Ana Ceballos, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ana CeballosFebruary 27, 2018

As the Florida Legislature on Tuesday turned its focus to proposals crafted in the wake of the state’s deadliest school mass shooting in Parkland, a measure that would give law enforcement officers more power to investigate deadly threats made on social media cleared the Senate Appropriations Committee. Sarasota Republican Sen. Greg Steube, who on Monday […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 27, 2018

A bill intended to stop companies from dodging worker’s compensation benefit payouts to undocumented workers who are injured on the job is likely dead, state Sen. Gary Farmer, the bill sponsor, said Tuesday. “I hate to wave the white flag, but it looks like I will,” the Fort Lauderdale Democrat said. The effort was born […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 26, 2018

Following a chaotic and emotional two-hour debate at the Senate Rules Committee on Monday, dozens of gun control advocates left the meeting angry and disappointed when senators voted down a ban on assault weapons. “Vote them out! Vote them out!” protesters chanted after Senate Rules Chair Lizbeth Benacquisto announced the failure of on an amendment filed […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 26, 2018

A sit-in protest over gun-control legislation erupted inside and outside the Senate Rules Committee on Monday as senators considered three contentious proposals rolled out in the wake of the deadly Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. Clad in bright orange shirts, gun control advocates wielded signs slamming the National Rifle Association. They yelled, “this is […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 26, 2018

The Florida Legislature is considering sweeping criminal justice reform measures that have come under fire by the bail bond industry, but the sponsor of one of the bills said Sunday that he is “not in the business of making bail bondsmen money.” “They are in the business of writing bonds, and their business will go […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 24, 2018

A day after Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature unveiled their plans to back unprecedented new restrictions on guns in the state, the Florida Democratic Party started taking note of the Republican gubernatorial candidates who have stayed silent on the issue. Citing their “significant backing from the gun lobby,” the state party is […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 22, 2018

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement requested $1 million in emergency funding from the U.S. Justice Department this week to reimburse law enforcement agencies that responded to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting. Local agencies are facing “significant costs” after responding to the shooting that left 18 people dead, including 15 students. The […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 22, 2018

Someone caught with oxycodone pills weighing at least 7 grams can be sentenced to a mandatory three-year sentence and fined $50,000 under Florida drug trafficking state laws. That could soon change for non-violent offenders who are not involved with a criminal organization under a Senate proposal that would allow judges to depart from mandatory minimum […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 21, 2018

A sweeping criminal justice bill that would upend how the state collects data on offenders in an attempt to better determine who is incarcerated and for how long is moving in the Senate. The measure would require the Department of Corrections to use risk-assessment instruments that can identify the appropriate intervention and program for an […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 21, 2018

A Senate bill that would allow guns in churches with schools attached was temporarily postponed on Wednesday, but it could still come back later in the legislative session. As Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors filled the seats in the Senate gallery, Senate President Joe Negron said the gun bill by Republican Sen. Dennis […]

Ana Ceballos
Image via AP.

Florida cops could soon have more power to investigate social media threats

Workers’ comp bill aiding injured immigrant workers likely dead, sponsor says

Senate pushes gun, school safety proposals without assault weapon ban

Protest erupts in Senate Rules Committee as gun proposals are considered

Bail bond industry, Jeff Brandes spar over sweeping justice reform bill

Fla. Democrats hammer Adam Putnam, Ron DeSantis over gun proposal silence

FDLE asks for $1 million in federal funding to assist Parkland law enforcement

Easing drug trafficking mandatory minimums headed to Senate floor

Senate panel pushes criminal justice overhaul bill

With Parkland students present, Senate postpones gun bill vote