Gov. Rick Scott honors Tim Tebow as a 'Great Floridian'

He may be just a benchwarmer on the mediocre New York Jets, and Monday-morning quarterbacks endlessly criticize his throwing mechanics. But to Gov. Rick Scott, football star Tim Tebow is "an inspiration" who's fully deserving to be the 67th person ever bestowed with the high honor of a "Great Floridian."

The governor planned to present the award Friday afternoon to Tebow, a former Florida Gator star, in a ceremony at the Clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, the city where Tebow's high school gridiron heroics made him a national sensation. (For this photo opportunity, one wonders, who's the greater beneficiary, Tebow or the re-election minded governor?)

Speaking to reporters Friday in Broward, Scott explained why he nominated the 25-year-old Tebow for the award: "Tim Tebow is a great Floridian. If you look at what he's done, he's inspired young children to stay in school, to do well in school, to live a great life. He's an inspiration."

Great Floridians are chosen by the Secretary of State Ken Detzner from a nominating committee that also included Scott, three Cabinet members, the Senate president and House speaker.

Recent award winners have included retired FSU football coach Bobby Bowden, former Gov. Jeb Bush, inventor Thomas Edison (of Fort Myers), former Sen. Bob Graham and environmental leader Nathaniel Reed. To date, 66 people have been given the honor since the award was created in 1981.

-- Steve Bousquet

Enterprise Florida rallies board members to lobby against cuts to economic incentives

The Florida House and Senate have largely rebuffed Gov. Rick Scott’s call for a huge budget increase for economic incentives, which the governor awards to companies to help bring them to Florida. The organization that helps dole out the cash has sounded a red-alert to its members, telling them to lobby the Legislature for the increased budget. 

In his budget, Scott called for nearly $300 million in economic incentives, up from just over $100 million last year. The House and Senate have gone the opposite direction, proposing to decrease Scott’s funding despite a flush budget surplus. They’ve also passed several measures to increase scrutiny on the economic incentives, after high-profile bankruptcies and legal problems of companies that received tax dollars and then went bust. A report by watchdog group Integrity Florida has also increased legislative concern, questioning Enterprise Florida’s award of contracts and incentives to companies that have a seat on the board.

Fred Leonhardt, an Enterprise Florida board member, put his colleagues on alert last week about the potential gutting of the economic incentives budget.

“The elimination of incentive funding will eliminate Florida’s ability to compete in economic development projects,” he wrote in an email to the board.

He also wrote: "EFI will be calling on you in the future to reach out to legislators on this issue if negotiations do not improve the budget outlook. "

His email is below:

Gov. Scott signs foster care bill to give kids more normal lives

Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed a bill on Thursday that will help children in the foster care system lead a more normal life.
 Surrounded by legislators, advocates, and dozens of kids who are either now or have been in foster care, the governor said that under this new law (SB 164), "foster parents who apply the reasonable and prudent parent standard will be able to give their foster children permission to join a soccer team, ride in the car with their best friend -- some of the things we all take for granted -- take a trip to the beach without state involvement.

 "As a father and now grandfather," Scott said, "I know how important it is for children to experience things outside of the home, develop relationships and learn skills that are imperitive for developing independence, like driving a car. Currently, only 3 percent of 18-year-old children who leave foster care do so with a driver's license, Scott said.

The idea, he said is to "let kids be kids."

Rick Scott talks Moody's-Medicaid bond report, House's Obamacare intransigence

@MarcACaputo

In a just-issued report issued, Moody’s Investor Service warns that public hospitals and those providing loads of charity care could have revenue – and therefore bond problems – in states where legislatures don’t opt to increase Medicaid enrollment under Obamacare.

Moody’s reasoning is simple: less money means more risk for lenders. More risk potentially can mean worse bond ratings. And worse bond ratings can theoretically mean higher payments on debt.

That’s not the primary reason Gov. Rick Scott wants to expand Medicaid, which could give the state a $6.7 billion shot in the arm over three years. But it helps reinforce his argument and the argument of other conservatives, including former Florida House Speaker Tom Feeney, who now heads the Associated Industries of Florida.

Feeney called on the Legislature to look at the report. They probably will, and then go back to refusing to accept the Medicaid money, particularly in the conservative House, where “Obama” is a four-letter word.

Earlier today, we asked Scott about the report and Medicaid. Here’s what he said.

Rick Scott sounds like he's warming to Dolphins' stadium plan

Gov. Rick Scott sounds as if he's warming more and more to the idea of a Miami Dolphins stadium-subsidy deal, indicating that the club is meeting the conditions he laid down in March.

"I like the fact that the Dolphins are putting a lot of [the club's] money up," he said Tuesday, the day after the football team inked an agreement with Miami-Dade County. "I like the fact they’re committing to stay. I like the fact that there’s a referendum. They’re fulfilling those obligations. But I haven’t seen the return-on-investment numbers, which of course is the biggest thing."

Scott, however, sounded a note of caution. He needs to see final legislation. And the state House and Senate have different bills.

Still, when asked if the Dolphins club was moving in the right direction, he said: "Yeah. The biggest thing is the return on investment. I’m responsible for the taxpayers to get a return."

Former Lt. Gov. Carroll files amended financial form

Former Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has filed an amended financial disclosure form for 2010 specifying that her P.R. business was paid $16,047 that year, some of it by Allied Veterans of the World, the controversial veterans' group that led to her resignation  last month.

Carroll initially listed "N/A" as her 2010 income to her public relations firm, 3N. & J.C. Consulting of Green Cove Springs. The revised Form 6 Statement of Financial Interests was released Monday by the Commission on Ethics. Carroll's decision to submit new paperwork was first reported by the
Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville.

"She determined that her 2010 filing contained an error," said Carroll's spokesman, Rick
Oppenheim, who said the $16,047 reflected the total income that year from Carroll's public relations consulting and "also includes other business activities that incurred losses."

-- Steve Bousquet

Gov. Rick Scott visits Florida Holocaust Museum

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday toured the Florida Holocaust Museum to mark the beginning of the national Days of Remembrance annual commemoration.

"It's a wonderful museum," Scott said after visiting the St. Petersburg center that honors the memory of millions of people who suffered or died in the Holocaust. "You get to learn about history, but the most important thing is you learn is you don't ever want it to happen again."

The Days of Remembrance, an annual commemoration designated by Congress, is observed this year for a week that began Sunday.

In a room designed as a replica of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Gov. Scott wrote a message on a slip of paper and tucked it into a crevice in the wall.

Asked about it after his tour, Scott said he wrote the same note as he did in 2011 when he visited Israel.

The message was too personal to reveal, he said.

-- Tampa Bay Times staff writer Anna M. Phillips

Whistleblower alleges agency circumvented rules to hire MacNamara's choice

@Britt_Alana

(Update below) Leaders at the state's Department of Elder Affairs circumvented hiring procedures and appointed an attorney with a criminal history at the urging of Gov. Rick Scott's then-chief of staff, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed in Leon County court.

Attorney Donald Bell was hired for the $98,000-a-year top-level post despite a drug conviction and two arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, the lawsuit alleges. He was recommended by former Scott chief of staff Steve MacNamara, emails show.

The lawsuit, filed by former human resources employee Frances Brooks, says Elder Affairs secretary Charles Corley passed over other applicants and allowed Bell to skip key background screenings, shielding his record from other employees while bypassing safeguards to protect elderly people served by the agency. More here. 

Update: Department of Elder Affairs’ Communications Director Ashley Marshall released the follow statement in response to the article:

 The facts presented in Tampa Bay Times are inaccurate. Donald Bell was not allowed to “skip background screenings” when hired at the Department of Elder Affairs. In accordance with Florida Statutes and Department policy, a Level II Background Screening was conducted on January 6, 2012. Because of his position in executive management at the Department, a second more extensive background investigation began on January 13, 2012. It is common practice for employees to begin work while background results are still pending. During the hiring process, Bell was forthcoming to Department leadership about his history. With his pardon, the offenses in his record do not prohibit him from employment.

Miami Senator calls on Scott to stop flow of 'armor piercing' bullets

 Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, said armor-piercing bullets have become ubiquitous in his district and is asking Gov. Rick Scott to do something about it.

In a letter to Scott’s office Thursday, Bullard called on Scott to begin an investigation into the flow of deadly bullets into South Florida, calling them "military-grade" and saying his constituents are living in "open war zones."

“As night falls in many of these communities, families gather before twilight not to feast, but to fear,” he wrote. “They lock themselves in to lock out those who prey the streets with high powered weapons that pierce a home’s walls as effortlessly as they pierce a child’s body.”

Bullard also lamented the fact that several gun control bills are languishing in the Florida Legislature, which has been reluctant to entertain the gun debate.

Here’s Bullard’s letter to Scott:

Rick Scott's cash-hauling binge, $4.6m in 3 months, is just a warm-up

@MarcACaputo

Remember when we first told you that Rick Scott and Republicans are ready to spend "as much or more" than $100 million on his election? Consider this:

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott’s poll numbers remain stubbornly low, but by another measure he looks much stronger: raising money for his re-election campaign.

Scott’s political machine Let’s Get to Work raised a whopping $4.6 million in the first three months of 2013, raking in cash at the rate of $50,000 every day while chasing a goal of up to $100 million to fund his 2014 re-election campaign.

It’s an unheard of sum even in Florida politics, where money has always been critical.

Individual checks of $10,000 or more flood Scott’s campaign daily, many from businesses and individuals with a heavy stake in legislation, from Blue Cross Blue Shield to U.S. Sugar to an array of law firms with rosters of lobbying clients at the Capitol.

Pinellas County moneyman Bill Edwards stroked Scott a $500,000 check last week.

And while lawmakers are not allowed to accept donations during session because of the appearance of a crass quid pro quo, no such rule limits a governor’s ability to raise money, even though Scott’s veto pen makes him the final gatekeeper on all legislative decisions.

more here from Steve Bousquet

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/04/03/3321248/gov-rick-scott-raising-big-bucks.html#storylink=cpy