An end-of-the-week appointment by Gov. Rick Scott to the Florida Prepaid College Board ordinarily would not draw much notice. But in the frenzied atmosphere surrounding prison privatization in Tallahassee, this one will generate a lot of talk in the Capitol.

Scott on Friday chose John O'Rourke, 61, of West Palm Beach, who served for nearly two decades as senior vice president and chief financial officer of The GEO Group, the huge private prison operator that's seeking to operate more than two dozen prisons and work camps in South Florida. The governor's office released a photograph of Scott and O'Rourke.

O'Rourke retired from GEO in 2009 and formed his own company, J.G. O'Rourke & Associates. A former U.S. Air Force officer, O'Rourke will succeed Anthony Krayer for a term that ends in June 2014. 

In a narrow vote on Friday, Florida's House passed a bill that would allow so-called “surplus lines” carriers to take over policies from Citizens Property Insurance, if they meet certain criteria.

Surplus lines carriers are not regulated by the Office of Insurance Regulation and can differ greatly from the state’s admitted insurers, a point that opponents of the bill pushed repeatedly.

“Everyone agrees that Citizens needs to be smaller but the way to do that is not to allow essentially unregulated companies to move in like vultures,” said Sean Shaw, founder of Policyholders of Florida. “This is essentially deregulating the insurance market in Florida for rates.” ... Read more

Rep. Erik Fresen, who had been meeting with members for days to rustle up the votes, was resigned to the fact that the effort to pass a resort casino bill is done.

"I think it's dead for the year in the House,'' he told reporters after pulling his bill before the House Business and Community Affairs Committee could vote. "Adding, I can't speak for the Senate.''

He said he wasn't disappointed, in part because he never expected the bill would be easy to pass in the conservative House.

"To be disappointed would be that I had expectations of incredible victory on this bill,'' he said.  ... Read more

A family impacted by texting and driving joined law enforcement officers, doctors and legislators at the Capitol on Friday to speak out in favor of legislation that would prohibit the practice.

Steve and Agnes Augello of Spring Hill lost their 17-year-old daughter, Alessandra Augello, in a 2008 crash. They say the other driver, 19-year-old Alyssa Dyer, was texting prior to swerving out of her lane. Florida Highway Patrol records show a text message arrived to Dyer's boyfriend after the crash. Both drivers died.

The Augellos have made it their mission to draw attention to the problem of distracted driving and assist in passing bans on the practice in Florida.

"This has become a legal weapon," Agnes Augello told a group of reporters standing outside the House of Representatives chamber. "Whoever it is that's holding it up, please, let it go." ... Read more

A federal judge ruled Friday that four state legislators and two staff members cannot be compelled to give sworn testimony in a a major federal election law case.

The League of Women Voters of Florida and the National Council of La Raza had sought to take the six depositions as part of a broader legal strategy to block implementation of several controversial changes to election laws.

After two hours of legal arguments, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle rendered a quick decision -- that legislators have long had a common-law privilege that shields them from being forced to testify about why they make decisions.

"People recognize without even thinking about it that there is this privilege," Hinkle said. "The balance here favors the legislators and the members of their staffs."

The lawmakers are Sen. Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland; Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami; Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala; and Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland. All but Dockery voted for the bill (HB 1355) in the 2011 session.

The staff members are Jonathan Fox in the Senate and Heather Williamson in the House. ... Read more

TALLAHASSEE -- The Florida Ethics Commission on Friday found probable cause to prosecute Norman, R-Tampa, for failing to disclose a $500,000 gift made to his wife by a prominent Hillsborough County businessman. The ruling came a few months after the U.S. Attorney’s Office dropped a criminal case against Norman.

Norman’s lawyer had hoped the closed-door ethics hearing, sparked by a handful of complaints from Hillsborough County citizens, would be the “final nail in the coffin” in the controversy that has dogged Norman for more than a year. But now Mark Levine says he and his client will continue working to clear the former county commissioner’s name.

“If we have to try this case,” Levine said, “that’s what we’ll do.”

Story here. ... Read more

The Florida Commission on Ethics on Friday upheld a $5,000 fine and public censure and reprimand against Frank Peterman for travel abuses while he served as secretary of juvenile justice under former Gov. Charlie Crist.  The panel's action came on a 4-3 vote after a lengthy discussion, during which a motion to dismiss the entire case against Peterman failed on a 4-3 vote.

Peterman's attorney, Mark Herron, said he would appeal the ruling to a state appeals court. "We're on our way," Herron said after the vote.

Peterman's problems began with a Times/Herald report in November 2009, which triggered an ethics complaint by David Plyer of Clearwater.

Peterman, a former Democratic state representative from St. Petersburg, was found by a state hearing officer to have repeatedly abused his travel privileges during the time he worked at DJJ in 2008 and 2009. Citing the judge's findings, Assistant Attorney General Diane Guillemette said Peterman charged taxpayers to commute back and forth between Tallahassee and St. Petersburg, where his family lived and where he preached at a church while he worked for the state. ... Read more