Merit Pay:

What's happening: Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Thursday the merit-pay bill that ties teacher pay and retention to student performance on tests.

What's next: New teachers after July 1 will have only annual contracts instead of being tenured after three years of satisfactory evaluations.

Go to Floridacapitalnews.com for more legislative updates. 

Florida House committee approves $66.5B budget with deep cuts

TALLAHASSEE - The size and scope of Florida's $3.8 billion budget shortfall came into sharper focus Wednesday as a key House committee approved a $66.5 billion budget with deep cuts in education, health care and other services.

Few programs and services were spared, from student financial aid to state parks to foster children to public broadcasting. The weather reinforced the dreary message as heavy rain pelted the Capitol for much of the day.

The budget cuts are due to a lengthy recession that has left Florida tax collections flat as its Medicaid rolls swell to nearly 3 million. The Republican Legislature won't raise taxes or fees, making cuts the only option. The biggest losers: State workers, who will see their salaries cut to beef up their retirement plans. The proposed budget also cuts 5,300 jobs, thousands of which are filled by state workers.

"There are no winners in our budget," said Rep. Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater. "But I'm not interested in passing on any new taxes to anyone."

The House Appropriations Committee passed the budget along with a 15-8 vote, GOP members voting yes and Democrats voting no. Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, had an excused absence and didn't vote.

"Faced with the economy we're in, there was absolutely no other choice," said Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, who crafted the House education budget.

Florida House bill that would limit multiyear contracts worries teachers

WESLEY CHAPEL - Jennifer Isley had options three years ago when choosing where to become a teacher.

She had connections in Minnesota and New York, two master's degrees, experience working in other aspects of education and a burning desire to help children bloom.

After assessing the possibilities, Isley picked Wiregrass Ranch High School in Pasco County. She took an annual contract, understanding that after three years she could earn a professional services contract if things worked out.

Principal Ray Bonti said Isley and the many other freshly minted teachers he recruited all deserve long-term deals. His school has more teachers on annual contract - 34 - than any other in Pasco County.

"They are everything the Legislature is identifying as excellent teachers," he said.

Yet lawmakers are considering a bill (HB 7087) this week that would make it so teachers currently on annual contracts could never land a multiyear contract.

Teachers union leaders have called the measure a betrayal.

"They were hired with the expectation that they were going to get a professional services contract," said Lynne Webb, president of the United School Employees of Pasco. "Senate Bill 736 (which dramatically changes teachers' terms of employment) did not indicate there was going to be any retroactivity. In fact, they made great pains of telling teachers it's only for new hires."

Continue reading this St. Petersburg Times Article here 

By Jim Ash

Florida Capital Bureau Chief

The House voted 73-40 on Friday to pass a Republican proposal that clamps down on union political activity.

The bill by Rep. Chris Dorworth, R-Heathrow, would prohibit union dues from being deducted from the paychecks of government workers and requires unions to get permission from members before spending dues on political activities.

A Senate companion bill by John Thrasher, a Republican from St. Augustine and the powerful Rules chairman, has cleared one committee and is on track for passage.

Doug Martin, a spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, promised a legal challenge after the Senate signs off and, as expected, Gov. Rick Scott signs the legislation. Martin said the legislation would all but shut down the union. All of AFSCME's 19,000 members have their dues collected through payroll deduction, Martin said. For the most part, union dues do not go directly for political contributions, Martin said. But they do support worker rallies and other union functions that could fall under the bill's restriction on political activity, he said.

"It depends on how you define political activity," he said.

The legislation will not stand up in court, Martin predicted.

"Government does not get to choose speech and it does not get to choose the organizations that you belong to," he said.