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News & Notes
FAC Spotlight: Diana Ferguson
JobLine
Brevard County Space Coast - East Central Florida
Region Budget Director
City of Haines City
Chief of Police
CALENDAR
January 7-8, 2009
New Commissioner Orientation Luncheon
Alachua County
January 8-9 2009
ACC Program
Alachua County
March 7-11 2009
NACo Legislative Conference
Washington D.C.
March 25
FAC Legislative Day
Leon County
March 26
CCC Workshop
Leon County
March 26
CCC Workshop
Leon County
April 23-24
ACC Program
Alachua County
May 19-21
Stem to Stern II: Boating and Waterway Management in Florida
Brevard County
June 23-26
FAC Annual Conference
Collier County
July 24-28
NACo Annual Conference
Davidson County, TN
Diana Ferguson is the legislative staff attorney for the Florida Association of Counties. She is considered an expert not just on local government environmental programs, but on environmental law generally.
Commissioner Rodney J. Long Installed as FAC President
On November 18th, Commissioner Long officially became President of FAC. He was joined by friends, family and collegues in Daytona Beach at our lunch on Thursday. In addition, Commissioner Ilene Lieberman became FAC President-Elect and Commissioner Doug Smith FAC 1st Vice President.
Did you attend Leg Con?
Let us know what you thought!
On November 21st, FAC wrapped up its 2009 Legislative Conference with more than 200 attendees. The conference was held over three days, November 19-21 at the Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort in Volusia County.
SURVEY
If you were at a Legislative Conference
attendee, we need your feedback. Please
help us with future program planning by
completing an online survey. Just click here
and you will be taken directly to the
survey. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete.
Legislative Priorities and Complete Program Adopted
After much debate and discussion, FAC adopted on Friday, November 21st its legislative priorities and policies for the 2009 Legislative Session.
A complete .pdf of FAC legislative positions can be found by clicking here.
A booklet of just our legislative priorities will be printed and distributed to the legislature and cabinet.
FAC encourages you to review our priorities and speak with your legislative delegation regarding these very important issues. Priorities include: finance and tax issues, judicial court funding, increasing the cigarette tax, transportation and growth management.
Sign Up for the Ambassador Program!
If you are a tenured commissioner, we ask that you volunteer to be a FAC Ambassador for one of our 86 newly elected commissioners. By serving as an Ambassador, commissioners can share creative solutions found in your county and share with them the value and importance FAC has had on your tenure.
Click here to sign up!
Health & Human Services Committee
The Health & Human Services Committee outlined four priorities for the 2009 legislative session during FAC’s Legislative Conference in November. FAC will be supporting legislation that will increase the state’s cigarette tax per pack, earmarking the resulting revenue specifically for health care services.
Growth Management Workgroup
Growth management received a significant amount of attention at this year’s legislative conference. With the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) scheduled to undergo sunset review during the 2009 legislative session, FAC’s Growth Management Workgroup has made this issue its top priority.
Public Safety Committee
The Public Safety Committee Chaired by Commissioner Chestnut (Alachua County) met on November 19th and selected three top priorities for the 2009 legislative session. Committee attendees adamantly agreed that protecting, restoring and increasing judicial funding should be the primary focus of FAC public safety advocacy in the spring.
Growth, Environmental Planning, and Agriculture (GEPA) Policy Committee Meeting
The GEPA policy committee discussed several policy topics during the FAC Legislative Conference including the sunset review for the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), energy, land acquisition, water governance, and the use of reclaimed water in irrigation, to name just a few.
Rural Caucus
The Rural Caucus met to discuss issues of concern to small counties. There were many active, new Commissioners in attendance, and there was a good deal of discussion on several issues. Kathy Neil from the Department of Transportation gave the group an update on transportation funding.
New Commissioner Workshop
Attention new commissioners! Plan to attend the New Commissioners Workshop on January 7-8, 2009 in Alachua County. The in-depth, 1 ½ day workshop will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7 and end with a reception on the evening on Thursday, January 8. Attend and receive 6 hours of core credits towards the County Commissioners Certification Program.
200,000+ County? Please complete NACo Survey
NACo along with FAC have been actively engaged in lobbying the federal government to include local governments in any future stimulas packages. In an effort to assist these lobbying efforts, NACo is conducting a survey of all large counties. If you have not received a survey, please contact cmosteller@fl-counties.com for a copy.
Martin County launches blog for local governments
Offering the latest news, information and commentary about issues impacting Florida’s local governments, Martin County has designed and launched a comprehensive web-based blog titled Martin County’s Budget Reductions, Analysis, Innovations and News. The contents of the blog have been compiled and posted from the Florida Association of Counties News Clips and from other resources around Florida.
FDOT Seeks Input from Non-MPO Counties
Federal law and rules require each state to have a documented process for consulting with non-metropolitan local officials during development of the long range statewide transportation plan (i.e. Florida Transportation Plan) and the statewide transportation improvement program (i.e. Work Program). In addition, at least once every five years states must review and solicit comments regarding the effectiveness of the consultation process and any proposed changes.
DEP Recycling Meeting
The Department of Environmental Protection held a public meeting Tuesday in Tallahassee to discuss the 75% recycling goal contained in last year’s energy package. Some concern was expressed that certain materials are not counted, and certain activities, such as diversion or reduction of waste, as well as waste to energy, should be included in the effort.
Revision of Local Government Revenue Estimates
Since the August 2008 General Revenue Estimating Conference, weakness in the state, national, and global economies has deepened. In response, the Revenue Estimating Conference has reduced its estimate of General Revenue collections for the 2008-09 fiscal year by $1.4 billion or 6.0 percent below the August 2008 estimate.
ATV Update
The Department of Environmental Protection has asked for updated information regarding counties that have opted out of Section 316.2123 of the Florida Statutes. If your county has opted out of this statute in the last year, please contact Diana Ferguson, FAC Legislative Staff Attorney, at dferguson@fl-counties.com.
Get plugged into Environmental Public Health Tracking
In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) began the development of a national Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) network. The EPHT network is a collection of state and national web-based data query systems that facilitate the integration, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data on environmental hazards, exposures to those hazards, and health effects that may be related to the exposures.