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

Ana CeballosFebruary 15, 2018

As the country grapples with the aftermath of a high school mass shooting in Broward County, Senate President Joe Negron said Thursday the upper chamber will be focused on boosting funding for mental health and campus security — not gun control. “I think that the key for me — and what I am focusing on […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 14, 2018

Moving away from an outright ban on all underage marriages, the Florida House on Wednesday sent the Senate a proposal that would allow certain minors to wed in cases when there is a pregnancy. “I believe this bill will put Florida in the forefront of putting [a] safeguard in place and protecting children,” said state […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 14, 2018

After weeks of tweeting back and forth on the issue of immigration, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and House Speaker Richard Corcoran debated face-to-face on Tuesday and clashed sharply on the topic — as predicted. The 45-minute debate largely focused on two things: HB 9, a bill that seeks to punish local officials who do […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 13, 2018

A House proposal that would change the way law enforcement officers get their hands on data from a person’s cellphone was pushed on Tuesday to its last committee assignment. Republican state Rep. Jamie Grant said his bill (HB 1249) would require police to “reflect constitutional due process” when they search a person’s phone-location records as […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 13, 2018

There’s a rift between the Florida House and Senate over a bill that could ban outright all marriages for minors in the state, and that will become more pronounced on Wednesday when the lower chamber takes up the matter. House members will consider the child marriage bill (SB 140) passed by the Senate, but with […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 12, 2018

Legislation that would allow human trafficking victims to sue hotels and other businesses that turned a blind eye to the abuse moved forward in the Senate on Monday. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lauren Book, intends to give victims more litigation power to recoup economic damages as well as cost for their medical and mental […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 12, 2018

In response to a federal judge saying that the Florida’s voting rights restoration process is unconstitutional, the state’s legal team said Monday the state’s clemency board should fix its flaws — not the courts. State Solicitor General Amit Agarwal argued that U.S. District Judge Mark Walker should not issue any corrective orders, saying “there is […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 12, 2018

Gov. Rick Scott‘s office said Monday the governor is expected to sign into a law a bill that would permanently set aside millions in taxpayer money to operate pro-life clinics in Florida, a concept that critics call “fake” clinics. The Republican-controlled Senate passed the bill last week, with Democrats opposed. When the bill becomes law, […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 12, 2018

As immigration takes center stage in Florida politics — with some Republicans calling on local authorities to fully comply with federal immigration authorities — a new report shows the state is leading the nation in Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests. Florida is dominating the nation in immigration arrests due to a significant uptick in “non-criminal” detentions, a […]

Ana CeballosFebruary 8, 2018

The Florida House and Senate on Thursday passed their spending plans differing by only about $100 million — a tenth of a percent of the roughly $87 billion proposed by each chamber. The starting point for final budget negotiations on what is the largest proposed budget in state history is more than a week ahead […]

Ana Ceballos

In wake of Parkland shooting, Senate focuses on mental health funding

House passes bill that would allow certain minors to wed

Richard Corcoran, Andrew Gillum clash during immigration debate

House panel advances bill adding protections to cellphone searches

Jeanette Nunez seeks to amend Senate bill that bans all child marriages

Human trafficking bill allowing victims to sue hotels moves ahead

State, voting rights group disagree on how to handle clemency process

Gov. Rick Scott to sign state-funded pro-life clinics into law

As Florida politicians focus on immigration, state leads in ICE arrests

Florida’s biggest spending plan ever ready for final negotiations