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

Jim RosicaMarch 5, 2017

This is the first legislative session that South Florida’s Oscar Braynon II will be the Senate’s Democratic Leader. The 40-year-old, who succeeded term-limited former Leader Arthenia Joyner, was first elected in 2011 after serving in the House and on the Miami Gardens City Council before that. Though he’s in the minority, Braynon has high hopes […]

Jim RosicaMarch 5, 2017

Get ready for a rumble: Lawmakers will again tackle the sticky issue of alimony in the 2017 Legislative Session. Companion bills filed in the House and Senate aim to overhaul state alimony law to toughen the standards by which alimony is granted and changed. That’s despite unsuccessful tries in the last few years. Neither bill […]

Jim RosicaMarch 5, 2017

With competing legislation now set up in both chambers, the question remains whether lawmakers finally will pass a gambling overhaul or whether the effort will founder as it has in years past. Hanging in the balance is a new blackjack exclusivity deal for the Seminole Tribe of Florida that promises a cut to the state […]

Jim RosicaMarch 3, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott on Friday released the rest of his appointments to the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC), the panel that meets every 20 years to suggest rewrites and additions to the state’s governing document. Unsurprisingly, his selections are heavy with friends, appointees and supporters, including Education Commissioner Pam Stewart and former state Rep. and now Public Service Commissioner […]

Jim RosicaMarch 2, 2017

A North Florida judge used as an example by a House panel looking into impeachment of public officials has been suspended for six months by the Florida Supreme Court. The court’s 46-page decision, released Thursday, also orders 3rd Circuit Judge Andrew Decker to get a public reprimand and pay investigative costs. A judicial misconduct hearing panel had recommended […]

Jim RosicaMarch 2, 2017

A Tallahassee woman has dropped her lawsuit against a local Mexican restaurant after she fell off its donkey statue and broke her back. Leon County court dockets show Kimberly Bonn, who was being represented by the Morgan & Morgan personal injury law firm, had voluntarily dismissed her complaint on Tuesday. No reason was given for the […]

Jim RosicaMarch 1, 2017

The Seminole Tribe of Florida is expanding its gambling holdings to the Garden State. Hard Rock International, which the Tribe controls, Wednesday announced it had bought the shuttered Trump Taj Mahal casino on Atlantic City’s famed boardwalk from billionaire Carl Icahn. The deal includes two New Jersey investors. The sale comes four months after Icahn closed it amid […]

Jim RosicaMarch 1, 2017

Anyone ordered out of the country and later found in Florida could be charged with a crime under legislation filed Wednesday in the Florida Senate. The bill (SB 1358), sponsored by Sarasota Republican Greg Steube, would create a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in state prison. The proposal would apply to anyone who “is […]

Jim RosicaMarch 1, 2017

The nation’s top Indian gambling regulator last year told the Seminole Tribe of Florida that the federal government would be “hard-pressed” to approve its new blackjack agreement with the state. The tribe on Tuesday disclosed the June 2016 letter from Paula L. Hart, director of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Indian Gaming, as an attachment to its own […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 28, 2017

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, a Democrat, Tuesday said he will run for Florida governor in 2018. In a conference call with supporters, Gillum said he had a “clear and authentic voice to break through … and have an agenda for opportunity” for voters to identify with. He said he will focus on jobs and education. He said […]

Jim Rosica

2017 Legislative Session preview: Oscar Braynon on juvenile justice, incentives and Chance the Rapper

2017 Legislative Session preview: Alimony rears its head

2017 Legislative Session preview: Showdown over gambling—again

Pam Stewart, Jimmy Patronis among Rick Scott constitutional review panel picks

Supreme Court suspends judge considered by House impeachment panel

Lawsuit over donkey statue injury dropped

Seminole Tribe buys former Trump Taj Mahal casino in NJ

Greg Steube files illegal immigration criminalization measure

Letter: Feds may not have approved new Seminole Compact

Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum says he’s running for governor