Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Martin DyckmanApril 10, 2015

In May 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, as […]

Peter SchorschApril 10, 2015

Responding to a backlash about the continued use of high-stakes standardized tests, the Legislature on Thursday passed significant changes to the system that was primarily put in place by then-Gov. Jeb Bush. The changes, though not as wide as critics wanted, still represent a departure for Republicans who had fully embraced the reforms championed by […]

Bruce RitchieApril 10, 2015

With a solar energy constitutional amendment proposed for the 2016 ballot, a pair of bills designed to provide tax savings for residents who install solar on their homes appears dead in the 2015 Legislative Session. SB 400 by Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican from St. Petersburg, would provide a ballot measure to extend a residential property […]

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, […]

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Kathleen King and Joe Gruters. Image via Max Goodman.

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

After backlash, Legislature puts limits on standardized testing

Solar bills falter in Legislature while ballot initiative rolls on

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?