A letter from a high school junior calls the idea "beyond ridiculous." A pleading voicemail message tells legislators that students "want to have our teachers for next year."
Children have been flooding Republican senators with phone calls and handwritten letters, urging them to defeat an effort that would institute performance pay for Florida teachers.
Small business owners planning to create cancer treatment products or new solar panel technology in Florida might be able to look forward to as much as $250,000 from the state to match federal grants.
A popular, $193 million economic development bill that passed the Florida Senate on Thursday, along with a smaller House bill that has yet to reach the floor, would create state matching funds for two federal programs that aid businesses venturing into the highly competitive research sector.
In the fight to be heard in the state Legislature, small business owners must compete with companies and special interests that can shout their agendas to lawmakers through lobbyists and attorneys.
So, how can small businesses that don't hire lobbyists raise their voices from a whisper to a roar?
The journey to gain political clout without the use of a lobbyist can be a hefty burden on a small business owners time and funds.
But, in the end, the rewards can be bountiful.
With much praise and few qualms, the Florida Senate on Thursday passed a costly plan that that could give businesses incentives and tax breaks for hiring the unemployed and stimulate job creation in the space flight, defense contractor and film industries. The vote was unanimous.
SB 1752, which will cost the state $193.8 million over three years for an unknown return, is being hailed by the business community as a valuable tool to help the state dig out of its 11.9 percent jobless rate. It now heads to the House.
After a tense debate, the Senate voted Thursday to give parents and educators limited flexibility in implementing state class-size mandates.
While supporters rallied for vouchers this morning in the Capitol courtyard, the Florida Senate was voting to expand the states corporate-funded voucher program -- a program that funds student enrollment in private schools.
The Senate also voted to institute teacher merit pay in public schools.
The Senate Communications, Energy and Utilities Committee moved a bill forward Tuesday that authorizes the Florida Public Services Commission to create standards of reasonable and reliable service for investor-owned water and sewer utilities and penalize the companies when they violate those standards.
The upperclassmen of the Republican Party schooled Democrats on a slew of education bills on the Senate Floor Tuesday.
In the face of Democratic opposition, they rallied in preparation for upcoming contentious votes on approving teacher merit pay, changing high school graduation requirements, altering a state constitutional amendment to loosen class-size restrictions and expanding the states corporate-funded voucher program.
State lawamkers Monday took a step toward allowing businesses to ask parents to sign a liability waiver before a child sets foot on a climbing wall, puts on a scuba tank or engages in other injury-prone activities.
An expansive but expensive bill that would use tax credits to create jobs for the unemployed and stimulate job creation for the space flight, defense contractor and film industries passed the Senate Policy Steering Committee on Ways and Means Thursday.
The bill, SB 1752, authorizes $1,000 per-person tax credits for businesses hiring the unemployed and expands from $35 million to $100 million tax refunds for space flight and defense contractor sectors and certain industries. It also provides $20 million in incentives for the film and entertainment industries.
