Legislative Connection
April 27th – May 5th
2009 Legislative Session
Restorative Legislation Passes
Other Important Bills Fail
One month ago, we wrote in Legislative Connection “the successful outcome (of session) depends on a hero or heroine to emerge as a knight in shining armor to slay the forces of darkness and evil. Who might that Florida knight be?”
We now have the answer and it isn’t much of a surprise.
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Sen. Nan Rich (D - Broward) |
Continuing her reign as pre-eminent child advocate, Sen. Nan Rich (D-Broward) fought for and passed milestone health legislation on the last day of session – the rehabilitation of Florida Kidcare.
With support from Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Rep. Bill Galvano (R-Bradenton) who had successfully sponsored the House measure the previous two years, and the arm-twisting of governmental leaders by Congresswoman Kathy Castor, who was instrumental herself in reauthorizing the federal S-CHIP program, Rich fulfilled her vision to make it easier for families to enroll their children in an affordable health insurance program. Rich’s bill, SB 918, streamlines Kidcare and puts the state in the long sought after position to qualify for bonus dollars from the federal government.
At the end, it became clear that every member of the Florida legislature decided it would serve both public and personal interests by voting to support the Rich measure. It passed unanimously. The bill now goes to the Governor to be signed into law.
It has been four long years after “reforms” at the urging of the Jeb Bush administration fundamentally weakened Kidcare, resulting in more than a hundred thousand needy children being dropped from the rolls. SB 918 reduces the wait period for late premium payments, thus increasing retention, allows for children to maintain coverage by providing a seamless transition between Medicaid and KidCare, allows electronic verification of income, and provides coverage of infants in full pay.
The path to a fairy tale ending however was fraught with peril and uncertainty. After sailing through the Senate with a Herculean push by Rich, the bill languished in the House. A call to action was issued by a number of children’s groups, including the Children’s Campaign. The House responded. Leadership waived the rules and the bill was heard in the final hours of session. It was certainly the right thing to do. The bill had been passed two years running by the House, a point made by advocates in the emails and phone calls that streamed into the offices of House members.
Rich told the Charlotte Sun Herald, “To finally pass this bill which is going to help more children enroll in Kidcare makes the session a success.”
This story would hardly be complete without mentioning a former legislator. Though no longer serving due to term limits, Lorrane Ausley championed the Kidcare cause in the House and her efforts there provided the foundation for last week’s successful ending. Ausley, who now serves as chairman of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation at the request of CFO Sink, praised the hard work of many in positioning Florida to take the next big step in providing health insurance to Florida’s children. “We have much to do to take full advantage of the federal dollars in support and to reach the goal of no child in our state being without coverage.”
Rich received support, encouragement and lobbying assistance from a wide range of child advocacy and health organizations. While it would be an incredibly long list to mention all of them, the Children’s Campaign extends special mention to the Florida Child Healthcare Coalition and its spirited co-conveners Linda Merrell and Karen Woodall, the Florida Children’s Services Councils led by a group known affectionately by their peers as “The Firm”, United Way One Voice for Children, Florida CHAIN, and several health foundations across Florida that kept the movement alive with support.
In the end, it was Nan Rich who brought it together. She has been a force for children for nearly a decade in the legislature and during her entire career of public service which preceded her first run for office. Please take the time to send Rich a letter or call her office to thank her for all that she has done for Florida’s children.
More Heroes March Forward
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) stepped up and pushed the Zero Tolerance legislation through the gauntlet in the final hours.
In a strong statement released by Dale Landry, Chair of the Florida State Conference Criminal and Juvenile Justice Committee, the NAACP threatened “direct action” against House leaders. The timed warning came after the Zero Tolerance measure (SB 1540) was passed in the Senate due to the efforts of Stephen Wise (R-Jacksonville) but when the requests of Representative Jennifer Carroll (R-Jacksonville) to bring it forward did not receive a response from leadership.
Partners in the final hours included the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, many members of the Juvenile Justice Blueprint Commission, and Children’s Campaign, Inc.
The NAACP has been a consistent and sobering voice against the misapplication of zero tolerance policies that disproportionately affect minority students. In 2006 they released a study calling it the “pipeline to prison.”
President Adora Obi Nweze, of the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and personal advisor on minority affairs to Governor Charlie Crist, told WCTV television, “We are very happy that the Legislature realizes that it is important for students to remain in school.”
SB 1540 clarifies the original intent of zero tolerance policies and when signed into law will keep petty acts of misconduct and misdemeanors out of the hands of school resource officers and law enforcement while directing schools to create alternatives to expulsion or referral to the juvenile justice system. The bill passed after the “baggy pants” language introduced by Senator Siplin (D-Orlando) was stripped from the measure. Wise said, “[it] will keep the kids from getting in juvenile justice facilities for inconsequential matters…[and]give the School Boards some discernment.”
Children’s Campaign, Inc. board member and former NAACP State Conference President Leon Russell urged the Governor to sign the legislation quickly. “The Legislature has realized it’s time to rethink our classroom philosophy in school discipline,” said Russell. “We can no longer afford the urge to punish young people to overtake responsibility to nurture them. Reform of zero tolerance is a giant step in the right direction.”
Other Victories
Another win for KidCare was HB 807 sponsored by Rep. Clarke-Reed (D - Pompano Beach). As a result, Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) will study Kidcare outreach, opening the door for future action to reach eligible but un-enrolled children.
SB 126 sponsored by Sen. Paula Dockery (R-Lakeland) requires case records to be maintained with complete and accurate information (hopefully not a new thing), allows foster children to have access to those records upon reaching a certain age, and requires the Department to keep the records until the child reaches 30 rather than the current requirement of 18. This will remove one of the many barriers facing former foster children as they “age out” of care.
HB 381 sponsored by Rep. Thompson (R –Ft. Myers) also known as the “Zahid Jones, Jr., Give Grandparents & Other Relatives a Voice Act” expands the list of people who have access to child abuse records.
Sen. Rich’s SB 344 deletes a provision exempting passengers in a pick up truck from wearing their seat belt and her SB 1128 makes it easier for foster children to continue their education through the in and out process of foster care.
Carry-Overs to Next Year
Two years of meetings/hearings, involvement by the top juvenile justice experts in the state, input by stakeholders and citizens, and investment by the Governor’s Office and Department of Juvenile Justice did not result in passage of the “non-fiscal impact” recommendations of the Juvenile Justice Blueprint Commission. The bill was certainly hampered by onerous language added in the House that would have resulted in thousands of more children being detained or deeper end placement. But Senator Crist (R-Tampa) sponsor of the DJJ blueprint bill, was unsuccessful in moving the cleaner version through his own committee in the final days and bring it to the Senate floor. More news about this development will be carried in the next Juvenile Justice Front Burner, a publication of Children’s Campaign, Inc.
Legislation that would have put degreed teachers in every pre-kindergarten classrooms by 2013 was filed in both the House and Senate but was derailed by a flawed fiscal impact statement by the Agency for Workforce Innovation. While later detracted, the AWI analysis curiously combined four years of implementation funding into a single total, erroneously making the legislation appear incredibly costly.
Bills to repeal the ban on adoption by same sex parents were not scheduled for a hearing, thereby not allowing debate and testimony even though the issue is currently under appeal in a case before the Florida Supreme Court.
Bills that would have required booster seats for children 4 to 7 shown to reduce injury by 60% and death by 28% and bills requiring rules to govern restraints in juvenile justice proceedings also did not move forward.
This week legislators will finalize the budget. We will report the final numbers in our next edition of Legislative Connection. One thing is certain. The federal bailout has diverted an immediate bone-crushing disaster in this state though important programs were cut or even eliminated.
For children's bills, continue reading:
Promise 1 (child health, including; maternal health, KidCare, mental health, etc.)
Promise 2 (child protection, including; foster care, adoption, independent living, etc.)
Promise 3 (early learning and care, including; pre-k, child care, etc.)
Promise 4 (after school, including before and after school programs, summer school, etc.)
Promise 5 (juvenile justice, including juvenile justice reform, girls issues, minority overrepresentation, etc.)
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