Looking to build support for repeal of the voter-approved high-speed train, Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher on Tuesday listed dozens of highway projects he said could be in jeopardy if the train goes forward.
He said the $2.6-billion estimated construction cost could cost taxpayers $140-million annually for 30 years, money that wouldn't be available for other transportation projects now on the state's five-year work list.
Gallagher's list includes the $64-million plan to renovate U.S. 19 in Pinellas County between 49th Street and 126th Avenue N and the $210-million plan to renovate Interstate 75 in Hillsborough County from Fowler Avenue to County Road 581.
Supporters of the train, approved by voters in 2000 as a state constitutional amendment, say Florida could still get federal help to finance the project.
Gallagher has thrown his support behind a citizens effort to put a repeal question on the November ballot. On Tuesday he garnered the support of more than a dozen legislators who signed petitions.
But it didn't appear to play as well with House members at large. The House Transportation Committee tabled plans to consider a bill that would put the repeal question on the ballot.
- JONI JAMES
Fighting plate proliferation
The Senate on Tuesday took its first stab at reining in the number of special interests that qualify for official-issue vehicle license plates. But it appeared, at least in the short term, a losing battle.
The same day the Senate Transportation Committee approved a bill to significantly stiffen qualifications for specialty plates, the committee also endorsed proposals for seven new tags under current rules. Specialty tags now total 88 in Florida.
Also Tuesday, Florida's Cabinet, acting as the head of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, signed off on five other tags lawmakers authorized last year to honor firefighters, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force and the Coast Guard.
The Senate's plan would require proposed tag sponsors to prove, through a scientific survey, that at least 30,000 motor vehicle owners intend to buy the plate. Sponsors now need to sign up just 15,000 petitioners.
The plan, endorsed by Senate President Jim King, also would cancel any tag if it had fewer than 1,000 purchases or renewals in a 12-month period, which would cut at least 30 plates from the state's list. Current law eliminates specialty plates if fewer than 8,000 are sold in five years, though private colleges are exempted.
- JONI JAMES
House welcomes past members
The House turned back the clock Tuesday as dozens of former House members gathered for a reunion. For an hour, the floor was filled with old-timers, a few of whom served in the days when the "pork-choppers" ran the Capitol.
Former Rep. Mary Grizzle of Belleair was there from Pinellas, as were former Reps. Curt Kiser of Dunedin, Pete Dunbar of Crystal Beach and Don Crane of St. Petersburg. Crane and two other alumni did a little lobbying: They urged the House not to "raid" a road building fund, supported by gas taxes, to balance the budget.
Before the frivolity, former Rep. Fred Lippman of Hollywood read the list of those who have died since the last reunion in 2002. They included St. Petersburg Republicans Dorothy Sample and Bill Cramer, who went on to serve a long career in Congress.
