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| Rep. Will S. Kendrick speaks at the Lake City/Columbia County Chamber of Commerce annual legislative breakfast Wednesday morning. JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter |
Politicians speak on oil refineries, land purchases
By MICHAEL MITSEFF
mmitseff@lakecityreporter.com
The meteoric rise in the price of fuel is in part attributable to “too much red tape,” said Nathan E. Riska, district representative for U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw.
Riska and several other Florida politicians spoke at the Lake City/Columbia County Chamber of Commerce annual legislative breakfast Wednesday morning, updating city, county and agency officials on the recently completed legislative session.
Riska, speaking for Crenshaw, cited the dearth of new oil refineries and the legislature’s inability to pass a bill allowing the extraction of shale oil among several reasons for the high fuel prices.
Riska also warned that in addition to high fuel costs, the tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush would all expire by Jan. 1, 2011.
“If the tax cuts are not made permanent, single family homes will see an increase on average more than $1,000, the average family more than $2,000 and small businesses more than $4,000,” Riska said. “If the tax cuts expire, it will be one of the largest tax increases in the country.
“Right now the majority party is saying they’re not increasing taxes, but by not making these tax cuts permanent it is a tax increase.”
As Rep. Will Kendrick, D-Carrabelle, took the podium, he joked with the audience, “The Florida legislature has left town — you’re all safe now.”
Kendrick is finishing up eight years in office and will be vacating his seat in the Florida House because of term limits.
Kendrick expressed his pleasure working on the Florida Forever Successor (FFS) program and said it was particularly exciting for him this year.
“A lot of what we did on the Florida Forever Successor program was that we added some accountability in it as far as making sure that we have measurable goals objectives,” he said.
Kendrick said that the purpose of the added accountability will help determine how well they are doing in getting the public into the purchased lands as soon as possible.
“We believe that public dollars buy public lands for public use,” he said. “A lot of these public purposes may be used for ATVs or water resources, there are a wide range of uses that are acceptable here and we just need to be sure that we identify those up front.
“We’ve required that we start having more public hearings in the community too, making sure that locals have more input.”
Kendrick said that some of the other things that were done were to fund the family rural lands act, which takes agricultural land and conserves and preserves it as it is without developing it.
Kendrick also expressed his appreciation for how well the county and city worked together during the aftermath of the tornado that struck Lake City in March.
“In my 22 years in politics, I’ve never seen a community come together so well.”
State Rep. Debbie Boyd, D-Newberry, brought up a recent bill that she sponsored, at the request of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Commissioner Charles Bronson, that closed a loophole in Florida’s concealed weapon law.
“Currently, if you are a foreign national here legally on a visa, you’re considered to be a resident and are qualified to apply for a concealed weapon carry permit,” Boyd said. “The bill I sponsored basically defines residency as being a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien.
“Once the initial permit is made, it allows us to continue whenever there is any type of legal issue with a citizen who has a concealed weapon permit,” Boyd said. “With people here on visa, we may not necessarily be able to do that and that has been a huge concern of the commissioner’s.”
The bill will become law upon the governor’s signature, Boyd said.
Also, Boyd said that during October’s special session on budget reduction, the Florida Department of Transportation proposed major reductions in the funding of the Small County Road Assistance Program (SCRAP) and the Small County Outreach Program (SCOP).
“When I found out about it, I talked with Dean Cannon, the chair of that portion of the budget about the FDOT proposal,” Boyd said. “Because of that, he didn’t take the FDOT proposal and left the money intact, so it’s fully funded for this fiscal year.”
As a result of Boyd’s intervention, three road improvement projects totaling
$8 million are scheduled for Columbia County this year.
Riska and several other Florida politicians spoke at the Lake City/Columbia County Chamber of Commerce annual legislative breakfast Wednesday morning, updating city, county and agency officials on the recently completed legislative session.
Riska, speaking for Crenshaw, cited the dearth of new oil refineries and the legislature’s inability to pass a bill allowing the extraction of shale oil among several reasons for the high fuel prices.
Riska also warned that in addition to high fuel costs, the tax cuts enacted by President George W. Bush would all expire by Jan. 1, 2011.
“If the tax cuts are not made permanent, single family homes will see an increase on average more than $1,000, the average family more than $2,000 and small businesses more than $4,000,” Riska said. “If the tax cuts expire, it will be one of the largest tax increases in the country.
“Right now the majority party is saying they’re not increasing taxes, but by not making these tax cuts permanent it is a tax increase.”
As Rep. Will Kendrick, D-Carrabelle, took the podium, he joked with the audience, “The Florida legislature has left town — you’re all safe now.”
Kendrick is finishing up eight years in office and will be vacating his seat in the Florida House because of term limits.
Kendrick expressed his pleasure working on the Florida Forever Successor (FFS) program and said it was particularly exciting for him this year.
“A lot of what we did on the Florida Forever Successor program was that we added some accountability in it as far as making sure that we have measurable goals objectives,” he said.
Kendrick said that the purpose of the added accountability will help determine how well they are doing in getting the public into the purchased lands as soon as possible.
“We believe that public dollars buy public lands for public use,” he said. “A lot of these public purposes may be used for ATVs or water resources, there are a wide range of uses that are acceptable here and we just need to be sure that we identify those up front.
“We’ve required that we start having more public hearings in the community too, making sure that locals have more input.”
Kendrick said that some of the other things that were done were to fund the family rural lands act, which takes agricultural land and conserves and preserves it as it is without developing it.
Kendrick also expressed his appreciation for how well the county and city worked together during the aftermath of the tornado that struck Lake City in March.
“In my 22 years in politics, I’ve never seen a community come together so well.”
State Rep. Debbie Boyd, D-Newberry, brought up a recent bill that she sponsored, at the request of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Commissioner Charles Bronson, that closed a loophole in Florida’s concealed weapon law.
“Currently, if you are a foreign national here legally on a visa, you’re considered to be a resident and are qualified to apply for a concealed weapon carry permit,” Boyd said. “The bill I sponsored basically defines residency as being a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien.
“Once the initial permit is made, it allows us to continue whenever there is any type of legal issue with a citizen who has a concealed weapon permit,” Boyd said. “With people here on visa, we may not necessarily be able to do that and that has been a huge concern of the commissioner’s.”
The bill will become law upon the governor’s signature, Boyd said.
Also, Boyd said that during October’s special session on budget reduction, the Florida Department of Transportation proposed major reductions in the funding of the Small County Road Assistance Program (SCRAP) and the Small County Outreach Program (SCOP).
“When I found out about it, I talked with Dean Cannon, the chair of that portion of the budget about the FDOT proposal,” Boyd said. “Because of that, he didn’t take the FDOT proposal and left the money intact, so it’s fully funded for this fiscal year.”
As a result of Boyd’s intervention, three road improvement projects totaling
$8 million are scheduled for Columbia County this year.
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| 14-year-old suspended for taking gun, ammo to school |
Get the facts right wrote on May 29, 2008 8:45 AM: