Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaMarch 15, 2017

The Florida Senate has passed a change to the state’s “stand your ground” law that would make it easier for criminal defendants to claim self-defense. It was approved on a 23-15 vote during Wednesday’s floor session. Specifically, the bill would require prosecutors to prove “that a defendant is not immune from prosecution.” The bill (SB 128), […]

Les NeuhausFebruary 21, 2017

Three bills were passed unanimously Tuesday by members of the Senate Military and Veteran’s Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee as legislators shuffled back into the state capital following a long holiday weekend. Gulf Breeze Republican Doug Broxson, the committee’s vice-chair, led the 45-minute meeting. SB 370, introduced by Lakeland Republican Kelli Stargel, requires certain public […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 16, 2017

Republican lawmakers came to the defense of the state’s beleaguered affordable housing organization during a presentation of audit findings critical of the agency. The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee formally heard the report Thursday; the audit of the Florida Housing Finance Corp. (FHFC), steward of both state and federal affordable housing money, was released in December. Lawmakers focused on lavish […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 26, 2017

Abuse of the elderly is a problem gaining increased visibility. And a bill filed Thursday in the Florida Senate looks to mitigate that. Senate Bill 518, filed by Jacksonville Democrat Audrey Gibson, would create elder abuse fatality review teams to be supervised by the Department of Children and Families. These teams would look at “fatal and […]

Larry GriffinJanuary 24, 2017

At a Senate Judiciary Committee, a controversial bill that would shift the burden of proof to the prosecutors in Stand Your Ground cases got a pass and continued to move forward. Stand Your Ground is the oft-controversial law which justifies a case where a defendant used force to defend themselves. The bill, SB 128, was […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 16, 2017

Sen. Audrey Gibson and Rep. Kionne McGhee, two Florida Democrats, announced Monday they filed “judicial accountability” bills in both chambers. Each proposal calls for sentencing data to be compiled annually, according to a news release. (The bills, filed this morning, have not appeared public database; when they do, more detail will be forthcoming.) Once compiled, data will be […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 12, 2017

Northeast Florida lawmakers continue to make their push for bringing F-35 jets to Jacksonville, reports the Jacksonville Business Journal. The laudatory comments about the fighter jets, which would be housed at the National Guard hangar at the Jacksonville International Airport, were made in the Florida Senate’s Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security Committee. […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 2, 2017

Now that 2017 is all but upon us — after a tumultuous 2016 electorally — what’s next for Northeast Florida politics? One assurance: unlike in 2016, with a massive electoral turnover in the region’s Washington and Tallahassee delegations, as well as in both the state attorney and public defender offices, 2017 won’t see that. With […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 29, 2016

Jacksonville politics is like a Southern family reunion: there are characters of all types. The 2017 list points out ten of those members of the #Jaxpol family who are uniquely positioned to be in the headlines for one reason or another. We are hoping that 2016 was an outlier year for scandals, and are not projecting […]

A.G. GancarskiDecember 20, 2016

Those who were around in the 1970s remember the ubiquitous ERA YES buttons and bumper stickers promoting the Equal Rights Amendment. Though the ERA never made it to the U.S. Constitution, as the amendment failed to be ratified by 3/4 of the states by 1982, the ERA will yet again be considered (and likely not […]

Tag: Audrey Gibson

Senate passes fix to ‘stand your ground’ law

Senate committee OK’s 3 bills: job protection, veteran IDs, emergency management

GOP lawmakers defend Florida Housing Finance Corp.’s expenses

Florida Senate bill would create ‘elder abuse fatality review teams’

Controversial Stand Your Ground bill moves forward in Senate Judiciary committee

‘Judicial accountability’ bills filed in House, Senate

Northeast Florida lawmakers continue to advocate for F-35s in Jacksonville

A.G. Gancarski’s 10 predictions for Jacksonville politics in 2017

10 people to watch in 2017 in Jacksonville politics

Equal Rights Amendment gets another introduction in Florida Legislature