Editorial Roundup: Florida | Rock Hill Herald

South Florida Sun Sentinel. January 28, 2022.

Editorial: Despite many opportunities, Legislature is failing to pass criminal justice reforms

Ugly facts contradict Gov. Ron DeSantis’ boast to the Legislature that we live in “America’s liberty outpost, the free state of Florida.”

The Gulag State would be more fitting. Florida incarcerates its citizens at a higher rate than 40 other U.S. states and every other nation worldwide. Of every 100,000 of our people, 444 are in state prisons and 330 are in local jails. The prisoners are disproportionately Black, imprisoned at a rate more than four times higher than whites. Florida prosecutes more children as felons than any other state, and that’s more than three times as likely to happen to Black kids as to whites.

The perpetually crisis-ridden prisons, now under their seventh leader since 2008, have nearly 5,800 officers too few to safely supervise some 84,000 inmates, with nearly 2,000 more waiting in local jails and a sentencing surge expected from trials delayed by COVID-19. Four of every 10 new underpaid correctional officers quit within their first year and 60% are gone by their second anniversary.

The governor’s harsh politics demand more of the same, rejecting the sensible, cost-effective reforms that most legislators understand but dare not say endorse. The bootlickers are afraid to defy what the governor declared in his State of the State address Jan. 11.

“We will not allow law enforcement to be defunded, bail to be eliminated, criminals to be prematurely released from prison or prosecutors to ignore the law,” he said. “These soft-on-crime policies have been tried in communities throughout the country to disastrous results: Crime has skyrocketed, morale for police officers has plummeted and quality of life has been destroyed.”

That was raw meat for his right-wing claque with no basis in fact. The Crime and Justice Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit consultant retained by the Legislature, reported four years ago that 31 states had reduced both their imprisonment rates and their crime rates since 2010 — among them Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana, which are hardly known for being “soft on crime.”

DeSantis and the Legislature are poised to spend even more on salaries and hiring for a Department of Corrections that already gets $2.7 billion for prisons and probation services.

The costlier and sadder toll will be the lives wasted — and new crimes bred — by excessive sentences in prisons where Florida law expressly states that punishment is the primary purpose and rehabilitation is only a secondary goal.

The Institute’s report, profiling Florida as a harsh outlier, warned that “long sentences may be adding significant costs to the taxpayer with very little or no improvements in public safety.” Florida sentences have lengthened notably in recent years.

The report recommended a variety of reforms, including fewer than the present 108 mandatory minimum sentences — nearly half of which are for drug laws — and requiring only violent offenders to serve at least 85% of their sentences, which the law now requires for all.

Four years later, none of its advice has been followed except for a 2021 law raising the bar for charging theft as a felony. Formerly $300, it is now $750, still lower than in 45 other states.

DeSantis’ remarks succeeded in dooming any other substantive reform this year, according to Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, who is vice chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. Plenty of good bills have been filed, but the only three that have had any committee hearings don’t address the crux of the problems.

“Florida desperately needs a new vision for its correction system, because today it doesn’t correct; it simply warehouses,” Brandes wrote in a lengthy and informative Twitter thread on Florida’s criminal justice problems.

Bot now, Brandes is term-limited, so, as he told the Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, “someone else will have to take up the banner.”

That “someone” should be every citizen who wants his or her tax money spent more wisely.

Brandes believes the state should restore parole, which Florida effectively abolished for prisoners sentenced after 1993, but there is no pending legislation to do so.

The three bills that have been heard and approved without objection at their first committee hearings (all bills have to run a multiple reference gauntlet) certainly deserve to become law.

— House Bill 195 allows minors to expunge arrest records for nonviolent felonies once they complete diversion programs. DeSantis vetoed last year’s more liberal version, despite unanimous votes in both houses, in response to ill-founded objections from sheriffs.

— Senate Bill 260 renames the Criminal Punishment Code as the Criminal Public Safety Code. The change may be cosmetic, but the significance matters.

— Senate Bill 1200 enables prosecutors to file their own motions to vacate wrongful convictions. The bill is in response to exonerations recommended by conviction review units in Broward County and four other judicial circuits. Each state attorney had to ask the Innocence Project or other defense counsel to file the necessary motions. The bill, which was requested by Melissa Nelson, the state attorney at Jacksonville, also requires judges to hold prompt hearings on the motions. Nelson believes there should be a conviction review unit with statewide authority, like North Carolina’s, and she’s right, but that’s a bridge too far for now.

With more than half the session remaining, there is, indefensibly, no sign of movement for a long list of other bills that should have been enacted long ago. Bills that would prohibit trying 14- and 15-year-olds as adults, restrict use of solitary confinement, limit use of the death penalty and reduce the minimum time served from 85% to 65% of one’s sentence have all failed to get a single hearing.

There is no good reason for Florida to remain against the grain of sentencing reform nationwide. Genuine conservatives espouse it. As expressed by Americans for Prosperity, “Differences in the sentences imposed for the same or substantially similar crime that are not justified by public safety or the harm caused to individuals and communities undermine trust and credibility in the law, our courts and the justice system.”

Florida fails by those measures and will continue to fail until it elects a governor who, unlike the incumbent, appreciates the difference between conservatism and cruelty.

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Orlando Sentinel. January 30, 2022.

Editorial: When lawmakers get quiet, it’s time to worry

Every legislative session has its noisy moments — fiery debates, impassioned testimony, high-profile issues like abortion and gambling and anything to do with animals.

But sometimes the quiet times are the ones to watch. The bills with bland titles and vague wording that can be impenetrable even to experienced politicos. The bills nobody seems to care about — except the people who are paid to care.

That’s what happened Tuesday in a House committee room that had just seen an angsty, fundamentally pointless debate over whether professional sports franchises would be required to play the national anthem, another headline-generating sortie in the culture wars that have become a hallmark of this session.

A few bills later, the committee took up HB 977. The legislation governs the sale of tax certificates — liens against land and buildings owned by people who have failed to pay their property taxes. These certificates used to be sold on courthouse steps, but nowadays almost every county conducts its auctions online, with the winning bidders buying certificates and then negotiating with the delinquent property owners to settle the outstanding debt. The bids are based on the interest rate the investors plan to charge property owners — thus, the lower the bid the better.

Would it shock you to learn that this is a billion-dollar business in Florida? If not, then it probably wouldn’t come as much of a surprise that a handful of big players have figured out a way to rig the contest — and want to handcuff the county officials who have taken steps to spoil their fun.

This is how the game is played, as detailed in a story by the Sentinel’s Skyler Swisher and the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s David Lyons. Big investment firms flood the auctions with bids, placed through thousands or even tens of thousands of shell companies, each with its own taxpayer identification number. Those bids can crowd out smaller investors and individuals, securing the bigger companies a massive advantage — if there’s a tie for winner, the lien goes to an individual bid chosen at random. As Walton County Tax Collector Rhonda Skipper described it, it’s like having a lottery where every potential purchaser gets one ticket — except for the 800-pound gorilla investor, who gets 1 million. “Is that fair?” she asked.

Of course it’s not. That’s the point.

In 2013, an investigation by the Sun Sentinel exposed the practice, and several tax collectors took steps to shut down the thousand-armed bidders by requiring a deposit from any entity that wanted to place a bid. HB 977 would strip these local elected officials of that power, making it easier for big companies to swoop in and dominate the auctions once again. Once they’ve effectively crushed competition from smaller investors, tax collectors say the interest rates bid by the big companies — or as Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph refers to them, the “cartels” — are likely to increase, making it tougher for owners to settle their debts.

That sounds more likely than the scenario proposed by the sponsor of the legislation — who compared the situation to the behavior of Walmart competing against locally owned businesses and offering consumers lower prices. That choice was unfortunate, given the ravaging impact the mega-retailer has had on many downtowns — but falls surprisingly in line with Walmart’s history of price manipulation and anti-competitive behavior.

It won’t surprise you, either, to learn that the big investors (including Gulf Group Holdings, the Aventura-based firm that was spotlighted in the 2013 investigation) have been remarkably generous with their campaign contributions. The money may not flow directly to lawmakers, but Swisher and Lyons documented tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of contributions to committees that then sent cash to committees affiliated with top lawmakers including House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson.

Here’s why you should care: Someday, you may be one of those Floridians who hits a rough patch — or just ignores the notices from the tax collector until you realize you’re seriously overdue. Someday, one of these megafirms may scoop up the lien on your home, the biggest investment you’ve ever made. And then they’ll charge you to clear your title, with interest that can go as high as 18 percent.

Do you want that process to be as competitive as it can be? Or do you want it dominated by a handful of big players who know how to extract maximum profit from every dollar?

That’s the kind of question lawmakers aren’t eager to answer, and this is the kind of legislation they aren’t pushing to spotlight. For good reason.

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Tampa Bay Times. January 28, 2022.

Editorial: Lawmakers propose a criminal justice system that’s fairer, less costly

Florida’s prisons are overcrowded, a result of overly harsh sentencing laws that cost the public millions of dollars and undermine the value of rehabilitation. There are multiple proposals in the current legislative session that would ease early release rules and update probation guidelines, among other reforms. The Legislature should pass some of the commonsense ideas, a needed step toward mending the state’s justice system.

In Florida, inmates serving time for felonies can have their sentences shortened by earning gain time — an incentive awarded for working, completing training programs or earning educational credentials while in prison. But there’s a ceiling: No matter how much gain time inmates earn, they still must serve no less than 85 percent of their sentence. A bill filed in the House would reduce that minimum to 65 percent, while one in the Senate calls for 75 percent. A reduction to 75 percent is reasonable — maintaining respect for crime victims and upholding consequences for serious and violent criminal acts.

Sen. Jeff Brandes, R- St. Petersburg, is a longtime advocate for prison reform and vice chair of the Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee. His SB 746 would roll back provisions that prohibit repeat offenders from eligibility for any form of early release and that require reoffenders to serve 100 percent of their original sentence.

Florida treats what it calls “prison releasee reoffenders” with unusual severity, directing prosecutors to seek the maximum sentence — often life — for anyone who commits a new crime within three years of leaving prison. Florida has 13,600 inmates serving life in prison without parole — far more than any other state. Cost to taxpayers: more than $300 million a year.

Brandes’ prudent proposals have been rebuffed year after year, even with his own party in power. But this year could result in real progress, buoyed by greater awareness of harsh prison conditions nationwide and attitudes evolving back toward rehabilitation, not just pure punishment.

Other bills under consideration would take the logical next step of helping to shore up Florida’s probation system. Rep. Traci Koster, R- Tampa, filed a bill that would allow time off a probation period for good behavior and completion of life-skills programs. Another proposal by Rep. Dianne Hart, D- Tampa, would establish a program to prepare parole-eligible inmates for reintegration into society. It stands to reason that Florida might see a reduction in former inmates committing new crimes if it provided better support and guidance for people when they get out of prison.

It’s tough to get meaningful prison reform through the conservative Florida Legislature, which is too often focused on the cultural lightning rod of the moment, to the detriment of actual matters of public interest. Of all the proposals to improve the state’s prison system, reducing the minimum time inmates must serve from 85 percent to 75 percent of their original sentence shouldn’t be a hard sell. It would ease overcrowding, give inmates more incentive to work on their lives and — perhaps the easiest sell of all — save money.

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Palm Beach Post. February 2, 2022.

Editorial: Bill takes small steps to curb future tragedies like the Surfside condo collapse

It took Hurricane Andrew in 1992 to get Florida to address lax building codes and inadequate inspections. Thirty years later, a building disaster that occurred in the same part of the state has lawmakers looking at new standards to shore up aging coastal high-rises.

It shouldn’t have taken the collapse of The Champlain Towers South building in Surfside to prod lawmakers to update condominium regulations. Given that more than half of Florida’s 1.5 million condo units are at least 30 years old, the need for better inspection and maintenance regulations was always there, if not readily apparent.

“Unfortunately it takes a tragedy like Surfside to change the law and that’s what’s going to happen here.” Eric Glazer, a Hallandale Beach lawyer specializing in condo law told Jeffrey Schweers during a USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida investigation of the 2021 condo tower collapse. “Now we are going to have inspections all over the place.”

Florida Senate bill SB 1702 represents a first step to setting tougher standards.

Sponsored by state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Orange Park, the bill would establish mandatory structural inspections for all apartment and condo buildings taller than three stories and larger than 3,500 square feet. Milestone inspections would be required once a building reaches 30 years old and every 10 years thereafter. The standard is stricter for buildings within three miles of a coastline; they’d require inspections at age 20 and every seven years after that.

The bill sets a badly needed minimum on top of which state agencies like the Florida Building Commission and local governments can pile even stronger standards. New standards, like the changes to Florida’s building codes after Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida, are essential to prevent future catastrophes like that of the Surfside tower, which didn’t take a storm to bring it down.

On June 24, 2021, the 12-story Champlain Towers South building partially collapsed after a concrete slab below its pool deck broke. Ninety-eight people died. Engineers examining the wreckage found the building had developed major structural damage. Six months after the tragedy, a Miami-Dade grand jury urged a number of reforms, including revisions to the Florida Condominium Act and changes in state supervision of condo associations to provide better condo governance and safety.

Two million people in Florida live in condominiums 30 years old or older. However, the Florida Building Code doesn’t include mandatory requirements for building maintenance and inspections. That responsibility has been left to local governments. Only Broward and Miami Dade counties and Boca Raton have established recertification programs and inspections, of buildings 40 and older.

In 2008, the Legislature passed a bill, signed into law by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, that required condo boards with buildings over three stories tall to have structural inspections every five years. The reform didn’t last. Two years after complaints about high inspection costs, state lawmakers approved a repeal, which Crist signed into law.

SB 1702 is a step back in the right direction. The legislation requires condo boards to make inspection reports available to all unit owners and to potential buyers. It also allows local governments to impose timelines and penalties related to inspections.

Unfortunately, the inspections and identifying needed repairs are as far as the bill goes. Once the problem has been uncovered, there’s nothing in state law that requires condo associations to assess their members to pay for the work to fix structural problems.

What lawmakers must somehow accomplish is that next step in helping tower residents with the budget-busting assessments that come with repairing structural damages of an aging condo tower. No easy feat as almost any new fee or tax to subsidize condo owners will most likely face stiff opposition in the current Florida Legislature.

Building safety inspections in Broward and Miami-Dade counties can cost as much as $20,000 to $40,000, and repairs can run into the millions. Condo owners delayed repairs at the Champlain Towers South building after engineers found major structural damage that would require more than $15 million of work. Eventually, the association imposed major assessments, and according to city records, the building had undergone $9 million in incomplete repairs before the collapse.

For years, the state has gotten by with weak or non-existent regulations, even as a continuous high-rise building boom puts more and more residents at risk. Passage of SB 1702 amounts to a small but necessary step to ensure there are no more Surfsides.

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Miami Herald. February 1, 2022.

Editorial: Despite all his manufactured anger, truth is, DeSantis failed to condemn Nazi demonstrators

Denounce the Nazi demonstrators in Orlando, Gov. Ron DeSantis. It’s that simple. Say they are abhorrent. Say they are despicable.

Say they have no part in this society or this state.

But no. Instead, our governor attacked Democrats during a press conference in Palm Beach County on Monday. Dragged in issues like immigration and inflation and crime. Accused unnamed people — Democrats, of course — of trying to “smear” him. Said he wouldn’t “play their game.”

In other words, politics. Again.

Not leadership. Not uniting against something terrible that is cropping up, one more time, in our midst. Not condemning the actions of those who advocated publicly for the extermination of Jews.

Where was his expression of horror that residents of this state had to see a Nazi flag on an overpass in Orlando? Drowning in a sea of his own grievances and fear-mongering, that’s where.

He talked about Florida’s strong relationship with Israel and how many Orthodox Jews want to live in Florida and touted record funding for Jewish day schools.

And he had a lot of tough words for Democrats, saying they allowed anti-Semites into Congress and “cavorted” with Louis Farrakhan, head of the Nation of Islam.

But the strongest remarks he had for the demonstrators who shouted anti-Semitic slurs at a shopping center while waving Nazi flags was to say that state law enforcement would hold them accountable. Oh — and he also called them “jackasses” and malcontents. You tell ’em, governor.

His remarks came after his press secretary, Christina Pushaw, sent a now-deleted tweet Sunday night questioning whether the Orlando demonstrations were orchestrated by Democratic staffers. Her comment drew widespread condemnation. She followed with a tweet admitting she didn’t know who had staged the protest and said hate speech is wrong.

Talk about a low bar.

On Monday, when DeSantis had his chance to condemn these demonstrators, when he could have simply said Nazis are bad people, when he could have made sure he didn’t give cover to those who hate, well, he didn’t. And all the manufactured anger at Democrats can’t cover up that telling silence.

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