By Stephanie Mencimer, Mother Jones

Members of the Florida state legislature rarely agree on anything. It’s unusual for a bill to get unanimous support from the body. But as it turns out, there is one thing that both Republicans and Democrats really love: wildflowers. Florida lawmakers in both houses of the state legislature voted a collective 157 to 0 this spring to increase the fee for a special Florida wildflower license plate from $15 to $25 starting in July. The proceeds would have gone to the Florida Wildflower Foundation, which for 13 years has been using license plate fees to dole out $2.5 million in grants to schools, garden clubs and other green-thumb groups to plant native Florida flowers. The only problem is that on Friday afternoon, Gov. Rick Scott (R) vetoed the bill.

The move seems to have left even Republicans somewhat mystified. The only people who paid the fee were those who wanted to chip in for the pretty roadside flowers, and it brought the cost of the license plate in line with another one Scott approved for the Freemasons. But Scott apparently saw it otherwise, insisting that the wildflower license plate fee is apparently just another manifestation of big government. He wrote:

The bill increases the annual use fee for a specialty license plate; an expense in addition to the standard fees paid when registering a motor vehicle. Although buying a specialty license plate is voluntary, Floridians wishing to demonstrate their support for our State’s natural beauty would be subjected to the cost increases sought by this bill.

The veto might be in keeping with Scott’s image as a strict small-government tea partier, though it’s unclear that even the tea partiers are part of the anti-wildflower lobby. What’s really odd about the veto is that Scott has spent the past few months running away from the tea party, which has made him one of the nation’s most unpopular governors. He’s been transforming himself into a more traditional tax-and-spend politician, even coming out in support of expanding Medicaid under Obamacare, as he tries to hang on to his job in next year’s election. But the flower veto suggests that the tea partier in him is refusing to go quietly. Or maybe he just really hates flowers. Either explanation probably isn’t going to help him win any votes. As the legislature has shown, in Florida, just about everyone loves wildflowers.

Read it at Mother Jones here.

President Obama has plan to stop federal student loan rates from doubling, but Republicans in Congress are blocking the bill.

If Congress doesn’t act by July 1st, many students will see rate hikes totaling thousands of dollars per student.

Enough is enough! Add your voice to the thousands who support President Obama’s student loan reform plan.

By: Tampa Bay Times

Once again, Gov. Rick Scott has refused to accept public policy established by the Obama administration that benefits Florida. And once again, the state will suffer because of his partisan gamesmanship. The Republican governor’s veto of legislation that would have allowed undocumented immigrants with a new temporary status to obtain a driver’s license ignores reality and common sense. Now tens of thousands of younger undocumented immigrants who live in our neighborhoods and attend our schools are just more collateral damage in Scott’s war with Washington.

The legislation that would have allowed younger undocumented immigrants with deferred action status to receive a driver’s license passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. It eventually could have benefited roughly 100,000 younger people who already are in Florida — and many of them already may be driving illegally. A driver’s license would make it easier for these young people to continue contributing to our communities, buy auto insurance and come another step out of the shadows.

Yet Scott vetoed the bill and resorted to tortured logic. He criticized the federal government for failing to enforce immigration laws and dismissed deferred action status as an Obama administration policy not approved by Congress. This is a governor whose disdain for the Democratic president and disregard of the federal executive branch knows no bounds.

The Obama policy announced a year ago offers deferred action status to illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States before they turned 16 years old and were at least 15 but under 31 in June 2012. They must not be convicted of a major crime and they must be in school, a high school graduate or honorably discharged from the military. These are young undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children, grew up here, obeyed the rules and became part of our neighborhoods. The deferred status is good for two years and can be renewed, but it is neither amnesty nor a guaranteed path to citizenship. More than 20,000 applications already have been accepted from Florida, and states such as North Carolina, California and Illinois will issue drivers’ licenses to those granted deferred action status.

But not Florida. State policy already allows undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers’ licenses if they have a federal employment card — which can come after someone is granted deferred status. Yet Scott could not embrace one more step to help tens of thousands of young undocumented immigrants. His veto indicates he remains as out of touch as ever with the practical realities in the neighborhoods of Florida’s melting pot.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/a-partisan-scott-veto-on-licenses/2125022

I wanted to pass along this excellent post from my colleague, Governor Cuomo. Our states share a commitment to addressing gender-based economic discrimination.

Read it below or here at The Huffington Post.

-Gov. Peter Shumlin, Chair, Democratic Governors Association

Restoring New York as a Leader in Women’s Rights

By Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor, New York State

Over 150 years ago, the women’s suffrage movement began in America at the first Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Since then, New York has been at the forefront of important social and legal movements that have advanced the equal treatment of all people. Over the years, however, New York has fallen behind in its role as a progressive leader on women’s rights. The Women’s Equality Act, which I will introduce today, is designed to address gender inequality in our communities, and to restore New York as a leader in women’s rights.

Fact: in New York, women earn 84 percent of what men earn, and over a lifetime will earn $500,000 less than men. In 2013 this is both inexcusable and absurd. The Women’s Equality Act strengthens the law to ensure that women receive the wages they are entitled to, as well as provides for increased damages if a woman is not paid equally.

Fact: women with children are less likely to be recommended for hire and promoted. The Act prohibits employers from denying work or promotions for employees simply based on whether or not they have children, as well as clarifies the obligations that employers have in making reasonable accommodations for pregnant women. And to make sure women are “made whole” if they are discriminated against, the Act provides attorneys’ fees to women who prevail in employment discrimination cases where the discrimination was based on sex.

Fact: not all women in New York can file sexual harassment claims against their employers. Women file the vast majority of sexual harassment complaints, yet those women who work for employers with fewer than 4 employees cannot file complaints because those businesses, which account for 60 percent of employers in New York, are exempt from the harassment law. The Act adopts a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment, and bans sexual harassment in all workplaces.

Fact: female-headed households in New York account for the vast majority of those on public assistance. However, under current law, a landlord can turn away a tenant if he does not approve of the applicant’s source of income. The Women’s Equality Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on lawful source of income, aiding women who receive public assistance in finding safe and decent housing for their families.

Fact: discrimination against victims of domestic violence is almost always discrimination against women. Of all victims of domestic violence, 85 percent are women, and about 1 in 4 women will experience intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. A major problem for victims of domestic violence is that under current state law, they have no protection from discrimination in housing. The Women’s Equality Act fixes that. In addition, the Act strengthens the laws surrounding the issuance of orders of protection, requiring in-court translation of orders of protection as well as the development of a pilot program to allow victims of domestic violence to remotely petition for, and receive, temporary orders of protection.

Fact: protections for women and girls who fall victim to human trafficking can and should be strengthened. The Act builds on the State’s already comprehensive laws by increasing penalties for human trafficking to deter perpetrators, making prosecution and enforcement more effective, and providing an affirmative defense in prostitution prosecutions that a defendant’s participation was a result of having been a sex trafficking victim. These amendments will solidify New York’s status as a leader among the states in protecting vulnerable individuals subject to exploitation.

Fact: the Women’s Equality Act protects a woman’s right to choose as defined by the 1973 Supreme Court Ruling in Roe V. Wade. In 1970, New York was one of the first states to decriminalize abortion. Three years later, in Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court held that the United States Constitution protects the right of a woman to choose to terminate her pregnancy prior to fetal viability or throughout pregnancy when it is necessary to preserve her life or health. This has been the nation’s law established by the Supreme Court for the last 40 years.

The law in New York, however, was not amended after Roe, making it outdated and inconsistent with federal law. The Women’s Equality Act codifies in state law the reproductive rights afforded by Roe. At the same time, I support and respect religious freedom and therefore our bill does not change any existing state and federal laws that permit a health care provider from refraining from providing an abortion due to religious or moral beliefs.

Contrary to the opposition’s assertion, this language in no way expands abortion rights but only codifies federal law. This is important because the Supreme Court could change in compositions, or opinion, and New York works to protect women’s right to choose.

For too long New York’s laws have not properly protected women’s rights. These are significant problems, and big issues to tackle. But in New York, that’s what we have always done. And as long as I’m Governor, that’s what we will continue to do. Join me in supporting the Women’s Equality Act now, because another year is too long to wait.