Michael Moline, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Michael MolineMarch 9, 2017

A bipartisan coalition of House members and senators endorsed Gov. Rick Scott’s request to increase mental health funding by $25 million, but said even more money is needed to move Florida out of the basement in funding for treatment. “At the end of the day, we’re 49th (in funding among the states), which means we’ve […]

Michael MolineMarch 9, 2017

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The Senate voted Thursday to require unanimous jury verdicts to sentence someone to death, and to advance a measure that would require prosecutors to prove “stand your ground” immunity shouldn’t apply in criminal cases. The death penalty bill, SB 280, which the Senate passed unanimously, was a response to a Florida Supreme Court ruling requiring […]

Michael MolineMarch 8, 2017

Senate President Joe Negron‘s plan to build reservoirs south of Lake Okeechobee got bigger Wednesday, when a budget subcommittee voted to raise the price tag from $1.2 billion to more than $3 billion and fold in water resources projects around the state. SB 10, as amended by the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural […]

Michael MolineMarch 7, 2017

The House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee opened hearings on a 28-page draft bill on workers’s compensation reform Tuesday, as Chairman Danny Burgess urged members and interest groups to “conduct ourselves in good faith — that we not plant our flags on one side or the other and be absolutely inflexible.” Burgess said the draft represents a […]

Michael MolineMarch 7, 2017

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Poverty appeared to matter as the Florida Legislature opened its 2017 regular session Tuesday. Gov. Rick Scott, during his State of the State speech, recalled his impoverished youth and the importance of jobs to lift Floridians out of economic despair. Surely, music to Karen Woodall‘s ears? Now at the Florida Center for Economic and Fiscal Policy, she’s […]

Michael MolineMarch 7, 2017

Sen. Dorthy Hukill wasn’t in Tallahassee for opening day of the 2017 Legislature, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t on the job. Hukill, chairwoman of the Education Committee, is recovering from surgery for cervical cancer, and her doctors wouldn’t let her travel to the state capital. Nevertheless, the Port Orange Republican has remained active in the […]

Michael MolineMarch 7, 2017

The Florida Senate is in session. Senators convened at 9:30 with a prayer and the traditional singing of the national anthem. “They need wisdom, direction, and understanding,” Pam Olsen, president of the Florida Prayer Network said during the invocation. “Keep their marriages strong” while the members are “here doing the people’s business,” she prayed. “I […]

Michael MolineMarch 6, 2017

The House Rules committee voted, 15-3, Monday to kill state support for 23 economics development programs worth around $200 million , including Enterprise Florida, but spared Visit Florida, the state’s tourism promotion organization. The members then voted, 15-2, to subject Visit Florida to stringent oversight, comparable to contract, pay, and disclosure requirements that apply to […]

Michael MolineMarch 6, 2017

Sponsors of legislation requiring the state to produce a report each year on criminal sentencing disparities based on race said Monday that they don’t mean an attack on judges but need to know what the data show. “I’ve heard there’s been some consternation from some judges,” said Sen. Audrey Gibson, a Democrat from Jacksonville. “The bill is […]

Michael MolineMarch 6, 2017

The National Council on Compensation Insurance will take no position on a Senate bill that would require workers’ compensation carriers to propose their own rates to the Office of Insurance Regulation. “We don’t have an opinion in it. We operate in both environments,” Susan Donegan, chief regulatory services officer for NCCI, said in a telephone interview Monday. […]

Michael Moline

Legislative coalition urges leaders to find money for mental health programs

Senate votes to raise bar for death penalty, ‘stand your ground’ prosecutions

Negron’s Lake Okeechobee plan absorbs additional water resources projects

House chairman seeks ‘good faith’ as hearings open on workers’ comp draft bill

Anti-poverty lobbyist skeptical as 2017 legislative session opens in Tallahassee

Dorothy Hukill, recovering from cancer, watching from home as Senate convenes

Florida Senate convenes in Tallahassee, adopts compromise budget rules

House Rules Committee votes to kill most economic-development programs

Legislation would require reporting on race disparities in criminal sentencing

With role on the line, NCCI insists: We’re not ‘an evil empire unto itself’