Opposition squares off on growth amendment

City and county governments have treated growth-management plan changes “like Halloween candy” for developers and voters need a “veto,” the head of a controversial constitutional-amendment campaign said Thursday.
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Brevard Clerk questions Tallahassee math on new bill

This article from the Hearald Tribune shows the outright lies being fought out in Tallahassee over the Judicial Pearl Harboring of the Clerks. The 33% increase in budgets is a joke. Our revenue this year is LESS than it was five years ago. Before we would use Recording Fees to help cover the courts, now those are greatly decreased.

Total Clerk Revenue (all functions) 2003/04: $22,214,701
Total Clerk Revenue (projected) 2008/09: $21,136,587
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Proposed amendment would put limits on local taxes, tax hikes

A proposed cap on local and state taxes at 2010-11 levels and a limit on future increases tied to population growth met with quick and loud opposition in its first Senate committee hearing Tuesday.
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Florida Legislature sets special session to discuss $2.3 billion budget shortfall

It’s official.

The Legislature will meet in special session Jan. 5-16 to true up the state’s budget and the $2.3 billion gap between revenue and spending. Gambling and cigarette taxes are definitely out. Class-size spending and increased speeding fines are in.

House Speaker Ray Sansom and Senate President Jeff Atwater on Tuesday evening signed the call for the special session, a constitutionally required step for the Legislature to meet outside its required 60-day spring session. The call signed by Atwater and Sansom also sets out the limits of what can be considered for lawmakers. Anything outside the call requires a super majority of lawmakers to be taken up.

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Secretary of state continues to review fraud complaints

While Wakulla County election officials waited Wednesday to certify razor-thin victories, the state’s top elections chief continued to weigh fraud complaints.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning is still considering a complaint filed last week by a Panacea resident against Wakulla County Elections Supervisor Sherida Crum, alleging that voting rolls contained the names of people who listed vacant lots and nonexisting street addresses.
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Gay-marriage ban in constitution

Neither side was ready to concede late Tuesday in the vote over Amendment 2.

Early this morning, Amendment 2 was passing with 62.2 percent of the vote, above the three-fifths required for passage. Here’s the count:

Yes: 4,616,271
No: 2,810,313

Both sides said the final results would be close.
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Polls suggest Florida too close to call as McCain, Obama work on final push

With both presidential candidates making final appearances today in Florida, polls are showing the state is too close to call.

A poll released this morning by Quinnipiac University gives Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama a razor-thin 47-45 lead over Republican John McCain in Florida, but impressive leads in the other key swing states of Ohio, (50-43) and Pennsylvania, (52-42.)
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Outlook bleak for Florida budget

Dire economic circumstances call for severe responses, a fact reflected in contingency plans drawn up by state agencies as Gov. Charlie Crist begins his budget-building process.

Crist asked his agencies to provide requests that included plans for a 10-percent cut. He’s hoping that’s not what’s required when he presents his version of the state’s spending plan in January, but his department heads have painted what it would look like if it were.

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Palin campaigns in Republican-rich areas of Florida

FORT MYERS — Gov. Sarah Palin energized large crowds in Southwest Florida on Monday while campaigning for the presidential ticket in a Republican-rich area of the state.
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Florida officials: Sell state jet to save big money

The Legislature’s fiscal watchdog said Monday taxpayers could save big money by unloading the state’s executive jet and letting many of Florida’s top officials contend with Tallahassee’s notoriously bad commercial air service.
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