Scott reappoints Batchelor-Robjohns to water management district board

Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday reappointed Anne "Sandy" Batchelor-Robjohns, 59, of Miami Beach, to the South Florida Water Management District. She had previously been appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist to the post in 2010.

From the governor's office:

PIP savings greater than initially estimated, but insurers urge caution

The potential savings under the state’s new no-fault auto insurance laws are even greater than initially estimated, according to the final version of an independent actuarial study release today.

Bloomington, Ill.-based Pinnacle Actuarial Resources says that the amount insurers pay out in personal injury protection claims should decrease between 16.3 and 28.7 percent once the main components of the law go into effect in 2013. And that should cause PIP premiums to decrease 14 and 24.6 percent, the company said.

That is even better news compared to a draft report of the study released earlier this month. But insurers are continuing to caution drivers not to expect too much too soon when it comes to their auto insurance bills, of which PIP accounts for about 20 percent.

Donovan Brown, state government relations counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), said some of the assumptions made in the Pinnacle study could be premature. Besides, he said, the law should be allowed to take effect before its impacts are judged.

“Although we commend Pinnacle for its diligent and thorough work, the study cannot anticipate changes to Florida’s legal, social or economic environment which will directly influence the impact of the new PIP law,” Brown said via a news release.

Saunders and Joyner condemn Scott's statement regarding Monroe supervisor

UPDATE: House Democratic Leader Ron Saunders of Key West and state Sen. Arthenia Joyner \, D-Tampa, came to the defense of Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer, a Republican, Tuesday urging the governor to retract his threat to remove him from office for failing to comply with the governor's early voting schedule.

"I am proud of the work of Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer, a Republican with a great deal of respect among people of all political persuasions and a long history of solid public service,'' Saunders said.

 

"With all the allegations of fraud, the House bill never addressed any of the real fraud -- which has to do absentee ballot fraud,'' he said. "That is not something Republicans want to talk about. But you would think if they're so concerned about the voting process the governor would call for an investigation into the real fraud, absentee ballot fraud, rather than trying to intimidate a duly elected constitutional officer."

Joyner called Scott's statement a "slap in the face to all people who believe in free and fair elections" and accused him of governing "as if the state is his very own Florida Inc., and he’s the CEO."

Also criticizing Gov. Rick Scott was Rev. Charles McKenzie, the state coordinator of the Rainbow Push Coalition.

"Rick Scott is still attempting to circumvent the voting rights act, play political theatre and achieve the obvious purpose of the Republican agenda; suppress the black vote,'' McKenzie said. "Every move he makes is completely disingenuous, mean spirited and calculated."

Scott practices for Monday night RNC speech, condemns Akin rape comments

Gov. Rick Scott's Monday night speech at the Republican National Convention is written, and he's already practicing.

Scott will discuss how the state needs a presidential partner that will reduce taxes, reduce regulation and reduce litigation, he told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

"Just think about what could happen if we had a federal partner that's going to do the same thing in DC that we're doing here in Florida," he said.

Scott wrote some of the speech himself but also took lots of advice, he said.

Scott also weighed in on Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, under fire from both political parties for comments that victims of "legitimate rape" usually don't get pregnant because their bodies shut down. Akin was arguing against abortions in cases of rape or incest.

Julien: Voting irregularities and absentee ballot fraud tainted razor-thin race

Anyone looking for a little nostalgia from the 2000 Bush-vs-Gore Florida election can review last week's Democratic primary in House District 107, between South Florida incumbents John Patrick Julien and Barbara Watson.

• A razor-thin margin separating the winner from the loser? Check.
• Allegations of broken voting machines? Check.  
• Dispute over absentee ballots? Check.
• A manual recount? Check.
• Lawsuit challenging the result? Coming soon.

Watson officially won the race with 50.06 percent of the vote—a 13 vote edge—but Julien said he was not planning to wave the white flag any time soon.

“I’m not conceding defeat,” said Julien, pointing out a number of voting irregularities and potential voter fraud that he says may have skewed the outcome.

He said he made his concerns known to the state attorney's office, and is planning to file a legal challenge to the election results sometime this week.

Scott hints he will remove Monroe supervisor if he doesn't follow voting law

UPDATE: Gov. Rick Scott laid down the gauntlet Tuesday against a reluctant Monroe County supervisor of elections who has failed to agree with the administration over early voting law compliance.

Scott said in a statement released by his office Tuesday that he is willing to “take all necessary and appropriate action to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed, that supervisors are fulfilling their duties, and that the voters of this state have free and fair elections.”

His statement comes a day after Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer said that, as a result of a federal judge’s ruling, he would offer 12 days of early voting and eight hours on each day, in an apparent defiance of state law that requires that early voting operations continue for no more than eight days with 12 hours each day.

Sawyer called the governor's statement inappropriate and said he continues to oppose the eight-day schedule.

Board of Governors hires Times education reporter

Tampa Bay Times education reporter Kim Wilmath is leaving journalism to be the spokeswoman with Florida's Board of Governors, which oversees the state's university system.

Wilmath will start her new position Sept. 4 and be paid $75,000 per year.

"Florida is fortunate to have a well-informed press corps covering higher education issues, and Kim has been among the best," state university system Chancellor Frank Brogan said in a Tuesday letter to the Board of Governors. "In her new role, she will help the Board further develop our relationships with members of the media and other public stakeholders to ensure that the System’s many complex and multi-faceted policy issues are presented in a clear and consistent manner."

Wilmath replaces Kelly Layman, who left the BOG in July to take a consulting job with Tallahassee-based electronic health records software company MedAffinity.

@britt_alana

 

Juan C. Zapata's former opponent endorses him in Miami-Dade commission race

Former state Rep. Juan C. Zapata, who will be in a November runoff for an open Miami-Dade county commission seat, drew the support this week of one of his first-round election opponents.

Political rookie Javier Muñoz endorsed Zapata after coming in third place in the race between himself, Zapata and Manny Machado, a Miami-Dade police detective on leave while he runs for office.

The endorsement matters because Muñoz, a first-time candidate running a small campaign with friends and family and not political operatives, did better than anyone expected, garnering 15 percent of the vote (and playing the spoiler for someone like Zapata, who had hoped to win the election outright). Zapata got 48 percent of the vote; Machado got 37 percent.

Muñoz said he and Zapata were friendly throughout the campaign for District 11, a swath of West Miami-Dade that for the last 12 years has been represented by Commission Chairman Joe Martinez, who lost his bid for county mayor. Muñoz said he and Zapata see eye-to-eye on money issues, including "bringing a new perspective to the commission, and increasing transparency, and really shaking up the commission."

"He really ran a very clean campaign -- we spoke about the issues," said Muñoz, who plans to join the Zapata team and actively campaign for his former opponent. "There was never any form of intimidation."

Zapata said he sees a bright future in politics for Muñoz. The two congratulated each other via text message after last Tuesday's election results, Zapata said, and met last week and on Monday to discuss their partnership going forward.

"He did a good job with very little resources," Zapata said. "I respected what he did and what he stood for...He was there in the trenches."

Attorney General Pam Bondi appoints new solicitor general

Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced the appointment of Timothy Osterhaus to serve as Florida’s solicitor general, the state government’s top appellate lawyer.

Osterhaus has served as deputy solicitor general for the attorney general’s Office since 2007, according to a press release.

In connection with his appointment, Osterhaus will be the Richard W. Ervin Eminent Scholar Chair and serve as a visiting professor of law at Florida State University College of Law, the release states.