By Tom Flanigan
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-947457.mp3
Tallahassee, Fl – This week, Florida's newly-elected cabinet met for the very first time. It was the first time in many years that every single cabinet member was both new to the job and in the same political party. Tom Flanigan reports the new cabinet met with reporters after their meeting to talk about their priorities and political philosophies.
For Pam Bondi, Florida's new attorney general, the job is already one surprising revelation after another.
"I always knew in Tampa that we had a horrible pill mill problem. But I really didn't realize how bad it was until I was traveling around the state and it's out of control."
Pill mills are unscrupulous doctors and store front "pain clinics" that crank out carloads of prescriptions for controlled pain-killing drugs like Oxycontin. Things are so bad that Bondi has named a former political opponent, Democrat Dave Aronberg, as her go-to guy to tackle the problem. Bondi says another situation that needs her immediate attention is the aftermath of the B-P oil spill. During her campaign, she visited the Panhandle's coastal communities and was appalled at the economic devastation. She thinks Ken Feinberg, the claims process administrator, has had plenty of time to get checks in the hands of those who need them most.
"They gave Mr. Feinberg over eight months to work with us, to get things done, but that's not happening. It's not happening as fast as we wanted it to. So there's got to be more transparency in the claims process."
Transparency that Bondi says she'll demand, using every legal tool at her disposal. Other top-of-mind issues for Florida's new attorney general the fight against gangs and public corruption, the spread of foreclosure avoidance scams and the multi-state lawsuit against federal healthcare reform. Bondi says that law would impinge on individual freedom and cost too much money. Saving money is also on the mind of Florida's new Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. He sees his job as performing three basic functions.
"Identifying cost drivers that are placing a financial burden on Floridians, targeting inefficiencies in state government and directing those savings back to taxpayers, and fostering transparency that exposes how tax dollars are spent and gives Floridians the ability to scrutinize the spending."
And Atwater says it's not only wasteful state government that's taking taxpayers for a ride.
"Scam artists are cheating Floridians out of billions of dollars a year by committing financial fraud, including insurance fraud, arson and Medicaid fraud. I'm determined to crack down on these scammers who are cheating Floridians out of their hard-earned dollars."
The C-F-O's, by virtue of its cabinet status, is also deeply involved with insurance regulation issues that includes the especially thorny matter of property insurance rates. Atwater doesn't see most rates, with the possible exception of those paid by coastal policyholders, undergoing any big increases in the immediate future. But at the same time, he says something must be done to move people out of coverage by Citizens Property Insurance. It began life as the state-run insurer of last-resort. It's since become the largest property insurer in the state as private companies have abandoned Florida, saying the state is keeping rates too low for them to make money. Joining Atwater, Bondi and Governor Scott at the regular Tuesday cabinet meetings in Tallahassee is Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Adam Putnam.
"Long-term, the biggest public policy issue facing Florida is water policy; water quantity and water quality. And this department is a leader in bringing private property owners, land owners, the industry to the table, but also coordinating policy with your water management districts, with D.E.P., with the host of people who have their fingers in that puzzle."
Another entity that has its fingers in that puzzle is the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Atwater, along with Attorney General Pam Bondi, have sued that agency to halt its imposing strict new water quality rules on Florida. In that regard, Atwater is in philosophical lockstep with his predecessor, Charles Bronson. And, also like Bronson, Atwater wants to see more of the state's farms become sources of fuel.
"More so than solar, more so than wind, more so than the other renewables that have been discussed that work in other places but if you're talking about the Southeastern United States and Florida in particular, the sources for renewable energy will be grown. They will be cultivated, they will be farmed."
Many of Florida's farms lean heavily on immigrant labor. Both Governor Scott and Attorney General Bondi support an Arizona-style immigration law in Florida that could result in many of those workers being deported. Atwater would like to see some kind of guest worker program set up that would allow the use of immigrant labor under certain conditions. There are many other points of disagreement and agreement among the various members of Florida's new cabinet. In the weeks and months to come, their meetings will attract much attention as Capitol observers watch carefully as to how those various dynamics play out.