Maddox on offshore drilling: 'Where's the moral outrage?'

Agriculture Commissioner candidate Scott Maddox, a Democrat, made his position on offshore oil drilling perfectly clear at a press conference Monday: "an absolute no."

The former state party leader and Tallahassee mayor stood next to an enlarged photo of an oil rig on fire and declared that offshore oil drilling (in any form) would hurt the the state's tourism economy and environment without providing much cost-savings at the gas pump or new jobs for the state. He thinks every candidate for the cabinet (which could approved exploratory drilling under a state legislative proposal) should take a stand on the issue.

"It's like we've been asked to sell our favorite daughter," he said, referring to the quality of the state's beaches. "Where's the moral outrage?"

Bennett bill would affect insurance commish's job security

In politics, payback can be a real ...well, you know, female dog.

Sen. Mike Bennett insists his just-filed bill isn't payback, but it sure could affect the job security of Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty.

SB 740 would require that the Cabinet, acting as the Financial Services Commission, reconfirm the insurance regulation leader every two years -- and send their vote to the Senate for final reconfirmation. Right now the insurance commish is appointed and confirmed once, and that's it.

But we can't help noting that Bennett is no BFF of McCarty, after this past summer's fight over the proposed rate dereg bill for private, big-name insurers like State Farm. McCarty voiced objections. The governor vetoed the bill. Bennett, who sponsored the bill with Rep. Bill Proctor, blasted McCarty's criticism of the legislation and questioned the facts he used to back up his criticism.

Fast forward to this week, and here is Bennett filing the bill requiring reconfirmation. (It is not the first time
McCarty's been a target. CFO Alex Sink, you'll recall, is no fan, either...)

SBA to require more disclosure of pension investment

Hoping to avoid the kind of pay-to-play allegations dogging the state pension funds in California, New York and New Mexico, the Cabinet this morning directed SBA inspector general Bruce Meeks to draft a new ethics policy requiring greater disclosure of the "placement agent" marketing firms used by investment firms that do business with Florida's $130-billion pension fund.

Investment firms will have to disclose when they use placement agents -- and disclose exactly what the agents' fees are, Meeks said.

"I would argue it might behoove the state of Florida as the foruth largest pension fund, to put a stake in the ground that says if you are hiring a marketing firm, we should know about it and you should disclose what your fees are," said CFO Alex Sink. "We should be a leader. Fortunately, we haven't been caught up in this yet. But if anyone wants to do business with us, they ought to disclose what their fee arrangement is."

Gov. Charlie Crist echoed: "The arrangements that exist for some of these marketing firms is only an appropriate question to ask. We should take this kind of action before the fact rather than after the fact, and therefore prevent the kind of occurrences that damage the public trust."

McCollum tells banks to improve home loan modification response

Attorney General Bill McCollum, miffed at the red tape and unresponsiveness that homeowners have reported in dealing with their mortgage banks, just sent a letter to the Florida execs of several major banks calling on them to create a "fair and efficient" process for recession-weary homeowners to modify and renegotiate their loans.

McCollum spokeswoman Sandi Copes said McCollum's office has been getting complaints for many weeks from homeowners who are trying to tweak their loans -- only to be put on hold for hours or directed through a frustrating maze of phone calls and bank reps. McCollum heard an echo of those complaints during a Nov. 7 housing forum in Broward County, and a deputy attorney general from his office saw the problems firsthand while recently sitting with a frustrated homeowner at a bank for two hours, said McCollum spokeswoman Ryan Wiggins.

"Homeowners who experienced excellent customer service from their banks at the time they originated their loans are now frustrated and disillusioned by the lack of response and cooperation they have received from their banks," McCollum said.

Helping homeowners can no doubt build good will among potential voters, of course, so McCllum isn't alone among elected officials seeking higher office. Gov. Charlie Crist in 2008 created the HOPE task force to seek remedies for the state mortgage crisis. Democrat gubernatorial candidate CFO Alex Sink has helped some 750 homeowners renegotiate and pay their loans through initiatives such as the Florida Housing Help program, said her spokeswoman Kyra Jennings.

And McCollum critics (who tend to be Sink supporters, big shocker) point out that he was a member of Congress when much of the legislation faulted with contributing to the national mortgage crisis was passed. McCollum voted for the Financial Services Act of 1999 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000, which have been credited for allowing banks to become more aggressive mortgage lenders.

Read the letter McCollum sent to Bank of America, JP Morgan/Chase, Wells Fargo, and Wachovia here.

McCollum shows support for anti-EPA effort

AG Bill McCollum is indicating support for a big business, anti-tax effort to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency from enforcing water quality standards in the Florida's waterways.

In letter (download here) asking DEP Secretary Michael Sole to brief the Cabinet, McCollum embraces many of the talking points espoused at a press conference Thursday. The political calculation is not surprising -- any Republican likes to stab at the Democratic administration in Washington -- and it is sure to draw a distinction between his GOP primary opponent Paula Dockery, whose is likely to campaign on her environmental credentials. What is more surprising: the letter came to us from Ron Sachs' PR firm, which is behind the donttaxflorida.com effort, not from McCollum's office.

Update: McCollum spokeswoman Sandi Copes said the attorney general's office has been working on the letter "for more than a week now'' and they "didn't know anything about the talking points. We had our water attorney draft the letter." She acknowledged "it could become a political issue in the future. We're not there yet."  

Sen. Alexander: Cabinet-level DMS would be 'more professional'

Sen. JD Alexander, clearly dissatisfied with the Department of Management Service's compliance with his months-long push for a comprehensive inventory of state real estate and buildings, is considering legislation that would tturn DMS into a Cabinet-level agency.

Alexander, the Senate's budget chief, said the change would "stabilize it and make it a more professional agency."

"There are some good people at DMS, and they're doing some good things," said Alexander, R-Lake Wales. "It's just, can we do better and more broadly? This is a time where we could attract some real high-quality people. There are a lot of great realtors and professionals without jobs."

Alexander's comments came after a brief but terse exchange this morning with current DMS Secretary Linda South, who appeared before his Ways and Means Committee to explain why DMS has yet to complete the state-mandated inventory of all state property. Lawmakers in January, at Alexander's urging, passed a law that requires DMS to do so.

Deutch 'disappointed' in Crist, McCollum

Sen. Ted Deutch, "very disappointed" that the governor and attorney general on Tuesday didn't advance CFO Alex Sink's proposal to expand and better train the SBA trustees, said today he will file legislation to "expand the scope" of the SBA.

But he stopped short of supporting a bigger board of trustees, which now consists of just the governor, AG and CFO. Sink wants the trustees to grow by at least two people. His legislation, which has failed in past sessions, would instead expand the SBA's Investment Advisory Council from 6 to 9 members.  Each member would be required to have financial knowledge and experience, and must represent local government employees, firefighters, police, teachers and state employees, and Florida Retirement System retirees.

“CFO Sink has worked to increase transparency, accountability and oversight of Florida’s pension fund since coming into office and yesterday’s reforms were just the latest example," said Deutch, D-Boca Raton. "My legislation aims to support these important priorities by giving a greater voice to investors and retirees, ensuring the highest level of integrity and eliminating any potential conflicts of interests.”

Deutch 'disappointed' in Crist, McCollum

Sen. Ted Deutch, "very disappointed" that the governor and attorney general on Tuesday didn't advance CFO Alex Sink's proposal to expand and better train the SBA trustees, said today he will file legislation to "expand the scope" of the SBA.

But he stopped short of supporting a bigger board of trustees, which now consists of just the governor, AG and CFO. Sink wants the trustees to grow by at least two people. His legislation, which has failed in past sessions, would instead expand the SBA's Investment Advisory Council from 6 to 9 members.  Each member would be required to have financial knowledge and experience, and must represent local government employees, firefighters, police, teachers and state employees, and Florida Retirement System retirees.

“CFO Sink has worked to increase transparency, accountability and oversight of Florida’s pension fund since coming into office and yesterday’s reforms were just the latest example," said Deutch, D-Boca Raton. "My legislation aims to support these important priorities by giving a greater voice to investors and retirees, ensuring the highest level of integrity and eliminating any potential conflicts of interests.”

Electra Bustle joins Southern Strategy Group

A day after her resignation as state highway chief became official, Electra Bustle revealed her new gig: She's a lobbyist for Southern Strategy Group based in Tallahassee. The 10-year-old lobbying firm calls itself one of the largest government relations firms in the U.S. with 17 affiliated offices in multiple states.

SSG Founder Paul Bradshaw issued a news release noting Bustle's "deep subject matter expertise on a range of topics including law enforcement and the operation of state government." (By law, Bustle is prohibited from lobbying her former agency for a period of time). The release is here.

Bustle, 42, is an attorne. Before her two-and-a-half years as executive director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, she was an assistant commissioner at FDLE and was general counsel for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and deputy general counsel for the Florida Sheriffs Association. 

-- Steve Bousquet

Crist, McCollum delay Sink's bid for bigger SBA

CFO Alex Sink speaks with urgency about her desire to expand and better train the board that oversees Florida's pension fund, but the governor and the attorney general running against Sink for governor opted this morning for a slower, more measured approach.

The tussle at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting offered a glimpse of the unfolding 2010 race for governor, which will play out most visibly on the Cabinet dais, where Sink and attorney General Bill McCollum will debate and vote on myriad issues over the next year.

"I'm of the adage that if it ain't broke don't fix it," McCollum said of Sink's proposal. "Our SBA governance might be different from some other states, but it doesn't mean it's broken."

Sink, the former (Democrat) Bank of America executive running against (Republican) McCollum for governor, wanted the Cabinet to recommend that the Legislature expand the board of trustees of the State Board of Administration by at least two people. The SBA board now consists of just three of the four Cabinet members: Sink, McCollum and Gov. Charlie Crist.

Sink's proposal would add at least one person with financial expertise, and one person who participates in the pension fund. Also, all trustees would get financial training, and there would be regular external audits of the pension's management and performance.

"Right now we have a board with three people, none of whom are required to have financial experience," Sink said. "That might have been good for 1885, but it's not good for the 21st century. If we have a board managing a $110-billion investment fund, it just seems to me the board should have some kind of training and knowledge."

Sink sought a vote on her proposed recommendation Tuesday, but McCollum and Crist agreed to wait until December's Cabinet meeting for a recommendation from SBA director Ash Williams and the SBA advisory group. McCollum questioned whether the Legislature even has the power to change the SBA structure without a constitutional amendment.