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

Ryan RayOctober 12, 2015

Sen. Oscar Braynon has filed the first proposed re-drawn Senate map under President Andy Gardiner‘s new redistricting regime, following a consent agreement under which the Senate admitted it violated state constitutional prohibitions against gerrymandering. Notably, the map does not feature a district which traverses the Tampa Bay, combining parts of St. Petersburg and Tampa by way of unpopulated […]

Ryan RayOctober 8, 2015

John Morgan said Thursday that all donations in 2015 to his United for Care group, which is pushing for a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana, will be personally matched by the millionaire attorney to the tune of nine to one. Morgan said in a prepared statement that his personal convictions will drive him to spare no […]

Ryan RayOctober 8, 2015

The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony from staff of two state agencies and a circuit court judge on Thursday morning as it continued to seek answers about a Florida driver licensing regime previous witnesses have called “cruel.” Panel Chairman Jeff Brandes wrote a handful of key administrators last month saying, “It is the intent of the committee […]

Ryan RayOctober 7, 2015

Most of Florida’s 29 U.S. representatives in Washington, D.C., signed a letter to a high-ranking Army official on Tuesday calling for federal action to help revive the ailing Apalachicola River. Twenty-two members of Congress – an evenly-divided 11 Republicans and 11 Democrats – wrote Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy of their concern with newly released […]

Ryan RayOctober 7, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott – away in Democratic New York on another out-of-state trip to entice businesses to re-locate jobs to Florida – is not known for being particularly chatty with his home-state press corps, but he did make time to speak with FOX New’s Neil Cavuto on Wednesday afternoon. Scott, as usual, hewed closely to his well-worn talking […]

Ryan RayOctober 7, 2015

Department of Economic Opportunity head Jesse Panuccio faced a battery of pointed questions and criticism over an executive branch battle with a labor group and the state’s beleaguered unemployment system in a Wednesday meeting of a Senate budget panel. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Tourism, Transportation and Economic Development Chairman Jack Latvala had originally requested the presence […]

Ryan RayOctober 6, 2015

A House panel Tuesday morning advanced a bill to grant concealed weapons licensees to carry their guns openly in Florida. Or as sponsor Rep. Matt Gaetz put it, restore a right “granted not by government, but by God.” Despite an admonishment from chairman Carlos Trujillo to keep questions to the text of the bill itself and avoid “philosophical” […]

Ryan RayOctober 5, 2015

The Senate’s committee on Commerce & Tourism has advanced legislation to prevent companies for asking employees for their Facebook or Twitter passwords. The panel on Monday approved SB 186 sponsored by Lake Worth Sen. Jeff Clemens, which explicit prohibits employers from requiring access to the private social media accounts of workers or prospective hires. “The issue is, you’re putting […]

Ryan RayOctober 5, 2015

Hollywood Sen. Eleanor Sobel filed the “Victoria Q. Gaetz Racing Greyhound Protection Act” for the second time in as many years Friday. The bill, whose title honors the animal-loving wife of former Senate president Sen. Don Gaetz, would mandate that greyhound racetrack operators report all injuries to the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation. While many tracks […]

Ryan RayOctober 2, 2015

The Jeb Bush campaign announced Friday the former Florida governor picked up three significant endorsements in his struggle to keep the spotlight from GOP frontrunner Donald Trump and, increasingly, home state rival Marco Rubio. Four-term Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, former Nebraska Gov. and U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns, and Pittsburgh Steelers great Lynn Swann have all signed up for Team Jeb! according to a […]

Ryan Ray
Image via the Associated Press.

Oscar Braynon rolls out first Senate redistricting plan ahead of Special Session

John Morgan says he’ll match medical pot drive donations 9 to 1

Transportation panel inches closer to driver’s license suspensions fix

22 members of Florida’s U.S. delegation call on feds to reconsider Apalachicola River plans

Rick Scott on Fox News: “People want an outsider”

Jack Latvala, Senate budget panel clash with DEO chief on unemployment

House panel pulls trigger on open carry

Social media privacy bill advances in Senate

Greyhound injury reporting bill again circulates for 2016 Session

Jeb Bush scoops up three more Baby Boomer endorsements