- Associated Press - Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Recent editorials from Florida newspapers:

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Feb. 19

The Gainesville Sun on the state’s practice of suspending licenses over unpaid fees:

Florida punishes people who are unable to pay fines and fees by taking away their driver’s licenses, making it even harder for them to hold jobs that allow them to repay those debts.

More than 2 million Floridians - or about 1 in 8 drivers - have suspended licenses, according to the Fines and Fees Justice Center, a national advocacy group. The vast majority of these licenses were suspended for reasons unrelated to dangerous driving, mostly due to unpaid traffic fines and fees owed to the court system.

Six states have changed their laws in recent years to stop suspending driver’s licenses due to unpaid fines and fees. In one of those states, California, collections of unpaid fines and fees actually increased nearly 9% in the year after the policy was enacted.

Florida is among a handful of states now considering similar legislation. CS/SB 1328 and CS/HB 903 would require all clerks of court to work with people who have unpaid debt on payment plans and provide a grace period before revoking their driver’s licenses, while also giving courts the authority to waive or modify fees if someone is unable to pay.

Florida is already struggling with the implementation of Amendment 4, which voters expected would automatically restore the voting rights of most former felons. But implementing legislation approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature requires that former felons first repay their financial obligations to the courts before their voting rights are restored.

Charging people for the right to vote is bad enough, but the state also penalizes people with unpaid debts with license suspensions. Failure to pay child support payments can also result in a driver’s license suspension, while failing to repay a government-backed student loan can result in a health practitioner’s occupational license being suspended.

A measure that would end the latter practice passed the Legislature this session and awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature. Lawmakers should do the same with the suspension of driver’s licenses, or at least pass the legislation that allows new options for repayment and forgiveness for unpaid fines and fees.

Nearly 19,000 drivers in Alachua County had suspended driver’s licenses as of Oct. 7, according to the Fines and Fees Justice Center. About 90% of the suspension notices issued in the county in 2017 were for unpaid fines and fees.

A driver’s license clinic at the Alachua County criminal courthouse Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. is a positive way locally to help these individuals regain their licenses. Local commissioners have expressed an openness to reconsidering the charging of fees that lead to license suspensions, while the criminal justice team of The Sun-sponsored Gainesville For All initiative is also working on the issue.

While local efforts to fix the problem are worthwhile, it really should be addressed on the state level. Florida needs to stop taking away the driver’s licenses of people who are unable to repay fines and fees, a counterproductive practice that just punishes people for being poor.

Online: https://www.gainesville.com/

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Feb. 18

The SunSentinel on the state monitoring short-term rentals:

Super Bowl Week might have brought lots of money into the South Florida economy, but it also brought hassles for Miami Beach.

In the days before and after the game, code compliance officers issued $168,000 in fines related to illegal vacation rentals in the city. According to a Miami Herald report, one homeowner drew a fine of $100,000 - his fifth violation. A woman renting a condo illegally advertised the unit on Airbnb to Super Bowl fans. The owner got fined $1,000.

Local officials in Florida’s tourist-friendly areas constantly scramble to monitor short-term rentals. Cities and counties must allow these rentals, but they attach regulations designed to prevent residential properties from operating as businesses and destroying the character of neighborhoods.

Now, as part of its regular attack on home rule, the Florida Legislature is considering bills that would prevent local regulation of vacation rentals. Instead, the state would impose one set of rules throughout Florida.

In addition, the state would regulate all advertising of short-term rentals, which are defined as condo units or single-family homes rented more than three times a year for less than 30 days or one month at a time, whichever period is shorter. The legislation would not apply to timeshare properties.

Senate Bill 1128 and House Bill 1011 have passed two committees in their respective chambers. They would wipe out local vacation-rental regulations passed since June 1, 2011. Though cities and counties could pass new rules, they would have to apply to all residential properties.

Sen. Manny Diaz, R-Hialeah, sponsored SB 1128. He said that last provision would be enough to satisfy local governments. Mayors from across the state disagreed.

Sarasota Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch told a Senate committee hearing that vacation rental abuse “has been devastating to our communities.” St. Augustine Mayor Tracy Upchurch said short-term rentals “threaten the livelihood” of many neighborhoods in that historic city. The Florida League of Cities opposes the legislation.

Residential and commercial areas are zoned that way for a reason. When a property owner turns a residence into a business, that use is incompatible with the neighborhood. Previously, this happened with sleazy sober house operators - especially in cities like Delray Beach - who bought multiple homes on the cheap after the Great Recession.

Many harmful effects follow, such as traffic and noise. Even local ordinances can be difficult to enforce. The League of Cities cites the case of Lighthouse Point. It has a noise ordinance, but absentee owners may not be aware of it and don’t tell their renters. If police do respond, a new set of renters may arrive the next day. Responding to noise complaints takes officers away from more serious issues.

Airbnb and its competitors aren’t the only ones asking the Legislature to preempt local control. In fact, most of those backing the legislation have a financial stake in letting vacation rentals operate as freely as possible.

Diaz claims his bill would enhance the existing “partnership” between the state and the vacation rental industry. In an op-ed article, Diaz said the industry brought $1.2 billion to the state and many visitors who otherwise would not have come. Those figures, however, came from Airbnb.

Diaz further claimed, “Property rights matter.” He was speaking for owners who told legislators that they should be able to do whatever they want with their properties.

But what about the “right” of homeowners to preserve the character of their neighborhoods and their buildings? Large investors have moved into the vacation rental market, buying up so many condos in some areas that the buildings essentially are hotels. That’s far from the original mission of Airbnb, which was to allow homeowners to rent out spare rooms.

The helpful portions of the House and Senate bills apply new regulations to the advertising and operation of vacation rentals. Among other things, they would prohibit owners from discriminating. Though owners can refuse to allow smokers or young children, they must otherwise follow federal law. In 2016, a Harvard Business School study found that Airbnb users with African-American sounding names were less likely to be accepted as tenants than users with white-sounding names.

Then there’s the problem of fraud. A Better Business Bureau study found that 43% of properties advertised online as vacation rentals were “false listings.” That “upscale, tropical-themed” condo may be something less. Scammers also have targeted users.

Legislation that only made vacation rental advertising more honest and required registration of properties would be consumer-friendly. Instead, Tallahassee wants to impose a one-size-fits-all solution to a problem that is much different in Fort Lauderdale than it is in Bartow.

Problems in neighborhoods require local solutions. The Legislature should protect neighborhoods, not vacation rental profiteeers.

Online: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/

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Feb. 18

The Tampa Bay Times on funding foster care:

The Florida Senate is moving a sensible change that would better serve children in foster care and state taxpayers alike. SB 1326 would confront inequities in the child welfare system by creating a fairer way to fund foster care programs. The measure creates a stronger safety net for thousands of needy families. And it’s a more efficient use of tax money that addresses a particular crisis in Tampa Bay.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, would reform what a legislative analysis found to be “significant core funding inequities” that “have been institutionalized” into Florida’s foster care system. Florida’s existing funding formula is antiquated because it doesn’t accommodate the wide variance in demand for foster services across Florida, leading to huge shortfalls in some communities that struggle with high caseloads. State spending on child services in South Florida now far outstrips other areas, including the Tampa Bay region. Last year, for example, the state spent $17,418 per child served in South Florida, yet only $8,193 per child in Pinellas and Pasco counties and $8,924 in Hillsborough. That is fundamentally unfair, especially when these very three counties have more children in foster care than any other region in the state.

Several changes under Simpson’s bill would make the system more accountable and perform better. But key is tweaking the funding formula that all but consigns high-volume communities to falling further behind. The change could bring $16 million to Hillsborough, and nearly $19 million to Pasco and Pinellas combined, over the next four years. The money would be used to hire more case managers, increase the pay of those already working and to provide a range of support services — including on the front-end — that could drive down the foster care pipeline, saving tax money in the long run. The extra resources would improve working conditions for case managers, who juggle 30 child-clients at a time, and help curb the costly attrition of experienced staff. And more reliable funding would relieve the state from having to resort to wasteful, stop-gap measures when local service providers face a deficit.

To their credit, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Chad Poppell, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, recognize the plan makes sense and have been supportive. Now it’s time for legislative leaders to get the bill over the line. Simpson, the incoming Senate president, has a special interest in making the funding more equitable. His district includes parts of Pasco, which over the past three years has seen a 25 percent surge in the number of children in foster care. The Pasco-Pinellas region now ranks first in the number of foster children among the state’s 20 regions, with almost 900 children in foster care in Pasco alone, up almost 200 in recent years.

Lawmakers have a chance to fix a longstanding equity issue, expand care where it’s needed and provide more bang for the tax dollar. Targeting these resources is the smartest way to strengthen Florida families and curb the number of children entering the foster care system. The governor, secretary and Simpson should continue to make the bill a priority.

Online: https://www.tampabay.com/

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