Peter Schorsch
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2018 Legislative Session
The Last 24
Senate President Joe Negron has hired the GrayRobinson law firm to represent the chamber in the investigation into the sexual harassment claims against Sen. Jack Latvala.
In a related story, a lawyer for one of the accusers said state Reps. Chris Latvala and Kathleen Peters have not shown “integrity” or acted “in the public interest” in how they have publicly responded to sexual harassment claims against Sen. Latvala.
In the House, Jennifer Sullivan will take over the chair of the Oversight, Transparency & Administration Subcommittee after Neil Combee leaves for a USDA job.
Dorothy Hukill and Erin Grall filed legislation to increase the property tax exemption from $500 to $5,000 for widows, widowers, the blind, and the totally and permanently disabled.
And, in a further attempt to starve President Nicolas Maduro’s government of money, lawmakers want to make sure state agencies are barred from investing in companies that do business with Venezuela.
Quote of the Day
“[When I was writing about] the ‘Taj Mahal,’ the fancy courthouse, they had about six meetings to decide what to do about my public records requests … They produced two big boxes, and the paper shipped them up to me in North Carolina. … Someone had gone to the trouble to take every staple out of every document, and had mixed the papers together.”
— Lucy Morgan, retired St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times) Tallahassee bureau chief. She spoke Wednesday night at an event honoring her with the creation of a “Lucy Morgan Award for Open Government Reporting” by the First Amendment Foundation. Morgan referred to her investigation of the planning and building of Tallahassee’s 1st District Court of Appeal courthouse.
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Robert “Hawk” Hawken, the director of legislative affairs for FCCI Insurance Group for the past 30 years, will be transitioning to the lead role of a retained consultant and lobbyist for the company. The change is effective May 1, 2018. Publisher Peter Schorsch had a quick chat with Hawken about the future.
Q: What precipitated the announcement that you will be leaving FCCI?
A: I have had a very unique situation compared to most others in town. While I have been a direct employee of FCCI for 30 years I’ve also had other clients via a separate consulting firm. Frankly, that unique arrangement doesn’t fit in today’s business climate.
Q: How will this effectuate your relationship with FCCI?
A: Both FCCI and I agree that you don’t build a program like this from scratch and just walk away. I will continue to lead the FCCI team and be their point person in all aspects of The Process in conjunction with serving other clients.
Q: Looking back, what are you most proud of from all your years in Tallahassee?
A: Well first of all, it doesn’t seem like 30 years and I have plenty of gas in the tank. But I would say the relationships that have been built and nurtured from across the spectrum is what I value the most.
Lobby Up
Lobbyists with Poole McKinley have registered to lobby for Orlando After-School All-Stars.
The firm’s Angela Dempsey, Will McKinley and Sophie Smith will be the reps on record, registration reports show.
“Our mission: Provide comprehensive after-school programs that keep children safe and help them succeed in school and in life,” the group’s website says.
The program “serves over 2,600 middle school students and their families annually,” it adds. “All programs are school-based … including academics enrichment, athletics and service learning.”
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Board of Dentistry is scheduled to meet in Central Florida at 7:30 a.m., Radisson Resort Orlando-Celebration, 2900 Parkway Blvd., Kissimmee.
The Florida Board of Osteopathic Medicine is scheduled to meet in Duval County at 9 a.m., Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Airport, 14670 Duval Road, Jacksonville.
The Florida Board of Optometry is scheduled to hold a conference call at 9 a.m. The call-in number is (888) 670-3525 and the participant code is 7342425515.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity will release October unemployment figures at 10 a.m.
Republican U.S. Rep. John Rutherford is scheduled to speak during a meeting of the First Coast Tiger Bay Club starting 11:30 a.m., Epping Forest Yacht and Country Club, 1830 Epping Forest Dr., Jacksonville.
The Statewide Drug Policy Advisory Council is scheduled to hold a conference call at 1 p.m. The call-in number is (888) 670-3525 and the participant code is 164 869 6226.
