Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Ryan RayApril 10, 2015

A group of about 60 protestors marched from Florida State University to the Capitol Thursday evening in a show of force against recent Ku Klux Klan-related activity in Tallahassee. The event, organized by Students for a Democratic Society, culminated in the burning of a Confederate flag near the steps of the Old Capitol building. Referring to […]

Mitch PerryApril 10, 2015

The Coachella Music Festival is this weekend in Indio, Calif., about 20 minutes west of Palm Springs near the Coachella Valley, one of the hardest-hit drought-stricken regions of the Golden State. I’ve attended five such spectacles (2009-2013), and if you’re into music, it’s an amazing amount of fun — and also a bit of work, […]

Phil AmmannApril 9, 2015

First comes love … then comes marriage … but with the Florida House, no baby carriage exists for same-sex couples. Bill Day sharpens his gaze on a bill, HB 7111, passed Thursday by the House, which allows private adoption agencies the option to turn away gay couples, either on religious or moral grounds. The measure was in response to a […]

Phil AmmannApril 9, 2015

New documents reveal a legislative attack on a trust fund intended to pay for corrections officer training and equipment, which intensified already aggravated under-funding of the Department of Corrections. The situation has led to dangerous failures in felon supervision, reports Noah Pransky of WTSP News. In 2004, lawmakers closed the trust fund, although the state […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 9, 2015

Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee said Thursday night he’s beginning to plan how to bring the 2o15 Session in for a landing if lawmakers can’t resolve the budget impasse between the House and Senate. Lee said the chambers must reach an accord by “the middle of next week or thereabouts and then we are out […]

Ryan RayApril 9, 2015

In what might be the culmination of a years-long effort to pass legislation to regulate the growing cottage industry of private halfway houses for addicts known as “sober homes,” Rep. Bill Hager has successfully shepherded his HB 21 toward passage in the House by a vote of 113-2. “Dating back to my service on the Boca Raton City […]

Martin DyckmanApril 9, 2015

In May of 1957, people across the nation were anxious over a decision that Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins was about to make in a legal controversy unlike any other. It concerned an extradition request for a fugitive couple from Massachusetts, but one that was far from routine. The charge was kidnapping, but the real issue, […]

Daniel TilsonApril 9, 2015

Sometimes, it’s painful being right. You see, Gov. Scott this week publicly confirmed he’s opposed to ensuring affordable access to health insurance and healthcare for all Floridians. Again. With ultra-conservative Republicans in the Florida House still blocking the Senate from using Obamacare funding to insure more than 800,000 Floridians — thereby stopping 3-6 people from […]

Bob SparksApril 9, 2015

For years Florida governors and legislators stressed the need to diversify Florida’s economy. A state’s financial well-being so heavily dependent upon tourism and agriculture is a disaster or recession away from economic calamity, they said. They, and their successors who toe the same line, are right. Resorts, parks and Fresh From Florida are great for […]

James CallApril 9, 2015

Although the Florida House overwhelmingly passed a $690 million tax-cut package Thursday, it still faces an uncertain future in the Senate. While the Senate looks to plug a $2.2 billion hole in the health care budget, the House is focused on keeping Florida’s economy growing by cutting costs for households and businesses. “One of the […]

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Image via AP.

Anti-Klan activists march, burn Confederate flag in front of Old Capitol

Mitch Perry Report for 4.10.15 — A lollapalooza of tax cuts for everyone in Florida

Bill Day’s latest: Love, marriage and denied adoption for gays

While lawmakers starve DOC budget, probationers still pay for supervision

Tom Lee says he’s planning how to bring bumpy Session in for a landing

Sober homes certification bill passes House

Martin Dyckman: Will Florida Senate recognize that every child has the right to be loved?

Daniel Tilson: Don't get fooled again by Rick Scott's trick plays on health reform

Bob Sparks: Entertainment industry adds to Florida's economic menu

House passes tax-cut package; uncertain in Senate