The house and the senate have adopted 40a as their "conference bill." It will go to the floor for a full vote tomorrow. If it passes, and judging by the support it has had and the feeding frenzy in the legislature I would not bet that it won't, then it goes to the governor to be signed into law.
Note these budget bills will be signed quickly to enable the legislature to get on with the regular session.
40a allows the Motorcycle Safety Fund monies to be accessed by the Florida Department of Highway Safety for reasons other than highway safety.
There is a bill, SB2a, that I have not yet had time to look up. I am told that in section 48 of that bill $250,000.00 is earmarked for motorcycle safety.
However, when you consider that there is currently 2 million plus in the Motorcycle Safety Fund, that is little comfort.
I would encourage all concerned to contact your Senators and Representatives today and let them know where you stand. Mind you it will have to be a landslide of calls to change this.
I would further suggest that if you want to keep the motorcycle safety fund intact that alternative plans start being made now should the bill pass tomorrow.
A run on the capital may be something to consider?
See:
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2009/01/florida-legislature-to-steal-safety_12.html
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2009/01/florida-senators-e-mail-addresses.html
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2009/01/summary-and-related-florida-bills.html
http://www.bigbendbikersforfreedom.com/2009/01/florida-senate-version-related-to-house.html
and other related posts.Add to Technorati Favorites
Maybe Florida politicians who wish to raid Motorcycle safety funds should read this
Can't say we agree with everything in this article. But we can bet it contains more info than the Florida legislators have in their collective brains.
Motorcycle Deaths Soar: Safety Wake-Up Call
Published: Monday, January 12, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 2:50 a.m.
Motorcycles are not, and never will be, the safest form of transportation.
But soaring fatalities in recent years - locally and nationwide - are a wake-up call that should prompt legal, policy and behavioral reforms.
"In Florida, a surge in the number of motorcyclists, paired with a 2000 state law allowing most of them to ditch helmets, has led to an unprecedented spike in the number of riders being killed," reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a Ledger sister paper, last week.
In 2007, more than 5,000 motorcyclists lost their lives in the United States - 517 of them in Florida, the newspaper reported.
Many safety experts agree that mandatory helmet requirements would have saved some of those lives and sharply cut medical costs associated with treating crash victims. But helmets - considered "37 percent effective at preventing fatality," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - are not enough.
Motorcycle-related injuries and deaths result from several risks that must all be addressed. These include:
Visibility issues. Motorcyclists can be hard to see.
Dangerous driving behaviors, including impairment and inattention, by both bikers and four-wheeled motorists.
Insufficient training for motorcyclists, who face different braking and balancing challenges than car drivers do.LESS THAN HALF HAVE TRAINING"The overwhelming number of motorcyclists who wind up in single-vehicle crash statistics are there because they aren't following basic-but-important safety precautions when riding," says Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. "And less than half of all riders have taken any kind of formal training course. We also know that car drivers and other motorists are at fault a majority of the time in multiple-vehicle crashes that involve a motorcyclist."
Recently, Florida took an important step in the right direction by mandating motorcycle training courses. The state should take another step by restoring requirements for all riders to wear safety-approved helmets. (Currently, those 21 and older with $10,000 of insurance can forgo helmet protection).
At the federal level, a comprehensive study of motorcycle-crash factors - a study ordered by Congress in 2005 but still unfinished - should be expedited.
Updated, objective data could point to new safety strategies, whether they concern road lighting, congestion management or low-tech measures such as reflective vests.
"One of the easiest and most effective ways for a motorcyclist to be seen by other motorists is by wearing brightly colored, upper-torso clothing and/or retroreflective material," notes the NHTSA. "However, only a minority of motorcyclists choose such brightly colored apparel, whether for fashion or other reasons."
Even without comprehensive studies and new laws, common-sense actions can save lives. More motorcyclists should wear helmets and ride defensively. More motorists should set aside distractions, use their turn signals and remember that at any time that a motorcycle might be nearby - whether or not it can be seen.Add to Technorati Favorites
Motorcycle Deaths Soar: Safety Wake-Up Call
Published: Monday, January 12, 2009 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 2:50 a.m.
Motorcycles are not, and never will be, the safest form of transportation.
But soaring fatalities in recent years - locally and nationwide - are a wake-up call that should prompt legal, policy and behavioral reforms.
"In Florida, a surge in the number of motorcyclists, paired with a 2000 state law allowing most of them to ditch helmets, has led to an unprecedented spike in the number of riders being killed," reported the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, a Ledger sister paper, last week.
In 2007, more than 5,000 motorcyclists lost their lives in the United States - 517 of them in Florida, the newspaper reported.
Many safety experts agree that mandatory helmet requirements would have saved some of those lives and sharply cut medical costs associated with treating crash victims. But helmets - considered "37 percent effective at preventing fatality," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - are not enough.
Motorcycle-related injuries and deaths result from several risks that must all be addressed. These include:
Visibility issues. Motorcyclists can be hard to see.
Dangerous driving behaviors, including impairment and inattention, by both bikers and four-wheeled motorists.
Insufficient training for motorcyclists, who face different braking and balancing challenges than car drivers do.LESS THAN HALF HAVE TRAINING"The overwhelming number of motorcyclists who wind up in single-vehicle crash statistics are there because they aren't following basic-but-important safety precautions when riding," says Tim Buche, president of the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. "And less than half of all riders have taken any kind of formal training course. We also know that car drivers and other motorists are at fault a majority of the time in multiple-vehicle crashes that involve a motorcyclist."
Recently, Florida took an important step in the right direction by mandating motorcycle training courses. The state should take another step by restoring requirements for all riders to wear safety-approved helmets. (Currently, those 21 and older with $10,000 of insurance can forgo helmet protection).
At the federal level, a comprehensive study of motorcycle-crash factors - a study ordered by Congress in 2005 but still unfinished - should be expedited.
Comment: Apparently the only thing that gets accomplished when Congress gives an order is Banks get our money.
Updated, objective data could point to new safety strategies, whether they concern road lighting, congestion management or low-tech measures such as reflective vests.
"One of the easiest and most effective ways for a motorcyclist to be seen by other motorists is by wearing brightly colored, upper-torso clothing and/or retroreflective material," notes the NHTSA. "However, only a minority of motorcyclists choose such brightly colored apparel, whether for fashion or other reasons."
Even without comprehensive studies and new laws, common-sense actions can save lives. More motorcyclists should wear helmets and ride defensively. More motorists should set aside distractions, use their turn signals and remember that at any time that a motorcycle might be nearby - whether or not it can be seen.Add to Technorati Favorites
the headline says: Armed biker arrested at strip club
What they don't tell you til ya read it is that the armament was a "folding knife". Now of course he was, so they say, threatening to kill everyone in the club if police were called. Hell who knows, maybe the club only had one stripper and she was ugly.
By Marc Munroe Dion
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Jan 12, 2009 @ 10:42 PM
Dartmouth —
Police led an armed motorcycle gang member out of a strip club and into custody Sunday after club security claimed he refused to leave.
Edward D. “Mongo” Wilson was taken into custody at King’s Inn, located at 635 State Road, after he engaged in a heated argument with the club’s manager.
King’s Inn management said Wilson stated, “If the cops show up, I’ll kill everyone here.”
Dartmouth and State Police escorted Wilson from the club without incident. Wilson was frisked and police found a folding knife in his possession. Wilson was placed under arrest for trespassing after notice, and was arraigned in Third District Court on Monday morning on that charge and a charge of threatening to commit a crime.
Dartmouth police said this is the second time this month they’ve responded to a violent incident in a local bar.
On Jan. 4, police responded to Stinky Pete’s, 890 State Road, where they discovered a 42-year-old male had been stabbed.Add to Technorati Favorites
By Marc Munroe Dion
Herald News Staff Reporter
Posted Jan 12, 2009 @ 10:42 PM
Dartmouth —
Police led an armed motorcycle gang member out of a strip club and into custody Sunday after club security claimed he refused to leave.
Edward D. “Mongo” Wilson was taken into custody at King’s Inn, located at 635 State Road, after he engaged in a heated argument with the club’s manager.
King’s Inn management said Wilson stated, “If the cops show up, I’ll kill everyone here.”
Dartmouth and State Police escorted Wilson from the club without incident. Wilson was frisked and police found a folding knife in his possession. Wilson was placed under arrest for trespassing after notice, and was arraigned in Third District Court on Monday morning on that charge and a charge of threatening to commit a crime.
Dartmouth police said this is the second time this month they’ve responded to a violent incident in a local bar.
On Jan. 4, police responded to Stinky Pete’s, 890 State Road, where they discovered a 42-year-old male had been stabbed.Add to Technorati Favorites
Good idea or........
Guess it depends on the price
Developer Claus Wagner has hired OZ Architecture of Boulder and Denver to be the master planner for the proposed 2,600-acre Motor Sport Country Club of Colorado in Agate, just east of Denver.
The resort, called The Ring of the Rockies, will offer motorsport lovers the chance live in country-club-style homes near tracks where they can drive their high-performance cars and motorcycles. Construction on the first track is scheduled to start this year and be completed by late 2009.
Lakewood-based Wagner announced the project in July 2008.
In addition to offering racetracks, the project will have off-road terrain for ATVs and dirt bikes, garages to store cars and a driving school. Planned resort amenities range from a clubhouse with dining, spa, pro shop and boarding facilities.
“The Motor Sport Country Club of Colorado will be one of the only places in the country where automobile enthusiasts can develop their driving skills and experience high-performance vehicles the way they are meant to be driven,” Wagner said in a statement.Add to Technorati Favorites
Developer Claus Wagner has hired OZ Architecture of Boulder and Denver to be the master planner for the proposed 2,600-acre Motor Sport Country Club of Colorado in Agate, just east of Denver.
The resort, called The Ring of the Rockies, will offer motorsport lovers the chance live in country-club-style homes near tracks where they can drive their high-performance cars and motorcycles. Construction on the first track is scheduled to start this year and be completed by late 2009.
Lakewood-based Wagner announced the project in July 2008.
In addition to offering racetracks, the project will have off-road terrain for ATVs and dirt bikes, garages to store cars and a driving school. Planned resort amenities range from a clubhouse with dining, spa, pro shop and boarding facilities.
“The Motor Sport Country Club of Colorado will be one of the only places in the country where automobile enthusiasts can develop their driving skills and experience high-performance vehicles the way they are meant to be driven,” Wagner said in a statement.Add to Technorati Favorites
Police ask for help in Club presidents murder
St. Louis police issued a plea for help Monday in the murder investigation of a motorcycle club president who was shot in the back when he confronted thieves breaking into his car last week.
Terry L. Darris, 42, of north St. Louis County, was slain Thursday outside the club's headquarters in the 2900 block of Locust Street.
Police were urging the public to call Crimestoppers with any information about the crime. All calls are anonymous.
Darris, a longtime postal worker, was meeting at the time with other members of the Ghost Doggs Motorcycle Club, which was known for helping victims of crime.
He went outside about 8 p.m. when an alarm sounded on his key alerting him that someone was trying to break into his Chevrolet Suburban parked across the street, police said.
Witnesses heard shouting and then gunfire. Another club member who went outside saw three men sped away in a black two-door car, police said.
"He did nothing more than anyone else would do," said St. Louis police Capt. Michael Sack. "He heard an alarm on his car and went outside to investigate."
Sack said polices recovered some physical evidence from the scene, where the thieves had smashed the windows on two vehicles, including Darris'.
The area, just west of downtown St. Louis, has seen little violent crime in recent history, Sack said.
"The family would appreciate any information that the community would be able to provide, as would we," Sack said.
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-8477. Club members are offering a cash reward in the case.Add to Technorati Favorites
Terry L. Darris, 42, of north St. Louis County, was slain Thursday outside the club's headquarters in the 2900 block of Locust Street.
Police were urging the public to call Crimestoppers with any information about the crime. All calls are anonymous.
Darris, a longtime postal worker, was meeting at the time with other members of the Ghost Doggs Motorcycle Club, which was known for helping victims of crime.
He went outside about 8 p.m. when an alarm sounded on his key alerting him that someone was trying to break into his Chevrolet Suburban parked across the street, police said.
Witnesses heard shouting and then gunfire. Another club member who went outside saw three men sped away in a black two-door car, police said.
"He did nothing more than anyone else would do," said St. Louis police Capt. Michael Sack. "He heard an alarm on his car and went outside to investigate."
Sack said polices recovered some physical evidence from the scene, where the thieves had smashed the windows on two vehicles, including Darris'.
The area, just west of downtown St. Louis, has seen little violent crime in recent history, Sack said.
"The family would appreciate any information that the community would be able to provide, as would we," Sack said.
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-866-371-8477. Club members are offering a cash reward in the case.Add to Technorati Favorites
The Politics of fear aided by press or "Since when did MC's hand out recruitment flyers"
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm out of touch. Maybe I just didn't get the flyer. Maybe the VAGO's MC has formed an alliance with the "juggaloo's". Or Maybe Garland, Utah has just become the "in spot" for gang members who need to take a break and get away from it all. Is this a give me a break moment?
The Salt Lake Tribune
Gang problems» Small town Neighborhood Watch organizers behind idea to outlaw gang membership
Concerned about a gang presence trickling in from Ogden, Brigham City and Tremonton, Hiles formed a Neighborhood Watch group with Garland City Council member Jonna Constock aimed at reducing crime in the small community. The two also are spearheading a grassroots effort to toughen gang laws in Utah, with Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, joining the cause. She plans to introduce a bill to the state Legislature this session that would make associating with or being a member of a criminal street gang illegal in the Beehive State. A similar law currently exists in California.
While Menlove's bill is still in the drafting stage, she said the state needs to take a bold stand against gang activity. "What we're seeing is the gang influence spreading into smaller towns in rural communities," Menlove said. "The goal is to send a message to criminal street gangs that we are not interested in having them operate in our state."
Her bill is the latest in a spate of gang legislation inspired by California's gang laws, said Paul Boyden, executive director of Utah's Statewide Association of Prosecutors.
Boyden and a group from two state gang investigator associations have spent recent months researching other states' gang laws to find ideas that may be effective in Utah. The result is five bills that will toughen the punishment for involvement in gang activity if they are made into law, he said.
Debate over those proposals is expected to heat up when the legislative session starts Jan.26, Boyden said.
Garland will keep a close watch on potential changes to gang laws that could allow prosecutors to crack down on gang activity, Hiles said. The town is experiencing minor gang issues, said Garland Police Chief Linda Bourne, with the four-person police department more often noticing teenagers flashing gang signs and dressing in traditional gang colors.
Bear River High School has reported fights linked to gang disputes, Bourne said. And Harris Market, Garland's sole convenience store on Main Street has been burglarized four times and vandalized in the process. Three of the four burglaries were linked to juvenile gang members, who trashed the store in the process of stealing beer and cigarettes, she said.
Bourne said she's not surprised by gang activity in the small town, but residents usually are.
"People consider us a bedroom community where nothing ever happens and supposedly everyone knows their neighbors," Bourne said. "It's not that way."
Bourne said Garland's gang members are from a variety of groups, most notably sets of bloods, crips and Juggalos (followers of the rap group Insane Clown Posse). The Vagos motorcycle club placed an advertisement in one of the local newspapers advertising a fundraiser for Toys for Tots, a move gang detectives caution can be a ploy for recruiting members to participate in illegal activity.
It was the Vagos advertisement along with Vagos' flyers posted at a restaurant and park that spurred Hiles to action.
He organized the Neighborhood Watch group with Constock, and arranged to have Neighborhood Watch slogans placed on the town's gateway signs. The group is in the process of brainstorming how else they can ward off gang activity. They've elected neighborhood captains who will work in close contact with the police department to report suspicious activity.
"To me, gangs are urban terrorists. People are afraid to report or stand up to them," said Hiles, a former Marine who observed his neighborhood in Oceanside, Calif., deteriorate because of gang activity.
"We're not trying to scare people, we're not trying to make Garland look bad. We're just trying to be proactive."
While Garland's gang issues are a far cry from crime like drive-by shootings that occur occasionally in Ogden and Salt Lake City, graffiti and minor gang problems can often lead to more violent situations, said Lt. Loring Draper of the Ogden Metro Gang Task Force.
Draper said officers from Ogden's gang task force visited a Garland Neighborhood Watch meeting and presented information on gangs to better educate the community on how the groups operate.
He said Garland is in a geographic location to catch spillover activity from gangs in Ogden, Brigham City and Tremonton.
"It's happening everywhere. There is not a community that is safe from it," Draper said.Add to Technorati Favorites
mrogers@sltrib.com
The Salt Lake Tribune
Gang problems» Small town Neighborhood Watch organizers behind idea to outlaw gang membership
Marty Hiles was shocked when flyers for the Vagos motorcycle club started circulating in Garland, a burg of about 2,000 people in Box Elder County that he jokingly calls his personal "Mayberry."
Shortly after Hiles noticed recruitment efforts by the outlaw motorcycle gang posted throughout town, he saw other graffiti and heard stories of gang fights at Bear River High School -- issues he thought he had left behind when moving to Utah from a gang-plagued neighborhood in California.Concerned about a gang presence trickling in from Ogden, Brigham City and Tremonton, Hiles formed a Neighborhood Watch group with Garland City Council member Jonna Constock aimed at reducing crime in the small community. The two also are spearheading a grassroots effort to toughen gang laws in Utah, with Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, joining the cause. She plans to introduce a bill to the state Legislature this session that would make associating with or being a member of a criminal street gang illegal in the Beehive State. A similar law currently exists in California.
While Menlove's bill is still in the drafting stage, she said the state needs to take a bold stand against gang activity. "What we're seeing is the gang influence spreading into smaller towns in rural communities," Menlove said. "The goal is to send a message to criminal street gangs that we are not interested in having them operate in our state."
Her bill is the latest in a spate of gang legislation inspired by California's gang laws, said Paul Boyden, executive director of Utah's Statewide Association of Prosecutors.
Boyden and a group from two state gang investigator associations have spent recent months researching other states' gang laws to find ideas that may be effective in Utah. The result is five bills that will toughen the punishment for involvement in gang activity if they are made into law, he said.
Debate over those proposals is expected to heat up when the legislative session starts Jan.26, Boyden said.
Garland will keep a close watch on potential changes to gang laws that could allow prosecutors to crack down on gang activity, Hiles said. The town is experiencing minor gang issues, said Garland Police Chief Linda Bourne, with the four-person police department more often noticing teenagers flashing gang signs and dressing in traditional gang colors.
Bear River High School has reported fights linked to gang disputes, Bourne said. And Harris Market, Garland's sole convenience store on Main Street has been burglarized four times and vandalized in the process. Three of the four burglaries were linked to juvenile gang members, who trashed the store in the process of stealing beer and cigarettes, she said.
Bourne said she's not surprised by gang activity in the small town, but residents usually are.
"People consider us a bedroom community where nothing ever happens and supposedly everyone knows their neighbors," Bourne said. "It's not that way."
Bourne said Garland's gang members are from a variety of groups, most notably sets of bloods, crips and Juggalos (followers of the rap group Insane Clown Posse). The Vagos motorcycle club placed an advertisement in one of the local newspapers advertising a fundraiser for Toys for Tots, a move gang detectives caution can be a ploy for recruiting members to participate in illegal activity.
It was the Vagos advertisement along with Vagos' flyers posted at a restaurant and park that spurred Hiles to action.
He organized the Neighborhood Watch group with Constock, and arranged to have Neighborhood Watch slogans placed on the town's gateway signs. The group is in the process of brainstorming how else they can ward off gang activity. They've elected neighborhood captains who will work in close contact with the police department to report suspicious activity.
"To me, gangs are urban terrorists. People are afraid to report or stand up to them," said Hiles, a former Marine who observed his neighborhood in Oceanside, Calif., deteriorate because of gang activity.
"We're not trying to scare people, we're not trying to make Garland look bad. We're just trying to be proactive."
While Garland's gang issues are a far cry from crime like drive-by shootings that occur occasionally in Ogden and Salt Lake City, graffiti and minor gang problems can often lead to more violent situations, said Lt. Loring Draper of the Ogden Metro Gang Task Force.
Draper said officers from Ogden's gang task force visited a Garland Neighborhood Watch meeting and presented information on gangs to better educate the community on how the groups operate.
He said Garland is in a geographic location to catch spillover activity from gangs in Ogden, Brigham City and Tremonton.
"It's happening everywhere. There is not a community that is safe from it," Draper said.Add to Technorati Favorites
mrogers@sltrib.com
Florida Senators e-mail addresses
|  |
| | |
Some Florida Representatives that Voted robbing the Motorcycle safety funds
And when you get to the bottom note who voted to rip off the motorcycle safety funds. Our old Friend
Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera. You know, the father of HB137. The one who posted how he himself was going to do Bikers a service by "reducing" the fine for vertical tags.
Bill number 5007a
Recommending committee actions by:
Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Committee
Y Carroll Y Gibbons Y Glorioso Y Long Y Schenck
Y Drake Y Gibson Y Hukill Y Ray Y Steinberg
Y Evers
Referred Committees and Committee Actions:
- Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development
Y Brisé Y Flores Y Heller Y Murzin Y Rivera
Y Chestnut Y Gibbons Y Jenne Y Precourt Y Saunders
Y Coley Y Glorioso Y Kiar Y Proctor Y Thompson, G.
Y Culp Y Gonzalez Y Legg Y Reagan
Y Evers Y Hasner
Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera. You know, the father of HB137. The one who posted how he himself was going to do Bikers a service by "reducing" the fine for vertical tags.
Bill number 5007a
Recommending committee actions by:
Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Committee
Y Carroll Y Gibbons Y Glorioso Y Long Y Schenck
Y Drake Y Gibson Y Hukill Y Ray Y Steinberg
Y Evers
Referred Committees and Committee Actions:
- Full Appropriations Council on Education & Economic Development
Y Brisé Y Flores Y Heller Y Murzin Y Rivera
Y Chestnut Y Gibbons Y Jenne Y Precourt Y Saunders
Y Coley Y Glorioso Y Kiar Y Proctor Y Thompson, G.
Y Culp Y Gonzalez Y Legg Y Reagan
Y Evers Y Hasner
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida Officials pull a fast one
The state of Florida, like the rest of the country is in severe financial shape. However it's approach to solving the crises is akin to going to a pawn shop for some quick cash as opposed to quick band aid fixes.
So called "sin taxes", traffic fine increases, etc. Can not and never will be the answer. Simply put they not income that can be counted on. "Speeding" should never be looked at as a source of revenue. The goal of the state should be to do everything in it's power to reduce if not stop speeding. To base a source of income on an activity that one would wish to do away with is insanity. The state is operating at cross purposes and lends itself to hypocrisy. Which of course in Florida is nothing unusual.
Taxing cigarettes and alcohol is just as harebrained as taxing speeding. If, as we would hope we could, we were successful in reducing alcohol and cigarette consumption, then we have also reduced our source of revenue. Then what happens when alchy nicotine freak quits or moves to another state? Revenue gone! Again the legislature is working at cross purposes.
But then again, maybe that is why the state is cutting substance abuse treatment funding too. Maybe it has determined that the best way to stay solvent is to keep people sick. It makes no sense and the legislators scrambling to get their asses on a plane home are not according due diligence to the states problems.
One way to save billions, would be to send all the legislators home for about two years with the mandate to do nothing. My bet is that many of the problems they are fixing would either fix themselves or are not a problem to begin with. See story below.
Tampabay.com
The same Florida legislators who refuse to make it easier to collect sales taxes on Internet sales or tax services used by more affluent Floridians have found easier marks: speeders. Lawmakers are poised to significantly raise the fines for speeding and other traffic violations just to help keep the courts operating. And they aren't even being honest about it.
In selling the higher fines to their colleagues during floor votes Friday, supporters argued there is an "epidemic of running of red lights and speeding" in Florida. Don't be fooled. The real problem is that Republican lawmakers aren't willing to have an honest discussion about the state's dismal financial picture and are taking the easy but short-sighted route to balancing the budget.
The higher fines are aimed at raising $63-million to prevent employee layoffs in the state's courts and offices of state attorneys and public defenders due to the state's current $2.4-billion deficit. Fines for all traffic violations — from running a stop sign to having an expired license tag — would increase $10. Speeders who are between 15 and 29 miles per hour over the speed limit will also be charged an additional $25. The plan also ends the 18 percent discount violators receive if they go to traffic school. And both chambers also would require judges to impose fines in certain rulings.
There are reasonable questions about the practical impact of these increases, including whether they fit the infraction or will prompt some police officers to avoid issuing more expensive tickets to drivers who may have trouble paying up. But speeders don't have lobbyists, and legislators are in no mood to debate the impact of their shortsightedness.
Combined, the additional fines are expected to limit cuts to the state's court system to 1.25 percent — a far more tolerable level than the 4 percent cut many state agencies are facing. Yet lawmakers aren't willing to make similar efforts to stave off painful cuts in other areas. State universities and community colleges are facing 4 percent cuts; public schools will receive 2 percent less per student. Hospitals serving Medicaid patients will face cuts that total nearly 14 percent over 18 months. And Florida will be cutting services to some of its poorest and weakest citizens, such as foster children and infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities. Next year the pressure will be even worse, when state economists predict the state faces a $5.6-billion deficit.
Yet the Legislature refuses to take even the smallest steps toward considering additional revenue for the short or long term. Democrats' calls to review sales tax exemptions or close a corporate tax income loophole went unheeded. Instead, Republicans are insisting on raiding up to $1-billion more from critical state reserves. Senate President Jeff Atwater has pledged the Senate will consider new revenue options during the regular legislative session that begins in March, including raising the cigarette tax and closing some tax exemptions. That's a positive sign, but House Speaker Ray Sansom has shown no such leadership.
Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, opposed the increases in traffic fines in a floor speech on Friday and urged lawmakers to avoid easy fixes. He's right. The state needs a better financial plan than keeping the courts open by raising the cost of speeding tickets.Add to Technorati Favorites
So called "sin taxes", traffic fine increases, etc. Can not and never will be the answer. Simply put they not income that can be counted on. "Speeding" should never be looked at as a source of revenue. The goal of the state should be to do everything in it's power to reduce if not stop speeding. To base a source of income on an activity that one would wish to do away with is insanity. The state is operating at cross purposes and lends itself to hypocrisy. Which of course in Florida is nothing unusual.
Taxing cigarettes and alcohol is just as harebrained as taxing speeding. If, as we would hope we could, we were successful in reducing alcohol and cigarette consumption, then we have also reduced our source of revenue. Then what happens when alchy nicotine freak quits or moves to another state? Revenue gone! Again the legislature is working at cross purposes.
But then again, maybe that is why the state is cutting substance abuse treatment funding too. Maybe it has determined that the best way to stay solvent is to keep people sick. It makes no sense and the legislators scrambling to get their asses on a plane home are not according due diligence to the states problems.
One way to save billions, would be to send all the legislators home for about two years with the mandate to do nothing. My bet is that many of the problems they are fixing would either fix themselves or are not a problem to begin with. See story below.
Tampabay.com
The same Florida legislators who refuse to make it easier to collect sales taxes on Internet sales or tax services used by more affluent Floridians have found easier marks: speeders. Lawmakers are poised to significantly raise the fines for speeding and other traffic violations just to help keep the courts operating. And they aren't even being honest about it.
In selling the higher fines to their colleagues during floor votes Friday, supporters argued there is an "epidemic of running of red lights and speeding" in Florida. Don't be fooled. The real problem is that Republican lawmakers aren't willing to have an honest discussion about the state's dismal financial picture and are taking the easy but short-sighted route to balancing the budget.
The higher fines are aimed at raising $63-million to prevent employee layoffs in the state's courts and offices of state attorneys and public defenders due to the state's current $2.4-billion deficit. Fines for all traffic violations — from running a stop sign to having an expired license tag — would increase $10. Speeders who are between 15 and 29 miles per hour over the speed limit will also be charged an additional $25. The plan also ends the 18 percent discount violators receive if they go to traffic school. And both chambers also would require judges to impose fines in certain rulings.
There are reasonable questions about the practical impact of these increases, including whether they fit the infraction or will prompt some police officers to avoid issuing more expensive tickets to drivers who may have trouble paying up. But speeders don't have lobbyists, and legislators are in no mood to debate the impact of their shortsightedness.
Combined, the additional fines are expected to limit cuts to the state's court system to 1.25 percent — a far more tolerable level than the 4 percent cut many state agencies are facing. Yet lawmakers aren't willing to make similar efforts to stave off painful cuts in other areas. State universities and community colleges are facing 4 percent cuts; public schools will receive 2 percent less per student. Hospitals serving Medicaid patients will face cuts that total nearly 14 percent over 18 months. And Florida will be cutting services to some of its poorest and weakest citizens, such as foster children and infants and toddlers with developmental disabilities. Next year the pressure will be even worse, when state economists predict the state faces a $5.6-billion deficit.
Yet the Legislature refuses to take even the smallest steps toward considering additional revenue for the short or long term. Democrats' calls to review sales tax exemptions or close a corporate tax income loophole went unheeded. Instead, Republicans are insisting on raiding up to $1-billion more from critical state reserves. Senate President Jeff Atwater has pledged the Senate will consider new revenue options during the regular legislative session that begins in March, including raising the cigarette tax and closing some tax exemptions. That's a positive sign, but House Speaker Ray Sansom has shown no such leadership.
Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, opposed the increases in traffic fines in a floor speech on Friday and urged lawmakers to avoid easy fixes. He's right. The state needs a better financial plan than keeping the courts open by raising the cost of speeding tickets.Add to Technorati Favorites
Update on raid Florida Raid on Motorcycle Safety money.
O.K. after reading everything twice and consulting with three different people who keep up with this stuff for a living we have all pretty much agreed that the legislative website ain't making much sense.
At least two of us, one who is supposed to get alerts as a part of their job, stopped getting legislative alerts. And it was reported that others failed to get them also.
What is known is that the Department of Highway Safety will meet Wednesday. About what we do not yet know. Wed. ends the 72 hour period of silence at which time some sort of vote will have to be taken as I understand it.
So tomorrow we will be on the phone (which we were today to hear "I don't know) again.
With any luck this paragraph from the Tallahassee Democrat:
In the meantime food we ran across while searching for the legislatures failure to provide the legislative updates and why some of the ones I did receive are in direct contradiction to what the websites post:
12. Are there exemptions to the Sunshine Law?
The Legislature has enacted more than 200 exemptions to the Sunshine Law, passing new exemptions almost every yet. Exemptions are listed in the Government-in-the-Sunshine Amendment, Section 24. Also see A Citizen’s Guide, page 10.
http://brechner.jou.ufl.edu/Brechner%20Center%20FAQs-%20Florida%20in%20the%20Sunshine.asp#sunshine10
One visit to the website of the Florida Legislature and you’ll notice that its branded with the label “online sunshine” - a homage to Florida’s sunshine laws, specifically the passage of a constitutional amendment in 1992 granting the public access to records and meetings of state and local government.
There is a nifty little loophole - the legislature can decide for itself that certain records and meetings are exempt. http://floridanetroots.com/?p=81
Constitution of the state of Florida
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes#A01S24
(c) This section shall be self-executing. The legislature, however, may provide by general law passed by a two-thirds vote of each house for the exemption of records from the requirements of subsection (a) and the exemption of meetings from the requirements of subsection (b), provided that such law shall state with specificity the public necessity justifying the exemption and shall be no broader than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the law. The legislature shall enact laws governing the enforcement of this section, including the maintenance, control, destruction, disposal, and disposition of records made public by this section, except that each house of the legislature may adopt rules governing the enforcement of this section in relation to records of the legislative branch. Laws enacted pursuant to this subsection shall contain only exemptions from the requirements of subsections (a) or (b) and provisions governing the enforcement of this section, and shall relate to one subject.
(d)All laws that are in effect on July 1, 1993 that limit public access to records or meetings shall remain in force, and such laws apply to records of the legislative and judicial branches, until they are repealed. Rules of court that are in effect on the date of adoption of this section that limit access to records shall remain in effect until they are repealed.
From representative Dan Gelberg
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4225
for Senate Blog
http://dangelber.com/news/viewBlog.php?id=17
But there are two things that also need to be said:
First, the legislature has largely exempted themselves from much of Florida's sunshine laws, and has increasingly exploited that exemption. Too many decisions and negotiations are made without a single reporter present. Every editorial board in the state should demand much needed changes in the practice of the legislature. In a letter and testimony before the Governor’s Commission on Open Government I recommended five easy changes the legislature could adopt that would remedy much of our shortcomings. (see "Let the Sunshine In" posted 2/14/08) If the legislature refuses to govern itself, then you should lead a campaign with citizen groups to bring the Florida legislature under the full sweep of the Sunshine Law in exactly the same manner that local officials are required to comply. It is not easier to govern in the sunshine, but it is most definitely better.
Second, having world class sunshine laws doesn’t do any good if no one is there to watch. I understand that in tough times fiscal pressures on news organizations are the same as on state government. Cuts have to be made. But I voted against the state budget cuts because I believed there were other ways than to cut core service in education and health care. And nearly every editorial board in Florida agreed. Similarly, I worry that as your most veteran and savvy reporters accept early retirement and buy outs, and your staffing is curtailed, that ultimately it will be the core service of reporting about government that will suffer.
I appreciate that it may be presumptuous to preach to you about how to manage your own operations, but I would be remiss if I didn't use this opportunity and this forum to make the case that transparency in government is only important if someone is watching. Please keep watching.Add to Technorati Favorites
At least two of us, one who is supposed to get alerts as a part of their job, stopped getting legislative alerts. And it was reported that others failed to get them also.
What is known is that the Department of Highway Safety will meet Wednesday. About what we do not yet know. Wed. ends the 72 hour period of silence at which time some sort of vote will have to be taken as I understand it.
So tomorrow we will be on the phone (which we were today to hear "I don't know) again.
With any luck this paragraph from the Tallahassee Democrat:
The House abandoned an earlier attempt to raid a transportation trust fund and agreed with the Senate instead to take $190 million from a state housing trust fund. More than $300 million will come from a series of other trust funds that have yet to be named.is referencing the Motorcycle money. However it has been reported that the DUI money was/is also in play.
In the meantime food we ran across while searching for the legislatures failure to provide the legislative updates and why some of the ones I did receive are in direct contradiction to what the websites post:
12. Are there exemptions to the Sunshine Law?
The Legislature has enacted more than 200 exemptions to the Sunshine Law, passing new exemptions almost every yet. Exemptions are listed in the Government-in-the-Sunshine Amendment, Section 24. Also see A Citizen’s Guide, page 10.
http://brechner.jou.ufl.edu/Brechner%20Center%20FAQs-%20Florida%20in%20the%20Sunshine.asp#sunshine10
One visit to the website of the Florida Legislature and you’ll notice that its branded with the label “online sunshine” - a homage to Florida’s sunshine laws, specifically the passage of a constitutional amendment in 1992 granting the public access to records and meetings of state and local government.
There is a nifty little loophole - the legislature can decide for itself that certain records and meetings are exempt. http://floridanetroots.com/?p=81
Constitution of the state of Florida
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?Mode=Constitution&Submenu=3&Tab=statutes#A01S24
(c) This section shall be self-executing. The legislature, however, may provide by general law passed by a two-thirds vote of each house for the exemption of records from the requirements of subsection (a) and the exemption of meetings from the requirements of subsection (b), provided that such law shall state with specificity the public necessity justifying the exemption and shall be no broader than necessary to accomplish the stated purpose of the law. The legislature shall enact laws governing the enforcement of this section, including the maintenance, control, destruction, disposal, and disposition of records made public by this section, except that each house of the legislature may adopt rules governing the enforcement of this section in relation to records of the legislative branch. Laws enacted pursuant to this subsection shall contain only exemptions from the requirements of subsections (a) or (b) and provisions governing the enforcement of this section, and shall relate to one subject.
(d)All laws that are in effect on July 1, 1993 that limit public access to records or meetings shall remain in force, and such laws apply to records of the legislative and judicial branches, until they are repealed. Rules of court that are in effect on the date of adoption of this section that limit access to records shall remain in effect until they are repealed.
From representative Dan Gelberg
http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/details.aspx?MemberId=4225
for Senate Blog
http://dangelber.com/news/viewBlog.php?id=17
But there are two things that also need to be said:
First, the legislature has largely exempted themselves from much of Florida's sunshine laws, and has increasingly exploited that exemption. Too many decisions and negotiations are made without a single reporter present. Every editorial board in the state should demand much needed changes in the practice of the legislature. In a letter and testimony before the Governor’s Commission on Open Government I recommended five easy changes the legislature could adopt that would remedy much of our shortcomings. (see "Let the Sunshine In" posted 2/14/08) If the legislature refuses to govern itself, then you should lead a campaign with citizen groups to bring the Florida legislature under the full sweep of the Sunshine Law in exactly the same manner that local officials are required to comply. It is not easier to govern in the sunshine, but it is most definitely better.
Second, having world class sunshine laws doesn’t do any good if no one is there to watch. I understand that in tough times fiscal pressures on news organizations are the same as on state government. Cuts have to be made. But I voted against the state budget cuts because I believed there were other ways than to cut core service in education and health care. And nearly every editorial board in Florida agreed. Similarly, I worry that as your most veteran and savvy reporters accept early retirement and buy outs, and your staffing is curtailed, that ultimately it will be the core service of reporting about government that will suffer.
I appreciate that it may be presumptuous to preach to you about how to manage your own operations, but I would be remiss if I didn't use this opportunity and this forum to make the case that transparency in government is only important if someone is watching. Please keep watching.Add to Technorati Favorites
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)