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Governor steps up to slay slang

We are not making this up. Well, we're making up the quotes. But the jargon is dead on and can be heard daily in the state capital.

Education aide: "The runs are out. The RLE is up. The FEFP has been tweaked, but check the weighted and unweighted. And relying on nonrecurring is a gamble."

Senator on insurance: "We've repealed joint and several. Now we'll lower retention, make it easier to tap the CAT fund and repeal the Pups. Then we'll tackle PIP in the spring."

House member on taxes: "We could double the homestead. But beyond that, portability without caps would be regressive."

You get the idea, if not the meaning. So did Gov. Charlie Crist, who even after years as a state senator and Cabinet member could not recall on the campaign trail what RLE means. (For the record, it's required local effort, or the minimum property tax rate each school district must use to help pay the cost of operating the schools). On his first full day in office, Crist issued an executive order creating the Plain Language Initiative. It aims to eliminate the indecipherable insider slang and acronyms embraced by bureaucrats and politicians. It directs the governor's office and his agencies to develop plans to communicate clearly and in plain language. It even suggests shorter sentences and designs that include lists and plenty of white space.

The Legislature, whose members are some of the worst offenders when it comes to speaking in code, should make a similar effort. Executive Order 07-01, promulgated by the governor, is an excellent initiative that should enhance the ability of all Floridians to understand the workings of their state government and the ramifications of changes in public policy.

Translation: Good job, governor.

[Last modified January 4, 2007, 21:42:13]