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U.S. suit says Osceola voting unfair to Hispanics
By wire services
Published July 20, 2005
ORLANDO - The federal government has sued Osceola County over the way commissioners are elected, saying the system discriminates against Hispanic candidates.
The Justice Department lawsuit contends that the county's system of electing all five commissioners at large was adopted in 1996 "for the purpose of diluting Hispanic voting strength," in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
County officials have long debated whether to switch to single-member district elections.
Osceola County's Hispanic population grew from 12 percent in 1990 to 35 percent last year, but only one Hispanic county commissioner was elected in that time.
The county avoided a federal lawsuit in 2002 by agreeing to hire more Spanish-speaking poll workers and take additional steps to help bilingual voters.
Agency for disabled to reduce waiting list
TALLAHASSEE - The Agency for Persons with Disabilities will use an anticipated $53-million surplus to cut a waiting list for services, its secretary said Tuesday.
The surplus will result from a new system that detects billing errors and sends them back to service providers before the agency pays them, said Shelly Brantley, who heads the agency that for helps people with mental retardation, autism, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities.
About 3,000 people should be served by the saved money, she said.
"When you're processing millions and millions (of bills) every day, if 5 to 10 percent of the providers overcharge you by 10 cents or a dollar, that adds up," Brantley said, adding that about 10 percent of claims filed have errors.
Previously, bills were paid and overpayments recouped later if detected. Often it cost as much or more to get the money back if the overbilling was a small amount, Brantley said. "When you're doing it manually, trying to get 10 cents back from a provider will cost you two bucks."
The agency serves about 35,000 people and has a budget that tops $1-billion.
The Legislature also provided a budget increase that will help another 3,000 people waiting for service. Combined, the two events will enable the agency to cut its 12,000-person waiting list in half, Brantley said.
[Last modified July 20, 2005, 00:56:12]
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