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Local governments would lose powers
Today is Day 26 of the 60-day session of the Legislature.
Associated Press
Published April 1, 2006
Two pieces of legislation that would put more limits on local governments' spending and taxing powers were approved Friday by the House Finance and Tax Committee.
The panel voted 6-2 to introduce a proposed state constitutional amendment that would let the Legislature set local spending limits tied to growth in Floridians' personal income. The limits could be exceeded only if the governor declared a state of emergency, through a local referendum or by a supermajority vote of a city or county governing body. It also voted 4-1 to propose a bill that would limit local government property tax rate increases to the growth in the Consumer Price Index plus 3 percent.
Representatives of city and county governments spoke against both measures, saying they would shift authority from local officials to Tallahassee.
Tag would tout state's Confederate past
TALLAHASSEE - The Sons of Confederate Veterans is looking for legislators to sponsor its proposal to authorize a specialty Florida license plate displaying the Confederate battle flag.
The flag would be centered on the plant, with "FLORIDA" printed in red above and "Confederate Heritage" in red below.
"It is not racist to promote a common heritage," said H.K. Edgerton, a former NAACP president in Asheville, N.C., who led the group in singing Dixie before introducing the proposal. "There will be those uninformed individuals who will attempt to categorize this plate in unflattering terms."
The idea isn't likely to get far with lawmakers who are already halfway through the 2006 session.
"If it comes up here for a vote, it's not something I'm going to support," said state Rep. Jennifer Carroll, a black Republican from Jacksonville. "I think we have greater issues."
"I'm not going to sign up," said Gov. Jeb Bush, who in 2001 ordered a Confederate flag taken down at the Capitol, where it had flown for more than two decades. "We have enough license plates."
Florida has authorized 106 specialty license plates since its first one memorializing the Challenger shuttle that exploded in January 1986 on takeoff.
[Last modified April 1, 2006, 00:55:17]
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