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

Guest AuthorApril 18, 2017

Since 1970, the size of Florida’s prison population has grown by more than 1,000 percent, and its corrections system is now the third largest in the nation. Under the state’s rigid mandatory minimum laws, more people are being sent to prison for a longer amount of time, with an annual average cost of $20,553 per […]

Guest AuthorApril 15, 2017

A few weeks ago, I stood at Yaki Point on the edge of the Grand Canyon watching the sunset. A cold desert wind rushed up the cliff sides, sucking the last remaining heat from the sandstone below. The rustle of pinyons and junipers gave sound to the silence of the setting sun. I was almost […]

Guest AuthorApril 11, 2017

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If nothing else, the intense debate over how to implement legalized medical marijuana in Florida has given many of us a crash course in business economics, government regulation and medical protocols. We’ve heard hours of discussion on such topics as vertical versus horizontal business structures, free-markets versus exclusivity, and physician discretion versus government prescription. Missing […]

Guest AuthorApril 11, 2017

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For so long, prosecutors have repeated the mantra that the death penalty is needed for murder victims’ families and to provide them justice. This idea developed into an unquestioned assumption that guided many district attorneys in handling cases and crafting campaign messages. Yet the recent announcement by State Attorney Aramis Ayala of Orlando, Florida, to […]

Guest AuthorApril 10, 2017

Florida’s black bears are once again under threat of trophy hunters invading their forest homes and shooting them for no reason. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission may revisit the issue of a Florida statewide hunt on black bears, and it is time for citizens to let them know we want our bears protected […]

Guest AuthorApril 10, 2017

In an effort to protect their turf, the health plans behind Florida’s managed care program for Medicaid recipients keep saying they help many older Floridians move from nursing homes to live in community settings. What they fail to tell you is that these elders are just a small fraction of nursing home residents – the […]

Guest AuthorApril 10, 2017

As a mayor, job creation, healthy neighborhoods, and public safety are my top priorities. That’s why Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is such a winning idea for Pembroke Pines and, in my view, cities across Florida. PACE lets property owners leverage their home’s equity to finance hurricane-hardening, energy efficiency and renewable energy home improvements, like […]

Guest AuthorApril 10, 2017

Recently the House passed HB 11, legislation that would require labor unions representing public sector workers to certify they have more than half of the workers signed up as members every single year. In their view this will empower workers to somehow bargain better contracts and benefits and, they swear, in no way an attempt […]

Guest AuthorApril 6, 2017

The business rent tax is the only state-sanctioned sales tax on commercial leases in the entire country and Florida is the not-so-proud holder of that title. Not even tax-happy havens like California and New York impose this state tax on its businesses. Due to this burdensome tax, Florida businesses shell out more than $1.7 billion […]

Guest AuthorApril 5, 2017

Medicaid payment reform for nursing homes is both necessary and complex. And done well, it should be the result of clear policy objectives, careful consideration, vigorous debate and detailed modeling. On behalf of our 250 members across Florida, we encourage the Senate Appropriations Committee to ask tough questions and thoroughly vet the new nursing home […]

Guest Author
Aerial photo courtesy Jesse Biter.

Ewan Watt, Jordan Richardson: Lessons in lockup — what Florida can learn from Texas

Nathan Vink: Earth does not need us, but we most certainly need a healthy planet

Jim DeBeaugrine: Revenue from medical marijuana for treatment, prevention would be minimal

Darlene Farah: Prosecutors recognize death penalty’s harm to victims’ families

Kate MacFall: Florida black bears under threat again, for no reason

Emmett Reed: Who best entrusted with senior care – caregivers or insurers?

Frank Ortis: PACE sets consumer protection industry standard for home improvements

Andy Madtes: What HB 11 supporters don’t get

Pat Neal: Business rent tax stifles Florida’s economic future

Steve Bahmer: Senate must ask tough questions on Medicaid payment reform