A Legislator's Perspective on Rail, the Constitution, and Other Matters
By Fred and Iris Scheibl[ PRINT ]
As anyone following the process has discovered, there is friction among the branches of government in Tallahassee. When Governor Scott decided to reject the federal grant for building a high speed rail line between Tampa and Orlando, a “gang of 25” Senators were not pleased. So displeased that they wrote a letter to Obama Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, asking for more time to circumvent the Governor’s decision before “our” $2.4 billion were allocated to California or New York, or some other “rail-friendly” state.
(Click HERE to see the letter).
District 25 Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff is one of the “gang of 25” signatories, as is district 27 Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto. Both Republicans are newly elected to that body and both were supported in various ways by South Florida 912, including a prominent recommendation on our “leader’s picks”. Since we support the Governor’s decision and rationale on high speed rail (it is a boondoggle, makes no economic sense, and will likely put the state on the hook for future subsidies), we contacted both Senators for their rationale in end-running the Governor.
Senator Benaquisto described her decision as “process related’. Although she does not support using federal funds to build the rail project, and doubts that a private sector project would be profitable, she signed on to the protest letter to protect the prerogatives of the Legislative Body. She was not in the Legislature when the original rail bill was passed (which provided funding to qualify for the federal grant), but was swayed by the argument that the actions of a previous legislative session (and previous governor) could not be unilaterally overturned by the present Governor. She also is now having second thoughts about the issue.
A Conversation with Ellyn Bogdanoff
Ellyn Bogdanoff has a nuanced view of the issue. After exchanging several emails on the subject, she offered to meet with us to better explain her position. In her view, much of the issue has been obscured by trivialized media reports and she believes the constitutional issue it engenders is larger than any discussion of high speed rail.
This afternoon, we had the opportunity to meet with the Senator at the comfortable Starbucks in the Gardens Mall. Accompanying her were legislative and political aides who were traveling with her throughout the district today.
We started our conversation in agreement – most of the coverage we read about the Legislative Session in the Palm Beach Post and Sun-Sentinel is superficial and doesn’t delve into the whole story.
As a member of the Florida House, the Senator supported Sun-Rail and the groundwork that was laid to qualify for federal transportation grants for the high speed rail projects. We don’t agree on this issue, but the Senator has been consistent. Irrespective of the underlying policy though, she views this current issue as one with constitutional ramifications.
While Senator Bogdanoff agrees with most (80-90%) of Governor Scott’s positions on issues, she believes that many of his actions since coming into office are arrogant, but more importantly, unconstitutional.
As a corporate CEO, he had the ability to take actions without necessarily consulting or deferring to other ‘bodies’. The state government on the other hand, is structured to assign separate powers to the legislative and executive bodies. The Governor, the executive body, does not have the authority to unilaterally overturn what the legislature had appropriated in past sessions. Nor does he have the ability to ‘legislate’. She referred us to an Orlando Sentinel article describing the contention between Governor Scott and the Legislature: (Click HERE for the article.)
Governor Crist did much that she considered unconstitutional as well, including the arbitrary extension of voting time during the 2008 election.
To Senator Bogdanoff, fidelity to the Florida State Constitution trumps any position on issues where she would otherwise agree with the Governor. If one ignores blatant constitutional violations when one agrees, then what happens in the future when other rights are being trampled?
She believes that we (ie. grassroots activists, South Florida 912, South Florida Tea Party) can and should remain ‘pure’ in our positions. She however, as a legislator, has to be focused on achieving ‘incremental’ wins. She has worked hard to have a leadership ‘seat at the table’ (Ellyn Bogdanoff now chairs the Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax) and if one behaves as a ‘bomb-thrower’, but gets nothing passed, then what is accomplished? In the give and take that her leadership role entails, if she can get 85% of what she wants, by voting for the 15% she doesn’t agree with, then she’ll do it. High speed rail was such an example – the Orlando-Tampa line was perhaps not the route she would have preferred, but she compromised to move on the larger package.
We have agreed to disagree with the Senator on high speed rail for Florida. We do not believe that the ridership projections are realistic and thus believe that any rail effort will ultimately result in requiring subsidies from the taxpayer. She believes that any private corporation agreeing to build and run the line would not do so if they didn’t think they could be profitable without subsidies.
Prior to Governor Scott’s decision, both Wisconsin and Ohio rejected similar grants. They (like us) see the entire Obama rail dream as a $57B progressive pipedream. None of these projects are likely to be profitable and will require operating subsidies to make riding them affordable. This is true of Tri-Rail and it is true with Amtrak, for which the Pew SubsidyScope Project estimates carries a subsidy of $32 for every passenger and loses money on 41 of 44 routes.
Other Topics
After our discussion of high speed rail and the separation of powers, we briefly touched on some other issues of local interest.
Key to budget restraint at the state and local level is FRS reform. The proposal as outlined by the Governor includes reduction in special-risk accrual, elimination of COLA and a 5% contribution by participants. Senator Bogdanoff considers the proposal as it stands, “dead on arrival” as there are not the votes to go that far. The bills (SB 1128 and 1130) that have been introduced by Senator Jeremy Ring (FS32), Chairman of Governmental Oversight and Accountability, are working their way through his committee, but fall short of the Scott proposal (and what is needed).
Another bill, SB1406, sponsored by Senator Bogdanoff, would introduce a 2.5 cent sales tax increase to replace the ad-valorem tax for the school systems. Although it deletes a requirement that a district school board levy the minimum millage rate necessary to provide the district’s required local effort, it does not prevent them from doing so. We suggested that this presents a double taxation case like the local Fire/Rescue sales tax proposal but she insists this is a true tax swap. She did say though to make it work, it will require an additional constitutional ballot amendment in 2012 removing school board funding from property taxes.
We ended the meeting keeping communications open. She has been willing to explain her rationale for her positions. We may not always agree on specific issues, but appreciate the Senator’s candor and openness.
Allen West Wraps up CPAC
Thanks to those who wrote or spoke up about the IG Ordinance
The following is copied from the Yes on Ethics website post entitled “Grassroots react negatively to Drafting Committee’s attempt to rewrite the Inspector General Ordinance”
Thanks so much to all who took the time to turn out Wednesday afternoon, February 9th, at the Vista Center. About 20 people from South Florida 912 and South Florida Tea Party attended the meeting with a sizeable group of other members of the public. There were also a few representatives from the cities.
Speaking generally in opposition to the large-scale rewrite proposed by League of Cities attorney Trela White, and generally in favor of the minor changes proposed by Inspector General Sheryl Steckler were June Perrin, Fred Scheibl, Iris Scheibl, Newbolt Wilson, Mike Lamayer, Jason Shields, Victoria Thiel, Bob Newmark for the Voter’s Coalition, Nat Roberts for the Economic Council and Suzanne Squire.
It’s possible that others would have spoken, but due to a change in the agenda, public comment was placed at the beginning of the meeting – an action which precluded any public comment regarding the day’s discussion. Several folks arrived later, assuming they would be able to speak at the end of the meeting. Representatives of the cities did not speak during public comment, but did submit questions specific to the IG Funding discussion later in the meeting.
The committee appeared unresponsive during the comments, did not thank the public, and went right into their discussion. They also did not acknowledge the emails sent by the public, many of which were also sent to us at support@ethicspbc.com. It should be noted that this committee has met three times before, with the mission to modify the existing ordinances so as to include the 38 municipalities in jurisdiction. Because of the attempt to rewrite rather than modify the ordinances, very little has been accomplished by this group to date, and it appeared that public scrutiny of their process was an irritant to some of the members.
Two significantly different ordinance drafts were submitted – one by Inspector General Steckler and one by League of Cities counsel White. The first discussion was about which draft to discuss. The ‘Steckler’ draft was fairly close to the original ordinance and is the one we would like approved. The ‘White’ draft is entirely rearranged, with phrases separated into different sections, purportedly for clarity and clarification. Unfortunately, it makes it next to impossible to compare with the original, and changes in spirit are evident throughout. There are many issues we have with the ‘White’ draft – however discussion didn’t get far enough to address those yet. Samples of both drafts can be found HERE. Ms. Steckler’s draft was selected for discussion, and the wording of “Sec. 2-422. Office created and established” was finally approved as written. An Applicability section will be written for the next meeting and added prior to this section. The funding subcommittee had three meetings and devised a funding methodology that was agreed to by members John Wilson, Joe Doucette, Mo Thornton and Iris Scheibl. After some discussion with the committee, as well as comments and responses to the city representatives who spoke, the committee agreed to the methodology and requested that the funding section of the ordinance be drafted by Assistant County Attorney Lenny Berger.
Debate has not even commenced to functions, authority, powers – nor many other major areas that will have heated discussion. The next meeting will be on Febuary 24th at 1pm and the committee will focus entirely on the Inspector General Ordinance with the intent of making faster progress by dedicating a longer period of time for the meeting. It is difficult to see how the committee will meet its specified goal of March 30th with so few meetings and so little progress to-date.
Vigilance will be required and we ask that as many people who can continue to stay focused on the progress of both the IG and Ethics Ordinances. Much of the effort expended over the last two years to insure independence of the Inspector General could be wasted if this committee is allowed to greatly change the substance and spirit of the ordinance.
All Things Hasner
Please join us on Wednesday, February 23rd as we hear from former Majority Leader Adam Hasner. He’ll share his insight on local, state and national happenings… with time for Question & Answer.
REC February 9, 2011 – The New Beginning
The fresh attitude in the air of the room was easily detected by all senses. Call it revitalized energy or quite simply, less resistance and a “moving forward” approach.
It was announced that Michael Bennett is now officially part of the RPOF will set his car on cruise as he rides up to the ‘Presidency Five’ in Tallahassee. Which, if anyone recalls, former Governor Crist had shot down any ability to have a real straw poll. This will be national news and there will be a actual straw poll this time around. No doubt, something to look forward to.
The REC now has Two (2) new energetic Membership Chairs. The North County will be covered by Marilyn Parnett and the South by Sue Snowden. They both passed the enthusiastic hat in an effort to collect dollars needed to reach out to possible proactive REC members.
Tonight, we added 9 new members to the REC last evening. Voters unanimously confirmed seating on all proposed six (6) Members of the Board on an individual basis. Congratulations to all of them. They were:
- Joe Budd – Assistant Vice Chair, Campaigns
- Anita Carbone – Assistant Vice Chair, Victory Offices and Volunteers
- Sherry Lee – Assistant Vice Chair, Candidate Recruitment and Training
- Philip Nicozsis – Assistant Vice Chair, Finance
- Marilyn Parmet – Assistant Vice Chair, Membership – North
- Sue Snowden – Assistant Vice Chair, Membership – South
Also passed without any resistance, we gave full support in suggesting a mandate for Employers to use E-verify for Employment eligibility. We passed this in an effort to serve as a bar of measurement to the other 66 counties falling in the REC umbrella acrossed the State of Florida. We hope they follow suit. For those unfamaliar with E-verify, this is a user-friendly system whereas the Employer inputs verified information from their already mandated I-9 Employment Eligibility Form.
In short, our evening was rather sweet, short and forward-thinking. We look forward to many more of those. It’s going to be a blessed year — with much effort and united attitudes.
Immigration Town Hall with Rep. Bill Snyder
Notice
Please mark your calendar
Immigration
Morgade Library – Salerno Road
5851 SE Community Drive
Stuart, Florida 34997
Wednesday – February 2, 2011
6 PM
Have you had the opportunity to hear Representative Bill Snyder speak on his upcoming immigration bill?
Do you have questions about the pending immigration legislation currently under discussion in the Florida Legislature?
If you want to know more and have questions, then this is a meeting you don’t want to miss.
Representative Snyder will discuss his proposed bill in detail at this meeting.
Join us for an informative, non-partisan program at the Morgade Library, Salerno Road, 6PM, Wednesday, February 2, 2011.
In order to ensure that as many folks as possible have their questions answered, we ask that you submit your questions in writing at the beginning of the meeting if possible. We will supply you with pen and paper.
Free of charge and open to the public.
MAP:
Friends and Patriots at the last debate in
Palm City we were out numbered 5 to 1.
Rep. Snyder needs our support!!
PS: The last event was standing room only.
Supporters who arrived late were left standing outside.
Please get there early so the naysayers are left outside.
Call To Action – Prevent the Weakening of the PBC Inspector General
The representatives of the municipalities on the Inspector General (IG) Drafting Committee are balking at the oversight role of the IG. The municipalities are saying that we, the voters, didn’t understand what we were voting for and that we simply didn’t want ‘pay to play’ activities by our elected officials. They are attempting to weaken the scope of the IG, saying that the IG should not be able to review and report on mismanagement or inefficiencies or to second guess the municipalities’ decisions in any way – when it is precisely those types of decisions that can ‘waste’ the tax-payers dollars.
ACTIONS
1 – Attend the Wednesday, February 9th meeting at 2pm at the Vista Center, Vista Center Hearing Room, 2300 N. Jog Rd (just northeast of Okeechobee Rd) – listen to the discussion politely, and when there’s time for public comment, please state that: you as a voter knew what you were voting for and that you believe that the ‘independent oversight of local government operations” is key to the IG’s role.
It is important that we have a large turnout at this meeting. Please make every effort to attend in person.
2 – Send emails to the drafting committee members stating that you support the scope of the IG as described in the original ordinance to “detect misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, waste, inefficiencies and mismanagement” and that the same scope must now apply to the municipalities. The email addresses are:
REPRESENTING THE COUNTY:
| David Baker | david.baker@amrl.com |
| David Aronberg – Committee Vice Chair | aronberg@yahoo.com |
| Donna Raney – County Attorney’s office | DRaney@pbcgov.org |
REPRESENTING LEAGUE OF CITIES
| Kurt Bressner – Committee Chair | BressnerK@bbfl.us |
| Michael Bornstein | mbornstein@lantana.org |
| Trela White – League of Cities Attorney |
REPRESENTING OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
| Sheryl Steckler – Inspector General | SSteckler@pbcgov.org |
3 – “like” the Vote Yes on Ethics facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vote-YES-on-Ethics/104294449637067) so that you can see future action alerts or go to http://ethicspbc.com
4 – Send an email to support@ethicspbc.com with “I want independent oversight of local government” in the subject line.
Background:
In 2009 many of you worked very hard to see that an independent Inspector General was put in place for Palm Beach County, as well as Ethics Ordinances.. You stood up at County Commission meetings, you signed petitions, and you saw the Inspector General’s office get implemented. Then in November 2010 the people voted. An overwhelming 72% of voters wanted these ordinances and for the Inspector General’s scope to apply to all of the municipalities in the county.
The Charter Amendment called for a drafting committee consisting of representatives from both the League of Cities and the County, in equal representation plus the Inspector General for the IG Drafting Committee, and the Executive Director of the Ethics Commission for the Ethics Drafting Committee. The role of the IG committee is to write a new ordinance, using the original as a basis to incorporate the municipalities.
The Charter Amendment (http://www.pbcgov.com/countycommissioners/pdf/charter.pdf), in Section 8.3, defined the role of the Inspector General:
“The county shall, by ordinance, establish an Office of the Inspector General to provide independent oversight of publicly funded transactions, projects, and other local government operations”
The original IG ordinance (2009.049 – Sec. 2.422), stated that the office of the Inspector General was to “detect misconduct involving abuse, corruption, fraud, waste, inefficiencies, and mismanagement by elected and appointed county officials and employees, county agencies and instrumentalities, contractors, and other parties doing business with the county and/or receiving county funds.”
The IG ordinance drafting committee has spent 3 meetings now debating the wording of the Inspector General’s scope. The next meeting is to be held on February 9, 2011 at 2pm.
State of the State with PBC Chairman, Sid Dinerstein
The Republican Club of the Palm Beaches kicked off 2011 with our first meeting on January 26th with a group of enthusiastic members and their guests. It was great to see so many people staying involved in our local, state and national politics.
We were honored to be joined at our first meeting by local candidate, George Carter, running for Mayor of Riviera Beach. A graduate of Riviera Beach High School and Barry University, Carter served as director of the Riviera Beach Municipal Marina from 1990-2006. Since that time Carter has served as president of the Riviera Beach Maritime Academy.
Several of our members had an opportunity to speak with Carter who firmly believes in the economic growth of Rivera Beach, and the importance of educating our youth. Carter is working with Enid Atwater in coordinating his candidacy, and he is currently seeking volunteers for all aspects of the campaign. You can sign-up to help at carter4mayor.com. The election will be held Tuesday, March 8, 2011.
Our guest speaker for the day was Sid Dinerstein, Chairman of the Republican Party of Palm Beach County. Sid spoke about the results and statistics from the 2010 election cycle, and gave a preview to the upcoming Presidential race. He commented on our new Florida state legislature and governor, and noted that this group will be closely watched by all as Florida brings forth its legislative agenda.
Sid also reminded everyone of the upcoming Lincoln Day Dinner on February 24th which serves as the Republican Party of Palm Beach County’s principal fundraiser. If you have not yet purchased your tickets, please do so as RCPB has tables at the event.
We were fortunate to have several books as door prizes donated by Col. Arthur DeRuve and several members and guests were the lucky recipients in our drawing.
We look forward to a great year as we round the corner on to 2012, and many thanks to all the members who brought guests to our meeting.
Join RCPB for Lincoln Day Dinner
Call Bette Anne to reserve your seat with RCPB 561-804-4591
Excellent Turnout for Veterans Event
The “Celebration of Freedom – a Salute to Veterans” was a rousing success, with a standing room only crowd and $2805 raised in the silent auction sheparded by Michele Poole
Special guest Congressman-elect (Lt. Colonel) Allen West made his first visit to the club after his resounding defeat of Democrat Ron Klein who ran one of the nastiest campaigns in South Florida, and was as excellent a speaker as ever. One of the rising conservative stars of the party (along with fellow Floridian Marco Rubio), the eyes of the nation are on Allen as he will be taking his place alongside the approximately 100 NEW members of Congress in January.
The entertainment was excellent, as local artist Madison McIntosh rendered the anthem and other patriotic songs to an appreciative audience, and the presenting of the colors by the Dwyer High School ROTC started the event with distinction.
The numerous veterans in attendance were recognized, and each was presented with a lifetime membership in RCPB.
Quite an event and it certainly raised the bar for next year. Here are a few pictures from the event:
For additional pictures, click HERE