by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Tax Collector Mike Hogan has been appointed by State Sen. President Ken Pruitt to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission (TBRC). The 29-member (four are non-voting) commission is appointed jointly by the State Senate President (Pruitt), the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Marco Rubio) and the Governor (Charlie Crist). Pruitt and Rubio both get seven appointments, while Crist gets 11. Hogan is the only appointment from the Northeast Florida area.
“I wanted to serve on this commission,” said Hogan. “The call is incredible as far as the scope of work. This is a unique time to serve on this commission considering the tax reform Florida is facing.”
The TBRC was established by Constitutional Amendment in 1988 and met for the first time two years later. Ten years after its creation, voters in the state adopted changes that called for the commission to begin deliberations in 2007 and established future meetings to occur every 20 years. Hogan said the TBRC will have about a year-and-a-half to meet and complete the work agenda set forth by the commission’s chair.
“As public servants it is our responsibility to limit the size of government and return tax dollars to the people,” said Crist. “I am confident this experienced group of professionals will work to ensure that our state government lives within its means.
“This commission is an important element of my goal to increase transparency and accountability in government. I am eager to review the findings which will undoubtedly provide a deeper understanding of our budget constraints and unveil opportunities to lower taxes for the people of our state.”
The purpose of the TBRC is to examine the state budgetary process, the revenue needs and expenditures of the state and the appropriateness of the state’s tax structure. The commission also looks at governmental productivity and efficiency, reviews the ability of the state and local governments to tax and adequately fund governmental operations and capital facilities.
“This commission has the right to draft legislation that goes right to the Constitutional Amendment process,” said Hogan, who believes he was appointed by Pruitt due to both his position as Tax Collector and his former experience as a lawmaker. Hogan was a member of City Council from 1991-99 and a member of the State Legislature from 2000-03. “I have some insight from the administrative side and some insight from the legislative side.”
The legislation Hogan mentioned actually bypasses a step that virtually every other bill must pass. According to the State Constitution, any amendment created by the TBRC is placed directly on the ballot. The current commission has until May 4, 2008 to submit its amendments before the general election in November 2008.
Hogan says tax reform — specifically property taxes — will be the major topic of discussion. The proposal to double the homestead exemption goes “too far, too quickly” according to Hogan. For example, doubling the local homestead exemption would mean an almost $50 million shortfall in the City of Jacksonville’s budget. Since property tax revenues are nearly evenly split between the Duval County School Board and the City (the taxes pay for police and fire rescue services), Hogan said making up that kind of difference immediately would be next to impossible. Hogan said such a proposal, if passed, could mean “massive layoffs in government” due to funding shortfalls. He likened the idea to a stone hitting the surface of water without any thought being put into the deeper affects of that stone below the surface.
One idea that has been brought up recently is a state income tax. Currently, only seven states — Florida, Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming — don’t have a personal income tax. Hogan said such a tax would have to be voted on as a Constitutional Amendment and he doubts both lawmakers and the residents of the state would approve such a tax.
“There has not been much debate about it,” said Hogan. “The math that looks good is the sales tax increase in lieu of property taxes on the homestead exemption proposal. The sales tax would be collected by the State Department of Revenue and at the end of the year paid to the counties.”
The following are the other appointments to the TBRC by Pruitt:
• Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte (Tallahassee) — of counsel with Hunton & Williams, an international law firm with an office in Miami, former president of Florida State University
• Jacintha Mathis (Delray Beach) — attorney, member of the 1998 Florida Constitutional Revision Commission
• Randy Miller (Tallahassee) – executive vice president of the Florida Retail Federation and former executive director of the Florida Department of Revenue
• Les Miller (Tampa) — manager of minority business development and government relations for Tampa General Hospital, former member of the Florida House of Representatives
• Jade Moore (Pinellas) — executive director of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association
• Susan Story (Pensacola) — president and CEO of Gulf Power Company
The following were appointed by Crist:
• Hoyt “Barney” Bennett (Lakeland) — vice chairman of Publix Super Markets, Inc. and previous member of the TBRC
• R. Mark Bostick (Winter Haven) — president of Comcar Industries
• Martha Barnett (Tallahassee) — partner in the law firm of Holland & Knight, former president of the American Bar Association
• Roberto “Bobby” Martinez (Coral Gables) — shareholder in the law firm of Colson Hicks Edison, former general counsel of Gov.-elect Jeb. Bush’s transition team (1998) and chair of Gov.-elect Crist’s transition team last year
• John McKay (Bradenton) — real estate broker and president of John M. McKay, Inc., former State Senator and Senate President
• Robert “Bob” McKee (Leesburg) — Tax Collector for Lake County
• Nancy Riley (Clearwater) — real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Pinellas County and current president of the Florida Association of Realtors
• Darryl Rouson (St. Petersburg) — attorney with Rouson and Dudley, immediate past-president of the St. Petersburg NAACP
• James “Jim” Scott (Ft. Lauderdale) — attorney and founding partner of the Tripp Scott Law Firm in Ft. Lauderdale, 24-year member of the Florida Senate
• William Gregory Turbeville (Tallahassee) — governmental consultant with Smith and Ballard, Inc., former policy director for Gov. Bush
• Kenneth “Ken” Wilkinson (Ft. Myers) — Property Appraiser for Lee County since 1980. The following were appointed by Rubio:
• Allan Bense (Panama City) — partner with GAC Contractors, former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives
• Bruce Kyle (Ft. Myers) — Circuit Court Judge in the 20th Judicial Circuit, former member of the House of Representatives
• Patricia Levesque (Tallahassee) — executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future and managing partner of the consulting firm of Meridian Strategies, LLC
• Alan Levine (Ft. Lauderdale) — president and CEO of the North Broward Hospital District, former Secretary of the Agency for Healthcare Administration and Deputy Chief of Staff to former Gov. Jeb Bush
• Brian Yablonski (Tallahassee) — vice president of Public Affairs for the St. Joe Company, former Director of Policy and Deputy Chief of Staff under Gov. Bush.
• Julia Johnson (Windemere) — president of NETCOMMUNICATIONS, a strategic consulting firm
• Carlos Lacasa (Miami) — attorney with Ruden McCloskey where he’s part of the firm’s corporate, administrative and governmental practice group, former member of the House of Representatives State Sens. Mike Haridopolos (Melbourne) and Gwen Margolis (Bay Harbor Island) and State Reps. Ray Sansom (Ft. Walton Beach) and Frank Peterman (St. Petersburg) are the four non-voting members of the commission.