After yet another senseless round of school killings of children and staff in Tennessee, I am asking all Democrats in Indian River County for a "Call to Action". Right below is a series of actions you can take in partnership with the Newton Action Alliance and Prevent Gun Violence Florida to specifically fight the passage of permitless carry SB 150 as the House Bill HB 543 passed the floor vote on the 24th of March. In addition, we need to let the Governor and our local representatives Grall and Brackett know our feelings by calling their offices directly. It is only by taking actions such as this that we can hope to forestall the Republican's in their quest to loosen all gun restrictions and not address gun violence.
Regards - Bill Evans
END GUN VIOLENCE
In Florida, Newtown Action Alliance is partnering with Prevent Gun Violence Florida to fight the passage of permitless carry SB 150
House bill HB 543 passed floor vote on Friday 3/24
YOU CAN HELP
Newtown Action Alliance toolkit links:
12:00 - 4:00 p.m. - SDIRC Superintendents Workshop. J.A.Thompson Administrative Center, 6500 57th St., Vero Beach 32967
Saturday, April 22, 2023
9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. - Earth Day Celebration, Sebastian Riverview Park. Volunteers needed to help provide voter information and sell Democrats of Indian River Merchandise. Contact Caryl at [email protected] or call (772)226-5267
Monday, April 24, 2023
5:30 p.m. - SDIRC School Board Meeting. J.A.Thompson Administrative Center, 6500 57th St., Vero Beach 32967
SAVE THE DATE
Saturday and Sunday, May 6 & 7, 2023
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Annual Treasure Coast Seafood Festival, Indian River Fairgrounds. Volunteers needed to help provide voter information and sell Democrats of Indian River Merchandise.
Democrats of Indian River
Democratic Women's Club
Saturday, April 15, 2023
11:30 a.m. - DWC SCHOLARSHIP LUNCHEON at Bent Pine Clubhouse. Dr Terri A. Graham, President of IRSC Mueller Campus, to speak. Five deserving students will be awarded
Scholarships for $1500.
Meal choices include Lemon Pepper Chicken or Vegetarian Entree.
Guests are welcome.
Please RSVP to Julie Barone at [email protected] or (718) 916-0682.
Friday, April 28, 2023
2:00 - 4:00 p.m. - DWC BOOK GROUP will meet from at the Brackett Library on the IRSC Mueller campus and discuss “THE ROSE CODE” by Kate Quinn. Any questions about the Book Group should be sent to [email protected].
************************************************************ NOTICE: Democrats of Indian River Office is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. You can also reach us at (772) 226-5267 and at [email protected]
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Paper version of our weekly newsletter is now available in the office and in all Indian River County public libraries.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
DeSantis, Trump lack necessary integrity
Seems nobody wants to use the words, but our governor seems like a race-baiter who will do anything to become president. God forbid he is able to achieve this end.
I consider myself to be a moderate and believe he is too far to the RIGHT to suit me. I consider his primary rival Donald Trump to be a liar and two-faced.
Neither man has the integrity to be the leader of the free world.
State bill could slash Treasure Coast tourism budgets, impacting beaches, Mets stadium
The New York Mets spring training season in Port St. Lucie, Bathtub Beach in Stuart and the Sebastian Visitor Center in Indian River County all are attractions Treasure Coast tourism offices rely on to entice people and bring dollars to the tri-county area.
But those destinations are at risk of losing financial backing if a proposal in the Legislature — to cut all funding from Visit Florida, the state tourist agency — is passed. The proposal instead would put the financial responsibility on local county tourism offices and chambers of commerce keep local tourist draws afloat.
Treasure Coast officials said the bill is an example of the erosion of home rule, or the ability of local governments to make policy decisions to govern their own municipalities.
“If this happens, we would be in trouble because we have a $20 million bond that we did for the Mets stadium renovation,” said St. Lucie County Commissioner and Tax Development Council Chairman Chris Dzadovsky, “… If that were to be done by the state, and force us to take it from the general fund, that would be catastrophic."
Visit Florida was created in 1996 and has since been the state’s lead marketing agency.
It offers valuable notoriety to counties, said Dori Stone, Indian River County Chamber of Commerce president.
“A good example is we can be included in a $100,000 campaign they're running in the state, and our participation may be $15,000,” Stone said. "That campaign could bring millions of eyes on Indian River County who otherwise would not see what it has to offer."
Proponents, however, argue that, based on records, county tourist-development councils are benefiting from larger-than-expected tax receipts and the share sought from each would be modest.
If local agencies don't hand over some of the money they collect in tourist-development taxes — and pour it into the Visit Florida fund for the next three years — the state program would become extinct. House leaders, in fact, have sought that for years.
After three years, counties would have the option of holding a referendum every six years to renew tourist-development taxes. At least 60% voter approval would be required for it to pass.
“We’re adamantly opposed to it,” said Joe Catrambone, president and CEO of the Stuart and Martin County Chamber of Commerce said the plan being considered in Tallahassee. “If it went (to a referendum) every six years, it would not pass again. That’s what my guess would be.”
If the bill passes, it would become law July 1. About $75 million would be redirected from 62 counties to the Visit Florida fund. Last year, the program received $50 million from lawmakers.
There's no current requirement for any portion of the local tax dollars to go to Visit Florida, but Martin County pays a partnership fee to participate in the state’s co-op programs, according to Martin County Tourism Director Nerissa Okiye.
"The state mandating how our local taxes should be spent is an attack on home rule," said Charlotte Bireley, St. Lucie director of tourism and marketing. "... That's essentially starting to slash our budget for a state-funded operation."
The impact on job creation also could be negative, she added, especially since more than 6% of St. Lucie County's labor force is supported by tourism.
Local impacts
The plan would compromise the current structure that allows counties to decide how their local tourism taxes, which come from hotels and short-term rentals, is spent, said Okiye. In Martin County, for example, $900,000 goes toward beach and inlet maintenance.
“We don’t have any control. We would be giving funding to Visit Florida, but then it does not benefit us back. Whereas now, when we do co-ops and we do programs, there’s a direct benefit,” Okiye added.
In 2021, St. Lucie County visitors spent about $553 million, records show.
That includes $750,000 pumped into the U.S. Navy SEAL museum and $400,000 into the A.E. Backus Museum & Gallery and funneling money into the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail — all in Fort Pierce — are examples of how St. Lucie has used tourism taxes to preserve local history, arts and culture, Dzadovsky said.
Indian River County brought in $3.6 million in tourism taxes in 2022, Stone said. If part of that money had to go to the state to fund Visit Florida, it would put county projects — such as beach restoration, local visitor centers and tourism staff positions — at risk, she said.
"Go back to the 1990s, when Colorado removed their tourism marketing side. It failed miserably," Dzadovsky said. "It took years to return those tourism and marketing dollars. We've seen it, other states have done it and it's just a bad movie."
Reporter John Kennedy,
USA Today Network-Florida Capital Bureau contributed to this report.
Florida Senate rejects safe gun storage amendment in permitless carry bill
‘Open carry’ HB 543 allows people to carry concealed weapons without a permit now goes to the Senate floor
The Florida Senate is taking up a bill to allow people to carry a concealed weapon without a permit right now. The bill, HB 543, already passed the Florida House.
However, an amendment pushed by an Orlando state senator regarding the safe storage of weapons will not be in it.
State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, filed an amendment to the Public Safety bill, making it a felony if a child were to get their hands on a gun that wasn’t safely stored, then fired it and hurt themselves or someone else.
“Sometimes it takes penalties to push the issue to the proper position, and I think that this might just do that,” Stewart said.
The amendment failed in the Florida Senate Wednesday afternoon.
Here’s what the amendment would have done:
It would require that firearms are safely stored
It also raises penalties if a child were to get their hands on a gun that isn’t safely stored
For example, current law states if a child is able to gain access to a firearm, it’s a second-degree misdemeanor. This amendment would have made it a first-degree misdemeanor if a child was able to access an improperly stored gun, and a third-degree felony if the child fires that gun, hurting themselves or someone else.
“There have to be some higher consequences because we need to make sure that parents and those who have guns that are around children, that they store them properly,” Stewart said.
She said her amendment was prompted by shootings in the last few years in which children have gotten hold of guns.
For example, in Volusia County in February, deputies said a 3-year-old boy shot and killed himself, after getting hold of a firearm that was in a bedroom nightstand.
Bipartisan former members of Congress call for funding for elections security
A bipartisan group of former U.S. lawmakers on the National Council on Election Integrity have called on Congress to spend $400 million on election integrity to insulate the system from foreign interference.
“The Department of Homeland Security designated our election system as critical infrastructure in 2017,” the four wrote in a letter. “However, that designation was not accompanied by regular or adequate federal funding. In each of the last two years, Congress appropriated just $75 million for Election Security Grants — a fraction of the funds needed to secure our elections in this dynamic threat environment.”
The co-chairs of the council — former Virginia Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock, former Maryland Democratic Rep. Donna Edwards, former Indiana Democratic Rep. Tim Roemer and former Tennessee Republican Rep. Zach Wamp — wrote in the letter they are “deeply concerned that election officials are currently not receiving the federal support that they need to strengthen and secure federal elections in 2024 and beyond.”
The National Council on Election Integrity, which began ahead of the 2020 presidential elections, includes about 40 civic and political leaders focused on “defending the legitimacy of our free and fair elections,” according to its website.
Congress’ annual government funding process began earlier this month when President Joe Biden sent his budget request for fiscal 2024 to Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers on the House and Senate Appropriations committees will spend the next few months holding hearings on the proposal with Cabinet secretaries and agency heads before they turn to writing the dozen annual government-funding measures this summer.
Election security grants are just one request among thousands that Democrats and Republicans will weigh throughout the year as the House GOP looks for ways to reduce federal spending without significantly harming Social Security, Medicare, or defense programs.
Efforts to reduce federal spending to the last fiscal year’s level emerged in early January when Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, negotiated behind closed doors with conservative members to secure the role of speaker amid ongoing opposition.
McCarthy reportedly made several promises during those meetings, including reducing federal spending to fiscal 2022 levels, although he and conservatives have never made details of their agreements public.
McCarthy has insisted that House Republicans will not raise the nation’s borrowing capacity, known as the debt limit, unless Biden signs off on spending cuts.
But Republicans have yet to release their fiscal 2024 budget resolution or any of the dozen appropriations bills that account for about one-third of annual federal spending.
House Appropriations Chair Kay Granger, a Texas Republican, said in a written statement Wednesday that “House Republicans made a promise to get our fiscal house in order, and we intend to do exactly that. We have the opportunity to take a hard look at department and agency budgets, find ways to reduce spending, and reform federal programs so we can prevent waste, fraud, and abuse,” Granger said. “That’s reasonable and responsible, and it is our duty to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. This work will not be easy, but we’ll get it done.”
The National Council on Election Integrity’s request in the Friday letter for $400 million in election security grants during fiscal 2024 would be a fraction of the $1.7 trillion that could be spent on discretionary programs during the upcoming fiscal year.
“In the last few years, state and local election officials have had to become experts in cybersecurity, digital communication, and public relations,” the former members wrote.
“At the same time, election offices are struggling to bear rising costs for physical security, information requests, and basic necessities like ballot paper,” they added. “Because Congress has not provided the funding to meet these obligations, state and local election officials have been saddled with an unfunded mandate.”
