May 6, 2003 Special Report

FAPA SPECIAL REPORT  In This Issue: May 6, 2003  •   GOVERNOR'S CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION •   NO DCA/DOS MERGER THIS YEAR  GOVERNOR'S CALL FOR SPECIAL SESSION Today, Governor Jeb Bush released his official proclamation calling for Special Session. As expected, Special Session “2003-A ” will convene Monday May 12th 2003, and extend through Tuesday, May 27th, 2003. The Governor has limited the scope of this Special Session to the budget and budget related legislation only. Below is the Governor’s official Proclamation. PROCLAMATION STATE OF FLORIDA EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR TALLAHASSEE TO THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE FLORIDA SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WHEREAS, the 2003 regular session of the Legislature of the State of Florida adjourned on May 2 without passing a General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2003-2004; and WHEREAS, it is in the best interests of the people of the State of Florida that the legislature act expeditiously to complete its work to provide appropriations for the upcoming fiscal year; NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jeb Bush, Governor of the State of Florida, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by Article III, Section 3(c)(1), Florida Constitution, do hereby proclaim as follows: Section 1. The Legislature of the State of Florida is convened in Special Session commencing at 12:00 p.m., Monday, May 12, 2003, and extending through 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 27, 2003. Section 2. The Legislature of the State of Florida is convened for the sole and exclusive purpose of considering the following: A. A General Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2003-2004. B. A budget implementing bill, similar in form and content to 2003 regular session HB 1791. C. Legislation providing for the redirection of surplus lines insurance premiums tax revenues to the General Revenue Fund. D. Legislation providing for the termination of certain trust funds and the redirection of the balances and revenues of those trust funds to the General Revenue Fund or to other trust funds. E. Legislation providing for the redirection of certain documentary stamp tax revenues from trust funds to the General Revenue Fund. F. Legislation providing for changes to the general revenue service charges for various trust funds. G. Legislation providing for the redirection of certain trust funds’ interest earnings and/or balances from the trust funds to the General Revenue Fund. H. Legislation providing for a tax amnesty period and increasing the required interest payment on late-paid taxes. I. Legislation authorizing the transfer of moneys from reserves to the Risk Management Trust Fund in certain circumstances. J. Legislation providing for a “sales tax holiday.” K. Legislation providing for an increase in the corporate income tax credit for scholarship funding contributions. L. Legislation dealing with contribution rates for the Florida Retirement System. M. Legislation increasing fees for criminal history background checks by the FDLE. N. Legislation necessary to implement changes to the state Medicaid budget. O. Legislation relating to the printing of tax forms by the Department of Revenue. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the GreatSeal of the State of Florida to be affixed to this Proclamation convening the Legislature in Special Session at the Capitol, this 6th day of May, 2003. _______________________________ GOVERNOR ATTEST: _______________________________ SECRETARY OF STATE  NO DCA/DOS MERGER THIS YEAR With Colleen Castille's permission, below you will find her e-mail to DCA staff announcing that there will be no DCA/DOS merger this fiscal year. It is not known yet whether the merger will be pursued in 2004. FROM: Colleen Castille TO: DCA DATE: May 6, 2003; 11:24 a.m. SUBJECT: Prospects of the Merger of DOS and DCA Dear Colleagues, I have just been notified by the Office of the Governor that the merger of the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of State is not going to be a part of the budget bill taken up in any Special Session of the Florida Legislature this fiscal year. While the opportunity to merge these two great agencies is not on our plate, I believe we learned a great deal about the synergy of the two departments with regard to our service to communities. The idea of maximizing our support to communities is still a good one, especially if we can get some feedback from our stakeholder groups about helping communities to achieve the goals outlined in their comprehensive plans. In educating myself about our agency, I found that many of our grant programs serve to accomplish these community goals. I will be looking for your knowledge and experience to pull these ideas together for our own programs and divisions. The Department of Community Affairs will continue in its current structure and I am looking forward to leading such a dedicated team. This will give us a great opportunity to refocus our attention on serving the communities of Florida and improving upon total community planning. Now that the Regular Legislative Session has ended, I will be spending more time working closely with the programs and our support team to ensure that you have the resources and direction that you need to better fulfill our statutory directives. We will even take time to have some fun along the way!!!! Colleen Sheri Coven, Executive Director Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association 2040 Delta Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32301 850/201-FAPA (3272) fapa@floridaplanning.org  www.floridaplanning.org