The unmentionable public policy success of Obamacare

It wouldn’t matter if we tried. This version of the Florida Supreme Court wouldn’t allow it on the ballot, and if it was on the ballot and passed, the legislature would ignore it.

 

A little OT, but two passages from todays piece on newly elected Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala, long a Florida legislator, shows how lawless their general mindset is, such that he can’t stop even in a new role where it is against the County’s interests


Latvala’s problem, he said, is with a set of “guiding principles” listed at the top of the document. Those include the first objective on the page: working to maintain the county’s home rule power.

State lawmakers have long preempted the autonomy of city and county governments by passing laws that supersede local ordinances on subjects including short-term rentals, coronavirus-related restrictions and masking rules. Latvala reminded his colleagues Thursday that he took part in some of those votes.





Before bringing up home rule, Latvala said he couldn’t get behind another of the guiding principles listed on the county’s legislative program: supporting a fully funded Sadowski Trust Fund. Established by the state in 1992, the fund is supposed to support affordable housing projects across Florida. But lawmakers regularly raided it for other projects, many unrelated to affordable housing, although that practice ended with the passage of a 2021 law.

“While I support the Sadowski Trust Fund, there were times I supported raiding the trust fund because we needed money, instead of raising taxes or whatever,” Latvala said. “The trust funds are where you get money from, especially when you’re in a budget crunch. Because unlike the feds, we have — Florida has to balance the budget.”


Home Rule, letting local municipalities exercise power over local affairs, is part of the Florida Constitution. Doesn’t matter to the Florida legislature. And he unapologetically admits to raiding trust funds, funds statutorily dedicated for a single purpose, if they need the money.

They are just lawless as a mindset


County home rule not among Latvala’s priorities
County home rule not among Latvala’s priorities - Tampa Bay Times

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No. I will fix. The last two italicized are mine. I messed that up.

check that. It was 5. I cut his quote in the middle. Oh well

 

Almost 20% increase, roughly 15% of the population



Republican legislative leaders and Gov. Ron DeSantis aren’t proponents of the Affordable Care Act. But Florida residents have flocked to HealthCare.gov in droves to enroll in a so-called Obamacare plan.

More than 3.22 million Florida residents enrolled in an Obamacare plan through the federal health insurance exchange during the 2023 open enrollment period, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). That is significantly higher than the 2.7 million-plus who enrolled in Obamacare during the 2022 Open Enrollment period.

 

And bending the cost curve