Top Florida Education Officials Consider FCAT Alternatives
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Legislative leaders and members of the state board of education traveled to New York for an in-depth look at that state's Regents exams. For months now, there has been high-level discussion of shifting Florida's accountability system toward end-of-course exams, which experts say would be a more useful tool than the FCAT.
For more information, read the full article.
What do you think? Are end-of-course exams a good alternative? What other options should the state consider?
POLL: Property Tax Constitutional Amendment
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Tell us -- and your legislators -- how you plan to vote on the property tax constitutional amendment.
For more information about the proposed amendment, read the full article here.
No-Fault Insurance and PIP Laws to Expire: What Fallout Do We Face?
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On October 1st, Florida's no-fault auto insurance laws are scheduled to sunset. Also disappearing is the requirement that all drivers carry a minimum level of personal injury protection (PIP).
Repercussions are predicted to be widespread. The 20% of Floridians who have no health insurance will have no coverage for treatment of injuries sustained in auto accidents. Hospitals say they will be forced to bear the costs of administering emergency treatment to uninsured accident victims. Health insurance companies say any decrease in auto insurance premiums will be completely offset by increase in health insurance premiums.
Should the legislature take this issue up during the September special session? If so, should they extend the existing law for a year or try to develop consensus reform legislation before the October 1 deadline?
Special Session Ends; Results Uncertain
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The Legislature ended its special session on property taxes today after passing two bills touted as the solution to the tax crisis. There is no consensus, however, that the legislation will result in relief for those that need it most, and many are concerned about the impact on education funding and government services.
The "roll-back bill" requires local governments to reduce taxes this year and caps their future revenues. The second bill creates a proposed constitutional amendment. If passed by 60% of voters in January, the amendment would allow homeowners to give up their Save Our Homes assessment cap in exchange for a much larger homestead exemption.
Read CIVIC's article for full details.
Tell us what you think of the legislature's plan.
Property taxes, special session, constitutional amendment (all tags)
Welcome to the CIVIC Forum
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The CIVIC Forum is the interactive hub for the CIVIC online community. Every article posted on the main site will have a link to a discussion here on the forum. CIVIC members can debate policy proposals, share their personal stories related to the issue, and offer ideas for taking action. An important element of civic engagement is the public discussion of critical issues and the CIVIC Forum will provide an outlet to allow citizens and state leaders to dialogue.
Stay tuned for exciting new features over the summer. We'll be hosting online chats and video discussions with elected officials and guest experts.
We encourage you to become an active participant in the CIVIC community.
(all tags)
Property tax reform
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All we're hearing about right now is the property tax "crisis" and various proposals touted to fix it. But should we be rushing to make drastic changes to such a fundamental state system? For an explanation of where this crisis came from and an analysis of the various proposals by a respected expert, take a look at the article by Larry Fuchs, former head of the Florida Department of Revenue.
Speaker Rubio and the House Republicans want to eliminate or drastically reduce property taxes and increase the sales tax by 2.5%. But in a state that relies heavily on tourism, do we really want to have the highest sales tax rate in the country? Plus, the sales tax is a regressive tax that has the heaviest impact on those with the lowest incomes.
House Democrats have put forward a complex proposal that would benefit low- and middle-income homeowners the most. But it does little to assist renters. And experts have expressed doubt whether it will have much effect on the flagging home market.
Maybe the real answer is that we need to put together a blue ribbon panel of experts and give them six months to come up with a comprehensive, equitable solution to revamp the system. Rushing to address this crisis to score political points will just cause us bigger problems in the future.
What are your thoughts?
CIVIC Launches New Interactive Website
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With today's launch of the CIVIC website, Florida finally has a source for innovative, centrist ideas and accessible political information. The new site will provide Floridians with an opportunity to interact with decision-makers and voice their opinions, encouraging and assisting them in greater civic involvement.
As an incubator for centrist ideas and a legislative watchdog ensuring greater sunshine and accountability, CIVIC will be a partner for ordinary Floridians. It will bring attention and focus to common sense ideas and offer solutions to languishing state problems. Committed to a more balanced political discussion in Florida, CIVIC will be the state's primary source for innovative policy proposals and plain-language information about what's happening in state government.
The CIVIC website provides information on current events, mechanisms for citizens to make their voices heard, forums for discussion of issues and policies, and a clearinghouse for the development of real solutions to our state's most critical problems. In short, it will be a single-source location for innovative policies and unbiased political information.
Please comment and tell us what you would like to see CIVIC offer.
