Count former Gov. Bob Graham among those who were not overwhelmed by an environmental-funding proposal released this week by Gov. Rick Scott.
Graham, a Democrat who also served in the U.S. Senate, said Scott's proposal to spend $50 million on the once-celebrated Florida Forever preservation program doesn't meet the needs of the program.
“We have to decide the kind of Florida we want to leave behind for future generations,” said Graham, whose daughter Gwen is running for governor in 2018. “The only way to leave behind a better Florida is to make significant investments to conserve Florida's most critical natural and working landscapes now.”
Bob Graham is chairman of the Florida Conservation Coalition, which includes groups such as Audubon Florida, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Defenders of Wildlife, the Florida Conservation Voters Education Fund, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the League of Women Voters, 1000 Friends of Florida, the Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper and The Trust for Public Land.
On Monday, Scott announced that his budget recommendation for the 2018 legislative session will include a $1.7 billion environmental package --- up $220 million from the current year. It would increase funding for the state's springs, beaches and parks, along with providing $355 million for Everglades restoration and $50 million for Florida Forever.
Most of the money would come through a 2014 constitutional amendment that required setting aside a portion of a real-estate tax for land and water conservation. The documentary-stamp tax is expected to generate $862.2 million next fiscal year for a trust fund used to carry out the amendment, according to an August estimate by state economists.
The Florida Conservation Coalition believes the largest part of that money, about $300 million a year, should go into statewide conservation programs, including the Florida Forever priority list, the Rural and Family Lands Protection Program and the Florida Communities Trust program. In the past, Florida Forever received about $300 million annually before facing major cutbacks in recent years.
“All we're asking is that current state leadership continue a decades-long tradition of protecting the lands that are critical for our economy and our quality of life,” Bob Graham said.
Scott outlined the budget proposal as a way to protect more than the natural beauty of the state's resources.
“Our natural treasures are so important to Florida's economy and tourism industry and the many families that rely on them,” Scott said in a prepared statement.
After the proposal was announced, the governor's office on Monday issued a list of quotes from environmental groups praising the funding proposal.
The package includes $55 million for natural springs, $100 million for beaches and $50 million for the state parks.
The Senate, meanwhile, has started moving forward with a bill (SB 174) by Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, that would annually earmark $50 million for beach nourishment and inlet-management projects.
Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, has also proposed a measure (SB 204) that would provide $75 million a year for natural springs.
Bradley has a separate measure (SB 370) that would set aside at least $100 million a year for Florida Forever.
SCOTT HUNTS FOR JOBS IN RAHM'S BACKYARD
Scott spent Wednesday and Thursday in Democrat-controlled Chicago, seeking to attract businesses to Florida.
But could the trip impact Illinois's Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner?
“While Gov. Rauner has tried to grow Illinois' economy, Chicago leaders and state legislators have for years been passing shortsighted policies and overwhelming increases of taxes and fees,” Scott said in announcing the trip.
He made similar comments during a media appearance Wednesday that was intended to criticize Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama, and state and city lawmakers. Scott then held business-development meetings throughout the day.
The only companies listed by Scott's office were Northern Trust Company, investment company Nuveen and TmaxSoft, a corporation founded in South Korea specializing in “enterprise” software.
But Scott's poaching effort came as Rauner launched a re-election bid this week accompanied by a video in which three other Republican governors --- from Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin --- attacked the Illinois economy Rauner has overseen since 2015.
The State Journal-Register in Springfield asked if it makes “sense for Rauner to let other governors talk down Illinois to its own voters,” as the state has entered the high-stakes contest for an Amazon headquarters.
Meanwhile, Democrats have tried to capitalize.
“Just a day after Bruce Rauner invited three neighboring governors to bash the state he's supposed to lead on TV, Rauner is letting yet another Republican governor take a swing at Illinois,” the campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker said.
This week's trip was the third of its kind since this summer for Scott, who is vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association.
With little fanfare, Scott undertook business-recruitment trips to Nevada and Tennessee, both states with Republican governors.
A brief announcement before this week's trip was more in line with the approach Scott took before business-development trips in past years to Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, California and Kentucky. Each of those states had Democratic governors at the time of the trips.
NO CHICKEN AND GOATS, PLEASE
After Hurricane Irma forced mass evacuations last month, school officials have complained to lawmakers about handling people and pets in schools used for shelters.
This week, the officials related more stories to a Senate education panel.
Kamela Patton, superintendent of the Collier County schools, said her district opened 28 schools as shelters, a process that was complicated by the fact that many schools were in mandatory evacuation zones and could not be opened. She said school officials were told three days before the storm hit that they would have to provide a pet-friendly shelter.
“That was a new thing for us,” Patton said, while adding she understood the need to help the animals as well as Collier residents. “People won't leave their homes without their pets. If you didn't open this pet shelter, it was a problem.”
Patton said school officials had to develop some impromptu rules for the shelter.
“We did have to actually say no to some chickens that they wanted to bring in and to some goats that they wanted to bring in,” Patton said. “We kind of kept the line at birds, dogs and cats.”
TWEET OF THE WEEK: "Thank you @realDonaldTrump for placing your trust in me. Humbled by this incredible opportunity." --- State Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, (@RepCTrujillo) after President Trump appointed him Thursday as ambassador to the Organization of American States.
