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BY CARL ORTH

SUNCOAST NEWS ASSISTANT EDITOR

Published: May 10, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - It was the best of legislative times, it was the worst of legislative times.

While budget cuts were the 800-pound gorilla dominating headlines during the Florida Legislature's recently completed 2008 regular session, local lawmakers still managed to get some of their major priorities passed.

Bills supported by state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, and state Rep. John Legg, R-Port Richey, now rest on the desk of Gov. Charlie Crist for his consideration to sign into law. Legislation related to mortgage foreclosure fraud and academic standards are among those measures.

Out of some two dozen pieces of legislation, Fasano speaks most passionately about regulations and penalties intended to throttle exploitation by so-called teen modeling agencies.

"That's a sick industry," Fasano commented. "Some (victims) are as young as 11 and 12 years old."

The youngsters pose in scanty outfits and the resulting images then wind up on Web sites for adult men to gawk at for a fee, Fasano said with scorn.

Often, parents are fooled into signing permission forms presented by the modeling agencies thinking their children might actually develop a lucrative legitimate modeling career, Fasano said.

The bill was tough to write to make sure it didn't run afoul of First Amendment and other constitutional rights issues, Fasano said.

The bill on foreclosure fraud is intended to weed out "unethical, unscrupulous characters" who prey on homeowners behind on mortgage payments and desperate to save their houses from foreclosure.

The legislation would give residents 10 days to rescind a contract with a foreclosure "rescue" firm, Fasano said. No longer could firms ask for cash advances from clients or credit card numbers.

"It will be clear they cannot be paid until the services are provided," Fasano said.

Other consumer protection measures would cap fees charged by insurance adjusters reviewing sinkhole damage claims, Fasano said. The target of the law is the "tiny minority" of adjusters who are acting in an unscrupulous manner, he said.

The number of adjusters mushroomed from some 300 to 3,000 in recent years, Fasano said. "They saw dollar signs. I was shocked," the lawmaker said, adding lawmakers had heard "horror stories" from some clients.

The legislation would restrict hours of solicitation by adjusters, regulate fees and charges, and require testing of adjusters in a continuing education program.

Other bills that passed addressed insurance issues, preferences for firms led by disabled veterans and extension of rights for sexual violence victims, according to Greg Giordano, Fasano's chief legislative assistant.

Sexual violence victims will gain the option of a three-day leave of absence from jobs to handle medical appointments, court documents and other matters, Giordano said. An associated bill provides some exemptions to victims from having their names and other critical information appearing in public records.

Legg, a teacher and one of the founders of the Dayspring Academy charter school, focused on many academic issues.

One Legg-sponsored bill lets school districts choose to start boys-only or girls-only classes, schools or educational programs.

Some evidence suggests certain students, especially at-risk pupils, tend to do better academically in "single-gender classrooms," Legg explained. The law would not allow students to be forced into single-gender schools or classrooms, he noted.

"It's another tool in the toolbox for our school districts," Legg said in April.

Another Legg-backed measure, the Next Generation Academic Standards bill, calls for the eventual replacement of the Sunshine State Standards. The standards, first adopted in 1996, define curricula and student achievement standards in Florida schools, Legg reports.

The representative believes the standards bill will "raise the performance of high school graduates." One of its goals is stronger classroom emphasis on civics and social studies.

The bill joins Florida to the American Diploma Project. Several states are shaping standards and testing based on expectations of public and private colleges and universities as well as private sector employers.

Improved, standardized exams would measure student proficiency before promotion to the next grade and help qualify teachers for performance pay.

The Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity Standard and Firefighter Protection Act spells out uniform testing for cigarettes and other standards, Legg reports. Florida fire marshals and firefighters backed the bill as a way to drastically reduce in-home fires. American Heart Association leaders believe this legislation will help reduce the number of teen smokers in Florida.

Insurance-related measures included an extension of the freeze on rate increases by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Other changes in the next few years are aimed at bringing Citizens rates in line with actual property and housing market valuations.

Schools to cut $16 million

LAND O' LAKES - The Pasco County School District needs to trim spending by nearly $16 million to cover an anticipated shortfall in its 2008-09 budget, Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said this week.

"We are going to make some severe cuts and try to live within them," Fiorentino said as she and her staff met in an information session with the media.

Fiorentino did not say how she plans to slice expenses but said she is working on a list of recommendations to present to the Pasco County School Board at a May 20 budget workshop.

The superintendent said her priorities are to avoid cuts that directly affect the classroom and to avoid layoffs if possible.

Ultimately, though, she said, "Nothing's off the table."

Jail addition starts

LAND O' LAKES - Sheriff Bob White and Pasco County commissioners took part in yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony for an addition to the Land O' Lakes Detention Center.

The three-story building will house 768 inmate beds in 96,000 square feet, according to Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Doll. Completion is expected by summer 2009.

The facility will need 88 staff members to run it.

Overcrowding of the two existing jails prompted the project. The average daily population in 2007 for the two jails reached 1,271 inmates. There's enough beds for only 1,007 inmates.

Cleanup triples numbers

NEW PORT RICHEY - Volunteers for the recent 2008 Great American Cleanup picked up three times more trash this year, according to organizers at Keep Pasco Beautiful.

The 756 volunteers picked up 26.33 tons of trash. For information call Keep Pasco Beautiful at 800-368-2411.

Rec center settlement

NEW PORT RICHEY - The New Port Richey City Council on Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve a settlement with the architect of the new recreation and aquatics center for $141,032 to recoup design flaws.

Harper, Aiken, Donahue and Partners of St. Petersburg admits no fault or liability for problems with the $14.1 million complex.

The agreement seeks to resolve problems with the center's bathrooms, which were not close enough to the pools to meet state health codes. Fixing those problems cost the city $260,000.

In June, then-City Manager Scott Miller issued a memo saying the architect errors cost the city upward of $500,000. He recommended a lawsuit, but council members wanted to explore an out-of-court settlement.

U.S. House race heats up

BROOKSVILLE - The race for the 5th Congressional District seat just got a lot more interesting.

John Russell, a Dade City Democrat who has twice run for the job, filed Friday to try again to unseat Brooksville Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite.

Russell, a 52-year-old licensed nurse practitioner, paid the $9,912 filing fee on the last day to enter the race with hopes that his third bid will be the charm.

H. David Werder, a 53-year-old disabled truck driver from Spring Hill, qualified by petition; Carol Castagnero, a 69-year-old former teacher from Lakeland, paid the fee.

Meanwhile, Brown-Waite announced recently she qualified to be on the ballot by collecting 5,536 signatures from area residents. This is the fourth straight election that Rep. Brown-Waite has qualified through petitions. Her campaign has raised some $375,000 for this year's election.

Mariano qualification party

HUDSON - Incumbent Commissioner Jack Mariano announced he has gathered 2,632 petition signatures to qualify for the election ballot.

Mariano, a Republican, is seeking a second term. Republican rivals in the primary are Rich Jenkins and George F. Vera. In the Democratic primary, Ginny Miller and Lance Shortt are seeking the nomination.

Mariano invites the public to a campaign party Saturday, May 17, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. at Bobkatz Bar and Grill at 12536 U.S. 19, in front of the Wal-Mart store. Go online at Mariano's campaign site at www.jackmariano.com/ for information.

Safe boating course

NEW PORT RICHEY - U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary 11-06 of New Port Richey is providing a safe boating program starting Monday, May 19, at Gulf High School, 5355 School Road.

The course will meet at 6:30 p.m. for four evenings May 19, 21 and 28 and June 2. Participants who complete the course might qualify for insurance discounts. There is a charge of $35.00 for materials. For more information or to register, call Bernard at 727-375-1196.

Living wills seminar

NEW PORT RICHEY Gulf si - de Regional Hospice is offering community forums on living wills on Tuesday, May 13, or Wednesday, May 14.

Either session starts at 11:30 a.m. at the Bayonet Point Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehab Center, 14100 Fivay Road.

Reservations are required by calling Nanette Ehlers, a Gulfside representative, at 727-992-7947. Light snacks and drinks will be provided.

-SUNCOAST NEWS AND TAMPA TRIBUNE NEWS REPORTS

Carl Orth can be reached at corth@suncoastnews.com or 727-815-1068.

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