News For Peanuts 6-8-11

From the Department Of Who Can Keep Up? A daily roundup of Florida political news for nothing peanuts:

A Group Of Florida Doctors Sue Over "Docs vs. Glocks" Law

A group of Florida doctors filed a federal lawsuit Monday, pushing back on legislation preventing them from freely discussing gun ownership with their patients.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed the lawsuit on behalf of three doctors groups: the American Academy of Pediatrics, Florida Chapter; American Academy of Family Physicians, Florida Chapter; and the American College of Physicians, Florida Chapter. They say the bill limits a doctor's free speech rights, because it is unconstitutionally vague. Pediatricians, in particular, often try to talk to parents about guns in the home, and gun safety. The bill does not stop doctors from talking about gun safety.

Read the complaint here. 

Gov. Rick Scott Undermining Water Policy In Florida

Piece by piece, Florida's water policy is being dismantled. First, Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature forced the state's water management districts to slash property tax collections. Then the Scott administration pressured the Southwest Florida Water Management District to eliminate its local basin boards, and its executive director to resign. Now the administration is overturning decisions by water management districts to buy property to protect water supplies. Such political interference by a governor is unprecedented, and it undermines the professional management of the state's water resources.

To Fight Health Care Law Florida Is Rejecting Millions In Aid

Florida already leads a lawsuit challenging the federal health care law, but state officials are going a step further and ignoring the law almost entirely — rejecting millions of federal dollars to provide health care for retirees, seniors, children and people with disabilities.

So far this year, Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature have returned or refused to spend at least $19 million in federal money associated with implementing the health care law. Scott also has stopped any state planning for the creation of mandated health care exchanges, which will allow consumers to comparison shop for health insurance plans.

What Do Rick Scott's Donors Stand To Gain From New Tax Breaks?

When you follow the money in Florida’s new tax plan, you find that those who benefit most were also top contributors to Governor Rick Scott and the state Republican Party.

Gov. Scott signed SB 2142 last month, cutting property tax collections across the state by $210 million. For the average homeowner, writes the Palm Beach Post, the law means a meager savings of $28 on property taxes, and an erosion of “land, water, and flood protections.” But for giants like Walt Disney World, Florida Power & Light, Bell South Telecom, and Universal, it’s a savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars at least.

Is it a huge coincidence that all those companies gave generously to the Florida Republican Party last year?

Sound Familiar? New Anti-Abortion Group Billboards: “The most dangerous place for a Latino is in the womb.”

The group behind the billboard is the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles. The organization’s billboards are an almost word-for-word copy of a group of billboards from a Texas-based group called Heroic Media that targeted African-American women. Heroic Media’s billboard’s said, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.”

 Rick Scott At It Again: Taking Credit Where No Credit Is Due Déjà Vu

For  a couple days now, Gov. Rick Scott’s office has hyped a big jobs announcement to be made from his trip this week to Canada. New jobs for Florida? Perhaps Scott’s oft-criticized tax, budget and regulation policies will be vindicated and this will signal the state’s economic recovery shifting to a higher gear?

No, no and definitely not. It turns out Scott didn’t have much new to report after all and, when you consider the facts, he had little to do with it other than being in the right place at the right time.