State: Workers' anger crashes a Bush campaign sto

SARASOTA -- Gov. Jeb Bush courted friendly seniors on the heavily Republican southwest coast Thursday, but he also had the kind of encounter no politician wants on his campaign schedule.

Before Bush could promote a prescription drug plan for low-income seniors, he was met by a half-dozen angry workers who say they are being forced out of business by a new law Bush signed in May. The law requires self-employed subcontractors to carry workers' compensation coverage for themselves for the first time on commercial projects greater than $250,000.

Legislators changed the law in an effort to reduce what they say is widespread fraud in workers' comp in Florida, where premiums are among the nation's highest and benefits among the lowest. But workers said they didn't know about the change until after it took effect. Some said they plan to file for unemployment benefits.

"They lifted the exemption on us and never told us," said Jim Reppi of Venice, who hauls fill and rocks. "Gov. Bush needs to take action right away. Otherwise, it's going to put us right out of business."

Surrounding Bush on a side street, the men said insurers either refuse to offer such coverage or have set astronomically high prices they can't afford. They said owner-operators all over the state face a similar plight.

Bush confirmed he approved the change. He passed out business cards to the men, urged them to e-mail him with information, and promised to seek short-term help. "We'll work on it," Bush said. "I'm glad you guys came."

The workers have been frustrated by the state bureaucracy that Bush himself often faults for being too big and unwieldy. Regulation of workers' comp shifted on July 1 from the heavily privatized Department of Labor, an agency under Bush's control, to Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher, an elected Cabinet member who will soon become the state's first chief financial officer.

Gallagher's spokeswoman, Tami Torres, said the agency has received about 10,000 phone calls from subcontractors. The agency posts questions and answers on its Web site, www.fldoi.com, and has a toll-free number, 1-800-342-2762, to answer queries.

Candidate Bush came to Sarasota a day after touting a plan to reduce drug costs for 58,000 Florida seniors. The Silver Saver program will offer up to $160 a month to seniors with annual incomes of between $7,797 and $10,632.

Jane Icely, health services director at the Senior Friendship Center where Bush visited, estimated that about 30 percent of the center's clients would qualify.

Bush worked the large room with skill. He made small talk in English and Spanish, posed for pictures and kissed a white-haired woman on the head, saying: "She looks like my mother."

Bush, who has been criticized by Democrats saying he has mixed campaigning and state business, stressed to his audience that he was there as a candidate and not governor. When a TV reporter suggested the drug plan's timing was "fortuitous" for Bush politically, Bush answered with a trace of sarcasm: "Here's a news flash. I'm running for re-election and I'm governor, so when there's a convergence of something that might be good politically and sound policy, I'll take it every time I can get it."

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk