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

Ryan RaySeptember 24, 2015

Just hours after Sen. Nancy Detert announced she will forgo the remainder of her state Senate term to pursue a seat on the Sarasota County Commissioner, former Sarasota Rep. Doug Holder announced he will run to succeed her in 2016. Holder was originally slated to pursue the seat in 2018, when Detert was slated to term out, but her […]

Ryan RaySeptember 24, 2015

Next month, Steve Schale is taking his talents to sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic strategist will lead a bipartisan delegation of American political professionals to Namibia and Botswana as part of an exchange program sponsored by the American Council of Young Political Leaders. Schale will escort a cohort of Americans to meet and swap electoral insights with the National Youth […]

Ryan RaySeptember 23, 2015

A representative of Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida, or CARE FL, denounced a new federal report on the likely environmental impact of proposed construction to implement All Aboard Florida, a private passenger transit system that aims to connect Orlando and Miami via train. CARE FL Treasurer Brent Hanlon said Wednesday a recent report by the Federal Railway Administration – […]

Ryan RaySeptember 23, 2015

Sen. Rob Bradley stepped forward on Wednesday and sponsored the Senate companion bill to a proposal by Rep. Dennis Baxley, father of the state’s controversial “Stand Your Ground” law. Bradley – an Orange Park Republican and former state prosecutor – lent his name to Baxley’s push to boost the legal standing of defendants who claim they acted […]

Ryan RaySeptember 23, 2015

It’s not exactly the “Eyeball Wars” of yesteryear, but on Wedneday Sen. Jack Latvala waded into the fraught world of vision care. Latvala’s just-filed SB 340 is a move similar to a bill from the 2015 Legislative Session in that it’s designed to prevent the concentration of too much control by insurers over access to eye and vision care. […]

Ryan RaySeptember 23, 2015

Sen. Thad Altman filed a bill on Tuesday that would allow Florida law enforcement to pull drivers over solely for texting while driving. Under current law officers may only cite drivers for doing so as a secondary offense, not warranting a traffic stop on its own. State statute 316.305 provides that enforcement of the state’s texting-while-driving prohibition “must […]

Ryan RaySeptember 22, 2015

Sen. Jeff Brandes dashed off a flurry of letters to state agency heads on Tuesday asking for more details on Florida’s system of revoking and suspending drivers’ licenses – and the financial strain, even incarceration, that comes with it. Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican, chairs the Senate Transportation Committee, which he says will draft a new law […]

Ryan RaySeptember 21, 2015

A new report released Monday by online financial services firm WalletHub says Florida ranks near the bottom nationally when it comes to the fairness of its state and local taxes. The survey evaluated the taxes levied by all 50 states – broken down by income, property, sales & excise and “other” taxes – and how they are levied […]

Ryan RaySeptember 21, 2015

Depending on who you ask American high school football is a religion, a venerable rite of passage or a dangerous haven for violence. But along Florida’s Suncoast – where tennis stars like Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova were groomed for the big time starting well before puberty – it is becoming something else entirely, writes Jeré Longman in The New York Times: […]

Ryan RaySeptember 18, 2015

U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham on Friday renewed her call for an up-or-down vote on a House budget to avoid a shutdown of the federal government. On Thursday, Graham called upon the House’s Republican leadership to pass a “clean” budget extension – that is, one without a provision to defund Planned Parenthood as many right-leaning House GOP-ers are […]

Ryan Ray
Family members appear behind a pile of debris outside their home in Steinhatchee, Fla., Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, after Hurricane Helene slammed Florida's Big Bend as a Category 4 storm Thursday night. (Ashleigh Lucas/WUFT News)

Doug Holder makes it official, jumps into 2016 race for SD 28

Steve Schale’s big news

Anti-rail group slams federal study of All Aboard Florida

Self-defense enhancement bill gets Senate companion

Jack Latvala seeks to open up vision care market

Thad Altman seeking stricter rules on texting while driving

Jeff Brandes wants answers on “cruel” driver’s license suspension regime

Reliance on property, sales taxes holds Florida back in new tax-fairness report

In Florida, high school football goes pro

Gwen Graham calls for extended House session to avoid shutdown