Jeb Bush in Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew
On Government Reform:
Legislative term limits strengthened Bush's executive power
Term limits were enacted in Florida in 1992 and, by a stroke of good fortune for the governor, became effective just as Bush took office, forcing out of the 2000 legislature more than half of the experienced members. This change had an effect similar to
that in other states, emptying the legislature of experience and forcing green legislators to struggle with issues so complex that by the time they began to understand them, it was time for them to leave. Throughout history, the state legislature
has been viewed as the dominant political institution in Florida and in the 1980s was described as one of the strongest legislatures in the nation. Within a few years of Bush taking office, this dominance was reversed.
The transformation was aided by term limits. Lobbyists and the executive office were the real winners in this environment and term limits gave Bush additional influence over the legislature.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by R. Crew, p.19 & 64-65
Dec 11, 2009
On Welfare & Poverty:
Proposed refusing federal money for welfare
Bush's campaign was described as 1 of fervently held ideas. "His appearances became revival meetings.and as he went from country club to country club telling stories about [welfare fraud] to his all-white audiences they would
shake their heads along with him, conjuring up their own image of what the lazy welfare mother looked like, and the color of her skin."
During his campaign Bush openly espoused a conservative "constrain the beast" philosophy toward government. He proposed to dismantle the State Department of Education and to refuse federal money for welfare.
He would have forced mothers and children off welfare after 2 years, with no provision for job training or child care beyond the small amount available at the time.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 6
Dec 11, 2009
On Crime:
Symbol of crime needs a human face on it
Many political observers say that a particularly offensive Bush TV ad was the turning point of the campaign. The ad featured a mother whose 10-year-old daughter had been murdered in 1980, 14 years prior to the campaign. The killer had been sentenced to
death but never executed, because of appeals. The victim's mother said that her daughter's killer "is still on death row and we're still waiting for justice." She then said, "We won't get it from Lawton Chiles because he's too liberal on crime."
The ad, personally approved by Jeb, proved to be a disaster for his campaign. Chiles attacked Jeb directly for it: "All my political life I have supported the death penalty, as governor I have executed 8 men." He wagged his finger at Jeb and said: "You
knew [the ad] was false. And I am ashamed that you would use the loss of a mother in an ad like this."
Bush "seemed flustered by the force of Chiles's words and responded weakly that the symbol of crime needs a human face on it."
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 8
Dec 11, 2009
On Principles & Values:
Bush family name is a detriment that limits career choices
Jeb Bush's adult prepolitical career was spent in Texas, in Venezuela, and in south Florida where most of those who followed his career say that he employed a political and business strategy long familiar to historians of the political dynasty whose name
he carries. The strategy was to exploit the Bush family name and to draw on a huge universe of family relationships, family money, and elite contacts in order to propel himself into successful careers in both business and politics.Some saw it as a
two-step procedure:
- leverage the Bush family name and a small personal investment into really big money, always provided by others, and
- if any deal goes sour, exit early with personal fortune intact, or rely on a bailout from one of
Dad's fairy godfathers."
Not unexpectedly, Jeb took umbrage at the implication that he was not a self-made man and said that the Bush family name was really a detriment to his ambitions and that it limited his career choices.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 1
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
OpEd: Foundation for Florida's Future hides campaign donors
The Foundation for Florida's Future did keep Bush in the public eye, but at some cost. It generated controversy for Bush on two issues. First, the foundation was attacked for failure to identify those who had made financial contributions, suggesting that
they were simply disguised campaign contributions. Secondly, it was criticized for the proportion of its funds it devoted to programmatic concerns.The FFF raised more than $1.7 million in 1995 & 1996, primarily in $5,000 amounts. While the foundation
released the names of its donors, it did so only in general categories related to the size of their donation. Thus in 1995 FFF released the names of 131 donors of $5,000 or more, but would not connect name to specific amounts. [That left] reporters to
ask, "Who gave $50,000, a sum 100 times greater than the $500 limit for the Bush re-election campaign?"
Jeb's foundation was also criticized for devoting far less of its resources to programmatic concerns than to administration.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 10
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
Refused to fund state agency requests for specific services
An overarching principle for governmental conservatives and for Jeb Bush was restraint in state spending. For Governor Bush this principle was defined as holding spending growth below the growth of personal income in the state.
As the governor said, "the system is geared toward spending money. That's what this whole process is about. I just don't think government, as a matter of course, should grow faster than people's ability to pay for it."
Bush pursued this goal relentlessly, using a wide variety of strategies: pressure on agency heads to limit annual budgetary requests, arbitrarily capping the monies that could be raised from service fees that were to be used for
dedicated purposes such as affordable housing; and simply refusing to fund requests from agency heads for particular services, for example, beds for county jail inmates who had severe mental illnesses.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 26
Dec 11, 2009
On Technology:
Increased transportation budget by 96% over 8 years
He promoted business development relentlessly, claiming to have made at least one business location phone call per day. He employed multiple economic development strategies: infrastructure development, locational incentives, entrepreneurial activities.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 28
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
Mature society can empty government buildings of workers
Like other governmental conservatives, Governor Bush disliked and distrusted government and promoted the idea that smaller government--combined with more privatizing of governmental services--was more efficient government.
He argued that "the most efficient, effective and dynamic government is one composed primarily of policymakers, procurement experts and contract managers." He expressed his general philosophy about government in his
2003 Inaugural Address when he stated that "There would be no greater tribute to our maturity as a society than if we make these [governmental] buildings around us empty of workers, monuments to a time when government played a larger role than it deserve
or could adequately fill."With this philosophy guiding his actions, Bush worked to diminish the credibility of government in Florida, to reduce its size and scope, and to make it more accountable to political overseers.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 30
Dec 11, 2009
On Welfare & Poverty:
Created Governor's Faith-Based Advisory Board
Governor Bush embraced with greater enthusiasm the use of religious organizations to take over activities traditionally provided by governmental agencies. Florida has a long history of working with religious based organizations to provide social services
to disadvantaged citizens.To pursue his strategy, Bush created in the Office of the Governor a Faith-Based Advisory Board designed to mobilize additional religious organizations and to encourage their participation in his efforts to make
nongovernmental organizations the primary mechanism for delivering public services in Florida. The board also provided direction to state agencies in their use of religious organizations in their work and technical assistance to the organizations in
securing grant funds from both the federal and state governments. Bush also required state agencies to create official positions--called faith-based liaisons--to help eliminate internal obstacles to the receipt of funding for religious groups.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 34
Dec 11, 2009
On Health Care:
Move Medicaid from "defined benefit" to defined contribution
Bush proposed an overhaul of Medicaid that reflected another major philosophical shift in the state's program, moving it from a "defined benefit" to a "defined contribution" basis. The proposal had two significant features. The first was acceptance of a
lump sum of money from the federal government to fund the state's program in exchange for flexibility to determine eligibility and benefits levels. The state took on the responsibility for meeting the health-care needs of its residents regardless of
whether the costs to do so exceeded the amount negotiated between Tallahassee and Washington. If costs exceeded negotiated levels, Florida would be able to use the flexibility granted by the federal government to impose benefit restrictions and cap
program enrollment in order to contain costs. This provision was designed to permit the state to more accurately predict and control its costs.The second major change was to provide each person with a risk-adjusted allotment of funds.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 38
Dec 11, 2009
On Health Care:
Provide risk-adjusted premiums (insurance vouchers)
Announced in his State of the State Address, the governor's reform was to provide each person in the program with a risk-adjusted allotment of funds (a voucher which the state called a premium) with which to purchase health care. Using this voucher,
enrollees were required to purchase a health-care plan from a participating managed-care organization. The benefit package offered had to be actuarially equivalent to the existing Medicaid benefit.To entice companies to insure some of
Florida's sickest and poorest citizens, the state proposed to cap Medicaid benefits, and set a ceiling on spending for each recipient. Managed-care companies and other health-care networks would design alternative health plans that Medicaid patients
would use. Beyond that, different managed-care networks could attract patients by offering additional services. However, patients would have a choice only among managed-care plans and no longer have access to traditional fee-for-service health care.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 38
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
Judges should respect primacy of Legislature & Executive
The governor's effort to improve his influence over the appointment of Florida judges was driven by a desire to change what Bush believed was an improper, liberal judicial philosophy. But there was also ongoing hostility among Florida Republicans about
the role they played by the judiciary in the American system of checks and balances. Bush and other Republicans regularly lamented the fact that public policy was made not only in the executive and legislative branches, but also in the judicial branch
of government.Bush personally distanced himself from the position held by generations of constitutional authorities that the three branches of government were co-equals. Bush pushed his position so intensely that the president of the Florida Bar
questioned whether he believed in the separation of powers doctrine. Pursuing his own version of this doctrine, Bush promised to appoint judges who would respect "the primacy of the legislative and the executive as policymakers."
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 61
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
Asked judicial candidates: Are you a God-fearing churchgoer?
When filling judicial position, Governor Bush and his appointees were criticized for using criteria unrelated to fitness to serve on the bench as standards for appointment. Several judicial candidates complained to a Miami newspaper that they had been
subjected to a series of inappropriate questions by one of these commissions, including whether they were active in their church, whether they thought they were "God-fearing people," how they felt about the
US Supreme Court `s 2003 ruling to strike down a Texas law criminalizing homosexual activity, and how they would feel about having the
Ten Commandments posted in their courtrooms. One candidate, an assistant county attorney, was also asked whether she "would be able to balance her duties as a single mother of twins with her duties as a judge."
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 62
Dec 11, 2009
On Crime:
Passed Habitual Offender Accountability Act
Bush's first campaign against Lawton Chiles was dominated by his efforts to appeal to the "tough on crime" constituency and to portray his opponent as "soft."
Governor Bush continued to focus support for "get tough on crime" laws. These include a variety of mandatory sentencing laws such as the 10-20-Life Act, the
Three Strikes Violent Felony Offender Act, and the Habitual Offender Accountability Act, all passed in the glow of Bush's 1st-term victory.
Despite evidence that the 10-20-Life law had no effect on the state's crime rate (Stoddard, 2006) Bush continued into his last year in office to cite these laws as some of the primary accomplishments of his administration.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 72-73
Dec 11, 2009
On Abortion:
Funded adoption counseling, but not abortion counseling
As governor, his entry into this arena came in his first year in office when he was called upon to support legislation permitting the state of Florida to offer a specialty license plate promoting the right-to-life side of the abortion controversy.
The plate, containing the message "Choose Life," was available for $20 and the proceeds went to organizations that provided counseling and support to pregnant women "who are committed to placing their children up for adoption" but not
to "any agency that is involved in or associated with abortion activities including counseling." Not surprisingly, the pro-choice advocates opposed the legislation. Bush's predecessor,
Lawton Chiles, had vetoed the same measure on the grounds that it unnecessarily interjected religion into a public issue. Jeb sided with the pro-life side of this debate and signed the bill into law when it came to his desk.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 74
Dec 11, 2009
On Abortion:
Prevent use of public funds for stem cell research
Governor Bush took the side of the right-to-life constituency in a battle to prevent the use of public funds in support of stem cell research. While this stance put him at odds with his economic development supporters, he argued that this
technology "takes a life to give a life," and opposed a ballot initiative that would have amended the state's constitution to provide $200 million over 10 years for this purpose. He also opposed actions to permit the Scripps Medical Institute to conduct
research on this topic, even though he had committed $310 million of state-controlled federal funds to attract Scripps to Florida. At the same time he was attempting to lure the Burnham Institute of La Jolla,
California, to build a lab in Florida, he also attached a condition that the Florida labs of this company, which was a leader in embryonic stem cell research, could work only on the noncontroversial stem cells from adults or umbilical cords.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 75
Dec 11, 2009
On Gun Control:
Stand-your-ground bill: Deadly force OK when threatened
In 2005, the governor signed into law another piece of NRA legislation on the topic of gun control. The bill was written by the NRA and expanded the rights of Floridians to use deadly force when threatened in public places. This proposal, known as
the "stand your ground bill," expanded the rights of people to use guns or other deadly force to defend themselves without 1st trying to escape even in places outside their homes. The law stipulated that a person "has no duty to retreat and has the right
to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force."The bill was opposed by police chiefs in high crime areas like Miami and Broward County who claimed it would lead "drivers with road rage or drunken sports fans who get into
fights leaving ball games to assume that they had total immunity." The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence argued that it could be used to defend people who shoot in the emotional rage associated with domestic violence and other high-stress events.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 80
Dec 11, 2009
On Education:
Guarantee college admission for top 20% of high school grads
After discussions failed to convince him to delay his initiative until 2002, Bush stepped in with an executive order banning racial and gender preferences in university admissions and state contracting.
Called "One Florida" the governor's program guaranteed college admissions to the top 20% of each high school graduating class, provided that students had taken college preparatory classes.
It also required agencies of Florida state government to make special efforts to reach out to
minority contractors and to increase state business with such companies without the use of set-asides and price preferences.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 91
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
2004: Purged felons list from eligible voters
Governor Bush and his allies also continued throughout 2004 their efforts to purge the "felons list" of ineligible voters. The governor dismissed complaints from the media and the public about the felons list and refused to open it to public scrutiny, in
what many perceived as another effort to depress minority voting. Ultimately, a lawsuit was filed by Florida newspapers and a Florida judge forced the state to reveal the voters list.In reviewing the list, news organizations discovered that only 61
Hispanic voters were listed, but over 20,000 African American names were present. Hispanics in Florida, particularly Cubans, are more likely to vote Republican than Democratic and Africa Americas are heavily Democratic. Critics argued that this was proof
that the governor & his allies had intentionally used the list for partisan purposes. The governor and his secretary of state claimed that the small number of Hispanic voters on the list was a function of a computer problem that they had been unaware of.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p. 96-97
Dec 11, 2009
On Tax Reform:
Remove Intangibles Tax on stocks, bonds & dividends
Over the course of his administration the Bush legislation produced $19.1 billion in tax cuts. The centerpiece of Bush's tax-reform effort was the abolition of the state's Intangible Personal Property Tax.When Governor Bush came into office,
Florida was one of only a handful of states that utilized some form of an intangibles tax. This tax was levied on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market funds, and other such investments. "By design, the tax is aimed at the state's wealthier
residents" and in the absence of an income tax was initiated to derive at least some revenue from the personal income of wealthy citizens and corporations. While it was the most progressive of the taxes employed by the state, it was described by the
governor as "evil and insidious," "counterproductive and unfair." Governor Bush worked to reduce it in every legislative session between 1999 and 2006, when it was finally abolished. Its elimination accounted for nearly 30% of the tax cuts he initiated.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.102-3
Dec 11, 2009
On Budget & Economy:
Florida budget grew by 27% during Bush's terms
In June 2006, the state had 43.6% more spending than when Bush took office and 46.5% more personal income. The state's total budget grew by more than 27% in constant dollars between 1999 when Bush took office and 2005.
Ironically, this performance disappointed the governor's small government constituency and led some to call him a "big-government Republican."
At the end of his term in 2006, the conservative Cato Institute criticized him for having overseen "explosive growth" and gave him a grade of "D" for controlling spending.
The Bush tax strategies facilitated his "starve the beast" spending policy and gave him an opportunity to make the kinds of choices in funding state government that he desired.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.106
Dec 11, 2009
On Government Reform:
2005: Achieved goal of restraining growth in spending
As a proponent of small government, Governor Bush advocated slow growth in spending and smaller state budgets and his tax policy was designed to produce low levels of revenue per capita. An analysis of state spending over the time period 1999 through
2005 shows that the governor achieved his goal of restraining growth in that spending.Over the 8 years of the Bush administration, state expenditures for all government activities increased by an average of 3.8% per year in 2000 dollars.
Further, there was virtually no change in the level of state spending as a percentage of Florida's gross state product, or GSP, between 1998 and 2006. In addition, the governor was able (barely) to redeem his pledge to keep spending growth below growth
in the personal income of the state's residents. In June 2006, the state had 43.6% more spending than when Bush took office and 46.5% more personal income. In absolute terms, then, the governor's spending growth goals were realized.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.106
Dec 11, 2009
On Health Care:
Slashed every request for adult mental health
Bush's lowest spending priorities were for Florida agencies dealing with its most vulnerable citizens.One embarrassing consequence of his lack of attention to social services agencies emerged in the days just before Bush left office when his secretary
of the Department of Children and Families was fined and threatened with jail time for failure to provide enough beds to treat county jail inmates with severe mental illness.
Records from the department showed that it had called repeatedly for funds for adult health and that Bush had slashed every request--in 1 year by 93% (Hunt, 2006; Rushing, 2006). To avoid court sanctions, the governor was forced to ask the
Legislative Budget Commissions, an organization that authorizes appropriations when the legislature itself is not in session, for an additional $16.6 million for hundreds of new beds for these individuals.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.107
Dec 11, 2009
On Jobs:
Job growth during Bush terms, but very low wage jobs
In his 2006-2007 Budget Message he said that the "state's economy is one of the strongest in the nation, with rapid job growth and income growth providing its citizens with a wealth of economic opportunities."
He cited the lowest unemployment rate in the nation and an "unprecedented" job creation rate.While there was job growth during the Bush term of office it was smaller than in any gubernatorial administration since 1978.
In addition, much of the job growth was the product of a growing population rather than the tax cuts the governor generated.
Most of the jobs created during the Bush administration were in the low-paying sectors of the economy.
The state's 2004 median hourly wage ($13.10 per hour) was below the national average and the state had an unusually high percentage of very low-wage workers who earned wages at or below the federal minimum wage.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.109-10
Dec 11, 2009
On Social Security:
Privatization became administration's fundamental philosophy
The governor sought to extend the use of privatization, and adopted the theory as the fundamental philosophical principle of his administration. He declared, "I would look at any outsource opportunity."The governor was extraordinarily successful in
achieving his legislative goals regarding privatization: Florida hired private sector companies to administer programs that other states had also privatized: managing state prisons, collecting fees on the state's tollways, and cleaning state buildings.
But Bush expanded privatization into uncharted territory and contracted out state personnel services (payroll, benefits, training, recruitment, etc.), the management of Medicaid billing.
Like other officials throughout the nation, Bush argued that
he was privatizing Florida state government in order to bring about cost savings and efficiency. However, the speed and manner in which he initiated and carried out his plans led some to suggest that political philosophy was the driving force.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.116-7
Dec 11, 2009
On Education:
Catholic Conference sought more voucher accountability
The underlying assumption of school choice theory is that alternatives to the regular public schools will enjoy high-quality management that will not affect the nature of the education involved. The Bush administration discovered that this assumption
was too optimistic and that such issues can affect substantially the performance of these schools.Governor Bush's voucher programs also encountered the kinds of accountability problems other privatization projects faced, but he would take
no action to correct them even when the Florida Catholic Conference, a major beneficiary of vouchers, pushed for accountability standards, and the Florida Senate and the state auditor general specifically criticized the McKay Voucher Program for
failure to screen and monitor the types of schools being awarded the funds involved and for allowing operators who did not have the capability to provide proper educational services to enroll students in their schools.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.130-1
Dec 11, 2009
On Education:
60% of FCAT-passed schools failed to meet NCLB standards
Bush's educational reform program focused on changing the way in which Florida's regular public schools delivered their product and reported on their performance. The policy contained two components:- grading public school reading, writing and
mathematics performance on an A-F scale; and
- annual reporting of these grades to the public.
Bush mounted an aggressive effort to defend his A+ Plan, citing the quality of the FCAT and improved student performance on the test as evidence that the
plan worked. The governor's position was that the narrow focus on reading, writing, and mathematics that he advocated ensured that all students had similar experiences that prepared them for the future.
One national education organization claimed that the FCAT reflects "modest expectation." In 2006, 60% of the schools that scored either A or B on the state FCAT test failed to meet the standards for the federal No Child Left Behind Law.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.139
Dec 11, 2009
On Social Security:
Social service benefits via private & faith-based companies
The Bush social services reform program [was] designed, in large part, to enable private companies, nonprofit organizations and faith-based organizations to provide services that had traditionally been provided by the state: economic benefits to
low-income citizens, protective services to children at risk of harm, community services to people who suffered from developmental disabilities, and medical services to poor citizens.
The larger issue regarding the faith-based initiative was that virtually no effort was made to evaluate the activities of the organizations that received public money or to compare their costs and quality of service with those of other service providers.
Analysis was impossible and as a consequence the state knows very little about the relative advantages and disadvantages of using faith-based organizations to deliver public services.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.144-6
Dec 11, 2009
On Health Care:
OpEd: Medicaid reforms won't cover chronic conditions
The Bush plan for reform of Medicaid fundamentally altered the underlying assumptions regarding the state's responsibility for helping disadvantaged citizens find medical care, and critics complained that Florida had abandoned its commitment as a social
safety net for its most vulnerable citizens.The governor proposed his plan as a way in which the state could more accurately predict and control its costs. Critics pointed out that no benefits were guaranteed , that access to care for all
low-income families was questionable, and that there were no safeguards to make sure that private plans kept their promises. In particular, the AARP questioned whether or not service packages offered by the participants would be meaningful and cover
the needs of persons with chronic conditions and special needs that the private market chose not to cover. It also wondered whether the premiums to be offered would be sufficient to purchase an adequate service package.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.152-3
Dec 11, 2009
On Environment:
Florida Forever: $1B for environmental land purchases
As Preservation 2000 came to its expiration, the Florida legislature created Florida Forever to implement its requirements. The new program produced about $300 million annually from the sale of bonds. 72% of Florida's voters supported this amendment in
1998.As governor, Bush signed the legislation authorized by the constitutional amendment, publicly supported the program over the course of his administration, cooperated with the cabinet to expend over
$1 billion in bond money on purchases of land of environmental importance to the state, and routinely used his support of this program in promoting his environmental legacy. Nevertheless, only a year after the passage of Florida
Forever, the governor undercut the program, and raised questions about his commitment to environmental conservation, by raiding its funds in the amount of $75 million in order to cover budgetary shortfalls that he was unwilling to raise taxes to cover.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.155
Dec 11, 2009
On Environment:
Everglades are "crown jewel" of Florida environmental legacy
The largest conservation project in which Governor Bush was involved was the effort to restore the Florida Everglades. The "unwavering commitment of Governor Bush and the Florida legislature" to saving the Everglades was cited by Bush's first secretary
of Environmental Protection as the "crown jewel" in Florida's environmental legacy. A mammoth undertaking, its roots in the administration of former governor Bob Graham, this legislation involved both the state of Florida and the federal government and
was just the kind of big-government spending plan that Bush had deplored throughout his campaigns for office and subsequently as governor. Nevertheless, when President Clinton signed the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan, Bush attended the
ceremony in Washington and said, "the restoration of America's Everglades has been one of my administration's top priorities" and said later that it was THE highest environmental priority.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.157-8
Dec 11, 2009
On Environment:
Acceler8: $1.5B plan for Everglades restoration
Bush pushed the Florida legislature to provide the funding for Florida's contribution to the Everglades restoration and to do so in advance of federal funding for the project. This legislation was widely supported by environmental groups.
Bush's support earned the governor the "Steward of the Everglades" award from the Everglades Coalition.Governor Bush also kept additional funding promises to the Everglades.
In 2004, he unveiled a $1.5 billion plan called "Acceler8" to complete 8 components of restoration, most of them water-supply reservoirs that would restore water flows 10 years ahead of schedule.
The plan was financed with Wall Street bond money. And in 2005 he proposed a $200 million initiative to clean up Lake Okeechobee.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.157-8
Dec 11, 2009
On Environment:
Declined results of state survey to limit urban sprawl
The governor moved cautiously to redeem what had been strong growth management campaign pledges. Rather than propose initiatives, he asked the Department of Community Affairs to survey Floridians about the issues involved. The results from the survey
suggested broad public support for protection of identified state interests, for a state vision and a stronger state plan, for limiting urban sprawl, for establishing urban growth boundaries, and for a "strong, wide-ranging role for the state and
expanded access for citizens." Governor Bush, allegedly under pressure from the development community, declined to accept these findings and appointed instead a Growth Management Study Commission to make appropriate recommendations.
Another year passed before the commission completed its report and announced support for many of the findings from the 2000 survey, but in a crucial difference recommended limiting the role of state government in regulating the growth management process.
Source: Aggressive Conservatism in Florida, by Robert Crew, p.160
Dec 11, 2009
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