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Leftovers: Florida Turns 500, Or Not, Sugar Or Not, Scott Blunder, Legislative Re-Do, Election Laws, Nelson, Graham, Crist, West, BP, ObamaCare, And More...

As Florida turns 5oo today, or not, some Tuesday leftovers:

Oops. Hialeah and Miami-Dade politicians name a street after a sugar processing company, "Banah Sugar Way." Be careful what you wish for when naming a street after "white powder."

Self-proclaimed "fiscal conservative" crazy person Allen "Steadfast and Loyal" West (R-See Ya' Loser!) gave his staff 88% raises on his way out the door and out of office after the 2012 election.

Democrat Gwen Graham, daughter of former Florida Governor Bob Graham has announced that she will run for Congress, challenging Republican incumbent Rep. Steve Southerland who is now in his second term.

Another company lured to Florida by Rick Scott with "economic incentives" has gone south. BlueWare Inc., is being sued by the Brevard County Clerk of Court over an $8.6 million contract. 

From the Department of "Undoing Damage From Last Year's Legislative Session," today's episode involves the repeal of the year old requirement that foreign tourists obtain an International Driving Permit in order to drive legally in Florida, and more fighting over changes to last year's revamped voter suppression election laws.

The Florida House and Senate are poised to let the feds set insurance rates under ObamaCare.

Former First Lady of Florida, Carole Crist has regained custody of her children amid an ongoing battle with her ex-husband, Todd Rome.

The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill trial resumed today, focusing on testimony from a Halliburton employee.

Sick turtles and dolphins in the Gulf, and more than 200 manatees have died in Florida's waterways since January from red tide, just as wildlife officials try to remove the marine mammal from the endangered species list.

Another house was condemned near the Seffner sinkhole that killed a man and was later filled.

Action:

Sen. Bill Nelson remains a holdout along with Republicans on marriage equality. Progress Florida and others are encouraging calls for Nelson to reconsider, and "evolve." Tweet @SenBillNelson or call him at (202) 224-5274.

Legislators & Students will Rally in Support of the “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law.” Representative Irving Slosberg and students from the Florida Virtual School to host a press conference at Noon Wednesday, April 3, on the 4th Floor Rotunda of the Capitol in Tallahassee. More information here.

And finally, a Tuesday cartoon from Jim Morin: Southern Strategy.

Bill Would Privatize Water In Florida, Harm Everglades

Florida Everglades

(Photo By Beach Peanuts)

Floridians are already suffering power bill hikes and paying the price for mistakes made at the nuclear power plant in Crystal River, a plant which may never even be reopened.

Now the Florida legislature may privatize your water, a move that could also be damaging to Florida Everglades restoration.

Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa has proposed a bill that would essentially privatize reclaimed water and remove it as a public taxpayer funded resource:

Reclaimed water, which comes from highly treated sewage, is increasingly vital for watering lawns, replenishing water bodies, and meeting industrial needs — tasks that otherwise would consume drinking water. No state has made more use of reclaimed water than Florida. But a bill by Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, would remove reclaimed as a public resource just as it is playing a key role in supplying the state with the water it needs. Young's bill lays the groundwork to privatize a resource that taxpayers spent heavily to develop, and it could trigger a new round of water wars between local governments.

HB 639 expressly exempts reclaimed water as a state asset. It transfers control of reclaimed to the utilities that produce it, effectively ending any oversight role by the regional water management districts. The water would no longer have to be used for a public purpose, and cities and utilities could sell it to whomever they chose. This is a radical policy change that is completely at odds with why reclaimed was developed as an alternative resource in the first place.

Young said her intent is to stoke the reclaimed market. But this change would merely steer the water to the highest bidder.

Former Democratic Governor Bob Graham is now speaking out in opposition to the bill. He spoke to the Florida Legislative Caucus, saying that the bill would "allow the private ownership of water and thousands of acres of state lands that are subject to flooding." 

Graham spoke out on Young's bill, and another dealing with how state owned wetlands are defined:

The bill also declares that such "reclaimed" water is not "waters of the state," as defined in state law, until it has been discharged into a waterway.

"I think that policy has served us well for over 150 years," Graham said. "I think the Legislature should be resistant to any proposals no matter how benign they may appear that would change that."

The Florida Supreme Court in 1927 established state ownership of navigable waters to be the "ordinary high water mark" that include lands below the high water level of rivers, lakes and floodplains, according to a House staff analysis. HB 1103 would define the ordinary high water mark in state law as not being the "highest reach of such water body during the high water season" or in times of flooding.

"I don't know what is the problem that legislation is supposed to solve. I think it has the potential of shifting tens of thousands of not hundreds of thousands of acres of land … from the public to private ownership," Graham said. "That would be particularly damaging to the Everglades."

Graham also criticized Gov. Rick Scott for what he felt was an inadequate funding for Everglades restoration.

Graham is co-founder of the Florida Conservation Coalition, which protects water quality, natural resources, and is committed to protecting the Florida Everglades.