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

Ryan RayJune 7, 2015

Tallahassee’s withering June heat seems to have made sunshine fashionable again in the Florida Capitol. As House and Senate lawmakers conferred during the weekend to reconcile their disparate budget proposals, transparency was the tool of choice for certain key budget writers. Going against the usual appropriations grain where budget priorities are wheeled and dealt among […]

Ryan RayJune 7, 2015

Two $10 million line items were at issue in Sunday’s meeting of Transportation & Economic Development budget conference panel, the third this weekend as lawmakers from both chambers of the Legislature sit down to hash out their considerable budget differences. The controversial public-private “All Aboard Florida” rail plan favored by Gov. Rick Scott made progress in […]

Ryan RayJune 6, 2015

The business-backed Associated Industries of Florida’s H2O Coalition has weighed in on the ongoing budget talks, signaling their opposition to funding for acquisition of ecologically sensitive land favored by environmentalists. AIF’s Senior Vice President for State and Federal Affairs Brewster Bevis issued a statement, prior to Saturday morning’s budget conference meetings, on behalf of the pro-industry water […]

Ryan RayJune 5, 2015

Moments after the House voted down a bipartisan plan to expand access to health care for hundreds of thousands of Floridians, those championing the efforts lamented the missed opportunity. Senate President Andy Gardiner issued a statement saying, “The critical health care challenges facing Florida still remain. This weekend, members of the Legislature will begin a […]

Ryan RayJune 5, 2015

“Well,” as the kids say, “that escalated quickly.” One day after Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (again) inflamed members of the Florida Senate by publicly casting doubt upon his father Sen. Don Gaetz‘ conservative credentials on Twitter, Gaetz the younger has reportedly drawn a formidable opponent in his campaign to succeed former President Gaetz. FloridaPolitics.com reported on Thursday afternoon that Bay […]

Ryan RayJune 5, 2015

Republican Donnie Horner III filed campaign paperwork Wednesday to run for House District 11 to succeed term-limited Rep. Janet Adkins, according to Florida Division of Elections records. Horner is a Jacksonville resident who works as a national sales representative for Beaver Street Fisheries, according to the candidate’s LinkedIn profile. He is also the son of former Jacksonville municipal […]

Ryan RayJune 4, 2015

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After an hours-long procession of skeptical questions from House Republicans, Rep. Mia Jones led the Senate’s so-called “FHIX 2.0” bill — SB 2A, a bill to expand health coverage to Florida’s more than 800,000 uninsured via private plans largely funded by the federal government — to a procedural milestone, as the bill was rolled over for […]

Ryan RayJune 3, 2015

Recent developments in two House seats are helping to start defining the field in 2016’s slate of competitive legislative races. In the race to succeed term-limited Republican Speaker pro tempore Matt Hudson, a new candidate — the third to file so far — has emerged: Republican attorney Joseph Asher Davidrow opened a campaign account in the […]

Ryan RayJune 3, 2015

The Senate’s FHIX 2.0 health care insurance plan carried the day in the upper chamber by a vote of 33-3 Wednesday afternoon. It came after an hours-long session of back-patting and exhortations to the House to join them on their quest for a health care “revolution,” as one senator called it. Warm feelings and high-minded speeches rang […]

Ryan RayJune 3, 2015

The intense intra-cameral friction that defined the 2015 Legislative Session seems not to have dissipated after a few weeks off but rather compounded, culminating in the most antagonistic legislative hearing of the year at Tuesday’s meeting of the Senate Appropriations Committee. There, budget chief Tom Lee led a chorus of indignant senators who excoriated AHCA deputy director Justin […]

Ryan Ray
Image via X (Duke Energy).

Jack Latvala, budget writers “horse trading in public” on member projects funding

Heat, lightning in air as economic development funding flies

AIF’s H2O Coalition says budget conferees should oppose state’s land-buying efforts

FHIX supporters say fight will go in spite of House rejection

Jack Latvala trolls Matt Gaetz on Twitter

Donnie Horner III jumps into crowded pool of candidates in HD 11

Senate’s FHIX 2.0 proposal advances in House — for now

House races in HD 49, 80 beginning to take shape

Jeff Brandes bucks Senate, votes “no” on revamped FHIX health care plan

House-Senate health care fight inflected by Twitterverse