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Guaranteed Alzheimer's Center funds would end

Today is Day 23 of the 60-day session of the Florida Legislature.

A bill headed to the House floor would provide $30-million for biomedical research in Florida this year, but end an annual earmark for specific Alzheimer's and cancer research programs.

The Johnnie B. Byrd Sr. Center for Alzheimer's Research at the University of South Florida and the James and Esther King Biomedical Research Program currently get money yearly from a tax on alcoholic beverages.

Under the bill (HB 1027), sponsored by Rep. Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach, and approved unanimously Tuesday by the House Health and Families Council, that annual funding would end. The programs would get money this year, but in the future would have to compete with other research programs.

The bill continues for this year the $15-million for research at the Byrd Center and the $6-million for the King Program.

Students at failing public schools would have to wear uniforms and attend single-gender classes, unless their parents ask to keep them in coed classrooms, under a bill approved by the House Prekindergarten-12 Education Committee.

The bill (HB 745), sponsored by Rep. David Simmons, R-Longwood, cleared the committee 6-3, Republicans supporting it and Democrats opposed.

Simmons argued that studies show boys and girls learn differently and achieve better grades in single-sex classes. He acknowledged exceptions may need to be made in some cases - band classes, for instance. The legislation currently provides for none.

The bill next goes to the Education Appropriations Committee. No similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

"A-PLUS-PLUS' ALTERNATIVE: On a 5-3 party line vote, the House Prekindergarten-12 Committee rejected Democrats' alternative to Gov. Jeb Bush's "A-Plus-Plus" school accountability and improvement plan. Their "Every Child Matters" bill (HB 1427) would have replaced the state's school grading system - A, B, C, D and F - based mainly on how well students do on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, with one grading schools as improving, declining or maintaining progress based half on the FCAT and half on other factors. It also would have done away with millions of dollars in financial rewards that go to top-rated schools. Democrats argued that the rewards at stake and stigma of getting a low school grade put undue pressure on students and teachers, and result in rote teaching of test subjects - now reading, writing and math - and declining emphasis on history, science and other areas.

MILITARY FUNERALS: A measure increasing the penalty for disturbing a military funeral was approved by the House Criminal Justice Committee. The bill (HB 7127), a reaction to a radical Kansas church group that pickets services for soldiers killed in Iraq, would increase fines to $1,000 and raise jail time to one year. There is no Senate bill.

SEAT BELTS: The House Criminal Justice Committee approved Rep. Irv Slosberg's annual bill that would allow police to pull over any driver for not wearing a seat belt. Two more House committees await it. Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, last year succeeded at getting passage of a law allowing unbelted drivers under 18 to be pulled over.

[Last modified March 29, 2006, 01:23:20]