Capitol Report: Final Two Weeks of Legislative Session
The final two weeks of legislative session starts today. The schedule calls for sine die (the official end) to occur a week from this coming Friday. This week will concentrate on reconciling the House and Senate versions of the budget. The starting point isn’t a great difference between the two chambers. Senate President Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker Paul Renner have shown themselves as collaborative with an absence of fiery rhetoric unlike some of their predecessors. The existence of a Republican supermajority in both chambers post the November elections made nearly every committee vote 100% predictable. The budget reconciliation process is expected to follow a similar path. Some grumbling among Senate and ...Read More
Florida Legislative Committee Weeks Conclude: What’s Not Being Discussed
After seven weeks of Florida’s legislative committee weeks, it can be said that much of what wasn’t presented by state agency heads who appeared on most agendas is more significant to Florida’s everyday children and families than what was. With the number of new faces in the Florida legislature due to term limits and redistricting, it was understandable for agency heads to focus on explaining the function and status of their departments. But having listened to the presentations, American Children’s Campaign believes it is fair to say the overall condition and vulnerability of everyday Florida kids and families did not receive enough attention nor did the continuing crisis for working parents finding ...Read More
Capitol Report: Victories for Some Children But Not For Others (Yet)
Another fallout from Manchin’s machinations. Nine out of every 10 families can benefit from the child tax credit, but the inability of the U.S. Senate to extend it from pandemic relief to a permanent pre-tax fixture could have millions missing out. There is no doubt that the expanded child tax credit reduced the number of children living in poverty by nearly 40%! There is no doubt that each household could receive up to $3,600 for each child under 6 years old, and up to $3,000 for each child between 6 and 17 years old. But rather than providing the credits in monthly increments, families are now required to wait until the “back ...Read More
Capitol Report – The BIG SWITCH in Tallahassee and More
When Senate Bill 948 was heard in the Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee on January 17, Senator Gayle Harrell (R- Stuart) asked four pertinent questions about the proposed change in representation of children in dependency court. She was clearly trying to drill down on what changes would occur. In what some have commented as a confusing exchange, audience members and those watching online walked away thinking no change would occur in the assignment of the Guardian ad Litem. This is FACTUALLY INCORRECT in spite of Harrell’s attempt. This dialogue took place over the continuing saga of what appears to many to be ideological attempts to cast doubt about Florida’s remarkable Guardian ...Read More
Capitol Report: 1st Week of Legislative Session – Will Children’s Needs Bridge Political Divide?
Opening Remarks: Some Got It More Right Than Others Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson hit the mark with his opening day remarks, choosing to speak eloquently and passionately about children. He made it clear it wasn’t just “his kids and grandkids” he was thinking about. He was inclusive about all children and their future, including those in early learning, in child welfare and foster care, special needs and those struggling. For both years of his presidency he has made children a banner headline. Few among his colleagues have been as consistent and focused. In his remarks, he specifically mentioned that the “… costs of early childhood care are consistently identified as ...Read More
Grinch-like Behavior Steals More Than Christmas
Shame on United States Senator Joe Manchin for privately expressed comments disparaging working families, as confirmed by multiple sources according to national news organizations, saying that West Virginians who receive the Child Care Tax Credit would “…misuse the payments for drugs.” It’s a horrid description of not only his own constituents in a state with exceedingly high poverty rates but a savage slight to everyday families across the entire country. It continues a warped and ugly mischaracterization of millions who certainly don’t deserve it. He has not refuted that he made the comments. It is estimated about 10 million American children would fall back into poverty without the Child Tax Credit. For ...Read More