By Times staff writer, Associated Press
Published March 20, 2004
Children of active military personnel and veterans would qualify for vouchers to attend private schools under a bill that passed the House Appropriations Committee 25-10 Friday.
The bill, which was sent to the full House, would give active and retired military parents vouchers for as much as $3,600 to be used at private schools. The "K-12 GI Bill" also would pay as much as $500 for transportation.
Rep. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, is sponsoring the bill (HB 549), which is similar to one that passed the House last year but died in the Senate. Baker, a first sergeant in the Florida Army National Guard, returned from Iraq in February.
"We owe these people something; they put their lives on the line, and this is something we can do to help them," said Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala.
Critics said no one knows how much the bill would cost or how many children would qualify. Estimates put the number at 134,000, but that doesn't count dependents of Florida veterans, who number about 1.7-million.
Several legislators said it would actually save the state money, because the vouchers are worth less than the $6,730 the state spends per student.
- JENNIFER LIBERTO
Prosecutors would always have last word for jury
Prosecutors would be given the last word in certain criminal court cases under a bill that moved through a House committee.
Florida is one of just four states that allow defense attorneys to give the final argument in a case when defense attorneys offer only the defendant's testimony, said Rep. Carole Green, R-Fort Myers.
This bill (HB 1149) would change that system, allowing prosecutors to speak last.
"There is an unfair advantage. If the defense attorney gets up and makes an outrageous comment, there is no rebuttal," said Rep. Gaston Cantens, R-Miami.
But Rep. Ed Jennings, D-Gainesville, said the change could put a heavier burden on those who have been accused.
