A.G. Gancarski, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 24, 2017

Groundhog Day is over a week away, but those who attend Tuesday night’s Jacksonville City Council meeting will feel inevitable deja vu. Some will think it’s 2016. Others will think it’s 2012. That’s because the fervent arguments they’ll hear tonight on Jacksonville’s perpetual hot-button issue — expanding the Human Rights Ordinance to LGBT people, via […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

One of the more controversial bills filed in the Florida House this session, a proposed ban of constituent elements for kratom, saw a Florida Senate companion emerge Monday. Senate Bill 424, filed by Democrat Darryl Rouson, mirrors the House bill. Both bills would add Mitragynine and Hydroxymitragynine, constituents of Kratom, to the schedule of controlled substances, offering an exception […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

Last week, Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Kim Daniels filed House Bill 303, a measure intended to give religious and secular expression equal weight in public schools. This week, the bill found a Senate companion. Senate Bill 436 — the “Florida Student and School Personnel Religious Liberties Act” — would ban school districts “from discriminating against students, parents, & school […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

House Bill 353 and Senate Bill 428, filed on Monday, would foreclose enrollment in the Florida Retirement System’s defined benefit plan to any city not currently involved. While the defined contribution arm of FRS would be open to new municipal entrants, the defined benefit option would not. The bill was filed in the Florida House by Jacksonville Republican […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

Is North Florida losing the water wars again? “Stand Up for North Florida” says yes, and Monday they called a presser in Tallahassee to discuss it. Their grievance is with Senate Majority Leader Joe Negron and his “plan to buy more than 60,000 acres of farmland in south Florida to build a another reservoir for water […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

Earlier on Monday, FloridaPolitics.com reported on bills filed in both chambers of the Florida Legislature that would foreclose the defined benefit plan of the Florida Retirement System to new municipalities. This bill is especially topical in Northeast Florida because a major sticking point in collective bargaining between the city of Jacksonville and its police and fire […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

On Monday, 4th Judicial Circuit Mark Hulsey resigned from the bench ahead of an impeachment investigation by the Florida House. “He resigned under the threat of the investigation,” House Speaker Richard Corcoran told the Tampa Bay Times‘ Steve Bousquet. FloridaPolitics.com obtained a copy of Hulsey’s resignation letter, which noted that he effectively had served no use since re-elected last year beyond […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

4th Circuit State Attorney Melissa Nelson rode into office wearing a white dress, surfing on a wave of hagiography, balanced on a board constructed on a sturdy narrative of collective anathema toward Angela Corey. For many of those who voted for her, the job was accomplished when Corey was defeated in August by a blowout […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 23, 2017

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FloridaPolitics.com caught up with State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson this week at the St. Johns Legislative Delegation meeting. For Stevenson, a former county commissioner, it was a return to familiar ground. St. Johns County, the Republican said, “is becoming a more complete community,” which she believes is also “good for the region.” “We have over 200,000 people. […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 20, 2017

Florida State Rep. Kim Daniels filed the “Florida Responsible Parent Act” on Friday, which would protect certain people delinquent in child support payments from being subject to contempt of court. House Bill 313 amends the section of Florida Statute pertaining to suspending driver’s licenses and motor vehicle registrations for people delinquent in child support payments, adding more […]

A.G. Gancarski
Image via AP.

Opposing sides gear up for Jacksonville HRO public hearing on Tuesday night

Senate companion filed for controversial kratom ban bill

Florida Senate to consider public school ‘religious liberties’ bill

Legislature mulls closing FRS defined benefit plan to new cities

Group of north Florida pols takes on Joe Negron over Lake Okeechobee plan

Jacksonville mayor ‘not surprised’ by FRS reform legislation

Scandal-plagued Jacksonville judge Mark Hulsey ‘abruptly resigns’ from bench

‘Tough but fair’ approach guides Melissa Nelson’s reform path

In Florida House, Cyndi Stevenson negotiates St. Johns County’s growing pains

Kim Daniels files ‘Florida Responsible Parent Act’