Podcasts about florida constitution

Edwin H. (Ed) Moore, Ph.D., is the President-Emeritus of the Independent Colleges and Universities ofFlorida, a Tallahassee based association of 30 private, not for profit colleges and universities. He led the Association from 2003 until 2019. He also served as the Executive Director of the Higher EducationFacilities Finance Authority in Florida and as Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Independent College Fund, a non-profit organization. Over his career he has served in leadership roles in both legislative and executive branches, in the private sector and in several not for profit organizations. He is a recognized policy expert. He has served in many significant positions in a wide array of policy arenas, including education, insurance, healthcare, mental health, criminal justice, and many other areas. As Florida recovered from Covid related issues he was asked to serve as Executive Director of the RESET Florida Task Force, helping to develop action plans to bolster the Florida economy. He authored "The Speakers Vol. II, a history of the Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives." Ed was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to serve as a member of the Florida Commission on Ethics and previously to the Florida Constitution mandated Government Efficiency Task Force. He currently serves as a Trustee for the HCA Florida Capital Hospital, and as a member of the Florida Historic Capitol Foundation Board of Directors. He is a frequent guest on The Morning Show with Preston Scott, The Ed Dean Show, The Usual Suspects, and several other state outlets. Ed earned a BS and an MSPA in the 1970's from Florida State University, the master's while working full-time. He had previously earned an AA from Broward Junior College while working full-time. After he sold his company and returned to Florida in 1999, he both worked full-time and pursued and earned his Ph.D. from FSU. He has been married to Kathleen Armstrong Moore for 50 years. They have four adult children and eight wonderful grandchildren. They reside in Tallahassee. Ed was our guest on Episode 152 of the Agents of Innovation podcast. You can follow him on X at: https://x.com/AFloridian You can also watch this podcast on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/vy4pXUfsTHc Follow the Agents of Innovation podcast on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/innovationradio/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/agentinnovation Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AgentsOfInnovationPodcast Subscribe to this channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRFF3p8qmrEG4l4uR1BDZQg You can also subscribe to the Fearless Journeys travel channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwAHpA_AXxBafhI2jH8_rtg You can support this podcast and our Fearless Journeys community on our Patreon account: www.patreon.com/fearlessjourneys You can also join our network through the Fearless Journeys community at: https://www.fearlessjourneys.org/

On tonight's program: Florida school board races are not partisan affairs today. But they used to be. And they could be partisan again if voters agree; Even some who think the right to hunt and fish should be in the Florida Constitution are having some reservations; Recreational marijuana use by adults in Florida remains a hot button topic just days before the election; Florida's proposed constitutional guarantee to abortion access continues to be an emotionally wrenching matter for many; Amendment 5 seems a big hit with folks on limited incomes; And Florida voters will even get to decide whether or not public funds should still be used to help fund political campaigns.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with Florida State Senate President Kathleen Passidomo about the amendments to the Florida Constitution that will be decided in the election. We visit with Less Government President Seton Motley about the dire financial straits of the U.S. government. Linda Harden and I discuss Trump's rally in Madison Square Garden on Sunday, the refusal of newspapers to endorse presidential candidates, and the release this morning from the Danbury jail of Steve Bannon. We also visit with Boo Mortenson about Ketamine. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Chairman Emeritus of Cato Institute Bob Levy and Professor Andrew Joppa. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with Florida State Senate President Kathleen Passidomo about the amendments to the Florida Constitution that will be decided in the election. We visit with Less Government President Seton Motley about the … The post Florida’s Constitutional Amendments appeared first on Bob Harden Show.

In this podcast episode, I discuss the first proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution.https://youtu.be/4FNbdXx3zGw?s...

Known for his role in Orlando business, Scottie Cahill's visit to Mike's show is all about the important choice we will all make on the November 5th ballot - voting on a couple of serious amendments to the Florida Constitution. Scottie lays out the case why we should say NO on 4.

Palm Beach County is preparing to go to the polls as the General Election approaches. First, let me say it's good to be back as we record our 100th episode. During my hiatus, I mounted an unsuccessful campaign to challenge our incumbent Member of Congress. It wasn't meant to be but the experience was quite educational and I will say more about this in the future. In Episode 100 we focus on the ballot questions being presented to voters for an up or down vote. Six potential amendments to the Florida Constitution and, in Palm Beach County, one local initiative to extend the 1/2 penny sales tax for schools. (The base state sales tax rate in Florida is 6%. Local tax rates in Florida range from 0% to 2%%, making the sales tax range in Florida 6-8 percent). It's welcome you back and I hope you find this episode interesting and informative.

On tonight's program: Governor DeSantis wants lawmakers to come back to Tallahassee before the 2025 Session to tackle the matter of unsafe condominiums; What's the old saying about blending politics and religion usually being a bad idea? Florida's present abortion debate runs counter to that wisdom; This is suicide prevention month. We speak with a family that is using its own tragic loss as a way to reach and help others; Florida voters will have a chance in November to reduce their property taxes. But only if inflation goes up; Another proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution would make local school board races partisan affairs. But it may not have the impact many of its supporters would like; And we follow the inspiring adventures of some very aware kids.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with the CEO of the Community Pregnancy Clinics, Scott Baier, about Amendment 4, the proposed, misguided, poorly worded abortion amendment to the Florida Constitution. We visit with Less Government President Seton Motley about the Democrat's policy platform – price controls and more government. Linda Harden and I discuss the DNC's opening night, Biden's speech, and the presidential polls. Please join us tomorrow when we visit with Professor Andrew Joppa about American culture. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Tuesday's show, we visit with the CEO of the Community Pregnancy Clinics, Scott Baier, about Amendment 4, the proposed, misguided, poorly worded abortion amendment to the Florida Constitution. We visit with Less Government President Seton Motley … The post Democrats Offer Price Controls and Expanded Government appeared first on Bob Harden Show.

In this episode: Over the past few years, Republican politicians in Florida have enacted a near-total abortion ban, spent millions in taxpayer money on anti-abortion propaganda, and blocked funding for contraceptive care. But many of them want to go much further — from completely banning abortion in all situations to granting legal rights to frozen embryos used for in vitro fertilization. That makes the stakes incredibly high for Amendment 4, a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would enshrine abortion rights into the Florida Constitution.Show notesRead Amendment 4 for yourself.Learn more from the organization supporting it (Floridians Protecting Freedom).See the impact of an abortion ban imposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers — a ban that would be overturned if 60 percent of Florida voters approve Amendment 4.Make a plan to vote.Questions or comments? Send ‘em to Garcia.JasonR@gmail.comListen to the show: Apple | SpotifyWatch the show: YouTubeSubscribe: SeekingRentsFL.com Get full access to Seeking Rents at jasongarcia.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode: The Florida Constitution gives governors the authority to suspend local officials over “incompetence” and “neglect of duty.” Ron DeSantis is exploiting that power unlike any governor before him. Contact: Garcia.JasonR@gmail.comFollow: Twitter Follow the show: Apple | Spotify Get full access to Seeking Rents at jasongarcia.substack.com/subscribe

Robert spoke with Professor Courtney Cahill about the recent Florida Supreme Court opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Florida. The court held that the Florida Constitution's privacy provision does not protect a woman's right to have an abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization played a major role in the Florida Supreme Court's analysis. Professor Cahill is the Chancellor's Professor of Law and the University of California, Irvine School of Law. Professor Cahill is a scholar of constitutional law, anti-discrimination law, sex equality, and LGBTQ equality. Her forthcoming projects include a series of essays on constitutional sex equality—including the constitutional sex equality argument for abortion. She is also working on a new book called Busted, which will explore the vast network of laws that subject girls and women to criminal penalties for going topless in public and sometimes in the home. Thank you for listening. Please share the podcast with your friends and colleagues, and rate and review the show.Summarily is sponsored by BetterHelp and The Law Office of Scott N. Richardson, P.A. Click the BetterHelp link (BetterHelp.com/Summarily) for 10% off your first month of BetterHelp.Send your questions, comments, and feedback to summarilypod@gmail.com.Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement for legal services.  The information provided on this podcast is not intended to be legal advice.  You should not rely on what you hear on this podcast as legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please contact a lawyer.  The views and opinion expressed by the hosts and guests are solely those of the individuals and do not represent the views or opinions of the firms or organizations with which they are affiliated or the views or opinions of this podcast's advertisers.  This podcast is available for private, non-commercial use only.  Any editing, reproduction, or redistribution of this podcast for commercial use or monetary gain without the expressed, written consent of the podcast's creator is prohibited.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating nearly 13 years broadcasting on the internet. On Friday's show, we discuss the House's spending update, and we discuss Biden's border asylum policy with William Yeatman, Senior Legal Fellow with the Pacific Legal Foundation. We visit with Professor and author James Davison Hunter about his new book, “Democracy and Solidarity.” We visit with Co-Founder of the Florida Citizen's Alliance Pastor Rick Stevens about public education choice, and we opine about the upcoming vote on the abortion amendment to the Florida Constitution. We also visit with Professor Larry Bell about the impact of Trump's sham conviction on the political landscape. Please join us for Monday's show. We have terrific guests including historian and founder of historycentral.com Marc Schulman and author Jim McTague. Please access this or past shows at your convenience on my web site, social media platforms or podcast platforms.

What is Save Our HomesIn 1992 voters approved an amendment to the Florida Constitution known as Amendment 10, or Save Our Homes (SOH). SOH is an assessment limitation, or “cap”, on increases in the assessed value of a homestead residence. Those increases are limited to 3% or the percent change in the CPI (Consumer Price Index), whichever is less. The “cap” goes into effect beginning the year after a homestead exemption is granted.Prior to SOH, taxable value, upon which taxes were calculated, was equal to market value less Homestead exemption. When the market value increased, so would taxable value and therefore, taxes. The SOH law prohibits this from happening – allowing for the maximum 3% “cap” to protect assessed value, regardless of how high market values may increase. This prevents owners from being taxed out of their homes when the market is escalating.A SOH benefit stays on a Homestead property, providing there are no ownership changes or property improvements. This can provide significant tax savings over time, especially when the market is increasing, as was seen during the real estate boom of 2004 – 2007. The table below illustrates how significant the tax savings can be with SOH. Let's assume a home was purchased for $125,000, it qualified for Homestead exemption and the Property Appraiser valued the property at $110,000 for the first year.If property sales in the neighborhood indicate an increase of 15% per year in the market value, the tax benefits due directly to SOH can be seen in the last column. Assuming a tax rate of $20/$1000 of taxable value, the tax savings over 5 years would be $3,153.12. That is a significant savings! Get bonus content on Patreon Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/pattysplayhouse https://plus.acast.com/s/pattysplayhouse. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Florida Supreme Court was busy this week in issuing decisions surrounding bodily autonomy.In twin decisions the court stripped abortion rights from the Florida Constitution—and to no one's surprise, the reason was dodgy at best—while also allowing voters to decide whether to amend the constitution so it explicitly protects abortion. In the process, the court upheld the state's 15-week ban and cleared the way to let a more restrictive six-week ban to take effect May 1.Jess and Imani try to make sense of these decisions and explain how they're related to the fight for "personhood" in the Sunshine State.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means Boom! Lawyered is only made possible with the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that's exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

The Florida Supreme Court was busy this week in issuing decisions surrounding bodily autonomy.In twin decisions the court stripped abortion rights from the Florida Constitution—and to no one's surprise, the reason was dodgy at best—while also allowing voters to decide whether to amend the constitution so it explicitly protects abortion. In the process, the court upheld the state's 15-week ban and cleared the way to let a more restrictive six-week ban to take effect May 1.Jess and Imani try to make sense of these decisions and explain how they're related to the fight for "personhood" in the Sunshine State.Rewire News Group is a nonprofit media organization, which means Boom! Lawyered is only made possible with the support of listeners like you! If you can, please join our team by donating here.And sign up for The Fallout, a weekly newsletter written by Jess that's exclusively dedicated to covering every aspect of this unprecedented moment.

The citizen-initiative process allows the People of Florida to propose amendments to the state constitution, subject to Supreme Court review. But what is the appropriate scope of judicial review of such ballot initiatives? Does the single-subject rule enable outcome-driven judicial decision-making? This panel will discuss these questions and others in the context of the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana and the Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion initiatives.Featuring:Daniel Bell, Chief Deputy Solicitor General, Office of Florida Attorney GeneralAnastasia Boden, Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato InstituteHon. Alan Lawson, Shareholder, Lawson Huck Gonzalez PLLCProf. Jonathan Marshfield, Associate Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of LawModerator: Hon. Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe, Judge, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida

During the oral argument, Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz noted that Article I, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution protects the rights of a “natural person.” Constitutional expert, lawyer, author, pastor, and founder of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver discusses the important topics of the day with co-hosts and guests that impact life, liberty, and family. To stay informed and get involved, visit LC.org. 

Mark Minck was radically impacted about 6 years ago, at a breakfast sponsored by SIRA, a crisis pregnancy center in Alachua County. His career was put on hold, as Mark guided the efforts to put a proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution as a citizen's initiative. After two election cycles, and a looming deadline, the Human Life Amendment campaign failed to hit its required signature goal. But the issues of concern remain, and in 2024, loom larger than ever before.

It's Monday, January 8th, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Adam McManus Sri Lankan pastor criminally charged for sermon comments A Sri Lankan pastor was granted bail on Wednesday, January 3rd after being jailed since December 1 on a charge of “outraging religious feelings” for comments in a sermon that appeared online, reports Morning Star News. He spent Christmas in jail. Authorities arrested Pastor Jerome Fernando of The Glorious Church in Colombo after a court had ordered officials to abstain from arresting him. He was released on a cash bail of $1,540 and two personal bails of $30,810 each. In Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” A video of Pastor Fernando's Sunday sermon of April 30th went viral on social media in May, prompting accusations that in his message he had offended religious sentiments of the Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic communities. Some media outlets stated that the pastor said in his sermon that Buddha had been “looking for Jesus,” which led to the uproar among Buddhists. Days of secrecy around Defense Secretary's hospital stay Senior Biden administration leaders, top Pentagon officials, and members of Congress were unaware for days that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had been hospitalized since January 1st, reports PBS. The Pentagon did not inform the White House National Security Council or top adviser Jake Sullivan of Austin's hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland until Thursday. The Pentagon's failure to disclose Austin's hospitalization for days reflects a stunning lack of transparency about his illness, how serious it was, and when he may be released. Such secrecy, at a time when the United States is juggling myriad national security crises, runs counter to normal practice. The Pentagon, citing privacy, did not disclose the elective surgical procedure that led to Austin's complications. Tornado in Fort Lauderdale, Florida On Saturday, a tornado appeared to touch down three times in Broward County, Florida, including Fort Lauderdale, leaving several structures damaged before it went out to sea, reports NBC Miami. Florida abortion group hopes to enshrine baby-killing In other Floridian news, a pro-abortion advocacy group has announced that its disturbing ballot measure seeking to enshrine a right to abortion in the Florida Constitution has amassed the required number of signatures, making it one step closer to appearing on the ballot this fall, reports The Christian Post. Floridians Protecting Freedom, the baby-killing advocacy group behind the push to make abortion a constitutional right in the Sunshine State, said in a statement Friday that the Florida Division of Elections verified 910,946 petitions. Isaiah 59:7 describes the misnamed Floridians Protecting Freedom group to a “t.” The prophet wrote, “Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. They pursue evil schemes; acts of violence mark their ways.” Harvard president resigns over plagiarism and antisemitism Last Tuesday, Harvard University President Claudine Gay  announced her resignation, following mounting accusations of plagiarism and backlash for her response at a congressional hearing in December to questions about antisemitism on U.S. college campuses, reports ABC News. Listen to this exchange between GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik of New York and Claudine Gay. STEFANIK: “What action has been taken against students who are harassing and calling for the genocide of Jews on Harvard's campus?” GAY: “I can assure you we have robust …” STEFANIK: “What actions have been taken?” GAY: “… disciplinary processes that are underway.” STEFANIK: “I'm asking what actions have been taken against those students.” GAY: “Given students' rights to privacy and our obligations under FERPA – [Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act], I will not say more about any specific cases, other than to reiterate that processes are ongoing.” STEFANIK: “Do you know what the number one hate crime in America is?” GAY: “I know that over the last couple of months there has been an alarming rise of antisemitism which I understand is the critical topic that we are here to discuss.” STEFANIK: “That's correct. It is anti-Jewish hate crimes. And Harvard ranks the lowest when it comes to protecting Jewish students. This is why I've called for your resignation. And your testimony today, not being able to answer with moral clarity, speaks volumes.” Gay was the first person of color and second woman in Harvard University's 386-year history to serve as president. Her tenure as president is the shortest in the school's history. Anniversary of Jim Elliot's murder in Ecuador And finally, on this day in history, January 8, 1956, five Christian missionaries -- named Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, and Pete Fleming -- were speared to death by Ecuadorean Indians they sought to evangelize. Jim had famously said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Life Magazine published a ten-page article on Elliot and his friends' mission and deaths.  Remarkably, after their murders, Jim's wife, Elisabeth Elliot, and Nate's sister, Rachel Saint, continued the evangelistic outreach to the very people who had killed their relatives. In October 1958, Mrs. Elliot, and her three-year-old daughter Valerie, went to live with the Indian tribe along with Rachel Saint. Elisabeth Elliot later published two books featuring the story of the missionaries and how God used them. They were entitled Through Gates of Splendor and Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot. In the first book, she wrote, “The other wives and I talked together one night about the possibility of becoming widows. What would we do? God gave us peace of heart, and confidence that whatever might happen, His Word would hold. We knew that 'when He puts forth His sheep, He goes before them.' God's leading was unmistakable up to this point. Each of us knew when we married our husbands that there would never be any question about who came first -- God and His work held first place in each life. It was the condition of true discipleship; it became devastatingly meaningful now.” In 2006, a theatrical movie entitled End of the Spear, was released based on the story of the pilot, Nate Saint, and the return trip of Saint's son, Steve Saint, attempting to reach the natives of Ecuador. I had the great honor of interviewing Steve years ago on Christian talk radio. You and your family can also watch a 34-minute animated Torchlighters video entitled “The Jim Elliot Story”. We have both films linked in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com. Close And that's The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Monday, January 8th in the year of our Lord 2024. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com).  Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Voting rights advocates in Florida are rallying behind a court ruling that deems Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's redistricting plan unconstitutional. The crux of this high-stakes battle revolves around North Florida's Congressional District 5. Florida Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled this redistricting diminished minority voting power, breaching the Florida Constitution. Plaintiffs are now urging the appeals court to uphold this decision, highlighting a 2015 precedent affirming the non-diminishment of minority electoral influence. The opposition, however, argues this move risks racial gerrymandering, violating the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause. They insist the new districts prioritize geographical unity, not racial composition. As we look ahead to a full court hearing on October 31, the urgency intensifies with a call for resolution by November 22. This would enable lawmakers to adjust the districts, if needed, ensuring equitable representation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 86 takes a look at how our community is governed and by whom. One of the important qualities of Florida is the concept of "Home Rule." The concept is addressed in the Florida Constitution and reserves to the cities, towns, villages and counties the responsibility to enact rules and ordinances for their residents in a way that a federal or state legislature cannot. My own entry into the political world was as a member of the City Council in Boca Raton. A five member body charged with guiding the municipality's growth and management. As I moved onto an opportunity to serve as a County Commissioner, I was succeeded by Monica Mayotte. Due to "term limits," Deputy Mayor Mayotte will be stepping away from the City Council at the end of her term in March. This episode was my opportunity to catch up with Ms. Mayotte to talk about her experience as a member of the City Council over the past 5 1/2 years and to talk about what still lies ahead for the City of Boca Raton, now boasting over 100,000 residents. I know you'll find this conversation very informative.

Personal Revival, Nation Awakening & Generational Reformation Join Brian Gibbs and Shane Tenney for this special call to action. As we continue to celebrate Roe v. Wade being overturned, we must understand that the victory is not yet complete until we see abortion eradicated from our states and beloved America. Find out what we must do in joining together for the Human Life Amendment to be put into the Florida Constitution — honoring The Author of Life and preserving and protecting all children. For all the latest on all things Victory, be sure to check out our website at https://victoryfla.com and follow us on social media. Welcome to The Torch A podcast with Brian Gibbs presenting Biblical insights and prophetic perspectives for cultural and current events in this hour. Contending for personal revival, national awakening and generational reformation.  Produced by VICTORY: A Church of His Presence and Light The Fire Ministries. Coming to you from Sarasota, Florida — Thank you for joining us. Download our app at https://victoryfla.com/app Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victorychurchfla/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorychurchfla/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/victorychurchfl/

Professor Mary Ziegler was kind enough to join me for a discussion about Florida's new “Heartbeat Protection Act,” which, if it goes into effect, will ban abortion after 6 weeks and subject abortion providers to a felony conviction punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Professor Ziegler also explains how the law could expose a person other than an abortion provider to a felony conviction. She goes on to describe the push by the anti-choice movement for “fetal personhood” and what history tells us about the concept. Professor Ziegler is the Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at the UC Davis School of Law and a nationally recognized expert on the law, history, and politics of reproduction. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times, The Atlantic, PBS News Hour, CNN, and the Washington Post. Professor Ziegler has authored several books and countless articles. Her most recent book, published in 2020, is titled “Abortion and the Law in America – Roe v. Wade to the Present.” Professor Ziegler was recently named a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow. The fellowship will allow her work on her forthcoming book, “Personhood: The New American Fight Over Equality and Reproduction.”Read the text of the new law here. Read In re T.W. here. It is a 1989 decision by the Supreme Court of Florida, which held the Florida Constitution's privacy provision prohibits government restricts on abortion during the trimester. Summarily is supported by The Law Office of Scott N. Richardson, P.A. Send your questions, comments, and feedback to summarilypod@gmail.com.Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement for legal services.  The information provided on this podcast is not intended to be legal advice.  You should not rely on what you hear on this podcast as legal advice. If you have a legal issue, please contact a lawyer.  The views and opinion expressed by the hosts and guests are solely those of the individuals and do not represent the views or opinions of the firms or organizations with which they are affiliated or the views or opinions of this podcast's advertisers.  This podcast is available for private, non-commercial use only.  Any editing, reproduction, or redistribution of this podcast for commercial use or monetary gain without the expressed, written consent of the podcast's creator is prohibited.

Moms for Liberty have really put themselves on the map in two short years. Parents have been crying out for an organisation that helps them mobilise a common sense opposition to an increasingly woke education establishment and to connect like minded concerned families. Moms for Liberty founder, Tina Descovich joins us to discuss how it started and how they have grown all over the US to become the most visible group that stands up for parental rights at all levels of government and how this could be replicated in the UK and elsewhere. Join us this episode to be inspired and please share with all the moms, dads, grands, aunts, uncles and friends out there! Tina Descovich has a long record of fighting for students and parental rights in Florida and at the national level. She was elected to the Brevard County, FL school board in 2016. She was selected by her peers in 2017 to serve as Vice Chairman and Chairman in 2018. While on the school board she was a member of The Florida Coalition of School Board Members and served as the organization's president in 2018. Tina currently serves on several non-profit boards in her community that are aimed at helping children. She and her husband Derek have five children. She is passionate about America and is dedicated to protecting liberty and freedom for the future of all children. Moms for Liberty are Moms, Dads, Grands, Aunts, Uncles and Friends. They welcome all that have a desire to stand up for parental rights at all levels of government. The founders are Tiffany and Tina, moms on a mission to stoke the fires of liberty. As former school board members, they witnessed how short-sighted and destructive policies directly hurt children and families. Now they are using their first-hand knowledge and experience to unite parents who are ready to fight those that stand in the way of liberty. Moms for Liberty is dedicated to fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government. Their vision is to see Americans empowered and thriving in a culture of Liberty. Moms for Liberty are joyful warriors who stand for truth, build relationships and empower others. Connect with Tina... TWITTER: https://twitter.com/TinaDescovich?s=20 Connect with Moms for Liberty... WEBSITE: https://www.momsforliberty.org/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Moms4Liberty FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Moms4Liberty YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2H19eKURyI364Q3Rv-o_5g Interview recorded 22.2.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Please subscribe, like and share! [0:22] Hello, Hearts of Oak and welcome to another interview coming up, this time with Tina Descovich from Moms for Liberty. We followed Moms for Liberty for quite a while. I bumped into her at an event over stateside a few weeks ago and it is really exciting what has been happening there. In two years they have grown all across the US, over 100,000 members with 270 chapters, groups all across America engaging with school boards, with schools and getting 270 or something people elected onto school boards. Really exciting. We talk about why they're there, why they're needed, their engagement with political figures. Obviously they started in Florida and you've got Governor Ron DeSantis who's a governor who understands that children must be protected from these ideologies and cannot be sexualised. So talk about how working in a state which understands that to working in states that maybe don't get that and where it's more uphill battle, mention the church and churches engagement with this issue and whether they need to become international. They've done so much in two years and it's an example to us in other countries at what can be done here where we are. So I know you'll enjoy listening to Tina as much as I enjoyed speaking with her. Tina Descovich, thank you so much for joining us today. [1:51] Glad to be here. Thanks for having me, Peter.   Not at all. Tina is co-founder of Mums For Liberty. All the links are in the description. MumsForLiberty.org and you can find her on her Twitter handle @TinaDescovich. And were going to talk about Mums For Liberty and I think I look back and you were first selected to a school board 2016. So you've been kind of involved in that whole area of engagement with our children, which we'll discuss why many parents don't. But tell us how you first got involved in that school board back in 2016. Easy enough. I have two kids at home at the time in public schools. You know, I first got engaged, like most people do, volunteering in the classroom, things of that nature. As my oldest reached middle school, I started paying more attention to what was being brought home in the curriculum and being taught and started seeing some concerning things about American history. [2:50] Started asking more questions. And then here in Florida, in the United States, they passed some law that expanded testing for children. And it was just some absurd law. It was like it was being interpreted wrong locally also. And so school districts were creating these standardized tests, that all students were going to have to take for every grade level in every class. So it was like a massive stressful standardized test for kindergartners to take gym and art. And it was really ridiculous. And so I went down and I thought, you know, I talked to the school board and they're like, And it's not us. We didn't do it. It's the state's fault. And so I called my local representative, and he agreed to meet with me. And I went down there, and he said, we didn't do that. And I said, yes, you did. Let me show you the testing schedule from our district. And he was surprised. And to make a really long story short, the whole law, the policy, the way it was out on the road was changed within 30 days. And it really empowered me, just as an average mom that had a concern, it showed me that I could make a difference. A little bit of action, a few phone calls, and taking time to explain to people what's going on, I could really make a difference in education, in government, in all kinds of ways. So when the seat came open in 2016 in my area to run for school board, by then I had all kinds of issues I was concerned about in the school district. I decided to throw my hat in the ring and run for school board and won my election in 2016. [4:19] Tell us, two years ago you co-founded Moms for Liberty and you've grown rapidly in numbers and in recognition of what you're doing. [4:31] It seems as though looking from far away here in the UK at what you're doing there that many parents were just waiting for an organisation like what you've set up for them to belong to and be part of. Is that a fair assessment? [4:47] I would say 100%. We were watching parents as COVID was happening and schools were staying closed, and parents were trying to go to school board meetings to speak out, to ask for schools to be open, to change how the classes were being streamed into their homes or to talk about forced quarantining of healthy children. You know, most everyone saw they would get their mics shut off. School boards were closing doors and not allowing them in to speak. They were changing their speaking times from three minutes to one minute or 30 seconds or not allowing them to speak at all. And it was really a problem for a lot of parents in this country. And so, you know, we kind of looked, I say we, Tiffany Justice is the other co-founder of Moms for Liberty, and she also served on a school board in Florida from 2016 to 2020. And we have the same experiences. And so when we came off of our terms in 2020, and we kind of were having some conversations and looking at what was was going on, we thought, we know how to help these people really advocate, how to articulate what their concerns are and how to really make change. And so we launched Mom's for Liberty here in Florida. Our goal, we launched January 1, 2021. And our goal was just to kind of be in Florida, help parents in Florida advocate. That's what we knew. In two weeks, we got a call from Long Island, New York. [6:04] Mom said, I really want to start a chapter. I need one here. And I called Tiffany, and I'm like, I don't know anything about education in New York. In the United States. It's very different from state to state, the laws and how education is run and who has authority and control. And so I just said, I don't know anything about it. And she said, Tina, this really isn't about me and you. This is a movement and parents need this tool to be able to organize to make change. And so we said, okay, sure, we can do New York. And now here we are a little over two years and we have 270 chapters in 44 states and 115,000 moms that are actively [6:37] fighting on the ground.   How do you connect with that? Is it mainly through the website? You provide resources? I mean tell us how you actually pull that together and make sure those members have, I guess, the tools they need to actually stand up and engage with their school. We started with no money. We started with $500 that I put forward and I bought some t-shirts that said Moms for Liberty and sold them for a 50% or 60% profit so that I could then build up enough to buy a new computer. I was thinking about it this morning actually, you know, the back bedroom $500 box of t-shirts and a 10-year-old Mac computer is what I designed our logo on and what I built our website on and it would just spin and spin and it was so painful and I remember being so excited when we finally had enough money to buy me a new computer so that I could make some of our graphics. Anyway, I digress a little bit. We worked on our website and social media. We used as a tool to [7:37] connect and recruit people. We have private Facebook groups that we would kind of meet in by chapter. But really, as we've grown, we are very well structured. We're organized by county. We have a chapter chair in each county. They register as a legal entity of Moms for Liberty. They meet in monthly chapter meetings, live meetings they're required to if they launch a chapter to actually have physical meetings where people show up. And they have an agenda to follow. They put together an agenda and it always includes reviewing what the school board is doing in your local community. And so we make sure you get eyes on that. And honestly, the minute anybody looks at a school board agenda, there's all kinds of things to stand up for and fight. So there's plenty, there's plenty there to do. We have monthly meetings via Zoom nationally where all the leaders of each organization get on and that's where we do a lot of our training. We've been traveling to states and doing state leadership trainings now that we've grown so much. And then annually we have our National Summit, which is just a, I can't even explain what our National Summit is like. We have 30 breakout sessions of training from everything, how to run from school board, how to run a campaign to issues like gender ideology, critical race theory that are facing us. We bring in experts. It's just, it's an amazing time. So that's going to be the summer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And we're really looking forward to that. [8:58] What, what was it that kind of started you on this road? Was there a particular issue? Because now we're seeing a whole mass of issues which are impinging on, I guess, parents' right to parent and the state is pushing a lot of things that many, many parents are massively concerned about. But for you, was it a certain topic that you'd seen or a paper you'd seen that sparked off, you need to get involved?   So I, when I ran first for school board, one of the four key things I ran on was parental rights because I saw then that there were real concerns about school districts and higher levels of government making decisions that parents should be making about their children. [9:43] And it was the trend was not was not in parents favour of how that was going. Once I served on school board, I learned so many other things. And I can speak for Tiffany, my co-founder, because we have the same story when we say this. Once we served on school board, we saw not only the entities like school districts and state and local governments making decisions on behalf of children that parents should be making. We saw how much power teachers unions have in making decisions on behalf of children and families. And it was, it wasn't a pretty sight. Neither one of us liked it. We had to try to, and when you're serving on a school board, you can't push back against the teachers union. It's your job to be impartial. It's your job to bring everybody to the table for negotiations. There's it's really a complicated situation and you are ultimately the judge if there if the whole process goes to impasse And the district is fighting over salary with the union. [10:35] You're you have to be an impartial judge and act at that capacity So you're really cut your hands are tied on the work you can do in that area, So, you know once I was no longer on the school board I was able to I guess sing like a bird about about how government entities are stepping on parental rights and how unions are are really have way too much power in public education for a very long time. And so those are the things we focus on. Our mission, I'm not sure if I've stated that yet with you, but our mission at Moms for Liberty is to save America by unifying, educating, and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government. It's a very specific mission. We stay laser focused, and I think that's why we are so successful. We have a very clear understanding that once you lose your right to raise your children, how you see fit, once someone else is able to make decisions on your behalf that you are just adamantly against, all is lost. Like your family's lost, your community's lost, and for us, America will be lost. I think one of the strap lines used a lot is we do not co-parent with the government. I love that, because that... Makes you step back as a parent and think, well, that's true. Well, what right of the government? Because I think we have, in many countries in the West, we have entrusted our government too much and trust that they will do the right thing because you think the best of others. But I love that strap line. Would you not co-parent with the government? [12:04] Yeah, Tiffany first, I think, said that before Mom's Liberty was even born. She said it on her school board in a school board meeting one time. And so she brought that to the organization. We picked up on it. Our best-selling shirt for the first year was, we don't co-parent with the government shirt. We still have signs, and we use that, because it really defines what we're trying to say. And when we speak about it, we say, I will partner with my kids' teachers, 100%. We want to partner to help my child to be educated and be a better person. But we do not co-parent. You are not the parent. You're not the final say. I'll partner with you to make things better, but the final say is me. And I think all it does, we talk about the culture wars. There are a lot of conversation about that. And it does boil down to actually the next generation. It boils down to children, it boils down to education. And I think what you're doing is getting to the root of that where often you will see different organizations trying to fight the fires. And it's interesting what you're doing because you are trying to get to the roots of where the issue is, which is educating our children, as only when that can be solved, then we can actually begin to win this. So yeah, I think what you're doing is central in regards to that. [13:22] In America, our NAEP scores, which are global test scores, came out last year. And America's scores were dismal at best. We have the worst reading scores that we've had since the 1980s and the worst math scores that we've ever had in the United States of America. Something is terribly wrong with our education system. People have known it instinctively for a while. Nobody's been able to really articulate the problem or, you know, hasn't just just haven't done a good job at articulating the problem. And then what we saw in 2020 with a lot of riots in our cities, a lot of racial tensions happening, it became even more clear, like, something is really, what is happening? People just couldn't quite figure out, how do we get here? How do we get to Antifa rioting in our streets? And how did this happen? And Tiff and I were like, we know how this happened. And so again, how do you stay silent? How do you go home and just take your kids and make dinner when you know you have the answer? And it's unfortunate. It's unfortunate. Our schools in America are so focused on social justice. They're so focused on all these issues that have nothing to do with reading and writing and arithmetic. And it's showing, it's showing in the test scores. It's showing in the riots in the streets. And what our chapters have found when they've really dug into curriculum, and assignments that have come home. [14:51] Is that there's a lot of anti-American rhetoric in our curriculum that we're teaching children. So why are there riots in the streets? Well, for the last 20 years or so, there's been anti-American curriculum. And so the students are getting these messages in public schools for 12 years that America is systemically bad, that our systems are broken, and the only way to fix them is to break them down completely and rebuild them. Parents don't believe that. That's not what I was taught in school. It's not what I believe now. And yet I send my child off and they're being taught that for 12 straight years. And so that's why there's riots in the streets. [15:27] We have exactly the same where children are taught to hate British life, British culture, British history, British empire, that's all bad and there's a rush to rewrite it. And that focus is really strange. I guess back in the day, if you look back other generations, people got involved in teaching. People wanted to be teachers because they wanted to make sure schools were doing well in arithmetic and writing and reading and there was a focus on that. [15:58] You sit back and look at it, how has that changed from you say it is now a focus on social justice and away from the basic building blocks which it's always been, teachers wouldn't really have brought their opinions in necessarily, it was simply to make sure the children could do the best at those, the three R's we call them, reading, writing, arithmetic. How has it changed so massively from that focus?   There's a couple answers I think here. One is the teaching colleges have, I don't think a lot of our teachers recognize that these are opinions that they're teaching. This is what they've been taught. That's why I say this has been going on for decades for us to get where we are. [16:44] It's what they were taught in school now. We're a generation behind. And then it's in the textbooks and curriculum that's handed to them. And why would they think any different? And so I can really see a glaring difference between older, really well-seasoned teachers right now and the new teachers that are coming in. And the new teachers, they're the ones coming straight into the classroom and saying, and they think they're being open-minded. They think they're being more inclusive and more accepting. But the new teachers that are coming out say, please tell me which pronoun you would like to be known by, you know, and the older teachers were like, it's a boy or a girl, I'm not doing this game. And unfortunately, the older teachers are starting to retire and all of our teachers are being replaced with the ones that just came out of teaching college that were taught the right thing to do on day one, the fair and the just thing to do is really ask their pronouns, not only on the day one, but every morning because know, they can change from day to day. [17:44] We've had a massive push on that. We've had a situation which has exploded, which is the biggest gender reassignment clinic for children here in the UK, which has now been shut down. Tavistock has now been shut down. In March, there are up to a thousand parents who are taking the government to court over it. But again, I'm thinking, when I look at it kind of politically, that's all happened under, in the UK, a so-called conservative government for the last 13 years. And it's curious because you used to think a conservative government used to conserve, used to keep those traditions, and yet, a lot of this confusion has happened under them. And as much as I think I would like to lay it at the feet of the left, of Biden, of the left of the UK. It seems to be that a lot on the [18:44] supposed right have also become confused and afraid to stand up for what is right. Is that kind of what you've seen as well?   Yeah, they're not confused. They are afraid. So, and I do lay this at the feet of the left. Absolutely. That's been their agenda. They are the the ones pushing it and they are the ones that have had a plan for decades to change and reform society into this. And it is working. What you can blame the conservatives for and the average American or British citizen that just wants to get up in the morning, go to work, come home, have dinner with your family, just average normal people is they don't want to be called a bigot. They don't want to be called a homophobe. They don't want to be a hateful person. And who does? Nobody wants to be that. And most conservatives, at least in America are just like, nice, mind to themselves, maybe go to church on Sundays, just want to spend time with their family. They don't want to be attacked on social media as a bigot. And so they think, well, I'll just be quiet, let them do them, and I'll do me and it'll be fine. But they have pushed so far, so far now that we can't just let them do them. It's not even happy. It's like they're not even happy. Let them do them. They're infiltrated our classrooms, whole states here in the United States, comprehensive sex ed, I don't want to make a leap on you, but it includes gender ideology. Whole states here, state of New Jersey, has adopted that for all the students in the state of New Jersey. So that means pre-K through third, by the end of second grade, I think. [20:09] Which here is like, what, five, six, seven year olds, they have to understand the gender identities and that it can be fluid. [20:16] That's not you do you and I do me. That's you pushing what you believe in your ideologies on me and my family and my kids. And that's why the final line in the sand for us, we're here, we're at it, we're moms. And boy do our moms take the heat and the criticism. I mean, just go on our social media right now and look at the comments. I delete the ones that have profanity or are really obscene, but I leave most of them up. And they just call you all hateful, hate monger, bigot. I leave those up. And it doesn't feel good, especially and it's your local community, it's your neighbours calling you that, but it's time to stand. [20:51] I think it was, I looked at your Wikipedia page, which isn't always the wisest thing, but I did have to laugh. It said, many have described Moms for Liberty to be an extremist group and they've been designated as a hate group. And I'm wondering, what is hateful or extremist about wanting the best for your children?   You know, it's actually been upgraded. It used to to say Moms for Liberty is an extremist hate group. And now somebody invested it to say many have called them as. I'm like, oh, well, at least they know. It's getting better. The Wikipedia page used to be really, really bad. The first time I read it, I was like, oh, my heck. But I don't know how all that works. They have people that keep submitting, and I don't have time to deal with it. So it's just, I'm thankful that it's a little better than it was. But yeah, do I look like an extremist? Am I a hate group? Do I hate anybody? No. It's not even how I function in life. And most of our moms are that way. We call ourselves, I was looking for my joyful warrior hat. We call ourselves joyful warriors at Moms for Liberty. We're gonna fight like that, but we're gonna do it with a smile on our face because this is serious business, but we don't want our kids seeing us angry and miserable and hateful. Oh, that's a good way to look at it. [22:03] You looked at, tell us about kind of how states work. Cause here in the UK, our model is really, you've got within the whole of England, it's generally the same. You've got local education authorities, which would be smaller kind of areas, and they decide, and they're quite difficult to actually get into and find out what they're putting it out. In the US, you've got a clear demarcation, I guess, and more visible, which is state by state. Tell us how, kind of how much it does differ by states. [22:37] I have a question for you really fast. Are your school leaders in an area, are they elected or appointed? So we have again, completely different and I have watched the school board meetings with jealousy, a lot of jealousy and envy because we don't have that. We have a small school board of governors and small, you may have maybe half a dozen, But it's not really talked about or publicized. And I know the school one of my children are at. They say, well, there's a five-year waiting list. And it's kind of more cloak and daggers. And it's not really out there where what you do is open. And people can see it. They can engage with it. So here the parents vote. But it's not that well known or publicized. [23:25] Sounds like you need some Moms for Liberty chapters in the UK to liven this up. So here, this is a hard topic for me to talk to you in another country about because I am so passionate about America's form of government. I think it's the best there is, and so I don't want to come off as arrogant or offensive to the British form of government, but I don't know exactly how it works. Doing what you've done in two years, go for it. Say what you like. I love our form of government. So first of all, our federal constitution, it basically says that if it's not written in this document, the authority belongs to the states. And so the federal constitution doesn't talk about education. So from day one when America was born, when we broke away from you all, education belonged to the state or even more local, actually. But in [24:23] in modern America, the states have really taken a priority on that. And it looks different from state to state, which is also fascinating to watch how it's set up, how it's structured. But the one thing that's the same and it's truly American is that school boards are elected except for one state, Hawaii. Hawaii appoints their school board for the whole state. And we're working on that because that is a problem for me. That is not American. And so you elect your school board members and the laws and policies that states have put in place. It's just beautiful. I mean, here where I live, all of the curriculum, when you adopt a textbook, you have to put it out publicly for two public school board meetings. You have to notify in your local paper that there's a book that's about to be adopted for your district. You have to stop the meeting, hit the gavel and say, because I was chair of our school board, is there anyone here tonight that wants to speak about this book we're about to adopt? You know, there's much more formal language than that. And you have to pause and then, you have to ask again. By law, you have to ask twice, is there anyone here? And you have to open up the microphone and let them complain all they want or support all they want the books you're about to adopt into a school district. And it's like that all across the country. So our form of government is set up for parents to be 100% involved and drive education in your local community. [25:38] However, I served on a school board. Parents did not take advantage of that, not the four years I was there. And so, you know, I would put out, we're about to adopt a textbook and I will tell you the room would be empty. And, you know, I would put it out on social. I would shout from the rooftops, We're about to adopt a history textbook. I'm just a school board member. I don't have time to review 12 years of history textbooks for every grade level before I adopt them. I need the community to be involved. I need parents to be doing this. And so it's one of the reasons we created Moms for Liberty the way we did. Now we have 115,000 moms and parents around the country that are taking the time to review these things. And they can give the feedback to their school board members. At a very minimum, they're being good citizens. They're participating in the process. And so yes, when you say you're jealous watching the school board meetings, I understand because I love it. It is, that's my like theatre. That's my Hollywood, watching school board meetings. And you're obviously in a state, Florida, that has taken this seriously. We heard De Santis, I heard him speak the first time the other week over there in Miami talking about what he is doing, his track record, and you sit back and you think, wow, it's impressive he gets it. Tell us about that political engagement, because as you say, some states get it and some states don't. [27:00] Governor DeSantis has gotten it pretty much from the beginning, at least from Moms for Liberty. So when we first launched in 2021, a lot of the districts in Florida were still force masking children. And we were looking at some other countries that weren't doing that and, you know, just our own gut instincts. And my son, who was struggling with mental health issues, and it's just, it wasn't a good fit for him. And so we just, we had, we knew a lot of moms were just really frustrated with this, that they didn't get to decide if their child was going to wear a mask or not. And so our moms, you know, they bought their first Mom's Liberty t-shirt and they would make homemade posters and they would kind of like stalk Governor DeSantis. They would show up, if he was speaking about the economy, they would show up across the street in their shirts and their signs and it would say, get these masks off our kids, Governor DeSantis. And we had political operative type people tell us that is not the way to engage with the governor. It's not the way to engage politically. You guys are never going to be successful, but you try telling a mom that she can't do that, and so everywhere he travelled around the state, our moms were showing up with these signs. And it wasn't because we told them to, It's just because [28:04] they needed to tell the governor that he needed to help them because their school districts were not listening. And, you know, Governor DeSantis took that in. He would look, see the signs, and then lo and behold, there was some press conference where he was like, uh-uh, no more of this. Parents don't want this. And so he does that time and time again. He listens. He listens to the people on the ground and what they're saying, and then he takes action. And for me, I haven't seen that in the political world happen very often. And so we in Florida are very blessed and at Moms for Liberty we have been so thankful for all he has done to fight for parents. [28:37] And can school boards push back? So they're pushing back maybe what's happening in different states and in Florida it will be easier because you have a administration or government within the state that is more understanding of that and will be just as shocked I guess. But what happens happens if it's a state that, God forbid, anyone is living on the West Coast in California, and it's more difficult there. Do the school boards still have the authority if the parents are there involved to push back on it, or is it much more of an uphill battle depending on the state? It is definitely much more of an uphill battle depending on the state, because state laws oftentimes direct what's going on at the school district level. In New York, for example, our chapters are really struggling. I mean, they're looking at forced vaccinations, you know, adding new vaccinations that they don't want their children to have. And the state [29:36] would make that law. And once they do, the school districts have to comply. In Florida, school districts derive their power from our state constitution. And so the state kind of trumps authority on most education issues. You know, they don't have the time, the energy or the patience to carry out all the laws and such that they vote in and enact. That's the job of the school board. So when you're elected to the school board position, you actually swear to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the Florida Constitution, which outlines a lot of the education laws, statutes, and policies. [30:10] But it's different from state to state. In other states, school districts have more authority than they do in Florida. They derive their power sometimes from the city or the county. It's very interesting how it's set up. And so we help our chapters navigate through that in their area. [30:25] As we've grown, there's more chapters in each state. They actually form like state coalitions and then work on these things together with resources and tools to understand what's going on and fight it.   Can I ask you a question about another political engagement? But there's another side, I guess, which is church engagement. As Christians, we would like to see the church involved. But we've certainly seen here that maybe a fifth of our schools are church schools, part of the Church of England. So it is part of, we don't have any separation church and state. Anyway, that's a whole other issue. But those, the church schools are even worse than the others. And they've jumped into all this diversity and inclusion nonsense. They want all the whole pride displays on different floors of primary school and they're pushing all of that. What's it like there? What's kind of your engagement with the churches or where do the churches fit in to actually encouraging schools or speaking truth within that environment. [31:32] So, are you saying that church schools are also state schools in England? Yeah, we have a weird mix where, I mean, traditionally schools were set up by the church, if you go back in history, and that has remained. We have a quasi-strained situation where they're set up by churches but still follow the state curriculum. So, it's a very strange mix we have in the UK, but you'd expect a church school set by the state church would actually be strong on biblical values of freedom, but actually often that is not the case and they've been as captured by the left and the diversity agenda as any other schools.   Yeah, you know, I'm going to go back to my Americanism here. It's one of the reasons we broke away from you guys was to get separated, you know, but here's the thing, we are returning back to that in a different, almost in a reverse way, because, you know, the woke nonsense is kind of a religion and it's capturing all the public schools. It's seeping over into our private schools. So for us, the religious schools are private schools. And so they can do what they want and how they want and parents pay for to attend those. And so parents [32:44] have a lot more control technically because they would say, I'm not going to give you $20,000 this year for my student to go if you keep that garbage in. And so it's a, it's a much more, you know, you can make it change quickly. But as far as the churches go here in America, you know, I think the consensus is it's been very disappointing. They, many of them, I'm not going to say all of them, but many of them are captured and have bought into this and they're scared and don't want to stand up. They hide behind churches saying that churches can't get involved in politics, they'll lose their non-profit status. So they hide, you know, we left you guys to separate church and and state, and then now they're hiding behind it to be weak, in my opinion. So that's a little bit different than the scope of Moms for Liberty. That's just kind of my personal opinion on what I'm watching here in the US. [33:35] No, no, of course. We've also found that when parents have raised these issues, actually friends of mine have told me that the response from the school has been, if you continue to oppose the gender ideology being taught in a primary school, so for five to 11-year-olds, then we will report you to social services. Those are church schools. So I guess in one way, parents will be concerned and afraid to engage with a school unless there is a backlash. Because you talk about the difference between paying for the education and not here. Generally, it's free. Paid for education is a small minority. But you don't want your child to be thrown out of a good school. And you think, well, maybe I can't get them in to good school. So I can see as a fallacy that maybe some parents just want to keep their heads down and think, kind of cross their fingers and hope it's okay. That's not really a way of dealing with it. [34:32] It's really not. And for even in the UK, like people have to organize. Your voice is always stronger together. One parent honestly can't make, I don't want to say that because I don't want to discourage people from getting involved. You should always stand up because the minute you stand up and are brave, more than likely someone will be brave with you. And then those two will be brave and then that should multiply to four and then to eight, etc. That's what we've seen in Moms for Liberty. But once you get those numbers, even if you don't vote in your school board members, but if you have a school, for example, and half of the parents are saying, this is not going to fly, people start to listen. And so the only way we're going to make change around the world is for parents to pull together and stand up and just say no. [35:17] And it seems to be a really dirty fight that we seem to have a group that are intent on how to go as far as sexually abusing children with teaching them, pushing something at them, which is not right. Whether or not you agree they're not certainly for young children, it's not right. And then you can take a conversation with older children. But that sexualized content shouldn't have any place in with young children. But then the flip side, I remember when it was over last in the US talking to a taxi driver and he was saying, you know, he was talking about the De Santis, and saying, well, you know, I think, you know, children get exposed to a lot the internet and also we need to help them understand. And I said, but do you know what they're being taught? And there's that, I guess, confusion with parents, how they deal with the onslaught of technology. And maybe they do need to learn something and I guess there's a lot of confusion when parents look at and think it wasn't like this in my day. [36:23] I think a lot of parents still don't know and they don't believe it. It's shocking. You know, even when we get called names, when we are concerned about some of these books that have pornography, they say, Oh, you just want to ban books, you guys are book burners. I'm like, Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Actually, like, look, oh, let me show you. Here you go. And so I carry it with me now. And I'm like, Oh, we don't want to ban a book. But let me show you should this be in an elementary school? And I won't do it. Because I don't know if you have any I don't know who who watches your show, but the stuff in here is pornography. It's been found in schools all across our country. It's literally children performing sex acts on each other. And it was on display at a middle school. So for 12 year olds in my community, and it's unacceptable. It is just plain unacceptable. And so call me a book burner, make a meme about me burning books and a fire in my living room. I don't care. I have no desire to ban any book. I think every book should be printed, published, sold, put it in our public libraries in the United States. You can even put it there. [37:21] But don't put it in our schools, especially when only one third of American children are reading on grade level. There is no need for this trash to be in there if kids can't even read. This literally has like, oh gosh, I can't even show you. It's cartoony drawings. You know, it's ridiculous. And yet I've seen some school board meetings of parents reading out some of this and them being told stop it because it's not acceptable to read that out with adults. Yet it is acceptable for children. I don't know how we've got to that level of confusion where adults say that's wrong with adults, but it's fine with children.   Truth is under attack. You know that. [38:01] I know that. There is no truth anymore. I mean, there is truth, but people are so confused about everything. They don't know what to believe anymore. You know, when you don't even, when the Supreme Court justice on the United States Supreme Court can't articulate what a woman is, we are in a deficit of truth. And so everything is meant to be confusing and what we need are people to stand up and say, I know what's right. I know what's wrong. I know what truth is and say it loud and clear and boldly. Look in the future and how you're growing Moms for Liberty. You mentioned about having international groups, UK groups. I mean, as you grow, you've gone much past Florida. So why stop on the US? Are you looking forward to take the model you have? Obviously with different education systems, different countries, there are different ways of tackling it, but what you've done is a model for how to take it elsewhere. Is that something you've thought about? [38:59] It is we've had a lot of requests from other countries Canada, we get like a ton of requests to start trying to need help. Yeah, Canada's in really bad shape for sure. I think we've had a couple from the UK. We've had them from all over Europe. And here's the thing, if you've got a listener that could help us figure out how to do that legally, I am open to it. I say that, but I haven't talked to Tiffany, the co founder yet. I mean, I've mentioned it to her her once, and she was like, oh, I don't even know how to do that. And so everything we've done so far, we have not known how to do, but we figured it out. Again, like Tiffany said to me when we expanded to New York and throughout the country, this is not ours to keep. This is a movement. This is not my business or my organization. It belongs to moms and parents and to truth and to reason. And so if you've got a listener that knows how to do it, please connect me to them if they reach out to you because I would gladly, slowly expand into other places if people wanted to start. I don't know if it'd be a chapter legally. I don't even know what the legal terminology would be, but I don't wanna keep the movement just to myself. [40:05] Well, certainly to our viewers and listeners, if that's something you're interested in, I would encourage you to certainly email us directly, info at heartsofoak.org or drop us a DM on any of the, you can contact Moms for Liberty directly, but certainly if you're UK based and wanna contact us, we will happily look through those and see what we can do because we've always wanted to facilitate. What are the six states or seven states you're still missing? [40:33] Alaska, no one in Alaska, apparently, is a mom's city yet. And Idaho, which is surprising. It's a pretty conservative state that has a lot of issues, but we don't have a chapter in Idaho yet. [40:47] Maine is a tough state. I know that that one is there. That's three. I'm not sure, honestly. There's some other smaller states. I don't know off the top of my head. And as you grow, you mentioned the teacher training colleges and how I guess you're engaging with the parents. But then as that grows, then you will naturally have some look at there are other areas, the education that we can bring this understanding to. And teacher training colleges, Can you see a way of how you can raise people up to begin to get more involved there or how would that work? I think that's somebody else's job. You know, we have a lot that we do and we are so overwhelmed and underfunded at this point that we try to stay within our scope. There's a lot of work we want to do, especially, you know, we have the knowledge and experience to train school board members once we work to get elected. We got 275 school board members elected last year, but we have no ability to support them once they're elected. [41:49] So different organizations like Leadership Institute have launched a training program. So luckily we were partnering with them. So once our people get elected, we're like, hey, go there and get trained. And then honestly, they need an organization because we have school board member organizations in the United States that then support school board members. But they're woke, they're completely captured. They're radicalized. And so we also need someone to build that. I mean, all these things we could do, but I just don't have the capacity, the bandwidth. I need other people to step up and really each level of this, including working with the teachers. I mean, we started here for a number of reasons. [42:28] If we can get the kids, get the stuff out of the schools at a young age, and then they get to the teachers college, if it's still woke when they get there, at least hopefully they'll be able to think critically enough to think past some of the stuff they're being taught. Okay. To finish off, probably a quarter of our listeners are US based and maybe a third of our viewers. If someone is sitting in the US and watching or listening to this and think I wanna get involved, what is the best way for that? Go to momsforliberty.org and hit join the fight. It's very easy. Okay, that is simple and straightforward. We will leave it at that.. Tina, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much for coming along and sharing with our viewers and listeners what you're doing with Moms for Liberty. Thank you. Thank you, Peter. I appreciate the conversation. Thank you so much.

Marsy's Law is a provision of the Florida Constitution that grants crime victims certain rights, among them is the right to "prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim or the victim's family[.]" Art. I, §16(b)(5), Fla. Const. A police officer is victimized while on duty. Can she claim the protections of Marsy's Law? Daniela Abratt of Thomas & LoCicero joins Robert to debate the issue. Thomas & LoCicero represents the news media, which intervened in the case. The media argues that police officers are not covered by Marsy's Law. The First District Court of Appeal disagreed. The case is now before the Florida Supreme Court. Oral argument took place on Dec. 7, 2022. This podcast is supported by Ascension Global Staffing & Executive Search.*Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and is not an advertisement for legal services.  he information provided in this podcast is not intended to be legal advice. You should not rely on what you hear on this podcast as legal advice.  If you have a legal issue, please contact a lawyer. The views and opinion expressed by the hosts and guests are solely those of the individuals and do not represent the views or opinions of the firms or organizations with which they are affiliated or the views or opinions of this podcast's advertisers. This podcast is available for private, non-commercial use only. Any editing, reproduction, or redistribution of this podcast for commercial use or monetary gain without the expressed, written consent of the podcast's creator is prohibited. 

The predecessor to the FWC (the agency name has changed over the years) was established in 1942 by an amendment to the Florida Constitution which became current Article 4, Section 9. It originally gave the Commission power over “birds, game, fur bearing animals, and fresh water fish of the State of Florida.” In later amendments to the Constitution this phrase was changed to “wild animal life and fresh water aquatic life.”   The FWC originally interpreted the 1942 language to give the agency power over captive wildlife in addition to Florida's native free wildlife. In 1960 their attempt to regulate captive animals ended up in the Florida Supreme court with Barrow v. Holland, 125 So.2d, 749, 751 (Fla 1960).  The Court ruled that the amendment did NOT give FWC power of captive animals. As a result, the Legislature stepped in and passed currently numbered Florida Statutes §§ 379.303, 379.304, 379.3761, and 379.3762 to add regulatory authority over captive wildlife to the agency's powers.   In 2007 in house counsel for FWC produced a memorandum arguing that FWC's powers over captive animals comes from BOTH the statutes and the Constitution. To the extent the power comes from the Constitution, their argument is that the agency's powers cannot be altered by the legislature except in the very limited way provided for in the Amendment, which states “The legislature may enact laws in aid of the commission, not inconsistent with this section.”   The basis for this FWC position in the memo is that changes to the Amendment language since 1942 have rendered Barrow no longer applicable law and that references to the Constitutional powers in certain subsequent cases support this interpretation.   An analysis of those changes in language in the amendments to the Constitution and of the cited cases by attorneys at Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP and concurred with by University of Florida Constitutional Law Professor Joe Little reveals that the FWC argument is flawed and that FWC's power over captive animals comes entirely from the statute, not at all from the Constitution (see https://www.jpfirm.com/news-resources/constitutional-authority-florida-legislature-ban-private-ownership-exotic-animals/ ). What the Legislature giveth, the Legislature can take away. Therefore it is clear that the Florida legislature has the authority to ban private ownership of big cats as other state legislatures have done.   WHAT CAN FLORIDA LEARN FROM OTHER STATES AND WHAT SHOULD THE FLORIDA BAR RECOMMEND TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM? https://vimeo.com/222234998/ There are only four remaining states that have no laws regarding ownership of dangerous big cats. Until 2011 Ohio was one of those known for having a very large population of unregulated exotic animals.  Then, in a horrible incident known as “the Zanesville massacre” that made national news, Terry Thompson, an exotic animal owner, intentionally released 56 dangerous animals including 18 tigers and 17 lions and then committed suicide. As dark approached law enforcement officials were forced to shoot to kill 49 of those animals. Subsequently Zanesville's Sheriff Lutz has become a strong advocate of national legislation to limit private possession of big cats (see his moving video at 4991058dae ) and the National Sheriffs' Association has endorsed a federal bill severely limiting ownership of big cats (Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R 1818/S.2990).   What renders almost all of the state laws largely ineffective is that they operate much like the Florida law that only prohibits owning the animals as pets.  I.e. they exempt anyone who has a USDA license.  This includes all of the roadside zoos who continue to keep these animals in conditions that are unnatural and cruel given what we know about how intelligent and sentient these animals are. The animals endure these conditions because, as described in detail above, trying to enforce regulations intended to protect the animals is simply not practical given the cost limitations associated with inspecting, investigating and prosecuting violators.   Fortunately the trend in state law has been NOT to exempt USDA licensees, but instead to recognize that both animal welfare concerns and public safety concerns dictate banning ownership outside of (1) the major zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, who operate under much higher animal welfare standards than the FWC or USDA standards, and (2) sanctuaries who are needed to care for the discarded or seized animals and do not add to the problem by breeding more cats. The trend toward not exempting all USDA licensees is evidenced in the laws in Washington State, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia (although the latter grandfathered in past USDA license holders who keep their licenses in force).   One logical provision common in these laws is a grandfather clause allowing current owners to keep their cats but prohibiting them from breeding or acquiring more. As a practical matter, sanctuaries have very limited capacity and there would be no place for confiscated cats to go if they were taken from all the private owners. The lifespan of these cats is 10-20 years depending on the conditions in which they are kept.  Given the average age of the current big cat population, a law prohibiting further breeding outside the Species Survival Plans managed by the AZA zoos would result in most of the privately owned cats having passed on within a decade after the passage of a law.   Awareness is rapidly growing that the often cited biblical reference to “dominion over animals” does not mean they are like inanimate objects subject to our whim to be used for entertainment or exploited for gain without concern for their natural needs. It means we have responsibility for them. Trying to regulate a large number of private owners is simply not practical. It is time for Florida, once a stronghold of inhumane roadside zoos, to catch up to the growing understanding in our society that these iconic animals do not belong in tiny cages for someone to exploit by charging the public to gawk at them, handle them, or swim with them. Florida should follow the lead of the more forward thinking states that have banned private ownership and breeding outside of the AZA zoos and sanctuaries while grandfathering in existing owners who then have years to transition out of their big cat exhibition activities.   Howie is a genius! He wrote this for Marcia to present to the Animal Law Section so they can start the wheels moving to allow for a state ban on big cats in Florida.     Hi, I'm Carole Baskin and I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  These are my views and opinions. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk  

In this second of our two-part episode, host Donna DiMaggio Berger and Marty Kiar, Broward County's Property Appraiser, continue their conversation about how properties in the county are appraised, how those appraisals can change over time and why Marty's Office is a helpful resource that all of Broward's two million residents should know about. Marty is a lifelong Broward resident himself, as well as an attorney, and has an extensive career in local politics. Marty has served on the Airport Advisory Board and the Broward County Housing and Finance Authority, and has been Assistant Town Attorney and Assistant Municipal Prosecutor for the town of Davie. He was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2006, 2008, and 2010. In 2012, he was elected to the Broward County Commission and served there for two years, and then followed that post with one year as Vice Mayor, and then one year as Mayor of Broward County. In 2016, he was elected to his current position as Broward County Property Appraiser.  Highlights Include:How does the Save Our Home amendment to the Florida Constitution work in terms of keeping property taxes low when the property involved is homestead and transporting those homestead benefits from one residence to another?If a married couple is divorcing, who is entitled to the portability?Are there times when people ask for a higher assessed value of their property?How does the Property Appraiser's Office handle improvements to real property overall? Do they check to see if Notices of Commencements are recorded, or do they wait for the homeowner to let them know?When units in a multifamily building are combined to make one, larger residence, how is the value of that combined unit assessed? How does the Property Appraiser value new construction? Is the first bite at the apple the biggest?Given the size of Florida's coastline, how can submerged land leases be acquired and what can be done to prevent leases being granted without the adjacent land owners' knowledge? Are PACE loan programs tied to real property taxes a good idea? Marty's Office created the Owner Alert program which is being applauded by similar offices in other states. How does the program prevent title fraud and property theft? What is the most misunderstood part of the Property Appraiser's role?Marty's contact information:Email: martykair@bcpa.net  Phone: (954) 357-6930Web: www.bcpa.net Office: 115 S. Andrews Ave., Room 111 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301Helpful links:Becker Lawyers | Legal and Business StrategistsFlorida Condo & HOA Law Blog | Powered by beckerlawyers.com Becker's Online Class LibraryTakeItToTheBoard.comMarty Kiar - Broward County Property Appraiser Take It To the Board: Florida Representative Dan Daley on How We Get the Laws We Get 

In the 8a hour, NewsRadio WFLA Legal Analyst Felix Vega stops by to discuss voter eligibility, the upcoming Andrew Warren vs. Governor DeSantis court battle, and Attorney General Ashley Moody's recent comments about the Florida Constitution's privacy clause. Plus, Chick-fil-A is accused of racism over a tweet and more trending stories.

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by Florida's Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez to learn more about the many incredible successes she and Governor Ron DeSantis have had in Florida. Later in the show, David Drucker of the Washington Examiner joins us to break down the week's biggest headlines and offer his insight into upcoming elections nationwide. -Jeanette M. Nuñez was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She was elected as Florida's First Hispanic Female Lieutenant Governor of Florida in 2018. She previously served as a State Representative of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018 and was named Speaker Pro Tempore from 2016 to 2018. In November 2016, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez was named Speaker Pro Tempore of the Florida House of Representatives. She served as the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and served on the Rules and Policy Committee. She was appointed Chair of the Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness. In the past, she chaired the Health Quality Subcommittee, Government Operations and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, and Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee. She began her healthcare career working at Jackson Health System in 2004 as the State Director for Government Relations and handled all aspects of the organization's state affairs. In 2006, she was promoted to Vice President of Government Relations and was responsible for overseeing the advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal level. In addition to her duties, she served on numerous boards and healthcare organizations, including the National Association of Public Hospitals Fellowship Program. In 2010, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez joined Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) as their Vice President of Community Affairs for both Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital and Medical Center. She oversaw their community outreach for 3 and half years and was responsible for a number of marketing and business development initiatives. In late 2013, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez began her own consulting firm, OnPoint Strategies. She has been working with Jackson Health System, providing them with strategic advice on service line and business development. She has also been tasked to work with the Managed Care Department and Population Health.  Over the years, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez has demonstrated her ongoing commitment to the South Florida community through her active involvement in various local organizations and professional groups. She has been involved with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Miami, WHEN, and Women in Government. In 2007, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez was named Hispanic Woman of Distinction. From 2007 – 2015, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez served on the Board of Kristi House, an organization dedicated to children who are victims of sexual abuse. Additionally, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez served as a member of the Statewide Council of Human Trafficking. The 15-member Council, chaired by State Attorney General Pam Bondi, was created to support victims of human trafficking by enhancing the available care options. Recently, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation's Report Card. She was also appointed to the Constitution Revision Commission which examined the Florida Constitution, identified issues, performed research and possible recommendations to amend the Florida Constitution. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez is a proud graduate of Florida International University (FIU) and a lifetime member of the FIU Alumni Association. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science, her Master of Public Administration from FIU, and a Six Sigma Certificate from the University of Miami. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez has served in the past as an adjunct professor at Florida International University.  She is also a graduate from Leadership Miami. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez attends Christ Fellowship West Kendall Campus. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez is married to her husband of 23 years, Adrian Nuñez, and together they are the proud parents of three children – Megan age 20; Justin, age 17; and Jason, age 12. -David M. Drucker is a senior correspondent for the Washington Examiner, where he focuses on Congress, campaigns, and national political trends. Prior to joining the Washington Examiner, he was a reporter for Roll Call, a newspaper in Washington, D.C. Before joining Roll Call, Drucker covered California politics, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, from the Sacramento bureau of the Los Angeles Daily News. Drucker graduated from UCLA with a BA in history, and spent eight years managing a family-run manufacturing business in Southern California, giving him a unique perspective on how what happens inside the Beltway affects the rest of the country. Drucker is a Vanity Fair contributing writer and regular on cable news and nationally syndicated radio programs. A native of Los Angeles, Drucker resides on Capitol Hill with his wife and two sons.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com

I'm thankful to live in paradise. Each morning I awake to the sight of Rocky Creek gently winding its way, past my house and out to the sea. It reminds me of the cycle of life and the rhythm of nature. I am grateful that today the sky is blue and I can ride my bike to work as that is my time to listen to podcasts and learn about things I need to know without detracting from the things I need to do, since I need the exercise. I appreciate people who share their expertise online so that no matter what the issue; like yesterday not being able to access voice mail on a new iPhone, someone has put detailed instructions on how to do it. Did I mention how thankful I am for such a bright and capable husband? Professor Jones, I was a law review graduate from U of M law school in 1980 back in the Soia Mentshikoff days. I went on to Harvard Business School and never practiced law, although the law school education has been extremely useful in my career. For the last 13 years I have co-managed with my wife, the Founder, a nonprofit in Tampa devoted to rescuing and providing a home for abandoned and abused big cats (tigers, lions, bobcats etc.) and working to end their abuse by changing the laws and regulations. Florida has a very unique situation in terms of laws in this area because the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission was established by amendments to the Florida Constitution and separately has a statute granting certain powers. Without all the detail, the Commission takes the position that certain of their powers come from the Constitution, not from the Statute. I read through the cases they rely on and felt their self serving position was incorrect, i.e. that the cases cited did not support their argument and in fact the opposite was true. I took my analysis to a very good law firm here. They agreed with my analysis. My next step is to run this by one or more experts in Constitutional Law. I realize that Constitutional Law most commonly probably refers to the US Constitution, but I am thinking that the same principles would apply. If I were to come down to Miami at your convenience, would you be willing to do me the kindness of an hour of your time to lay out this situation, which if nothing else I think you will find intellectually interesting, and discuss whether you would have an interest in assisting me in this matter? The outcome could potentially stop the mistreatment of thousands of big cats in captivity in Florida. Thanks for any consideration you are able to give to this request. Howard Baskin Advisory Board Chairman Big Cat Rescue Hi, I'm Carole Baskin and I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/ I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion. Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

What four (or five) creditors can foreclose and take away your primary residence? What legal authority in Florida allows a creditor to take your home? How does the Florida Homestead Laws play into this analysis? What can I do if my credit card company records a judgment against my homestead property? In this week's episode, I describe the four (maybe five) creditors that can take your primary residence through foreclosure: (1) Property Tax Collector, (2) Mortgage Company, (3) Contractor who does work on the home, (4) the IRS, and (5) your homeowner or condo association. The authority for them to do this, or more accurately, the inability of other creditors from doing this - like credit cards, hospital bills, student loans, etc., is found in the Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 4, and Florida Statutes Chapter 222. I've been able to use a "Notice of Homestead" to eliminate unsecured liens against homes, but it is not a quick process. Therefore, you want to ensure that you file and record the Notice of Homestead far enough in advance of closing for it to eliminate the lien. Some of the links mentioned in today's episode: Florida Constitution, Article X, Section 4: https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution#A10S04 Florida Statute, Section 222.01: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/STATUTES/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0200-0299/0222/Sections/0222.01.html Florida Statute, Section 222.02: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/STATUTES/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0200-0299/0222/Sections/0222.02.html Episode 15 - Florida's Homestead Exemption: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/yesnerlawpodcast/256517732-yesner_law_podcast-episode-15-florida-homestead-exemption.mp3 Episode 104 - Property Tax Portability: https://yesnerlawpodcast.libsyn.com/episode-104-property-tax-portability United States v. Craft, 535 U.S. 274 (2002): https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=1796521700192014966&q=United+States+v.+Craft&hl=en&as_sdt=40006 The Notice of Homestead procedure is found in Section 222.01 and is fairly straight forward, but if you need help, please contact our office. Please also visit our sponsor Sam Cohen for an "apples to apples" comparison of malpractice insurance if you are or if you know an attorney or title company in Florida or Texas.  Sam@AttorneysFirst.com or www.AttorneysFirst.com.  If you have any further questions for me, please reach out at Shawn@YesnerLaw.com or www.YesnerLaw.com. 

Lawmakers are kicking off the once-a-decade redistricting process, but they continue to block the public from seeing draft maps. Also, on today's Sunrise: — This first committee week, lawmakers will try to produce a plan for what's next after Florida drops high-stakes standardized testing. Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran says something better is possible. — A newly filed bill aims to make school board elections partisan. Christian Ziegler with the Republican Party of Florida says nonpartisan races are a sham. — After an intensive search, authorities say they discovered a body Sunday in Wyoming believed to be Florida resident Gabby Petito. — The Sunrise interview jumps right into a hot topic for committee week — redistricting. The guest is Ellen Freidin, campaign chair of the drive to amend the Florida Constitution to require more compact legislative and congressional districts — through Amendments 5 and 6, passed in 2010.

Mark Minck was a successful Gainesville business man whose life was turned upside down in a single morning. During a pro-life meeting, Mark sensed an undeniable call of God to go into action, and fight for the lives of the preborn. He is the state chairman of the Human Life Protection Amendment, which is a simple sentence proposal to Florida's constitution. With it, human life - from the womb, to the elderly patients, life would be protected on the basis of a heartbeat. Mark shares this compelling effort in this show.

Thank you so much for listening to the Bob Harden Show, celebrating over nine years broadcasting weekdays on the internet – providing you news and commentary based on the principles of individual liberty, personal responsibility, limited government and the rule of law. On Tuesday's show, we visit with our State Senator, Kathleen Passidomo, about the Surfside Condo implosion and about amending the Florida Constitution. Seton Motley, the Founder and President of Less Government, and I discuss government lies about the “digital divide” in order to justify funding government intrusion into the internet. My wife Linda and I discuss the election audits, and we discuss the hysteria over the new strain of Coronavirus.. We also have a terrific and entertaining visit with our weekly guest, Boo Mortenson. We have great guests lined up for Wednesday's show including the Chairman of the Cato Institute, Bob Levy, Professor Andrew Joppa, and Endowed Professor at the University of Houston and author Larry Bell. Please join us live at 7 a.m. on this website, or you can access the show anytime on podcast platforms (iTunes, TuneIn, Spotify, and Stitcher, ChoiceSocial and Vurbl).

This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Rich Newsome of Newsome Melton Law Firm (https://www.newsomelaw.com/).    Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: Orlando trial lawyer Rich Newsome of Newsome Melton Law Firm shares how he successfully advocated for the parents of deceased University of Florida student Abigail Dougherty after she was struck and killed by a Waste Corporation of America (WCA) garbage truck while riding her bicycle. On October 28, 2016, Abigail was riding her bike in the dedicated bicycle lane near 17th Street and University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida, when a 15-year veteran WCA driver made a right turn, striking the rear tire of Abigail's bike in the crosswalk. Abigail and her bicycle were pulled under the truck, dragged and crushed by the right rear tires of the 2,000-ton vehicle. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Abigail for this tragic collision, Rich convinced the jury that WCA was responsible due to its driver's negligent actions, including not checking the right-side mirrors and making a sharp turn at a high speed. In October 2018, an Alachua County, Florida jury assigned 80% of the blame for Abigail's death to WCA and awarded a sum of $12,500,000 in damages to each of Abigail's parents, Pat Dougherty and Anita Forester, resulting in a major $25 million verdict.  Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Rich Newsome Rich Newsome is the senior partner of the Newsome Melton law firm and represents people and families in complex civil litigation. After graduating from the University of Florida College of Law in 1989, Rich worked as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern and Middle Districts of Florida. Rich left the U.S. Attorney's Office in 1993 and went to work for a large product liability defense firm in Orlando, Florida where he represented manufacturers. After defending a manufacturer in a case brought by a family who lost a child, Rich felt compelled to leave the defense practice and began representing only families and individuals. Since then, for more than 25 years, Rich's practice has focused on representing people who have suffered catastrophic or fatal injuries. In 2001, Rich was appointed by the Florida Governor to the Fifth District Court of Appeals Judicial Nominating Commission and served as the JNC's Chairman during his term. He is a Past-President of the Orlando Federal Bar Association, Past-President of the Florida Justice Association, Past-Member of the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, Past-President of the Central Florida Trial Lawyers Association, and is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocacy. Rich is a graduate of the Gerry Spence Trial Lawyer's College and was invited to serve as a member of the College Faculty. Rich is a member of the Florida, Texas, New Mexico, and Oregon Bar Associations. In 2016, Rich was selected as the “Orlando Personal Injury Lawyer of the Year” by Best Lawyers, a peer-review publication. In 2015, Rich received the Steven C. Sharpe Public Service Award from the American Association for Justice, in recognition of his representation of Corey Burdick who was severely injured by a defective Takata airbag. The Steven C. Sharpe Award is awarded annually to one attorney and their client. In 2017, Rich was appointed to the Constitution Revision Commission by Richard Corcoran, the Speaker of Florida's House of Representatives. The 37 member Commission drafted and submitted 32 amendments to the Florida Constitution which were placed on the ballot and approved by Florida voters to be part of the Florida Constitution in November 2018. In 2019, Rich was recognized by the National Law Journal as having won two of the Nation's 100 largest verdicts in 2018. Rich is a member of the Summit Council, a national group of America's best plaintiff trial lawyers. Membership is limited to less than thirty trial lawyers from across the country, is by invitation only, and is extended to lawyers who have a proven record of large jury verdicts and are recognized as leaders of the national plaintiffs bar. Rich is a founding faculty member of Trial School, Inc., a not-for-profit organization that seeks to foster collaboration between lawyers on today's best trial advocacy methods and to provide free education and practice for trial lawyers who exclusively represent people and families. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services -LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

We're less than a week away from the November elections and if you're one of the 255,485 people that have yet to return their ballots or haven't voted in person yet, then this voter guide is for you! I review key local elections for our county as well as the proposed Florida Constitution amendments and Miami-Dade county referendums. Below is the breakdown so you can skip over to the parts that interest you the most: Amendments: 00:01:20 Referendum: 00:28:00 Congress District 26: 00:32:00 Congress District 27: 00:38:50 County Commissioner District 3: 00:45:20 County Commissioner District 5: 00:54:19 County Commissioner District 9: 00:58:50 County Mayor: 01:03:07 Remember you have until November 1st 7 pm to vote early where you can vote in person or drop off your mail in ballot (do not mail your ballot, its too late to be counted, drop it off at an early voting site or at the Department of Elections before November 3 at 7 pm). Connect: Follow @miamitalkspolitics: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miamitalkspolitics/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miamitalkspolitics E-mail: miamitalkspolitics@gmail.com Let me know if you want to see more videos on local elections and issues, political analysis, or explanations of political processes. Don't forget to subscribe, and please keep all comments classy and refrain from insults, we can dialogue without insulting.

Our property appraiser's office is a wealth of information for our residents. Dorothy Jacks isour current appraiser and her efforts to be fair to homeowners keeps our residents happy and promotes homeownership in our county! But the funds collected are important to our community and fund our county programs along with our firefighters and police officers. So her job is quite important and a fine line balance must take place.Dorothy wants to bring awareness to two amendments on the current ballot that are real estate related and should be supported. Amendment 5 :Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution, effective date January 1, 2021, to increase, from 2 years to 3 years, the period of time during which accrued Save-Our-Homes benefits may be transferred from a prior homestead to a new homestead.This will extend the portability from 2 years to 3 years which is a more realistic time frame and encourages families that are upsizing or downsizing to more expensive homes to make the move and save on their property taxes.Amendment 6: Ad Valorem Tax Discount for Spouses of Certain Deceased Veterans who had Permanent, Combat-related DisabilitiesThis would amend Section 6 of Article 7 of the Florida Constitution to allow a homestead property tax discount to be transferred to the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran. This would be in effect until the spouse remarries, sells or disposes of the property.This allows spouses of deceased vets to stay in their homes and not get a large property tax increase.The appraisers office has an amazing website and you can even calculate what your proposed property tax will be on a home you may consider buying or look at nearby sales if you maybe selling!https://www.pbcgov.org/papaSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=33101553" data-patreon-widget-type="become-patron-button">Become a Patron!)

My guest is Tom Hall (https://www.bishopmills.com/attorneys/tomhall/) of the Bishop & Mills (https://www.bishopmills.com/) law firm in Tallahassee. The relevant provision is Florida Statutes 26.012 (https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2013/0026.012). Appellate court jurisdiction is controlled by Article V, Section 5 (https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2013/0026.012) of the Florida Constitution. Your host is Duane Daiker (https://www.shumaker.com/professionals/A-D/duane-a-daiker), a board certified appellate lawyer in the Tampa office of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP (https://www.shumaker.com). You can reach him at: ddaiker@shumaker.com (ddaiker@shumaker.com). Please support our sponsor: Court Surety Bond Agency (http://courtsurety.com/). CSBA is the nation's leading surety agency specializing in supersedeas bonds. (877-810-5525). If you love the show, feel free to Buy Me a Coffee (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Daiker)! Please follow the show on Twitter (https://twitter.com/IssuesonAppeal), and consider subscribing and rating the show on iTunes. Special Guest: Tom Hall.

Cell Phone plus auxiliary cord to Vehicle Audio = Action Radio on your Radio! Patreon memberships:  https://www.patreon.com/ActionRadio Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/radiolegislature/ Twitter:  GregPenglis@ActionRadioGP Bill writing site:  www.WriteYourLaws.com ***** Show Notes:  5/11/20 Intro - The Rice Report.  Commentary from Milton, FL, City Councilwoman Shannon Rice.  Today we covered the upcoming special meeting of the City Council to discuss the reopening, and the continued State of Emergency.  I of course had some strong language as did Shannon over what is going on.  We have to reopen.  This is nuts.  We also got into the Governor's original executive order and the Article, Section, and Part in the Florida Constitution that makes the Governor the "SUPREME" executive authorithy in the state. We also covered bulk electric power, and putting the wires and transformers underground. 30:00 - The National Security Report, with Dr. Peter Pry.  It's hard to describe the wealth of information and the depth of coverage on todays show.  We went over the electric power grid, it's vulnerabilities, the new Executive Order from the President to protect our infrastructure.  The fisrt part of our discussion was fairly technical.  1:09:00 - Right about here we completely changed the conversation as we embarked on all the illegalities of the government lockdown during the Coronavirus problem.  I asked Dr. Pry how I can trace the paper trail by which the Leftist CDC developed an entirely new set of guidelines 3 months AFTER Trump took office.  It looks like a political set up and I want the evidence.  The rest of the conversation was simply unbelievable, cumulating in Dr. Pry describing how we are in a "Cold Civil War."

Voldemort, Doctor appts, Dems want to change the Florida Constitution and do not care about your freedom, So much in this episode.Feat: (Freddy, Chase, Dave, and Dillon)

How secure is Mar-a-Lago? Gov. Ron DeSantis' deregulation agenda clashes with interior designers; more Florida constitution hurdles. With host George Bennett of The Palm Beach Post, GateHouse state capital bureau chief John Kennedy, Sarasota Herald-Tribune politics editor Zac Anderson and special returning guest Lulu Ramadan of The Palm Beach Post.

Election Results Sheriff Wins, Now What # 61 Host Alpha Miketalks about the recent Florida election (Nov 6, 2018) which created now the position of Shierff for Miami-Dade County. Alpha gets into the history of Miami-Dade law enforcement. Alpha, educates the audience on the Florida ConstitutionRevision Commission (CRC)  Which created and place on the ballot as amendment 10 (State and Local Government Structure and Operation) 37 members on the commission, which meets once every 20 years to propose changes to the Florida Constitution, a very unique system. Members are appointed by the Governor of Florida and 3 positions coming from the Chief Judge of the Supreme Court of Florida. Ballot Summary: "Requires legislature to retain department of veterans’ affairs. Ensures election of sheriffs, property appraisers, supervisors of elections, tax collectors, and clerks of court in all counties; removes county charters’ ability to abolish, change term, transfer duties, or eliminate election of these offices. Changes annual legislative session commencement date in even-numbered years from March to January; removes legislature’s authorization to fix another date. Creates office of domestic security and counterterrorism within department of law enforcement." Where does the authority come from for a CRC, well the Florida ConstitutionSection 3 article 3, Section 4 & 11 Article 4, Section 1 & 6 Article 8. Alpha explains:The deadline is 2024 with the Miami-Dade Sheriff Office active Jan 1, 2025. Today and up to the 2025 deadline date the Miami-Dade County Commission and political elite have to decide what will the agency look like. What's Next Speed CAM #62 Reference: Miami Herald Nov 8, 2018  Miami Herald Nov 6, 2018  WLRN  MiamiTimes  @RaiderCopNation @alphamike2017 #RaiderCopNation#Leatherneck7 @o9TacticalG www.o9tg.com Test Everything 5 mintues on the Power of God Facebook  Twitter iTunes  Spotify   Stitcher  Google Play  PodBean  YouTube TuneIn  

On this edition of the Florida Round Table Yaffee interviews Jim Kallinger from the Save My Constitution Coalition, which wants to abolish the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. They discuss the amendments to the Florida Constitution that will be on the ballot in November. You'll also get our our extended take on Florida politics in the Sunshine State and beyond. We'll see you on the radio on one of our 80+ stations.Listen to the "Florida Round Table" podcast NOW!

On this edition of the Florida Round Table Yaffee interviews Jim Kallinger from the Save My Constitution Coalition, which wants to abolish the Florida Constitution Revision Commission. They discuss the amendments to the Florida Constitution that will be on the ballot in November. You'll also get our our extended take on Florida politics in the Sunshine State and beyond. We'll see you on the radio on one of our 80+ stations.Listen to the "Florida Round Table" podcast NOW!

What is Save Our HomesIn 1992 voters approved an amendment to the Florida Constitution known as Amendment 10, or Save Our Homes (SOH). SOH is an assessment limitation, or “cap”, on increases in the assessed value of a homestead residence. Those increases are limited to 3% or the percent change in the CPI (Consumer Price Index), whichever is less. The “cap” goes into effect beginning the year after a homestead exemption is granted.Prior to SOH, taxable value, upon which taxes were calculated, was equal to market value less Homestead exemption. When the market value increased, so would taxable value and therefore, taxes. The SOH law prohibits this from happening – allowing for the maximum 3% “cap” to protect assessed value, regardless of how high market values may increase. This prevents owners from being taxed out of their homes when the market is escalating.A SOH benefit stays on a Homestead property, providing there are no ownership changes or property improvements. This can provide significant tax savings over time, especially when the market is increasing, as was seen during the real estate boom of 2004 – 2007. The table below illustrates how significant the tax savings can be with SOH. Let’s assume a home was purchased for $125,000, it qualified for Homestead exemption and the Property Appraiser valued the property at $110,000 for the first year.If property sales in the neighborhood indicate an increase of 15% per year in the market value, the tax benefits due directly to SOH can be seen in the last column. Assuming a tax rate of $20/$1000 of taxable value, the tax savings over 5 years would be $3,153.12. That is a significant savings!Which property is affected?Only Homestead property that remains under the same ownership during the calendar year qualifies for the limitation.What types of property are not subject to the cap?Non-Homestead property (such as residences without Homestead, vacant land, non-residential property), agricultural property, tangible personal property as well as Homestead property that has been sold or otherwise conveyed to a new owner during the calendar year are not subject to the limitation on assessment.What about any improvements or additions to the property?The full just value of physical alterations to the property such as additions or improvements (not including normal maintenance) will be added to the property's assessment after the cap has been applied to the qualifying Homestead property.How does the limit (cap) apply?Property receiving the Homestead exemption is to be assessed at full just value the year in which the property receives the exemption. In the following year, the property is reassessed and any change from the prior year's value is not to exceed the lower of 3% of the assessed value for the prior year or the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index. In no instance may any assessment exceed full just value.Can the taxable value percentage of Homestead property ever exceed the limitation (cap) from one year to the next?Even though the assessed value increase percentage of homestead property cannot exceed the limitation, it is possible that the taxable value percentage increase of a property may exceed the limited percentage after allowable exemptions are deducted. The increase limit applies to assessed value, not to taxable value.What happens when a property is sold or otherwise conveyed to a new owner?The assessment on any property which is sold or otherwise conveyed to a new owner during a calendar year is raised to full just value according to law. The limitation will be applied to the assessed value in the first year following the year in which the new owner qualifies the property for Homestead exemption.Even if the property received a Homestead exemption under the previous owner, the limitation -- just like the exemption -- expires with a change in ownership. The new owner(s) must apply for and receive a Homestead exemption.Property taxes for new owners will be calculated on the basis of full just value of the property less any exemption(s) in that first year. Homeowners can transfer (or PORT) the difference between the assessed and market values from their previous Homestead Property (known as the Homestead Assessment difference) to another Homestead Property up to $500,000.CALCULATING PORT- call your local property appraiser You must have homestead exemption on your new property within two (2) years of your last homestead exemption AND all owners of a jointly owned previous homestead must abandon that homestead in order to PORT your Homestead Assessment 1. Non homestead bears the burden of the taxes2. Moving out of state vs. a long term home steader3. Locks in the taxesIf a person bought a home and applied for homestead exemption in June 2017, the exemption would take effect January 1, 2018. Therefore, 2018 becomes the base year. The property would then be subject to the cap for the first time in 2019. What about additions or remodels?The value of additions, remodels, etc. will be added to the capped value at the current market value and will be under the cap the next year. Example: If a pool is added, the assessed value will increase by the value of the pool in the first year and will be capped with the rest of the property the following year. Garnet & Gold We review and talk about local and not so local wine (garnet) and beer/bourbon (gold) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A parent's perspective on Florida constitution revision by Tampa Bay Times See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 2017-2018 Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) is the third of its kind in Florida history. In this episode of The Florida Bar Podcast, host Christine Bilbrey talks to Mary Adkins, author of the book Making Modern Florida: How the Spirit of Reform Shaped a New Constitution (University Press of Florida, 2016). Professor Adkins has researched the history of the 1968 Florida Constitution and its revisions. Florida is the only state in the nation that offers a process for individuals to speak directly to Commissioners to propose constitutional amendments that could potentially be placed onto Florida's 2018 General Election ballot for voter consideration.  Mary Adkins is the director of Legal Writing and Appellate Advocacy and a Master Legal Skills Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Q and A: Statute of Limitations In this episode I will discuss two states with drastically different interpretations of Statute of Limitations.  In Florida the Bartram decision ruled that every time a homeowner misses a payment, the statute resets.  In stark contrast is a New York case called Costa v. Deutsche Bank that clarified that statute of limitations will be enforced. The Bartram decision created a bad precedent where Pretender lenders (or any other Plaintiff) can look to Bartram as support for taking a pot luck shot at getting a foreclosure judgment and sale, followed by eviction. If they fail they can try again. The application of res judicata, statute of limitations and Rooker Feldman don't apply to the banks. This creates a double standard.  The ambidextrous treatment of homeowners versus the financial sector is exactly what the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution (and, the Florida Constitution) says cannot occur under guarantees of equal protection under the law. In stark contrast to Bartram was a New York decision last week called Costa v. Deutsche Bank. The court was asked whether the statute of limitations applies. It did and according to NY Law it was too late for the pretend lender to take action.  Get a consult! 202-838-6345 or https://www.vcita.com/v/lendinglies THIS DISCUSSION IS NOT A LEGAL OPINION UPON WHICH YOU CAN RELY IN ANY INDIVIDUAL CASE.  

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Leadership Lyceum: A CEO’s Virtual Mentor “Leading Beyond Authority in Utilities: A Conversation with American Water Works CEO Susan Story” American Water Works (Ticker: AWK) is the largest publicly-traded water utility in the country, serving one of the basic human needs of about 15 million customers across 47 states, and in Ontario, Canada. The company serves, and Susan leads, in a mission-critical infrastructure sector. I have had the pleasure of hearing Susan Story, CEO of American Water, speak to industry groups on numerous occasions over the last several years.  Her speeches are engaging and carry power that moves an audience to action.  I realized that the persuasive power of her public speaking and her approach to leadership demonstrates quintessential qualities for effective leadership beyond the boundaries of the corporation that she leads. A key measure of success in the utility industry is continuously achieving safe, clean, reliable, affordable delivery of service.  These objectives are dynamic and their parameters are often dependent on public policy, legislation, and regulatory relationships.  Industry leaders, therefore, must advocate in these areas by leading and influencing beyond the boundaries of their corporations.  They must lead beyond their authority. There are three types of authority, according to the famed sociologist Max Weber. There is authority based on legal rules.  There is traditional authority, based on traditions, customs and historical precedents.  Weber posited an additional authority structure called charismatic authority. Charismatic authority is conferred on someone not by established norm or rule, but by an individual’s personal history, achievements and leadership qualities.  Weber defines charisma as possessing exceptional qualities regarded as exemplary in the eyes of his or her followers.  A utility executive leads beyond the boundaries of the corporation with charismatic authority.  Leadership effectiveness in this sphere of charismatic authority, above and beyond the corporation’s boundaries, requires unique characteristics and competencies often overlooked. There are many descriptors for the general qualities of the effective leader.  But there are very few specific frameworks for effective leadership with charismatic authority.  In 1951, Northwestern University professor Franklyn Haiman established a list of qualities desirable for a leader engaged in democratic processes. These qualities include social sensitivity, which includes a respect and concern for others, extroversion, and a belief in the value of the individual.  This sincere interest in other people is the most important attribute of this type of leader.  Other qualities include sensitivity to the basic trends and moods of the group; knowledge and expertise in the area where they are expected to lead; facility in verbalizing the ideas of a group; vitality; maturity and patience.  Susan Story has those qualities.  I think you will hear evidence of the qualities throughout my interview with her.  These attributes enable her to successfully lead and influence people beyond her corporate authority into the areas of corporate social responsibility and public policy.  Informative and Helpful Links From the September 13, 2014 The New York Times: Adam Bryant’s Corner Office “Susan Story of American Water: A Job Description Is Just the Start” https://nyti.ms/2jGgWfX   The Bipartisan Policy Center: http://bipartisanpolicy.org The Bipartisan Policy Center is a non-profit organization that combines the best ideas from both parties to promote health, security, and opportunity for all Americans. BPC drives principled and politically viable policy solutions through the power of rigorous analysis, painstaking negotiation, and aggressive advocacy.  Program Guide Susan Story Interview – “Leading Beyond Authority in Utilities”  0:30     Introduction to Susan Story, American Water and Policy Leadership 1:55     Strategic and public policy priorities for American Water 5:33     Introduction to the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) 7:06     BPC: Moving from white papers to practical legislation 7:58     BPC: Addressing aging infrastructure - Public Private Partnerships (P3s) 9:45     BPC solutions and implications on activities of American Water 11:50   Break 1 12:07   Ideal conditions state-by-state to support P3s. Fair market value, single tariffs. 15:20   Measures and approaches to addressing state-level policy matters. 16:40   Break 2 17:00   BPC: Other industries that benefit from the P3 construct 17:50   Barriers to P3s: Bonding capacity - tax-exempt bond defeasance enablers and barriers 19:45   Lyceum’s introduction to “Leading Beyond Authority” and definition of “charismatic authority” 21:06   Susan’s leadership approach to broad policy and regulatory environments. 25:32   Lyceum’s outline of effective leadership attributes for those with charismatic authority. 26:32   Susan’s approach to achieving forward progress on policy matters 28:10   Meaning and pride in our work: Herbie Sims, backhoe operator 30:45   Break 3 31:05   Susan’s vision for water and wastewater five years down the road. 34:14   End of episode and preview of Episode 9 with Pedro Pizarro, CEO of Edison International   Biography on Susan Story Susan N. Story is president and chief executive officer (CEO) of American Water, the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. In this role since May 9, 2014, Ms. Story leads a team of 6,700 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in 47 states and Ontario, Canada. She is responsible for developing the overall strategy and vision of American Water and directing its key business development initiatives. Ms. Story joined American Water in April 2013 as chief financial officer (CFO). In this role, she had responsibility for all financial functions, including directing and coordinating all company financial objectives and obligations; ensuring the integrity of financial statements; developing budgets for both annual and interim periods; developing cash management investment strategies; maintaining a financially solvent organization; leading Sarbanes-Oxley; and overseeing the shared services organization. With more than 30 years of utility experience, Ms. Story is well-versed in overseeing complex financial systems, optimizing cost structures and strengthening internal controls. Prior to joining American Water in April 2013, Ms. Story served as executive vice president of Southern Company, one of America's largest generators of electricity serving both regulated and competitive markets across the southeastern United States. In this capacity, she was a member of the company’s management council and was president and CEO of Southern Company Services Inc., with responsibilities for functional support of all of Southern Company’s subsidiaries. Previously, Ms. Story served as president and CEO of Gulf Power Company, a Florida subsidiary of Southern Company.  She has also served as Southern Company’s executive vice president of Engineering and Construction Services, where she had oversight for budgets and schedules of numerous combined cycle power plants and large environmental retrofit projects.  Ms. Story began her career at Southern Company as a nuclear power plant engineer and had increasing responsibilities in operations, human resources, customer service, corporate real estate and supply chain. She has also been an independent director of Raymond James Financial, a diversified financial services company, since 2008, and was named Independent Lead Director in February 2016. Story has a history of active involvement in community, industry, education and economic development efforts.  She currently serves on the board of directors for the Bipartisan Policy Center and as co-chair of its Executive Council on Infrastructure. She is also on the board of the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), and is a member of the Electric Power Research Institute Advisory Council and the Moffitt Cancer Center Board of Advisors in Tampa, Fla.  She was recently the national chairman for the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) and served on the board of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).  In her time in Florida, she was a member of the Florida Board of Education, appointed to the Federal Judicial Nominating Commission, appointed chair of the state's economic development public-private partnership, and was an appointee to the Tax and Budget Reform Commission, required every 20 years by the Florida Constitution. Ms. Story attended executive education programs at Duke University and Oxford University in England, and completed international business studies at Cambridge University and leadership studies at Harvard. She earned a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.  She completed additional post-graduate coursework in the Master of Finance program at the University of Alabama focusing on financial derivatives, and at the Birmingham School of Law focusing on torts and contracts. Subscribe to the podcast at iTunes: https://t.co/a70rtSiQnW or SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/thomas-linquist Follow Leadership Lyceum on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-linquist-682997 Twitter: @LeaderLyceum https://twitter.com/LeaderLyceum Email us: Thomas.Linquist@LeadershipLyceum.com Subscribe to the Leadership Lyceum at iTunes which will enable future content to come to you automatically. Rate us and spread the word among your fellow executives and board colleagues.  Your host Thomas B. Linquist is a Partner at a leading global executive search firm. Over his 15 years in management and leadership consulting he has served a wide array of industrial clients.  This includes leadership assessment and search for chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and boards of directors.  He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and over his 25-year career has served in a variety of roles: as an engineer with Shell Oil Company, a banker with ABN AMRO Bank, and as treasurer was the youngest corporate officer in the 150+ year history at Peoples Energy Company in Chicago.  He is an expert on hiring and promotion decisions and leadership development.  Over the course of his search career, he has interviewed thousands of leaders.  Copyright 2016 by The Leadership Lyceum LLC

PNN - The Media Merengue We talk with our political commentator Brook Hines we start our discussions in Florida  then we are joined by a special guest Reid Friedson, PhD was Visiting English Speaking Union (ESU) Scholar at the University of Oxford and James Madison Memorial Foundation Constitutional History Teaching Fellow at George Mason University. A leading grassroots movement activist since 1988, Dr. Friedson organized amendment of the Florida Constitution in 2010.  In 2013, with the aid of social media, Dr. Friedson established the Adjunct Faculty Union (AFU) in 32 states and 6 countries. A professor of comparative government in the United States and Jamaica, Dr. Friedson was public educator on Capitol Hill with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Legislative Headquarters. We will then entertain a regular guest Professor Wendy Lynn Lee who will discuss the media and the upcoming "Faux Debate" .  Then our final Guest of the night Jon Stout founder of Free Speech TV - He will address the work of FREE SPEECH TV and the future on News in the decades ahead TUNE IN - Live 7pm (Eastern) Sunday Sept. 25th - or Anytime

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