Lawmaker wants to eliminate 1 state plane

By BRENT KALLESTAD Associated Press Writer

Senate budget chairman JD Alexander says it's time to unload one of the two remaining state airplanes, if only to eliminate the temptation to misuse them.

Two planes provide too much temptation for some officials and are too costly in the current economic environment, the Republican lawmaker from Lake Wales said Thursday following reports criticizing some elected officials for their use state aircraft in recent months.

"One plane is clearly more than adequate for the legitimate needs of the state," Alexander said.

"I kind of see it as saving some of my elected colleagues from themselves ... as well as saving the citizens of Florida money," said Alexander, who chairs the influential Senate Ways and Means Committee. "When we're having to lay people off and cut back, it's very symbolic and leadership starts at the top."

When officials use a state plane, they're billed at a rate of nearly $3,100 an hour, or $51.26 a minute. The total trip cost is divided equally by the number of passengers.

The state got rid of a third plane last year and Alexander wanted to also eliminate a twin-engine King Air turboprop as a cost savings measure.

The latest Florida politicians whose travel records were being scrutinized this week by news organizations were the two favorites for their respective party's gubernatorial nomination for 2010 were.

One report criticized Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, a Democrat, for flying family members on state planes and another suggested Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum was using the service to get back to his central Florida home for weekends.

McCollum's office rejected those charges Thursday.

"He has never used the state plane to commute from his home to his office or from his office to his home," said Joe Jacquot, chief of staff for the attorney general.

McCollum also has never flown family members on state aircraft, the records showed.

A review of flight records provided by the state did reveal that Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp has dramatically reduced his use of state aircraft.

Kottkamp, who had become the poster boy for using state planes, reimbursed the state more than $10,000 earlier this year for flights his wife and son took aboard state planes

Florida politicians have a private jet and a turboprop available for business use on a priority scale, with the governor at the top of that scale.

Many schedule so-called official events in their home areas at either early or late in the week to stay within the guidelines on state travel and circumvent criticism of misusing state aircraft.

The state air pool has 15 full-time employees, including six pilots for a jet and turboprop to fly the governor, lieutenant governor, Cabinet members, legislative leaders and the Supreme Court chief justice on official state business. The state budgets $3.5 million annually for the service.