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T H E C A B I N E T
S T A T E O F F L O R I D A
_____________________________________________________
Representing:
DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
The above agencies came to be heard before
THE FLORIDA CABINET, Honorable Governor Bush presiding,
in the Cabinet Meeting Room, LL-03, The Capitol,
Tallahassee, Florida, on Tuesday, March 25, 2003
commencing at approximately 9:40 a.m.
Reported by:
SANDRA L. NARGIZ
Registered Professional Reporter
Registered Merit Reporter
Certified Realtime Reporter
ACCURATE STENOTYPE REPORTERS, INC.
100 SALEM COURT
TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301 (850)878-2221
2
APPEARANCES:
Representing the Florida Cabinet:
JEB BUSH
Governor
CHARLES H. BRONSON
Commissioner of Agriculture
CHARLIE CRIST
Attorney General
TOM GALLAGHER
Chief Financial Officer
* * *
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I N D E X
ITEM ACTION PAGE
DIVISION OF BOND FINANCE
(Presented by J. Ben Watkins, II)
1 Approved 6
2 Withdrawn 6
3 Approved 6
4 Approved 7
5 Report 7
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION
(Presented by Robert Tornillo)
ITEM ACTION
1 Appointment 13
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
(Presented by James Zingale)
ITEM ACTION
1 Approved 14
2 Approved 14
3 Approved 14
4 Approved 14
5 Approved 15
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
(Presented by David Struhs)
ITEM ACTION
1 Deferred 17
2 Deferred 18
3 Withdrawn 19
4 Withdrawn 19
5 Withdrawn 19
6 Approved 20
7 Approved 22
8 Deferred 22
9 Deferred 22
10 Approved 44
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STATE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
(Presented by Coleman Stipanovich)
ITEM ACTION PAGE
1 Approved 45
2 Approved 45
3 Approved 46
4 Report 46
5 Approved 55
CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER 56
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 (The agenda items commenced at 9:40 a.m.)
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: The next Cabinet meeting is
4 Tuesday, April 8, 2003. I thought I would give
5 the Cabinet members an update on the Cabinet
6 voting status in the legislature.
7 I have some good news. We asked the
8 legislature to clarify some of the voting
9 requirements; it's on the calendar of both
10 chambers, legislation in Senate Bill 1488 in
11 the Senate, and it's broken into two parts in
12 the House, House Bill 739 and House Bill 1627.
13 And these bills address the voting
14 requirement necessary when dealing with
15 state-owned lands, certain actions by the
16 Administration Commission and actions taken by
17 the Clemency Board in addition to cleanup
18 matters.
19 So all is well. It looks like, if
20 possible, these bills will pass by the end of
21 this week; if not it will pass next week, so
22 the next Cabinet meeting I think we'll have --
23 well, you never know. So we are in the
24 sausage-making phase of the sessions, but we
25 are hopeful the next Cabinet meeting we'll have
6
1 these issues resolved. I am sure there is some
2 people in Broward County that will be happy.
3 Division of Bond Finance.
4 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
5 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
6 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
7 objection, the motion passes.
8 MR. WATKINS: Governor, I would like to
9 request withdrawal of item number 2.
10 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to withdraw.
11 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
12 GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion to withdraw
13 and a second, the item is withdrawn.
14 MR. WATKINS: Item number 3 is a resolution
15 authorizing the issuance of up to $24,045,000 in
16 Housing Revenue Bonds for Florida Atlantic
17 University.
18 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion.
19 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
21 objection, the item passes.
22 MR. WATKINS: Item number 4 is report of
23 award on competitive sale of $445,980,000 of
24 Refunding Bonds for the Turnpike System.
25 The bonds were awarded to the low bidder
7
1 at a true interest cost of 3.85 percent,
2 generating a gross savings, debt service
3 savings of 60.4 million or 43.8 million on a
4 present value basis.
5 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 4.
6 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
7 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
8 objection, the item passes.
9 MR. WATKINS: Item number 5 is a report of
10 award on the competitive sale of 74,575,000 of
11 Save Our Coast Refunding Bonds.
12 The bonds were awarded to the low bidder
13 at a true interest cost of 2.43 percent,
14 generating gross debt service savings of
15 approximately seven and a half million dollars
16 or 6.6 million on a present value basis.
17 CFO GALLAGHER: Ben, how did we get such a
18 good rate on the bonds for the Save Our Coast as
19 opposed to DOT?
20 MR. WATKINS: They are both great rates.
21 CFO GALLAGHER: I understand that. One is
22 even greater.
23 MR. WATKINS: The turnpike loan was a 20-year
24 maturity structure; that was the remaining life of
25 the loan on the bonds we issued. On the Save Our
8
1 Coast loan, it was only a 10-year maturity
2 structure. So one was a 10-year loan and one was
3 a 20-year loan.
4 CFO GALLAGHER: I knew there was a good
5 reason.
6 MR. WATKINS: By way of review, our emphasis
7 and our focus and our priorities have been over
8 the last quarter to get deals ready to bring to
9 market to take advantage of interest rates. In
10 the last three months, we have executed seven
11 transactions, totalling $840 million in principal
12 amount, just on refundings, generating a gross
13 savings of about $105 million for the state.
14 GOVERNOR BUSH: Rates have gone up now?
15 MR. WATKINS: Yes, they have, over the last
16 two weeks. Everything we could do -- everything
17 that was economically feasible to refund has been
18 refunded.
19 We had one deal that we were -- that was
20 approved at the last Cabinet meeting and the
21 market got away from us on that. Interest
22 rates have gone up dramatically over the last
23 couple of weeks. So we have done everything
24 that's economically feasible to do at this
25 point.
9
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you, Ben.
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1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Financial Services
2 Commission.
3 MR. TORNILLO: Thank you, Governor, Cabinet,
4 it's a different perspective standing in front of
5 you than it is sitting behind you.
6 We have one agenda item.
7 GOVERNOR BUSH: You want to be more specific
8 about that?
9 MR. TORNILLO: We have one agenda item, is
10 the appointment of a director for the Office Of
11 Insurance Regulation.
12 If you would like, I can go through a
13 little background history of how we got to
14 where we are today.
15 During the first advertising period, we
16 only had eight applicants who applied; six met
17 the statutory qualifications, but only one of
18 those six met what you all were looking for in
19 preferred qualifications which has some
20 regulatory experience. That was Kevin McCarty.
21 The Commission action they took on the
22 Special Cabinet meeting was to temporarily
23 appoint Kevin to a 90-day term limit; asked us
24 to readvertise the position, with that added
25 preferred qualifications in the advertisement.
11
1 We focussed in the second advertising period on
2 a lot more web-based advertising. We did
3 Monster.com, New York Times On-line, Washington
4 Post On-line and --
5 GOVERNOR BUSH: Flipdog.com.
6 MR. TORNILLO: Flipdog.com. Probably over
7 50 percent of the applicants we got were based on
8 the website advertising we did not do the first
9 time.
10 We increased the applicant pool by
11 about -- we had 55 -- 52 applications were
12 received, 45 met the statutory requirements and
13 of those 45, six met both the statutory and
14 preferred qualifications, which had two years
15 of regulatory experience within the previous
16 five years.
17 If would you like, I can read the
18 applicants into the record if you want me to do
19 that. Kevin McCarty, in alphabetical order,
20 Kevin McCarty, the current director, Office of
21 Insurance Regulation; David Parsons was the
22 Current Deputy Insurance Commissioner of the
23 State of Alabama; John Pouliot, Sr. was
24 assistant director for the Ohio Department of
25 Insurance; George Sinor, Assistant
12
1 Commissioner, Tennessee Department of
2 Insurance, who has since withdrawn his
3 application; Donnie Spann, Chief Examiner for
4 the Tennessee Department of Insurance; Kirk
5 Yeager, assistant insurance commissioner, State
6 of Colorado.
7 Several offices also left to interview, an
8 applicant who fell just shy of the two-year
9 requirement of regulatory experience, he had
10 one -- he a little over year, and that
11 individual was Bruce Heffner, who was former
12 deputy insurance commissioner for the state of
13 Ohio.
14 Each office individually interviewed who
15 they wished to, and I guess that sets the stage
16 for you today. The only requirement in voting
17 is it takes a majority of the Commission, and
18 the Governor and Chief Financial Officer must
19 be on the preveiling side.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: Any discussion?
21 GENERAL CRIST: I would like to make a motion
22 that we, unless there is discussion, that we go
23 ahead and pick Kevin McCarty as director.
24 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
25 GOVERNOR BUSH: I want to put on the record
13
1 the people I interviewed. I interviewed
2 Mr. Parsons, Pouliot, Heffner, Yeager and Kevin.
3 Any other discussion?
4 CFO GALLAGHER: No, I interviewed Heffner,
5 McCarty, Parsons, Pouliot and by phone, Kirk
6 Yeager. And I agree with my colleagues, that I
7 think it would be best for the staff if this
8 Commission were to continue with Kevin.
9 GOVERNOR BUSH: I agree. Any other
10 discussion?
11 There is a motion and second to appoint
12 Kevin McCarty. All in favor say aye.
13 THE CABINET: Aye.
14 GOVERNOR BUSH: All opposed?
15 Unanimous. Is Kevin here?
16 MR. TORNILLO: I don't believe he is.
17 GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you.
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1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Department of Revenue.
2 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
3 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
4 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
5 objection, the item passes.
6 MR. ZINGALE: We have four rule changes here
7 today.
8 Item number 2 revises procedures for
9 scheduling payment plans for tax assessments.
10 Request approval.
11 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 2.
12 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
13 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
14 objection, the item passes.
15 MR. ZINGALE: Item number 3 provides for 2002
16 law changes concerning the verification of sales
17 tax credits. Request approval.
18 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
19 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
21 objection, the item passes.
22 MR. ZINGALE: Item number 4 provides for 2002
23 law changes in the technical updates to doc stamp
24 tax, gross receipts tax, oil and gas production
25 tax and insurance premium tax. Request approval.
15
1 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 4.
2 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I have a question.
3 GENERAL CRIST: Question.
4 GOVERNOR BUSH: Yes.
5 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Governor, I want to
6 make sure now, not knowing all of these rules
7 myself verbatim, that we are -- there are no
8 issues that we are looking at today that's going
9 to require legislative -- any updating by the
10 legislative process to be able to do any of the
11 rules listed here?
12 MR. ZINGALE: No, sir.
13 CFO GALLAGHER: These are basically last
14 legislative year's implementation.
15 MR. ZINGALE: And these have been reviewed by
16 APA to ensure that it doesn't breach any
17 legislative prerogatives.
18 CFO GALLAGHER: There is a motion.
19 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
21 objection, the item passes.
22 MR. ZINGALE: Item 5 provides for 2002 law
23 changes and technical amendments to intangible
24 personal property, estate tax, and corporate
25 income tax. Request approval.
16
1 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 5.
2 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
4 objection, the item passes.
5 Thank you, Jim.
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1 GOVERNOR BUSH: Board of Trustees.
2 CFO GALLAGHER: Move to defer to May 13 item
3 number 1.
4 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion to defer.
5 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
6 GOVERNOR BUSH: And a second. The item is
7 deferred until May 13, 2003.
8 David, before we start, can I make a -- I
9 would like to recognize Nancy and Tom Struhs
10 from Pinehurst, North Carolina now. And today
11 is David's mom's 75th birthday. Where are
12 they?
13 MR. STRUHS: They are in the back of the
14 room, Governor.
15 (Applause.)
16 MR. STRUHS: We are doing our part to sure up
17 the Florida tourism economy.
18 GOVERNOR BUSH: You guys went to Disney?
19 MR. STRUHS: Yes, we did.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: How was it?
21 MS. STUHS: Wonderful.
22 GOVERNOR BUSH: Excellent. It is surprising
23 you are not living in Florida instead of
24 Pinehurst. That's a little bit of a
25 disappointment. Other than that, you have a great
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1 son.
2 CFO GALLAGHER: You are heading in the right
3 direction.
4 GOVERNOR BUSH: You should be proud of the
5 Secretary. He is, in my opinion, the finest
6 Secretary of Environmental Protection Agencies in
7 the country.
8 MR. STRUHS: You are very kind. Thank you,
9 sir.
10 I am happy to report also I was able to
11 bring one of my secret weapons to the
12 confirmation hearing this morning. And thanks
13 to having my parents there in the front row, I
14 got a 7/0 vote. It's a good technique. Maybe
15 it will work at the Cabinet meeting. Who
16 knows?
17 GOVERNOR BUSH: Probably not. You may be the
18 best Secretary, but we still have to do our jobs.
19 Good try.
20 Item 2.
21 MR. STRUHS: Recommend deferral of item 2.
22 GOVERNOR BUSH: Is there a motion to defer?
23 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Motion to defer.
24 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
25 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. The item
19
1 is deferred.
2 MR. STRUHS: To expedite this, gentlemen, I
3 would recommend a motion to withdraw items 3, 4
4 and 5.
5 These items are being withdrawn because
6 the legislature still has not acted to clarify
7 the ambiguity in terms of a super majority
8 vote.
9 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion to withdraw 3 through
10 5.
11 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
12 GOVERNOR BUSH: There's a motion and a second
13 to withdraw items 3 through 5. Without objection,
14 hopefully the next --
15 MR. STRUHS: We'll hopefully bring it back to
16 you in a couple of weeks.
17 Substitute item number 6 is a Trail
18 Project in Broward County.
19 This is approximately 6 acres in the
20 Parkland Greenway Enhancement Project. The
21 county has been a good partner with this
22 project. The purchase price for the Board of
23 Trustees is 44 percent of the approved value.
24 The Board of Trustees will take a hundred
25 percent of the title. The property was
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1 appraised or approved at 1,115,000.
2 The county purchased it for 975, and for
3 the state share of $487,500, the Board of
4 Trustees takes a hundred percent title and will
5 be then perpetually preserved as a trailhead
6 for an important greenway in this community.
7 I would point out that this project was
8 approved and reviewed by the state's Greenways
9 and Trails Council. The property itself was
10 commercially zoned 15 years ago or more.
11 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 6 or substitute 6.
12 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion. Is there
13 a second?
14 CFO GALLAGHER: It is a substitute, it's a
15 motion on substitute 6.
16 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Second.
17 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion and second
18 on item 6, substitute item 6. Without objection,
19 the item passes.
20 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on --
21 MR. STRUHS: If we could have the camera,
22 please, for item 7.
23 This item, substitute item 7, is a
24 purchase agreement to acquire 710.74 acres
25 within Estero Bay Florida Forever Project.
21
1 We recommend approval of the item. I am
2 prepared to answer any questions you may have.
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: Where is this compared to the
4 property that is in general controversy?
5 MR. STRUHS: Is it this piece here? It's
6 right here. I believe, is that correct?
7 I am sorry, it's this one right here. If
8 you can see that.
9 GOVERNOR BUSH: Do you know the status of
10 that property? They had a county commission
11 meeting yesterday.
12 MR. STRUHS: I was told it was dealing -- the
13 county commission was dealing with a different
14 piece of property yesterday.
15 GOVERNOR BUSH: They were dealing with
16 property other than the property that we did
17 not -- we rejected?
18 MR. STRUHS: I believe it was a different
19 parcel.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: Okay.
21 CFO GALLAGHER: I would make a motion on
22 item 7.
23 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
24 GOVERNOR BUSH: Any other discussion? There
25 is a motion and a second. Without objection, the
22
1 item passes.
2 CFO GALLAGHER: Moved to defer 8 and 9.
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion to defer
4 items 8 and 9 and a second. The items are
5 deferred.
6 MR. STRUHS: The final item is item
7 number 10. I would like to recognize Ms. Carroll
8 who would like to speak to this issue before you
9 take any final action. We are -- excuse me?
10 GOVERNOR BUSH: That's not your final item.
11 MR. STRUHS: Yes, it is.
12 Final item 10. Ms. Carroll would like to
13 speak to this item before you take any final
14 action.
15 We are, as you know, seeking permission to
16 exercise, if need be, the power of eminent
17 domain. In this case we think that's going to
18 be required.
19 You may recall, there are three parcels,
20 805 acres in total, all in holdings necessary
21 to complete the project in this Golden Gate
22 Estates area.
23 We have offered approximately 150 percent
24 of the appraised value, a total of
25 $1.2 million. We believe the state needs to
23
1 have a fee simple interest in the land, given
2 the fact that we will be putting it under
3 water.
4 We recommend approval of the item. I
5 believe Ms. Carroll is here.
6 GOVERNOR BUSH: Sorry you didn't get to speak
7 last week, about two weeks ago.
8 MS. CARROLL: Thank you for hearing me once
9 again. I know you heard me quite a few times now.
10 I came to you at the end of January, and
11 at that time I encouraged you not to give DEP
12 the authorization to do eminent domain on this
13 property.
14 I explained to you then the cultural
15 significance of the property. I explained that
16 the tribe uses it to conduct its native
17 cultural activities; they collect palm frons
18 there to build chickees; they collect tribal
19 herbal medicines; we had this discussion, I
20 don't want to bore you again.
21 Since that time, or at that time Chief
22 Financial Officer Gallagher made a motion and
23 sent DEP back for the purpose of looking for
24 alternatives.
25 As I had explained at that meeting, that
24
1 transferring of tribal lands of cultural
2 significance was not acceptable to the tribe,
3 it was against their tribal policy. The fact
4 of the cultural significance of this land has
5 been confirmed since that time. We have had
6 archaeologists out there, and there has been
7 historical sites found on location. There is
8 an old hunt camp there, and we are working on
9 documenting that further.
10 During the intervening couple of months,
11 it's my understanding that DEP was to go back
12 to try and find alternatives for something like
13 a land swap because, as I suggested to you,
14 other lands of similar quality and similar
15 cultural or natural significance would be
16 reasonable to offer to the tribe as an
17 alternative.
18 They, of course, would have to make the
19 decision about whether that was acceptable or
20 not.
21 Interestingly enough, when the State of
22 Florida and the Federal Government own vast
23 quantities of land in South Florida, DEP has
24 indicated an inability to make any kind of
25 recommendation of a swap. This is extremely
25
1 disappointing to us and a big surprise, as I
2 had heard over time that, well, it's difficult,
3 we are looking hard, et cetera, et cetera, but
4 to come to this point when we had such high
5 hopes of being able to do something rather than
6 have the extreme conflict --
7 GOVERNOR BUSH: Can I ask you a few
8 questions?
9 MS. CARROLL: Sure, you may.
10 GOVERNOR BUSH: What kind of swap would you
11 accept, out of curiosity?
12 MS. CARROLL: I can't answer that question,
13 and I can't answer --
14 GOVERNOR BUSH: It's a two-way street.
15 MS. CARROLL: Let me finish, please.
16 GOVERNOR BUSH: Yes, ma'am.
17 MS. CARROLL: I am sorry, I don't mean to be
18 short, I just want to answer your question fully
19 because a half answer is not the right answer.
20 I can't answer that as a person because
21 that is a decision of the tribe; that's
22 something that has to be done through a process
23 that involves the tribal leadership and tribal
24 elderly, and the tribal elders would be briefed
25 on whatever the subject offer was and they
26
1 would hopefully build community consensus.
2 GOVERNOR BUSH: Has the tribal leadership had
3 a discussion about whether a swap would be
4 acceptable?
5 MS. CARROLL: We have had that discussion.
6 They would not give an answer that any specific
7 thing would be appropriate. It would have to be
8 addressed in the case of the offer. But they have
9 indicated that they would give due consideration
10 and real effort to consider an alternative like
11 that.
12 GOVERNOR BUSH: Have they given any
13 parameters under which they would consider a swap?
14 MS. CARROLL: They have given no specific
15 parameters, but I have given an indication of the
16 types of lands that I expected to have the most
17 appeal. And I have suggested to DEP that the most
18 appealing areas would be closest to existing
19 tribal reservations.
20 For instance, I have a map here, maybe
21 this would be -- this is a DEP map. They
22 provided this to me approximately a week ago,
23 at the time when they told me there was
24 absolutely nothing in the State of Florida that
25 they could offer as a potential swap.
27
1 As you can see from the red and green
2 areas, there is vast areas that are in public
3 ownership. I cannot, as I say, I am totally
4 unable to obligate you on what the tribe could
5 do because that is just like going to the
6 legislature; you can't tell me what law the
7 State of Florida would pass, but I can say and
8 did say --
9 GOVERNOR BUSH: With all due respect, I can
10 tell you what my parameters are and what my
11 principles are and what my guidelines would be for
12 an acceptable bill. That's what I do everyday,
13 that's why I am seeking answers from you because
14 it's kind of hard to negotiate in a vacuum.
15 MS. CARROLL: Sure, and I have done that for
16 them. I have done what you described, I believe.
17 And I have suggested to them, as you can see here,
18 this is reservation land and there is an existing
19 reserve area down here. And I suggest that lands
20 in this area, where I am generally jestering,
21 which are in state ownership over this way as
22 well, are likely to be -- have some receptivity
23 from the tribe.
24 CFO GALLAGHER: Would you point out where
25 this particular piece is, so we are --
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1 MS. CARROLL: It's this one right here. It's
2 kind of small.
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: Southern Golden Gates.
4 MS. CARROLL: I guess what I want most to
5 tell you today is I guess I heard from DEP that
6 they have nothing they can offer. I think that it
7 is -- I find that difficult, I find that difficult
8 to accept. And I have got to think there are
9 other alternatives than going to war over this.
10 And I have been here again and again to try and
11 encourage alternatives, which I will in good faith
12 take back to the tribe and have them considered.
13 So I hope today you will tell DEP please
14 go back to the drawing board and try again.
15 Authorizing eminent domain would be a -- I
16 think it would inhibit discussions. I will
17 move expeditiously with anything anyone brings
18 to me. I have suggested this as something I
19 could legitimately put in front of the council.
20 I will accept their -- if there are other
21 alternative ways to dealing with this, is
22 sensitive to the tribe's cultural and sovereign
23 needs, I will take those to the council as
24 well, but selling culturally sensitive land is
25 an indictment to the tribe, I can't recommend
29
1 that.
2 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I have a question that
3 I am trying to determine total need for
4 acquisition over doing an easement program where
5 the Miccosukee Tribe has the ability to utilize
6 that property for herbal collection, and so forth,
7 without any ability, if they sell the development
8 rights, so that it stays in its natural state.
9 Do we truly need to buy it, or can we do
10 what we have done in other areas and receive
11 the development rights and yet let them still
12 use it for the collection of their herbal
13 medicines, and so forth, without --
14 GOVERNOR BUSH: This is the project where
15 the -- this is the same area, remember we
16 discussed last two weeks ago with the gentleman
17 with a homestead. So an easement that they won't
18 be able to use the property for what their
19 intended the purpose is, if it's got a foot of
20 water on it.
21 MS. CARROLL: I am not sure that -- we should
22 ask DEP because they are the technical people, but
23 I am not sure there is a foot of water. I think
24 that there is less water than that on the
25 property. I can't say one way or the other
30
1 whether your suggestion would be acceptable to the
2 tribe, but I am not sure whether or not it's true
3 they would not be able to use it for their
4 purposes. It's not like --
5 GOVERNOR BUSH: David, you want to answer
6 that?
7 MR. STRUHS: The amount of water, gentlemen,
8 is variable; it depends on the season and the
9 climatic conditions.
10 I think on average you can expect to see
11 at least 6 inches of water; could be
12 substantially more, could be less. But in
13 terms of our purposes, when we imagine 6 inches
14 of water on a land, we believe it's critical
15 for the state to have the underlying fee simple
16 ownership if you are going to have it inundated
17 to that level and that extent. That's why we
18 have taken this position.
19 I have to also, just for the record,
20 correct a statement I made earlier. I misread
21 my own handwriting. I told you the offer was
22 1.2 million. In fact it's 1. 7 million. And I
23 think there is, sir, an advantage for all the
24 parties in offering them the cash and then
25 allowing them to use that to purchase any other
31
1 lands that they would choose.
2 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Governor, I know this
3 is a sticky situation, trying to deal with one of
4 our two major tribes in Florida.
5 I do know the cultural heritage at least
6 enough that I have studied historical aspects
7 of both Miccosukee and Seminole, is they treat
8 that land differently than what you and I would
9 normally treat a piece of land as tradeable or
10 usable for what they use it for, which a lot of
11 it has to do with their heritage and their
12 medicines and other things they use it for.
13 So I know their thinking on this is a
14 whole lot different than the average person
15 thinks about a piece of land or a piece of
16 property. I want to make sure that we do the
17 right thing and that we find out for sure that
18 6 inches of water --
19 I have seen 6-inches of water on my
20 property before. And it does ebb and flow, and
21 there are a lot of things you can still use
22 that property for naturally, so I am not going
23 to discount the fact whether there may be or
24 may not be 6 inches of water on there as to
25 whether it's usable property or not. The issue
32
1 is, first of all, do we have to buy that piece
2 of land? Is it going to be --
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: For the record, 6 inches on
4 average, so --
5 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: You are going to have
6 ebb and flow; that's the point, it's going to be
7 ebb and flows. And I have not seen the
8 hydrological stage of that project yet. And I
9 would like to make sure if we are going to do
10 this, we do it the right way and we do make a
11 legitimate offer that the Miccosukees feel that
12 they can live with and that we work out these
13 issues.
14 I don't want us to get tied up in federal
15 issues, should it come down to that, and then
16 tie up a whole project and maybe have a problem
17 in Washington when the project comes down to be
18 finalized. I want to make sure we are all in
19 agreement, so that we don't have those problems
20 in the end. So I think that we need to go very
21 slowly here to make sure we are doing the right
22 thing. And I believe that Commission Gallagher
23 I believe has a motion to make.
24 CFO GALLAGHER: I do.
25 GENERAL CRIST: I want to make another
33
1 comment.
2 GOVERNOR BUSH: Commissioner Crist.
3 GENERAL CRIST: Yes. I am curious,
4 Ms. Carroll, have you been sort of negotiating
5 with DEP on behalf of the tribe?
6 MS. CARROLL: Well, I have been speaking with
7 DEP. And I have been offering them all the
8 information that I have.
9 But to date, they haven't provided any
10 alternatives to negotiate over. They have
11 asked me -- they provided me on several
12 occasions what is in state ownership, and I
13 indicated what I expect would be reasonable to
14 make an offer to the tribe about as, again, I
15 can't commit what they would accept, but I have
16 certainly indicated places that are likely to
17 be of most interest.
18 GENERAL CRIST: You are the one that I asked,
19 but what I am curious about is the notion of a
20 swap of land. And I think I was sort of in the
21 direction that was given in the previous meeting
22 of ours, if I can form a question.
23 Was there actual discussion that you or
24 someone else had on behalf of the tribe with
25 the DEP as it relates to a swap?
34
1 MS. CARROLL: What was the last part, as to a
2 swap?
3 GENERAL CRIST: As to a swap.
4 MS. CARROLL: Yeah. There was --
5 GENERAL CRIST: I am trying to get a sense
6 for the discussion and the level of give and take,
7 if you will.
8 MS. CARROLL: Sure. I had suggested that the
9 water conservation area lands might very well be
10 appropriate. They are, as I indicated before,
11 this is the -- there is the I-75 Reservation
12 there, the Miccosukee Reserve Area and Everglades
13 National Park here. So they are in and around
14 Water Conservation Area 3A.
15 We have a perpetual lease to all the state
16 owned lands. There are quite a few privately
17 owned lands in Water Conservation Area 3A, but
18 all lands which are owned by the state, the
19 tribe has a perpetual lease to those for the
20 purpose of hunting and fishing. And they can
21 dwell out there as long as they are in native
22 dwellings, and the normal cultural -- some of
23 their normal cultural uses.
24 And I suggested since the reservations
25 were right there, that they might -- that land
35
1 close to that would not be highly intrusive to
2 the state or to the activities of the
3 department.
4 Again, the tribe would have to approve
5 anything like that. But I suggested they
6 should look there. I also suggested they
7 should look anyway in the general Everglades
8 area, that would have similar quality. We are
9 not saying we don't want to swap land because
10 we hate swapping land. This is significant
11 land of the kind that meets the cultural needs
12 of the tribe; so we would like to see lands
13 which could provide for the cultural needs
14 again.
15 They suggested to me once that maybe there
16 might be some land available in Duval County;
17 that was never an actual offer, but it didn't
18 really seem like anything that would be
19 appropriate. But as I have consistently
20 offered, I will take back anything, any kind of
21 offer. I am just very disappointed there has
22 been nothing to take back to the tribe.
23 GOVERNOR BUSH: Thank you. Secretary, unless
24 there is some other questions, I personally
25 believe we ought to, given my feeling on eminent
36
1 domain is not the first, second or third -- it's
2 kind of the last, last, last, last choice, but I
3 do think that the department deserves some credit
4 at least of making a good faith offer here to
5 negotiate when the price of the property that --
6 the purchase price, negotiated price, the last
7 offer was three times higher than what the tribe
8 paid.
9 A swap is, in essence, a swap; you could
10 buy the property, sell the property and go buy
11 property and be the equivalent of a swap. If
12 you want to do a swap, we can work on that.
13 And I know it's not the intent of the tribe to
14 make money -- they make money in other ways --
15 to increase the value of this over a six-year
16 period in an area that doesn't have increased
17 development rights by three fold, shows the
18 effort that the department has made to try to
19 purchase this property at a fair price and I
20 want to be on the record with that.
21 Commissioner.
22 CFO GALLAGHER: I recognize that the
23 Miccosukee Tribe is our partner in the Everglades
24 Restoration. The tribe has a historical
25 perspective of what the Everglades has been and
37
1 is. And it's my desire that this restoration
2 project will return to a state very similar to
3 before we inhabited Florida.
4 Governor and Fellow Cabinet Members, I
5 also recognize that fee simple ownership by the
6 Trustees of the parcel for consideration is a
7 necessity for the completion of the restoration
8 project. I respect and am sensitive to the
9 access and traditional use by the tribe on this
10 parcel. And I must say, Governor, I am
11 disappointed that the agenda is considering
12 condemnation rather than exchange.
13 With that, I want to move this item with
14 the direction that staff finds a vehicle to
15 honor the tribe's traditional uses. So that's
16 a motion.
17 GOVERNOR BUSH: Is there a second?
18 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: Governor, I can
19 probably second that if we defer and let the
20 tribal council get a chance to see what we have
21 offered here in our position. That process is a
22 little bit slower than most processes, but it
23 takes Chairman Cypress to go back and work with
24 his council members of the Miccosukee Tribe so
25 that they understand everything that's been
38
1 offered to them by the state and the options, and
2 bring it back at the next regular meeting after he
3 has the opportunity to meet under their normal
4 schedule with those members. I don't know what
5 that date or time is. I am hoping it's within 30
6 days.
7 GENERAL CRIST: A point, I have been informed
8 by my staff the council meets again on Friday.
9 MS. CARROLL: It's a community meeting on
10 Friday, but all council members typically attend
11 the community meeting. And that meets the needs
12 of trying to advise the community on any offer.
13 GOVERNOR BUSH: I am not sure we will have an
14 offer by Friday. But we already heard from the
15 council of the tribe that in principle the concept
16 of a swap is acceptable, but they are not going to
17 pass judgment until they get a specific proposal
18 in front of them, which is fair.
19 So I think Commissioner Gallagher's,
20 Treasurer Gallagher's resolution fulfills your
21 concern about --
22 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I can second his
23 motion on it.
24 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion and a
25 second. Any other discussion?
39
1 GENERAL CRIST: Point. If I heard
2 Commissioner Bronson right, I think what he was
3 saying was that he can second it, if the tribal
4 council had an opportunity to review it before --
5 which sounded like a deferral to me. Maybe I am
6 wrong.
7 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I was trying to defer
8 to the next meeting after the council has a chance
9 to see this offer and understand the offer but --
10 MS. CARROLL: We did just receive the money
11 offer also I believe last Thursday, so they
12 haven't even had a chance to see that yet. So I
13 think the deferral would certainly encourage me to
14 have them a more positive response.
15 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is no offer in this
16 resolution.
17 MS. CARROLL: No, there was an offer made
18 by --
19 GOVERNOR BUSH: You take your time, if you
20 like it, you can come back to us, we won't have
21 another meeting on this, it would be great; but
22 this is just a proposal to not go through -- not
23 to go through condemnation period; because of the
24 expression of good faith of the tribe, which we
25 appreciate greatly, we should pursue the concept
40
1 of a swap.
2 And if, based on our good working
3 relationship with the tribe and our hope that
4 this good faith suggestion is sincere, we'll
5 pursue it and will ask the department to make
6 proposals.
7 COMMISSIONER BRONSON: I will second the
8 motion by Treasurer Gallagher and also make a
9 little caveat here; that that good faith needs to
10 be on both sides of the street, and some property
11 close to where the traditional Miccosukee tribal
12 area is as a swap to me is a legitimate request by
13 the tribe and not somewhere in Duval County where
14 they can't get to it.
15 GOVERNOR BUSH: That's a fair comment. I am
16 sure the Secretary is listening intently.
17 MR. STRUHS: I am listening intently, but I
18 am a little bit confused because I have to have
19 clear instructions as to what you expect the
20 department to do at this point. I am not sure I
21 am clear.
22 CFO GALLAGHER: The motion basically
23 authorizes DEP to proceed with condemnation
24 provided the staff cannot come to an agreement
25 with the tribe or a swap, or even use of the
41
1 existing property.
2 There is nothing wrong with us owning it.
3 We own a lot of property that is pretty much
4 leased to the tribe forever, and that would
5 allow us to be part of that negotiation.
6 MR. STRUHS: So the authority is to move
7 forward with eminent domain in the event we are
8 unable to --
9 CFO GALLAGHER: -- come to an agreement with
10 the tribe.
11 MR. STRUHS: Either come up with a land swap
12 or cash deal?
13 CFO GALLAGHER: Right.
14 GOVERNOR BUSH: I would give instructions, as
15 Commissioner Bronson said, that this good faith
16 stuff goes both ways, and there is a ton of
17 property. We are big; we are not Rhode Island
18 here. We have acres and acres of property owned
19 in private hands, it does not have to be
20 state-owned land; I would assume since we are
21 prepared to buy the property from the tribe, we
22 could purchase property to swap with them as well.
23 So there should be no rational reason why
24 we couldn't make proposals about properties
25 that fit the kinds of properties where these
42
1 types of thing can be grown. I can't imagine,
2 it shouldn't be in Duval County, I don't think.
3 Doesn't make any sense.
4 MR. STRUHS: I will tell you in our effort to
5 find some accommodation in a land swap, we did
6 look statewide.
7 One of the reasons it's problematic to
8 find a parcel in the Water Conservation Area to
9 the north and east of the area in discussion is
10 a variety of issues.
11 One is, of course, this water conservation
12 area will be more island than ever before as
13 holding water as a part of this restoration
14 project. So for the same reasons we are
15 looking to acquire the properties in Southern
16 Golden Gate Estates, the same reasons hold true
17 in the water conservation areas.
18 Above and beyond that, in terms of the
19 water quality issues, as you know we are as a
20 state moving forward in state and federal law
21 to establish water quality goals and criteria
22 for that part of the state. And I can assure
23 you that it keeps it much simpler if you keep
24 the number of sovereign entities in the
25 Everglades Protection Area to a minimum so we
43
1 can effect the needed regulations that we are
2 going to have to put in place.
3 GOVERNOR BUSH: I don't think the tribe's use
4 of this property would impact water quality issues
5 there.
6 MR. STRUHS: That's correct, it would give
7 them legal standing in federal court.
8 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is some property that's
9 outside the CERP area that -- just go across the
10 highway north of there, literally, you are out of
11 the area, that is one of the soon-to-be-approved
12 projects, right?
13 MR. STRUHS: To put a finer point on it,
14 there will be the introduction of new flows of
15 water, the introduction of new flows of water into
16 these conservation areas, so it will essentially
17 be a new discharge. And we are just sensitive to
18 that in terms of water quality issues and
19 regulations.
20 GOVERNOR BUSH: If you go just north of where
21 the tribe currently owns property outside of the
22 project, you are not in that area, is that
23 correct?
24 MR. STRUHS: That's correct.
25 GOVERNOR BUSH: It's a big state. I am
44
1 confident, I am confident that you can find a
2 piece of property with your very abled team that
3 will determine whether or not the tribe has good
4 faith on this, which I believe they will; and then
5 we can move on without having to condemn the
6 property, which is something that you heard our
7 Governor and Cabinet has real concern about.
8 Does that make sense? Is that not the direction?
9 MR. STRUHS: Yes, sir, we can make that work.
10 GOVERNOR BUSH: Very good. There is a motion
11 and a second. Any other discussion? All in favor
12 say aye.
13 THE CABINET: Aye.
14 GOVERNOR BUSH: All opposed. Thank you.
15 We'll see you back soon.
16 (Commissioner Bronson departs.)
17
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45
1 GOVERNOR BUSH: State Board of
2 Administration.
3 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on the minutes.
4 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
5 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
6 objection, the item passes. Item 2.
7 MR. STAPANOVICH: Approval of a fiscal
8 determination of an amount not exceeding
9 $8,020,000 Tax Exempt Florida Housing Finance
10 Corporation Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Refunding
11 Bonds. It is recommended the board approve the
12 fiscal determination.
13 GENERAL CRIST: Moved.
14 CFO GALLAGHER: Seconded.
15 GOVERNOR BUSH: Moved and seconded. Without
16 objection, the item passes.
17 MR. STAPANOVICH: Item 3, recommend approval
18 of fiscal determination of amount not exceeding
19 5,740,000 Tax Exempt Florida Housing Finance
20 Corporation Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Bonds,
21 2003 Series. It is recommend the board approve.
22 CFO GALLAGHER: Motion on 3.
23 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
24 GOVERNOR BUSH: Sounds like you are
25 auctioning. Moved and seconded. Without
46
1 objection, the item passes.
2 MR. STAPANOVICH: Item 4, Florida Retirement
3 System Choice Statistics.
4 Governor and Members, what we are doing
5 here today is giving you an update on the
6 Defined Contribution Program. Attachment
7 number 4 really summarizes that.
8 I will cut to the aggregate numbers. As
9 you know, we had a group one, state employee,
10 state university, community colleges; group
11 two, which is school districts; and a group
12 three and four which were cities, counties and
13 special districts.
14 In the aggregate we had 3.4 percent that
15 enrolled in the investment plan which amounted
16 to a total of $244,552,000.
17 And I will be happy to answer any
18 questions, Governor.
19 GOVERNOR BUSH: Any questions?
20 CFO GALLAGHER: Move item 5.
21 GOVERNOR BUSH: Is there a motion?
22 MR. STAPANOVICH: This is information only.
23 GOVERNOR BUSH: Onward.
24 MR. STAPANOVICH: Item 5, you asked some
25 couple of meetings ago, Governor and Members, to
47
1 bring forth the defined contribution budget
2 proposal.
3 This is what item 5 is for today. Again,
4 I think it was in response in terms of concern
5 about the less than projected numbers that have
6 been reached in the defined contribution
7 program. And I think that the budget,
8 relatively speaking, reflects that.
9 The 2003-'04 proposed budget continues to
10 cover under law the administration of the
11 Florida Retirement System Investment Plan and
12 Financial Guidance Program of all 615,000
13 employees.
14 The proposed budget represents a
15 45 percent reduction from the approved 2002-'03
16 budgets. That amounts to going from a
17 31.6 million budget to a 17.3 million budget
18 with a 14.4 million savings.
19 The employer contribution rate for funding
20 the PREORP would be reduced 8 basis points from
21 15 basis points for contribution rates.
22 GOVERNOR BUSH: Coleman, could I ask you a
23 question?
24 MR. STAPANOVICH: Yes.
25 GOVERNOR BUSH: How much of this is what we
48
1 refer to in Tallahassee as recurring -- the
2 31 million is a one-time expense, and how much
3 does the average run rate for expenses mean?
4 I don't think we spent a lot of money up
5 front to compare, and there was going to be on
6 going costs that -- so we are comparing -- my
7 question is, is a legitimate comparison 31 to
8 17, or would it be better to take the average
9 ongoing obligations of that first year and
10 compare it to reductions?
11 MR. STAPANOVICH: The question may be
12 answered in this reflected number. .
13 If we did nothing than revising the
14 engineering contracts and simply lived with the
15 current contract moving forward, the budget
16 would probably be in the neighborhood of
17 28 million. I suspect the difference between
18 the 28 and 32 would be that nonrecurring
19 capital outlay.
20 CFO GALLAGHER: I have a question. Why are
21 we charging an administrative fee of 75,000 up to
22 125?
23 MR. STAPANOVICH: Page 7 of the budget,
24 table 1, is what the Treasurer is referring to.
25 If you -- Treasurer, if you look at the salaries
49
1 on the first line of table 1 you will see salaries
2 are going from -- we are having one position
3 reduction, and it's going from $887,146 to
4 $605,793 or a 31.2 percent reduction; 200 some odd
5 thousand of that is what you call allocated costs.
6 For example, you had people in the defined
7 benefit plan throughout the organization that
8 had time that they spent on the defined
9 contribution plan, so part of that was an
10 allocated cost.
11 What we have done now is pretty much gone
12 strictly to fixed costs and pulled back all
13 those allocated costs. The program is in such
14 a posture now that with the eight full-time
15 employees, we feel very comfortable that they
16 can do this workload without the assistance of
17 many other people in the define benefit side,
18 thus have essentially almost no allocated costs
19 as part of that budget reduction.
20 However, there still would be about
21 75,000 -- about 50,000 of allocated costs, and
22 we literally made the subjective judgment, the
23 Chief Financial Officer was to treat that, just
24 roll it up into a fixed cost in terms of
25 administrative fees; it's easier than try to
50
1 allocate costs to administration --
2 CFO GALLAGHER: Let's say I go along with
3 that one.
4 How can you have still 250,000 in
5 additional capital outlay that needs to be done
6 if we got the first year completed? Why do we
7 need that kind of a number for fixed capital
8 outlay? What are you buying with that?
9 MR. STAPANOVICH: I have Kevin Seacrest with
10 me, the senior investment of the defined
11 contribution program. I believe that has to do
12 with information technology portals that we are
13 trying to create for, in terms of our ongoing
14 education process, where we will be using more
15 e-mail with employees and employers as well as
16 giving them their own individual site they go to
17 and have their own personalized statement posted
18 along with other information but --
19 CFO GALLAGHER: We are paying for the
20 employers to have their own sites?
21 MR. STAPANOVICH: Let me call Kevin Seacrest.
22 MR. SEACREST: The idea is that one of the
23 challenges we've got with a consolidated return
24 system with 800 brokers and unaffiliated
25 employers, we don't have a consolidated e-mail
51
1 database to communicate in a low-cost manner with
2 the employees.
3 So the idea is that we would build portal
4 mail boxes, something similar to what you might
5 see, for example, if you go to America on Line
6 where each person has their own mail box, and
7 we can post information in that mail box. The
8 cost of billing that personalized mail box for
9 each individual, all end, would be about
10 $200,000 in hardware costs and another $150,000
11 costs in programming.
12 GOVERNOR BUSH: How is that going to help
13 increase the number of people that are choosing
14 the defined contribution plan?
15 Commissioner/Treasurer Gallagher's point leads to,
16 I think, the next question; in spite of the good
17 efforts here to reduce the costs, they are still
18 out of wack with the base of business that this
19 expense would be servicing.
20 It's out of wack. You've either got to
21 cut costs more or over time people have to have
22 confidence that the defined contribution plan
23 gives them a better deal than defined benefits,
24 which it should under normal conditions. It's
25 in the best interest of certain types of
52
1 employees to embrace that retirement option.
2 They are not doing it now because of the
3 market. So --
4 MR. STAPANOVICH: That was a good question
5 and that was a challenge we had with the budget.
6 And the challenge is we still have 650,000
7 employees that we are trying to deal with on an
8 ongoing financial services basis in terms of -- we
9 are now doing financial planning workshops for the
10 employees, something that we didn't do in the
11 past. So there are a number of things in that
12 ongoing attempt to educate the 650,000 employees.
13 The expense of this is not simply for the
14 25,000 that have moved over and the additional
15 25,000 we hope to see enroll next year --
16 actually 50,000 we hope to see enroll next
17 year.
18 This has to do with ongoing education for
19 the entire Florida Retirement System and the
20 other 615,000 employees. So there is still, in
21 terms of the infrastructure, X amount of
22 workshops which have been reduced drastically.
23 We increased the amount of employer
24 workshops because we are really trying to make
25 it more employer-based as well and get the
53
1 employers involved, hoping that will work if we
2 have a point of contact and get them more
3 involved.
4 So there is just -- that may not be the
5 answer you want to hear, but it's still
6 addressing the total --
7 CFO GALLAGHER: I have a hard time taking
8 pension money and setting up web sites and e-mails
9 for everybody. Just, to me, I don't see where the
10 plus is in doing that. That's not a good
11 expenditure, in my opinion. But we can discuss
12 that, I guess.
13 MR. STAPANOVICH: Again, the intent is
14 investment retirement education, and in terms of
15 trying to find other vehicles, other avenues to
16 increase awareness about what this program is
17 about, their future retirement planning and from
18 everything we can gather --
19 GOVERNOR BUSH: Maybe you can cut -- if
20 that's a viable marketing tool, to give people
21 information for them to make informed choices,
22 clearly the education program that we spent a
23 fortune on -- not a fortune but a lot of money
24 on -- didn't achieve that result -- maybe cut back
25 by $250,000 to pay for it. I just think there
54
1 needs to be -- we've got to make some tough
2 choices here because the timing of our offering
3 couldn't have been worse, I don't think.
4 CFO GALLAGHER: I would say we are
5 spending -- we have gone from 30 million to
6 50 million in other contractor services. Most of
7 that is services and education. And to me,
8 although it didn't show good results, having
9 e-mail is not going to get people to sign up.
10 It's a person-to-person contact, it's those
11 meetings we set up. And I agree it's the wrong
12 time, but we had to do it when the legislature and
13 everybody said to do it.
14 Continuing notice, I don't have a problem
15 with that. I don't see how you are going to
16 get anybody to sign up because they are on
17 e-mail. I really don't. I just move to knock
18 out that additional capital outlay at this time
19 because I just don't think it's a plus. I will
20 move to take out the 250 and the 5, actually if
21 this is a move to 50, I move we don't do any
22 additional capital outlay.
23 GOVERNOR BUSH: There is a motion to leave
24 the capital outlay out of the budget. Is there a
25 second?
55
1 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
2 GOVERNOR BUSH: Any other discussion? All in
3 favor say aye.
4 THE CABINET: Aye.
5 CFO GALLAGHER: Second, I will approve the
6 budget as produced.
7 GENERAL CRIST: Second.
8 GOVERNOR BUSH: Motion and seconded. Any
9 discussion? The budget as amended is approved.
10 MR. STAPANOVICH: Thank you, Governor.
11 (The proceedings concluded at 10:45 a.m.)
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1
2 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER
3
4
5
6 STATE OF FLORIDA )
7 COUNTY OF LEON )
8
9 I, SANDRA L. NARGIZ, RMR, CRR, certify that I
10 was authorized to and did stenographically report the
11 proceedings herein, and that the transcript is a true
12 and complete record of my stenographic notes.
13 I further certify that I am not a relative,
14 employee, attorney or counsel of any of the parties,
15 nor am I a relative or employee of any of the parties'
16 attorney or counsel connected with the action, nor am I
17 financially interested in the action.
18 WITNESS my hand and official seal this 1st
19 day of April, 2003.
20
21
22 ______________________________
23 SANDRA L. NARGIZ, RMR, CRR
100 SALEM COURT
24 TALLAHASSEE, FL 32301
850-878-2221
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Cabinet
Affairs
