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

Jim RosicaMay 4, 2018

As a May 25 deadline to complete discovery approaches, depositions continue in a lawsuit over how the state funds environmental conservation. Court dockets viewed Friday show a flurry of notices filed late last month for what are called “depositions duces tecum,” which compel witnesses to produce documents and be interviewed before a trial. Environmental advocacy groups […]

Jim RosicaMay 2, 2018

Senate President Joe Negron tendered his resignation from elected office to Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday, to be effective Nov. 6, “the same day his term as Senate President ends.” Despite his current and final term not ending till 2020, Negron had telegraphed his decision his recent months in ‘exit interviews’ he gave to state […]

Jim RosicaMay 1, 2018

Real estate billionaire Jeffrey Soffer has closed on a deal to buy South Florida’s former Mardi Gras Casino and Race Track. The closing was disclosed in a final order filed Monday and released Tuesday by the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). But the department, which regulates gambling in the state, withheld a final […]

Jim RosicaMay 1, 2018

A Miami firm that fights people’s traffic tickets for them is fighting back against The Florida Bar‘s effort to brand it as the unlicensed practice of law, or UPL. In a document filed late Monday with the Supreme Court of Florida, TIKD said The Bar “has yet to explain how (our) activities actually run afoul of the purpose of UPL […]

Jim RosicaMay 1, 2018

A Tallahassee judge has ruled that life insurance companies doing business in the state don’t have to track down beneficiaries under a 2016 law (SB 966) championed by former Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Circuit Judge Terry Lewis, in an order granting summary judgment for the plaintiffs filed April 20, said such a requirement can only […]

Jim RosicaApril 30, 2018

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has settled a lawsuit against it over sinkhole damage in Pinellas County’s Cloverplace condominium community. The settlement, disclosed after a public records request, came Monday — a little more than a month after the state’s insurer of last resort was hit with what the Tampa Bay Times called “one of the […]

Jim RosicaApril 27, 2018

The head of the clinic where Tampa strip club mogul Joe Redner‘s doctor works says he’s concerned whether medical marijuana regulators are “trying to go after Dr. Barry Gordon because of his involvement in the Redner case.” Redner is a lung cancer survivor who is in remission, and Gordon recommended juiced marijuana as the best […]

Jim RosicaApril 24, 2018

Sen. Dana Young is pressing the Department of Health to ramp up efforts to issue more licenses for medical marijuana providers. Young, a Tampa Republican, sent a letter to Office of Medical Marijuana Use director Christian Bax on Tuesday. She referred to the state’s cracking the 100,000 mark last Friday – coincidentally on April 20, or […]

Jim RosicaApril 24, 2018

Lawmakers have moved from informal talks to exchanging offers toward a Special Session on gambling, sources said late Monday. That’s despite an agreement announced last week between the state and the Seminole Tribe of Florida guaranteeing that the Tribe will keep sharing gaming revenue from its casinos at least till May 2019. The impetus behind the Special Session effort is a […]

Jim RosicaApril 23, 2018

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A month after losing a contract for the state’s first responder radio system, Harris Corp. has filed a public records lawsuit in Tallahassee. The Melbourne-based company filed its complaint last week. It seeks an “expedited hearing” after it asked for information that its competitor, Motorola Solutions, says is covered by a “trade secrets” exemption. The state on March […]

Jim Rosica
Image via the Associated Press.

Amendment 1 lawsuit still moving toward trial

Joe Negron to leave Senate early

Jeffrey Soffer closes deal to buy South Florida’s Mardi Gras Casino

TIKD fights back against Bar’s effort to shut it down

Judge sides with insurers in SB 966 lawsuit

Cloverplace Condos suit settles during appeal

Health Department sends ‘warning’ to Joe Redner’s marijuana doc

Dana Young: Let’s get the medical marijuana licensing train rolling

Lawmakers swapping deals toward Special Session on gambling

Harris files open records suit over statewide radio contract