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

Jim RosicaApril 11, 2017

With the House seemingly intent on gutting VISIT FLORIDA and eliminating Enterprise Florida, Gov. Rick Scott suggested he won’t stop counterpunching. The governor, who spoke to reporters after Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, has been openly warring with House Speaker Richard Corcoran. He’s been out to kill state government’s business incentives programs. Corcoran counts Enterprise Florida (EFI), the […]

Jim RosicaApril 11, 2017

Attorney General Pam Bondi is forcing businesses who settle unfair trade actions with her office to pony up millions of dollars to unregistered charities, according to a lawsuit filed last week. She also is directing contributions to her Office’s own nonprofit, Seniors vs. Crime, which is a “conflict of interest,” the suit says. Two of its […]

Jim RosicaApril 10, 2017

How low can we go: The number of first-time Florida Bar takers who pass the February administration of the exam has plummeted to its lowest level in eight years. Of 751 first-time takers, 433 passed the bar, or 57.7 percent, according to a Monday release from the state’s Board of Bar Examiners. That’s down from the high […]

Jim RosicaApril 10, 2017

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The head of the League of Women Voters of Florida said Monday that “a lack of transparency” still plagues the state’s Constitution Revision Commission. In a letter to chairman Carlos Beruff and commissioners, LWVF President Pamela Goodman added concerns over “potential roadblocks to meaningful public engagement, potential for leverage and influence over commission members, and a less […]

Jim RosicaApril 10, 2017

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It’s tough to be a top Democrat in Florida, but Evan Jenne is going for it. Jenne, of Dania Beach, recently announced his intention to seek the leadership of the House Democrats in 2020-22. In a state where Republicans have controlled the Legislature for the last two decades, “you can’t promise definitively that something will […]

Jim RosicaApril 7, 2017

Anti-abortion activists took to the microphone early and often at Friday’s Constitution Revision Commission hearing in Boca Raton. The 37-member panel, which convenes every 20 years to review and rewrite the state’s governing document, is now on a listening tour, holding public hearings around the state. A series of speakers Friday urged the commission to amend the […]

Jim RosicaApril 6, 2017

At halftime in this year’s Legislative Session, House Speaker Richard Corcoran sounds like he’s getting a bit fatigued with questions about “transparency.” At a media availability on Thursday, the Land O’ Lakes Republican pushed back against a reporter’s question about special interests who draft bills, and whether leadership pressures committee chairs to hear those bills. “All I […]

Jim RosicaApril 6, 2017

Former and current black lawmakers took to the Old Capitol steps Thursday to call for a likeness of educator and civil-rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune to replace a statue of a Confederate general now in the U.S. Capitol. Led by Sen. Perry Thurston, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat, and surrounded by alumni members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha […]

Jim RosicaApril 6, 2017

The Florida Supreme Court no longer will allow its justices to keep working indefinitely on open cases after they leave the bench, according to a new rule released Thursday. After Justice James E.C. Perry officially retired on Dec. 30, Chief Justice Jorge Labarga allowed him to finish work on opinions as a “senior justice,” following decades of court practice. […]

Jim RosicaApril 5, 2017

House votes on senate gambling bill—by amending it with their own bill The House stood its ground, voting 73-40 Wednesday to replace the Senate’s gambling overhaul (SB 8) with its own version (HB 7037). That sets up the conference process by which both sides say they can “iron out the differences” between their different approaches. […]

Jim Rosica
Image via X (Duke Energy).

Rick Scott won’t end fight for economic development, tourism funding

Lawsuit: Pam Bondi forcing contributions to unregistered charities

Florida winter bar exam passage rate now at lowest point in 8 years

League of Women Voters says lack of openness still hindering constitutional rewrite panel

Evan Jenne’s ‘tipping point’: A run for House Democratic Leader

Abortion at issue in latest constitutional review hearing

House Speaker Richard Corcoran: The press corps’ enabler

Perry Thurston, others want Confederate statue issue resolved

Supreme Court tweaks its ‘senior justice’ rule after controversy

Short takes: Legislative roundup for Wednesday