Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaApril 18, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott went once more unto the breach Tuesday, pressing his case for full funding of the state’s VISIT FLORIDA tourism marketing agency. The Republican governor—surrounded by VISIT FLORIDA’s CEO Ken Lawson, board chairman William Talbert, and others—spoke with reporters outside his Capitol office. The GOP-majority House of Representatives, which at first wanted to eliminate […]

Michael MolineApril 18, 2017

The House voted unanimously Tuesday to apologize to survivors of four African-American men who were brutalized in 1949 following a false accusation of rape. The House also approved an apology to the survivors of abuse at the Dozier and Okeechobee schools for boys, and approved plans for memorials to children who died on the Dozier […]

Jim RosicaApril 18, 2017

A bill that would allow advertising by beer companies in the state’s theme parks is ready for a final vote in the Senate. The measure (SB 388), carried by Republican Sen. Travis Hutson of Elkton, was heard on the floor Tuesday and placed on the third reading calendar. It eases the state’s “tied house evil” law […]

Staff ReportsApril 18, 2017

A claim bills providing a $3.75 million payment in the death of Nubia Barahona passed the Senate Tuesday on a 37-0 vote. The payment from the Department of Children and Families would also compensate Nubia’s twin brother Victor Barahona. The legislation was filed by Miami Republican Jose Felix Diaz and Plantation Democrat Katie Edwards (HB 6523). The House version is […]

Michael MolineApril 17, 2017

The Senate sponsor of legislation crimping local restrictions on Airbnb and other home vacation rentals abruptly cried uncle Monday — confusing a committee room full of lobbyists, plus a few committee members. Sen. Greg Steube acquiesced in a late amendment by Sen. Jeff Brandes that essentially gutted his bill. CS/SB 188, as amended, passed on […]

Michael MolineApril 17, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott endorsed a key element of Senate President Joe Negron’s Lake Okeechobee plan Monday — storing and treating water south of the lake — and called upon the House and Senate to invest $200 million in repairs to the Herbert Hoover dike. Scott said during a news conference that the state can afford […]

Jim RosicaApril 17, 2017

A bill that would do away with a cap on how many trauma centers can open in Florida cleared its latest committee Monday. The bill (HB 1077), sponsored by GOP state Rep. Jay Trumbull of Panama City, was OK’d on a 10-5 party-line vote in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Health Care. He said the motivation for the bill […]

Michael MolineApril 14, 2017

House and Senate budget negotiators who’ll begin conference negotiations next week will have to account for more than 1,700 additional students, state economists concluded Friday. That may not sound like a lot in the context of the more than 2.8 million kids enrolled in the PreK-12 system. Still, it adds up to nearly $12.3 million […]

Michael MolineApril 13, 2017

The Senate met the two-thirds requirement Thursday to send Gov. Rick Scott a bill creating a public-records exemption for information that could identify murder witnesses. The vote was 34-3 to accept CS/CS/HB 111, the House version of legislation sponsored in the Senate by Ocoee Democrat Randolph Bracy. Exemptions to Florida’s stringent public-records laws require two-thirds votes in […]

Michael MolineApril 13, 2017

A bill clarifying that homeowners need not wait to be attacked inside their dwellings before resorting to defensive force passed the Senate Thursday. CS/CS/SB 1052 would reconcile conflicting statutes involving self-defense, correcting drafting errors muddying the legal situation made in 2014 legislation, bill sponsor David Simmons said. “Senators, this protects all of us in our own home. It’s […]

Tag: 2017 Legislative Session
Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

Rick Scott pushes ahead for VISIT FLORIDA funding

House votes apology to Groveland Four family members, Dozier survivors

Booze bill ready for vote in Senate

Senate unanimously approves claims bill for abuse survivor Victor Barahona

Bill sponsor bows out of fight over short-term vacation rentals

Rick Scott endorses water storage south of Lake Okeechobee, but not buying land

Bill to remove limit on number of trauma centers moves in House

State economists expect an additional 1,700 PreK-12 students next year

Public-records exemption for murder witnesses heading to the governor

Senate votes to clear up ‘mistakes’ in self-defense law for homeowners