Like any capital city, Tallahassee is often dominated by talk --- from rumors about running for office, to discussion of policy proposals, to analysis of how the latter might influence the former. The size of Tallahassee just amplifies the chatter.
"This town's so small a whisper can be heard a mile away. And people here will gossip when there's nothing else to say," Reba McEntire sang in "Rumor Has It," and it's as fitting a description of Florida's political players as of a troubled relationship.
This week, in particular, talk drove the news around the capital. One of the state's more prolific talkers, trial attorney John Morgan, continued to test-drive a message in case he runs for governor in 2018, while one state senator floated his name for governor and another plunged into a Cabinet race.
The Associated Press' annual legislative planning event put Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders before reporters and editors who quizzed the officials on their intentions for the session that starts March 7. The upshot was another escalation in the war of words between Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, a Land O' Lakes Republican who poured lighter fluid on the yearly guessing game about whether the Legislature might fail to get a budget done by the end of the regular session.
As usual, all of that brand of talk could come to nothing more than pre-session speculation. But as Reba sang, "Talk is cheap but the price is high when it's true."
NETFLIX FOR NOTEBOOKS
The AP's annual planning session is akin to binge-watching press conferences. This year, Scott, Republican and Democratic leaders of both legislative chambers and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam were on the docket, each speaking for a half an hour (give or take). And among the babble, some news emerged.
Scott followed recent tradition and used his presentation to the group to unveil his proposed budget for the year that begins July 1. Some of the biggest-ticket items --- $618 million in tax cuts, an expansion of the Bright Futures scholarship program and tens of millions of dollars for business incentives and tourism marketing --- had already been released. But details matter in budgets, and reporters were finally able to dig beneath some of Scott's numbers.
What they found in the $83.5 billion plan was some of the same kind of creative calculus that other governors have employed: far-fetched projections of cuts in parts of the budget that Scott doesn't like and at least one non-starter with the House of Representatives.
In perhaps the most sizable new detail in the proposal, Scott would once again boost per-student funding for public education, to $7,420.99, an increase of 3 percent. But that would rely heavily on an infusion of $557.9 million in additional local property taxes resulting from an increase in property values.
Meanwhile, his recommendations cut deeply into payments for hospitals. The state would reduce payments to public hospitals by $298 million. It would also save $581 million by allowing the managed-care plans that handle Medicaid patients to tweak how they reimburse hospitals. Another $50 million in funding for inflation and automatic Medicaid increases would be eliminated.
All of which technically could be done by the Legislature, but leaders weren't eager to jump on board. And Corcoran flatly ruled out using the proceeds of increased property values, saying it constituted a tax hike.
"I've said it a thousand times: The House will not raise taxes," Corcoran said Tuesday, drawing out the last six words for emphasis.
The speaker also suggested he was willing to push the legislative session into overtime because of the disagreement.
"We will not raise taxes," Corcoran said. "And if that means a lengthy year, we're prepared for that. But we will not raise property taxes --- not today, not tomorrow, not ever."
The comments seemed to echo Corcoran's vow not to "dance" with the Senate on an alternative to Medicaid expansion in 2015, when Corcoran was House budget chairman --- and the Legislature had to return for a special session to finish its work on the spending plan.
BUSINESS BATTLE
The budget proposal also contributed to a long-running skirmish between Corcoran and Scott over the governor's plan to spend $85 million on business incentives and another $76 million to market the state's tourism industry. Scott didn't mention Corcoran by name when he threw a few elbows in his budget speech, but he left no doubt about the target of his remarks.
"I believe that those who oppose investing in growing businesses simply don't understand how business works," Scott said. "We need to compete for jobs here in Florida so we can diversify our economy for generations to come."
Corcoran gave as good as he got, implying that the governor and other incentive supporters were uneducated on the issue.
"They haven't read enough," Corcoran said, if they support "the concept that those who create jobs will all believe that picking winners and losers and having government engage in free market is a good thing."
Scott kept up the pressure on Thursday, urging members of Enterprise Florida --- which oversees the state's business recruitment efforts --- to lobby lawmakers to move ahead with the funding.
"Let House members in your area, and your senators, know," Scott said during a meeting of the public-private Enterprise Florida at the Caribe Royale in Orlando.
Meanwhile, the House Careers & Competition Subcommittee was planning a hearing next week on a 172-page bill that would make wide-ranging changes in economic development, including abolishing tourism marketer Visit Florida, repealing laws that established and govern Enterprise Florida and transferring funds related to Enterprise Florida programs to the state Department of Economic Opportunity.
Scott also held a two-day "jobs summit" where he, business leaders and others raised concerns about what would happen if incentives went away. Kelly Smallridge, president of Palm Beach County's Business Development Board, said the state is already experiencing the impact of the House leaders' stance.
"I can already see a slowdown in the prospect pipeline, which is pretty scary," Smallridge said.
On the final day of the summit, Scott suggested he wasn't too concerned about the House's move toward demolishing Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida.
"I'm very comfortable that there is no way a bill like that is going to go through the Legislature," Scott told reporters.
THE PERMANENT CAMPAIGN
There was only one elected Floridian who officially plunged into a statewide campaign this week: Sen. Denise Grimsley, a Sebring Republican who said she will run for agriculture commissioner in 2018.
A hospital administrator and registered nurse, Grimsley said in a campaign announcement that she is a fifth-generation Floridian who has long been involved in the citrus and ranching industries.
"We will continue to fight for a smart statewide water policy, we will protect our environment and blessed Florida resources, and we will pursue expansion of the over 2 million jobs Florida agriculture provides our state," Grimsley said in the announcement. "I offer my broad life experience and an optimistic vision to achieve so much for our state."
Putnam, who is barred by term limits from running for re-election, is rumored to be angling for Scott's job, which also will open up because of the state's two-terms rule. But both Putnam and Scott, who's expected to run against U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., stayed away from too much overtly political discussion this week
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"We've got a lot to do and there will be plenty of time to focus on '18 after the session," Putnam said Tuesday.
As one might expect given his brash personality, Morgan was more willing to talk about his possible plans --- though the ever-present television pitchman and Democratic mega-donor suggested he won't make a decision on whether to run for governor until next year.
No term limits would be needed to pry Morgan out of office, he said during a visit to Tallahassee's Capital Tiger Bay Club, part of a "talking tour" that the attorney is undertaking to gauge his potential support.
"Why do we need two terms of governors? Isn't one term enough of these guys?" Morgan said at one point. "If I ran, I'd only give you one term, I'm sorry to say. Then I'd go back to St. Bart's. Up in Virginia, it's a one-term deal, and it works just fine. If you can't get it done in one year, you damn sure don't need eight."
Morgan suggested he would make a push to increase the minimum wage a central issue of his campaign, after he waged a successful fight to broadly legalize medical marijuana through a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2016.
Morgan would join a Democratic primary that could also be shaped by the decision of former Congresswoman Gwen Graham, the daughter of former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Bob Graham. The younger Graham is also considering a bid.
In addition to Putnam and possibly Corcoran, the GOP also got another potential candidate for governor this week: powerful Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater.
"I've been involved in Florida government and politics for a long time. I think I understand it as well or better than anybody else who's been interested in becoming a candidate," said Latvala, a political veteran considered by many in the legislative process as one of the state's savviest tacticians.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott unveiled his complete $83.5 billion budget proposal on Tuesday, opening up confrontations over local education property taxes and business incentives.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "We kind of went downstairs in the kitchen at about 3 in the morning and we turned on the lights. And I don't mean this in a disparaging way to anybody, but there's cockroaches everywhere and I think you're seeing that. You turn on the lights, and there's Enterprise Florida and you say, let's take a closer look to it."---House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, on House efforts to examine agencies such as Enterprise Florida.
