Topic: FL Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam

Despite opposition from cities in Miami-Dade County, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet approved two nuclear units and 88 miles of transmission lines along with a back-up plan to run the lines through Everglades National Park.

This week, Gov. Rick Scott celebrates the end of the 2014 Legislative Session with a state-wide "victory" tour highlighting a state budget approved by lawmakers, Republican and Democrats disagree about whether the proposed spending plan includes a record amount for public schools and the NAEP says Florida students learning gains are flat.

HB 7147 and SB 1044 contain what Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam describes as "cleanup" language, including eliminating the Solar Energy System Rebate Program created in 2006. The program hasn't been funded since 2010, when some rebate applicants received only 52 percent of what they applied for. "We are moving backwards," environmentalist Susan Glickman said.

The House earmarked $13.7 million for citrus greening response, more than twice what the Senate included in its budget proposal. Rep. Ben Albritton, the lead negotiator for the House on agricultural spending, said he will fight diligently for the money while Senate leaders say they are looking for $1.7 million to give wildlands firefighters a pay raise.

The Agriculture Commissioner wants to boost solar energy and proposes expanding a constitutional mandated tax exemption for renewable energy. The House is showing no interest. Asked Wednesday whether Putnam's proposal will die in committee, the chairman of the bills' first committee stop said solar needs to stand on its own.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam requested nearly $26 million in new spending on water programs and projects. The House provided $35.6 million -- more than Putnam requested -- and the Senate provided $8.4 million. "The Senate in my opinion came up short on several programs," said Rep. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula and chairman of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee.

This week the House and Senate released initial budget proposals, DEP came out in support of what is known as "glamorous camping, education officials selected a replacement for the FCAT and Florida paid a final tribute to former Gov. Reuben Askew. Read more ...

There is renewed momentum for the measure this year, but differences between the House and Senate versions remain.

As natural gas prices stay low, state leaders' impetus for diversifying Florida's energy supply is fading. House Speaker Will Weatherford said the whole debate about energy has changed because of low gas prices, but Weatherford and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam warn that Florida remains vulnerable to possible future price increases.

The agriculture commissioner outlined his energy proposals before a House subcommittee including cutting a tax on commercial use of energy roughly in half and shifting the remaining $225 million per year in revenue to the Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) Fund. He also said he doesn't think there is an appetite for renewable energy legislation this year.

"It's such a big issue -- it is so complex," House Speaker Will Weatherford told The Florida Current. "I don't know that you can bite it off in one year." And Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, in a video presentation to a Florida Chamber of Commerce event, said "This is not something that one session is going to fix."

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam last fall proposed extending the property tax exemption for renewable energy to commercial property. The bills filed this week would limit the exemption to the end-users of the energy because of concerns by utilities about competition from new energy providers.

Florida's Agriculture Commissioner touted the benefits of increased trade with Panama but also warned of the downside of the freer movement of goods and services -- increased competition that could eat into Miami's international finance sector.

In his FY 2013-14 budget request, Gov. Rick Scott requests $30 million in new revenue for the Florida Forever land-buying program plus $40 million from the sale of nonconservation lands. Laurie Macdonald of the Florida Forever Coalition says money from land sales is a good source but also is uncertain. ... Related Research: Jan. 29, 2014 Florida DEP press release on Gov. Rick Scott's 2014-15 budget request.