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

Michael MolineJanuary 4, 2017

A state workers’ compensation advisory panel voted Wednesday to ask the Legislature to consider letting regulators establish a drug formulary in hopes of keeping medical costs under control. The panel also recommended changes to the way Florida’s workers’ compensation system reimburses facilities that treat injured workers, and to tighten the guidelines for authorizing medical care. […]

Michael MolineJanuary 3, 2017

Donovan Brown has added Employers Insurance Group to his roster of lobbying clients. Brown registered to represent Employers as of December. 6. He canceled his registration to represent a dozen or so insurance and other clients when he left Colodny Fass during the summer to strike out on his own. He now operates GDB Group […]

Michael MolineJanuary 3, 2017

Former state Sen. Steven Geller marked his election to the Broward County Commission in November by resigning from the Greenspoon Marder law firm and launching a solo legal and lobbying practice. Geller had been warned that under the Florida Commission on Ethics’ interpretation of state law, his continued presence at Greenspoon could prevent any of the […]

Michael MolineDecember 23, 2016

Three recently elected county court clerks will get early jumps on their new jobs because of retirements by their predecessors. Gov. Rick Scott announced Friday that he had appointed the new clerks to temporary terms lasting no more than a few days. Their elective terms begin Jan. 3 In Alachua County, J.K. “Jess” Irby will begin […]

Michael MolineDecember 23, 2016

An ill-advised boating excursion helped land an Orlando man behind bars for alleged workers’ compensation insurance fraud. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater on Friday announced the arrest of Ricardo Aponte in “an elaborate scam” involving a purported neck injury that prevented him from bending his body or working. Aponte’s employer paid more than $500,000 in […]

Michael MolineDecember 23, 2016

More than 3,000 at-risk children will spend the holidays with their birth or adoptive families after a push by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Agency staff worked with dependency judges and local groups to expedite the reunification of foster kids with their families or relatives, or to facilitate their adoption. “The heart of our […]

Michael MolineDecember 22, 2016

Florida TaxWatch chief Dominic Calabro conceded Thursday that legislators might balk at spending money next year to improve government efficiency, but pointed to 15 innovations that wouldn’t cost taxpayers a dime. They include prison reforms and requiring the governor and Legislature to pass specific legislation every year directing agency chiefs to find ways to operate more […]

Michael MolineDecember 20, 2016

Senate President Joe Negron on Tuesday defended his plan to store runoff from Lake Okeechobee instead of sending it into coastal estuaries where the nutrient-rich water can feed noxious algae blooms. One of the Stuart Republican’s top priorities for 2017 is to spend $2.4 billion to buy 60,000 acres of land south of the lake […]

Michael MolineDecember 20, 2016

Senate President Joe Negron wants to start preparing for a day when Congress turns the Medicaid system into a block-grant program administered by the states. “What I’d like to see the Legislature do … is to start building the framework of what a block grant program would look like now that there is a reasonable chance […]

Michael MolineDecember 19, 2016

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The chants, the hymns, and the placards persuaded exactly zero Donald Trump Electoral College delegates to vote for anyone else in Tallahassee Monday. Even so, organizers of a protest in the rotunda of Florida’s Capitol considered their efforts a success. “Two-hundred and fifty people came out,” said Maxwell Frost, of Democracy Spring in Orlando. “We […]

Michael Moline

Panel seeks changes to workers’ comp billing and new drug formulary

Employers Insurance Group retains Tallahassee lobbyist Donovan Brown

Steven Geller leaves Greenspoon Marder, cites ethics requirement

Personnel note: Court clerks assuming duties early in three counties

Use of boat gets Orlando man arrested for workers’ comp fraud

Florida children’s agency helped kids go home for the holidays

TaxWatch Christmas gift: 15 ways to save Florida taxpayers money

Joe Negron addresses Okeechobee overflow in broad-ranging briefing

Joe Negron envisions block grant system for Medicaid in Florida

Protesters’ ardor fails to persuade Trump electors in Tallahassee