections.

Pruitt was elected to the Senate in 2000 but was among the group of senators given an extra two years after reapportionment in 2002. Other possible winners in the dead heat match-up: Jim King, another former Senate president whose term expires in 2010, Dennis Jones, who along with King will be running the Senate elections so Atwater can concentrate on his campaign, and Alex Villalobos, who was supposed to have a shot at the presidency until he was targeted and ousted.

Miami Herald

Rubio won't back down on taxes for Pruitt

Senate President Ken Pruitt has said the Senate does not want to wrangle again over property taxes. But that will not stop House Speaker Marco Rubio from trying.

“I understand if they don’t want to hear it ... it won’t happen,” Rubio said today in an interview with the St. Petersburg Times editorial board. "But we have to at least be able to say we tried, that we recognized the circumstances our state is facing economically, that we understand the challenges and the opportunities that we have and we did everything we could in our time there to make those things happen.

"Ultimately if the Senate doesn't want to do it, we’re not going to be angry. We have to accept that's how a bicameral process works. But I can’t allow those pronouncements to be what sets our agenda."

Tampabay.com

The Florida House Map

There was some discussion over at FPC over the latest Democratic victory in the special election in the 32nd district. This makes it nine seats we've gained since the November 2006 elections, a really amazing accomplishment considering where we stood before. Now the Republicans are down to a 77-41 advantage (with two Democratic-leaning open seats) and Democrats will certainly continue to chip away at these numbers in November of this year.

However I made this comment on the post that we should express some caution since most of these victories have been in Democratic-leaning districts and I wanted to go into my math.

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Poll: Crist should pass on veepstakes

Gov. Charlie Crist still overwhelmingly enjoys the support of Floridians, but they're also mixed on whether the governor should finish out his four-year term or take a spot on John McCain's presidential ticket this year.

A Mason-Dixon poll released Thursday showed only 36 percent of voters felt he should run as McCain's vice presidential nominee, if the job is offered. Forty-four percent said he had an "obligation to Floridians to finish his term." One-fifth of the 625 registered voters polled last week were undecided.

Crist has steadfastly refused to say much about the veepstakes, although the question is almost a compulsion for reporters by now. His answer to CNN yesterday was typical: "I haven't been asked, so it's really kind of moot at this point."

Crist had a 64 percent approval rating in the poll, while 24 percent said they thought he doing only a "fair" job. A lowly 12 percent thought he was doing a poor job, or weren't sure. Read the poll here: Download fl208poll_2.doc

The poll also showed McCain with a 47-37 lead in the state over Democrat Barack Obama, and a 49-40 lead over Hillary Clinton in the state.

Of 400 Democratic voters, the poll also found a split field when asked how the Democratic National Committee should resolve its fight with Florida over the state's earlier primary. Twenty-four percent said the national party should seat its convention delegates this summer without a do-over vote, while 28 percent thought Florida should have another primary or caucus to pick a nominee within party rules.

Orlando Sentinel

Pruitt: families have spoken on Bright Futures

Senate President Ken Pruitt applauded a decision Thursday by the Florida Board of Governors to back off its push to force students with scholarship programs like Bright Futures to pay more for their education.

The problem with the scholarship program is that when tuition rates are increased, so is the cost of the scholarships. The Board of Governors has wanted to separate the two, so that tuition rates can be raised without forcing the Legislature to increase funding for scholarships.

But Pruitt, the fiercest defender of Bright Futures in the Legislature, has said that amounts to a "cut" to the popular scholarship program. Last week, he announced the chamber would push a constitutional amendment declaring lawmakers alone, not the BOG, set tuition rates.

On Thursday, the board backed down, scrubbing a planned meeting on the topic and dropping its lobbying push "until we get a signal from legislative leadership that the scholarship program is coming under legislative review," board chair Carolyn Roberts said.

“Florida’s parents and students have spoken, and I am grateful their voices were heard," Pruitt responded.

Orlando Sentinel

Fight over St. Johns River water heats up

Joined by surrounding counties and environmentalists, Jacksonville is firing the first legal salvo in the war over the St. Johns River.

The goal is to keep fast-growing Central Florida from siphoning off millions of gallons of water each day from the river that meanders north from the Orlando area to the Atlantic Ocean in northeast Florida.

"There's not a scenario where a withdrawal is good for the environment and health of the river," Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton said Thursday.

He said his city would ask the state to hold a legal hearing over the dispute. The first target of legal challenges is an effort by Seminole County to draw river water from near Sanford.

Earlier this week, Seminole County sought unsuccessfully to discourage a water war.

"Costly lawsuits benefit no one," Seminole County Commission Chairwoman Brenda Carey wrote in a letter that includes plans for a summit on the river next week. "Before we consider litigation, we owe it to our citizens to work together on a viable solution."

Among others gearing for battle, both Clay County and St. Johns County commissioners this week gave their attorneys a go-ahead to join Jacksonville's legal assault.

Orlando Sentinel

Another Senate power play in the works? Not likely

There may be a nugget a truth to speculation that Senate Republicans are so nervous about the race between Senate President-designate Jeff Atwater and Democratic former Sen. Skip Campbell that they're eyeing who might take Atwater's place if he loses.

Sen. Jim King, the Jacksonville Republican who helmed the chamber in 2003-04, has created a political war chest called the Committee for Keeping Integrity in Government earlier this month and raised $16,000, according to its Web site.

King was just re-elected in 2006 and can't run again, so the need for the account is a bit curious.

Republican Sen. Charles Dean of Inverness has also created a new committee called Nature Coast Conservatives.

Of course, current Senate President Ken Pruitt would be the natural choice to keep the job if Atwater loses to Campbell, one inside source said. He will stay in the chamber for another two years after his presidency, and none of the other returning senators with presidential aspirations (save for King) have been able to build a sustainable majority of pledges from fellow Republican senators while in the chamber.

Orlando Sentinel

Global Warming? New Data Shows Ice Is Back

Are the world's ice caps melting because of climate change, or are the reports just a lot of scare mongering by the advocates of the global warming theory?

Scare mongering appears to be the case, according to reports from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that reveal that almost all the allegedly “lost” ice has come back. A NOAA report shows that ice levels which had shrunk from 5 million square miles in January 2007 to just 1.5 million square miles in October, are almost back to their original levels.

Moreover, a Feb. 18 report in the London Daily Express showed that there is nearly a third more ice in Antarctica than usual, challenging the global warming crusaders and buttressing arguments of skeptics who deny that the world is undergoing global warming.

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Why Democrats Should Love the FairTax

By Laurence Kotlikoff
February 24, 2008

SUPPOSE A presidential candidate proposed taxing wealth and using the proceeds to reduce taxes on workers and provide a rebate large enough to cover taxes paid by poor workers. Such a candidate would be hailed by the left and reviled by the right.

Thus, it's remarkable that so many Democrats, with the exception of presidential candidate Mike Gravel, oppose the FairTax and so many Republicans, particularly presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, support it. In fact, the FairTax, which replaces all federal taxes with a federal retail sales tax and provides a rebate, represents a way to tax wealth, reduce taxes on wages, and disproportionately redistribute money to the poor.

A sales tax effectively taxes wealth?

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First Girl President?

House Speaker Marco Rubio thought he had raised a good Republican daughter when his seven-year-old, Amanda, saw Hillary Clinton on TV and said she didn’t want the New York Senator to become the nation’s 44th president.

Turns out Rubio’s daughter’s position had nothing to do with right-leaning tendencies.

“I want to be the first girl president,” she said.

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Crist moves up State of the State

Gov. Charlie Crist wants to raise the TV ratings for his State of the State speech, so he's moving the traditional high-noon report on Florida government to an evening hour next Tuesday.

His decision will have a domino effect on the usual festivities that mark the opening of annual legislative sessions. The House and Senate will formally convene at 11 a.m. but — instead of a joint session to hear Crist — they will take an afternoon break and reassemble at 5:30 for a joint session to hear the big speech at 6 p.m.

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Bipartisan push to expand vouchers this year

In a year when money for public schools is likely to be cut, a coalition of Republican and Democratic lawmakers want to dramatically expand the number of children who get private-school vouchers.

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Proposal would also scrap state Ed board

Not only do Senate leaders propose stripping the Board of Governors of most of its powers in overseeing state universities, but SB 2308 by Sen. Lisa Carlton would do away with the State Board of Education and have the Cabinet -- including a newly elected education commissioner -- effectively serve as the board.

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Rouson gathering key endorsements

The campaign trail is looking bright for state House candidate Darryl Rouson

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CNN promotes Crist's VP stock

Gov. Charlie Crist played cat-and-mouse with CNN Miami reporter John Zarrella on the subject of whether he might be John McCain's VP choice. "Possible McCain running mate," read a banner at the bottom of the screen as Crist took CNN on a walking tour of the mansion grounds -- including the solar-heated swimming pool.

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Florida to revise sales tax in hopes of snaring Internet, mail sales

TALLAHASSEE - Ice cream cones and certain candy bars would be exempt from taxation in Florida under a new recommendation aimed at taxing Internet and mail order sales.

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State of Florida desperate for new revenue sources

Budget woes cloud the Sunshine State.

Florida's budgetary problems are fast becoming a crisis that can no longer be blown off as simply the result of a bloated bureaucracy or the product of wasteful spending. The challenge is to find new revenue -- fast.

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FDP Caucuses Saturday

In case you didn't know, the Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is holding caucuses to elect the people who will be delegates to the Denver national convention in August.

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Property Tax Portability Caculator

Click here to figure our what your property taxes would be if you moved!

Americans for Prosperity State Chairman Dan Quiggle at the Defending the American Dream Summit

Chamber poll: Crist a popular guy

A new Florida Chamber of Commerce poll shows Gov. Charlie Crist is still a darling with state voters.

Crist has a 71 percent job approval rating and 68 percent of voters have a favorable opinion of the GOP governor in his second year on the job.

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Rubio: Sasso won by embracing conservative ideas

House Speaker Marco Rubio said that the victory of Democrat Tony Sasso in House District 32 over Republican Sean Campbell on Tuesday night is not some sign of impending doom for the GOP.

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Crist to State Farm: Good riddance

Gov. Charlie Crist said wasn't worried about State Farm saying they're going to stop writing new home owner's insurance policies.

"I'm sure they'd like to charge higher rates, and we're not of a mind to have that happen anymore, so good riddance to them," Crist said.

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Crist: Proposed school cuts 'unfortunate'

A day after the House and Senate proposed more than a half-billion dollars in cuts to the current budget, Gov. Charlie Crist registered his opposition to the plan, calling it "unfortunate." After a meeting at the Governor's Mansion with a dozen African-American business owners, Crist called on lawmakers to raid reserves instead to avoid cutting K-12 education

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Sen. Carlton files proposed education overhaul

As expected, Sen. Lisa Carlton today filed the joint resolution for a proposed constitutional amendment to reinstating an elected education commissioner to the Florida Cabinet and to strip the Board of Governors of many powers.

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Democrat Sasso takes HD32

Democrat Tony Sasso has won the House District 32 race, taking the seat from Republican control and giving his party the 9th pickup in the House.

The seat was vacated by Bob Allen, who got caught up in a sex solicitation scandal and became a national punchline.

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Portability users have until Monday to file

Thousands of Central Floridians who recently moved within the state are claiming a new portability tax break that voters recently approved at the ballot, but thousands more who could be eligible haven't gotten their paperwork in.

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Americans for Prosperity State Director Adam Guillette at the Defending the American Dream Summit

House calls for $542-million in cuts

As Florida's economy worsens, legislative leaders are preparing to cut another $542-million from the current budget - more than half of it in public education.

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A cap with real bite

A 5 percent assessment cap for nonhomestead property may not be dead after all.

Twice Monday, the business-friendly Taxation and Budget Reform Commission considered amendments that would lower the 10 percent cap that voters approved as part of Amendment 1.

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Crist's rosy outlook

When asked why he's so optimistic about Florida's economy, as contrasted with the Florida House and Senate's dour predictions, Gov. Charlie Crist harkened back to property tax cuts on Tuesday, saying he believes the tax cuts will revive growth.

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Put a stop to costly retirement abuses

In a time of economic strain, double dipping has become one of the fastest-growing parts of the Florida government budget, and lawmakers have only themselves to blame. The 8,000 employees who draw both a paycheck and a retirement check are just using the tricks that lawmakers gave them.

Those tricks need to be taken away.

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Proposal puts state sales-tax increase on November ballot

A state panel voted unanimously Monday to put a proposal on the November ballot that would raise the state sales tax by a penny, close billions of dollars worth of sales-tax loopholes and use the money to replace $8 billion in school property taxes.

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State Farm To Stop Writing Homeowner Policies

ST. PETERSBURG (CBS4) ― The state's largest private insurer has announced that it will no longer write homeowner's policies in Florida.

State Farm said it decided to implement the decision after state lawmakers passed legislation last year to reduce property insurance rates. The company said if they were to reduce their rates, they would not have the reserves needed to pay claims for their existing clients. More than one million homeowners who currently have policies with State Farm will not be affected by the decision.

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Study calculates $3.6B annual tax relief in growth caps

PONTE VEDRA BEACH -- Florida taxpayers collectively would have received an annual average of $3.6 billion in property tax relief had a cap on state and local government growth been enacted in 1995, a new study said.

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Class-size dilution proposal goes forward

TALLAHAASSEE -- School districts would get some breathing room from constitutionally mandated class-size limits under a proposal that advanced this morning in the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

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Update: sales tax swap moves forward

TALLAHAASSEE -- A state panel voted unanimously Monday to put a proposal on the November ballot that would raise the state sales tax by a penny, close billions of dollars worth of sales tax loopholes and use the money to replace $8 billion in school property taxes.

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STUDY: Cap on Government Growth would have Delivered $3.6 Billion Each Year in Property Tax Relief Over Decade

PONTE VEDRA BEACH – Had an effective cap on state and local government growth been enacted in 1995-96, an average of nearly $3.6 billion in property tax relief each year would have been delivered to Florida taxpayers. That number translates into an average of $569 in property tax relief delivered per Floridian during the 2005-06 tax year. That’s the conclusion of a study conducted by Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and the James Madison Institute, which comes on the heels of approval by a state tax committee of a cap on state and local government spending and revenue growth.

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The Case for Substantive Tax Reform

Countries all around the world are finally realizing that free markets work. They're realizing that tax reform works, LOW TAXES work. Free-market policies are being advanced in Canada and Mexico. Even FRANCE is talking about reforming their tax code and cutting taxes. France!

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Welcome to the Florida Taxpayer Blog!

This blog will be your source for all information dealing with property taxes, fees, service charges, and any method that state and local governments may use to get your hard-earned tax dollars.

Please send any stories to joetaxpayer@floridataxpayer.com