Miami Herald: Another backroom deal stokes distrust in Florida’s Legislature
Another backroom deal, this time involving the governor who has blasted the Legislature for secrecy, is leaving a trail of frustration and distrust in the state capital as elected lawmakers are being called back for a special session this week to rubber stamp a budget they were excluded from negotiating.
After stoking rumors that he might veto the Legislature’s budget and an accompanying controversial public school reform bill because they were negotiated behind closed doors, Gov. Rick Scott emerged with House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron in Miami with an announcement. He would sign the budget, veto $409 million in local projects, and order lawmakers back June 7-9 to add $215 million to the public education budget.
The announcement caught most legislators off guard, even ranking Republicans who were left out of the deal-making.
The Tampa Bay Times: Florida Public Service Commission votes on hiking Duke Energy bills today
The Florida Public Service Commission votes Monday on a proposal that would increase Duke Energy Florida customers’ bills beginning in July to help the company cover increased fuel costs.
Under the proposal, for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity its customers use — a benchmark utilities use — a customer’s bill would increase from $117.24 to $123.23. Ahead of the meeting which begins at 1:30 p.m., the FPSC appears to be leaning toward granting Duke’s request.
“Staff believes implementing the mid-course correction as proposed by DEF (Duke) is reasonable in this instance,” the agency’s recommendation said. “DEF’s proposed methodology provides for a lower bill to customers in the near term compared to recovering the costs over a shorter period.”
Tallahassee Democrat: Medical marijuana left out of special session
This week’s special legislative session focused on funding for education and economic development won’t include medical marijuana, at least for now.
House and Senate leaders remained hopeful that they could strike a deal on the framework for carrying out a voter-approved constitutional amendment that broadly legalizing medical marijuana. But if they don’t reach agreement before the special session ends, the Legislature is unlikely to take up the issue later this summer, according to a top senator.
Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced Friday they had agreed on the parameters of a three-day special session, slated to start Wednesday, to address education and economic-development issues.
The special session was also expected to include pot, after lawmakers failed to reach consensus during this spring’s regular session on a measure to implement the November constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for patients with a wide range of debilitating medical conditions.
