Pending Florida Legislation
Members of the Florida legislature are beginning to offer bills for consideration during the next legislative session.
You can view these bills and their details on the internet.
The bills are listed separately for the House and Senate.
Transportation prevarication
On August 31, 2011 President Obama urged Congress to extend the Surface Transportation Bill saying that if Congress failed to do so “over 4,000 workers will be immediately furloughed without pay”.
To understand why the claimed loss of jobs is questionable one has to examine how those jobs are funded.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, funding for transportation construction projects mostly comes from the Highway Trust Fund which is funded by the gasoline tax included in the expiring Surface Transportation law.
Annual spending from the Highway Trust Fund is largely controlled by limitations on the amount of contract authority that can be obligated in a particular year, and such obligation limitations are customarily set in annual appropriation acts, not the Surface Transportation law.
The only thing immediately reduced by failure to extend the law is the gasoline tax that funds the Highway Trust Fund.
Most contracts for transportation construction are not awarded by the federal government and the federal government is therefore not a party to the contracts and not in a position to cancel the contracts and furlough the workers.
The funds for transportation construction projects are given by the federal Transportation Department to the states. In Palm Beach County the funds for construction are given to the county Engineering and Public Works Department. That department solicits bids and awards contracts for the construction. Those contracts are not awarded until the funds are transferred to the county.
Therefore, while a lack of funds in the Highway Trust Fund can impact the implementation of future construction projects, it has no impact on ongoing projects for which funds have already been received. Workers presently employed on projects previously awarded are not impacted by Congress’ action on the gasoline tax.
A petulant President may be able to convince the county to terminate a contract using threats of some adverse action, but that termination would not be because the Congress failed to pass a bill. And a contractor faced with such a cancellation is entitled to receive termination costs for all of the expenses incurred up to the date of the cancellation including equipment and overhead costs that often add up to close to the original contract cost.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, there are still some funds, maybe $10 billion, in the Highway Trust fund so money can continue to go to the states for construction jobs for some time. And workers can continue to be added to new construction projects.
And if money for transportation construction is provided by the stimulus funds already appropriated, maybe we can let the gasoline tax expire and find a way to get along with a lower price at the gas pump.
Legislative abdication
In the last election 435 representatives and one-third of the senate were sent to Washington to produce legislation to solve the nation’s problems.
The legislative effort involves drafting proposed bills, holding hearings in committee to take expert testimony to refine the bills, debating the bills, and amending the bills as appropriate to achieve a consensus on what is best for the country.
The existing congress has abdicated that responsibility on what may be the most critical issue of the day, reducing the national debt. They have given their responsibility to a “super committee” of twelve members to make the decisions for them and to present something they will be unable to amend.
Are we well served by people who abdicate the job they were sent to perform?
Social justice trumps social justice
When the progressives allocate more of our precious limited resources to social justice programs there is little (or nothing) left for the things that made this country great like the technology of space exploration.
The progressives do not seem to understand that their resource allocation machinations are a zero-sum game.
When they allocate more of those limited resources to new social justice programs such as expanded food stamps and Obamacare there is less available for the older programs like social security and Medicare. The newer programs trump the older ones because you cannot have the same amount of both.
If one could stand back and look dispassionately at what is happening now, it would be quite funny if it was not so tragic.
His Excellency King George III vs His Excellency Barack Obama
The Founding Fathers’ view of the British Monarch vs a Tea Party view of President Barack Obama:
From The Declaration of Independence
(Note: clarifying terms in [ ])
He has refused his Assent to Laws [a balanced budget], the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his [State] Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance [to protect its citizens], unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people [the unemployed], unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature [agree to onerous tax increases], a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices [Unaccountable Czars], and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction [the United Nations] foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us [with Obamacare and a multitude of freedom-reducing regulations].
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages [illegal immigrants whose presence he encourages] …
When is a Budget Cut Not a Budget Cut?
When it is liberals and progressives pulling the wool over conservatives’ eyes.
You would think that if there is a short-term budget cut of one trillion dollars, the country would have turned the corner on runaway spending and would spend less in 2112 than 2011.
Not so.
The plan is to spend 8% more in 2012 than 2011 and 8% more in 2013 than 2012. So the short term budget cut means the planned 8% increase will be a little smaller increase,
That is not what conservatives were elected in 2010 to do.
Dictatorial Legislation
A small handful of congressional leaders meet with the President in secret behind closed doors and decide on crucial budget legislation which is handed down to a Congress that is expected to approve. Our elected representatives have no say in the legislation formulation and no insight into what is done in secret.
That is unpleasantly similar to the legislative process in a dictatorship where the ruler hands down the laws and the peasants are expected to be grateful.
It is also unpleasantly similar to the legislative process that was used to enact Obamacare, immensely unpopular legislation whose details were formulated in secret behind closed doors and few had time to read before being obliged to vote. Their leader told them they had to pass it to find out what was in it. We are still finding out many months later.
For other less critical programs proposed legislation is discussed in an authorization subcommittee in one house of Congress and, if agreed upon, goes to a full authorization committee for discussion and approval. If he committee approves, the legislation then goes to the floor for approval or amendment by the full body. The proposed program then goes to the other house of the Congress where it is discussed by an authorization subcommittee and, if approved, taken up by the full authorization committee. The legislation then goes to the floor for approval or amendment by the full body. If the authorizations of the two houses differ, and they usually do, the proposed authorization goes to a conference committee made up of interested legislators from both houses where the differences between the two houses are discussed and a common authorization is decided upon. The authorization then goes to back to both houses for their approval. Only after both houses agree to the exact same language is the authorization passed.
That process authorizes the executive branch to pursue the program but provides no funds for its execution.
The funding for the authorized program is decided by a process similar to the authorization process with appropriations subcommittees and committees now taking up the programs previously considered by authorization committees and the full bodies approving or amending the appropriation. Conference committees then resolve differences between the two houses and the appropriations bill then goes back to both for final approval.
This relatively lengthy legislative process allows time for the lawmakers to investigate the issues involved and to have hearings where expert citizens can testify to shed light on the potential good and bad consequences of the legislation.
But this lengthy and considered approach to adopting laws only applies to the more insignificant ones. Important things like debt ceilings deficit spending and universal health care are decided by a self-chosen few in secret behind closed doors with our elected representatives left out in the cold. There are no hearings, no opportunities for expert testimony, no investigations of potential ramifications and no time for thoughtful reflection on what is about to happen.
Is it any wonder Congress has such a low (6%) citizen approval rating.
But even with that low rating they continue their legislation-in-secret approach.
Next year we will have another chance to tell them what we think of their antics.
Nothing is free
Listening to the car radio yesterday we were given a phone number to call if we were on food stamps or Medicaid so we could receive a free cell phone and 200 minutes a month.
Is that why the politicians are arguing about raising the debt ceiling?
Town of Jupiter property tax rate
On July 19, 2011 the Jupiter Town Council Approved the preliminary property tax rate for Fiscal Year 2012 that is equal to the current year rate (FY 2011) of 2.5142 mills (dollars per $1,000 of taxable property value).
Do we have election materials in Spanish to facilitate cheating?
A person must be a U.S. citizen to vote in U.S. elections.
An immigrant must know English to obtain U.S. citizenship.
So if all the eligible voters know English, why do we need the ballot and other election materials in both English and Spanish?
Are people cheating by bringing illegal immigrants to the polls to vote? It is hard to find another explanation for Spanish ballots.
We need to eliminate the Spanish ballots to reduce the cheating and save money.
The County has voted to increase the property tax rate because of a declining tax base and is looking for ways to save money.
How much do they spend on Spanish ballots?
They can reduce spending by eliminating all the Spanish voting materials. And while they are at it they can save more money by firing the people responsible for the un-American cheating-enabling Spanish ballots and firing all the people paid to prepare those materials.
Do you prefer having Spanish ballots or paying lower taxes?
