Governor DeSantis College Downgrade Breaks My Florida Prepaid Contract

Florida Prepaid and a broken contract

DeSantis slams ‘DEI scam’ as bill to strip college majors moves forward | March 14

HB 999, the Public Post-Secondary Institutions Bill, effectively terminates my contract with the Florida Prepaid Scholars Program. When I bought 11 years ago to save for my children’s education – setting tuition in the cheapest university system in the country, I expected there would be a variety of world-class universities available. I want my kids to go to top schools and be able to come home on the weekends. I attended Florida K-12 schools and proudly have three degrees from Florida colleges. I’m also an associate professor at USF – a successful working-class kid. I want my children to have the same vaccine. Passing HB 999 would break that contract, forcing them out of state for a decent education. Florida prepaid parents should be outraged.

HB 999’s political takeover of universities—centralizing the hiring and firing of faculty under governor-appointed trustees—ends academic legitimacy. Florida universities will become the arm of a political party, not a space for open, world-class intellectual exchange. Legislative attempts to ban specific ideas (critical race theory) and disband legitimate intellectual centers (gender studies and race studies) run counter to all models of democratic governance and freedom of expression, including conservative libertarianism. Our universities could lose accreditation in all disciplines, not just those targeting race and gender, and the reputation of universities – the basis of rankings – will crumble.

Unlike K-12, universities teach adults. It’s scary that an idea can be rendered verboten for adult discussion. Let’s teach our adult children to deal with difficult content and form their own opinions.

SL Crawley, St. Petersburg

I don’t wanna be that

What does it mean to be “awakened”? Depends. | PolitiFact, March 10

What is the opposite of “awake” and why would you want to be that?

Janis Upham, Saint Petersburg

Florida lawmakers want to help insurance companies by limiting lawsuits | March 13

The “tort tax” referred to in the article is $812.52 per Florida resident each year, as calculated by the Perryman Group. Without the reforms referenced, this cost will only increase for hard-working Floridians as businesses close due to the state’s unsustainable and inhospitable legal environment.

And while the American Tort Reform Foundation removed the state of Florida as a whole from its “judicial hells” ranking, the state legislature remains on the report’s watchlist due to its lack of action. on critical legal reforms.

HB 837 and SB 236 are two such efforts dealing with the transparency of damages presented in civil lawsuits. Inflated medical damages are a major culprit for rising court costs in Florida, and allowing inflated billed amounts in jury trials dramatically increases the overall cost of the civil justice system.

The article further mentions corporate profits, publicity, and campaign contributions to lawmakers, but fails to mention the profits, publicity, or campaign contributions of litigators who continue to profit and benefit from the current legal system. Florida litigators consistently spend on advertising for legal services compared to other states. No wonder they are fighting tooth and nail to keep the status quo in place.

Several states have already passed damages transparency laws. This helps ensure that lawsuit recoveries for health care expenses are justified and don’t just line the pockets of greedy lawyers — and it’s time for Florida to do the same.

Tiger Joyce, Washington, DC

The author is president of the American Tort Reform Association.

Parking spaces in downtown St. Petersburg

We visited St Petersburg on March 4, parking on the 400 block of Beach Drive NE. The spot we found had a white painted line on the left and a normal sidewalk on the right. There was a square concrete slab in front (for drainage) which did not impede our parking.

We received a $39 parking ticket. A Transportation and Parking Services representative told us via email that “the vehicle was not parked in a legal, marked parking space. It is not marked with two solid lines on either side, and there is a solid line behind it. The drainage area in front, and the absence of a meter when all the other spaces have one, also indicate that this is not a parking space. As non-statutory we had no way of recognizing these indications that this was not an authorized parking space.

So we asked the rep, “Could you explain to us why the city doesn’t just put up a sign saying ‘No parking!’ “No response. We also said another car was going there when we pulled out. No response.

This prompted us to ask, “Please tell us how many tickets have been given away to park at this location in the last month and the year before?” You guessed it. No answer.

The question now arises whether having only an indication that it is not a legal parking spot is a lucrative intentional setup, which many drivers are unlikely to catch. And how many such “places without parking” are there?

Martin Elliot Gold, New York

The author has taught law at Columbia University since 1989. He is a former director of corporate law for New York City and a retired partner of Sidley Austin LLP, the international law firm.

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