Associated PressNovember 19, 2024
'Unless somebody is able to rein the Governor in, I think we’ll see more of this in the future.'
Tag: Ben Wilcox
Associated PressNovember 19, 2024
Gabrielle RussonSeptember 5, 2024
11min0
One ethics watchdog said the free tickets raise red flags.
Sarah MuellerJanuary 7, 2020
7min541
Integrity Florida likens local government preemption bills to using a sledgehammer to kill a fly.
Jim RosicaDecember 13, 2017
6min281
A proposal to repeal Florida’s system of public financing for statewide campaigns won’t make it into the state constitution, at least for now. Frank Kruppenbacher, the proposed amendment’s sponsor, withdrew it from consideration at Wednesday’s meeting of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission’s Ethics and Election committee. That was after representatives of progressive groups, including the […]
Les NeuhausMarch 29, 2017
9min254
Legislation intended as a “what if’ scenario for potential snags in future political redistricting received a fair amount of blowback from several House committee members. Nevertheless, the House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee passed the bill Wednesday. HB 953, sponsored by Rep. Larry Ahern, received a thorough level of skepticism and interrogation due to a […]
Jim RosicaMarch 9, 2017
4min576
A bill aimed at streamlining the handling of political redistricting court cases cleared its last committee Thursday. The legislation (SB 352) was OK’d by the Senate Rules Committee on a 7-3 party-line vote. It’s now ready for the full Senate. It also “encourages” courts “to follow certain procedures to maintain public oversight when drafting a […]
Jim RosicaAugust 11, 2016
4min291
Lingering judicial vacancies aren’t causing a crisis in Florida’s federal courts — yet. That’s the upshot of a new study out Thursday from Integrity Florida, a government watchdog group. The state has four* unfilled U.S. district judgeships out of 37. That’s only an 11 percent vacancy here, which tracks with 10 percent of the nation’s 677 district […]
Diane RobertsFebruary 10, 2016
10min333
OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — They call us the Sunshine State, but Florida’s government prefers to operate in the shadows. Like vampire bats, cockroaches and mold spores. If you can’t see what the government is doing, you can’t fight it. That explains the 74 public records exemption bills before the Legislature this Session. Yes, 74 new attacks […]
Diane RobertsFebruary 9, 20168min317
OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — They call us the Sunshine State, but Florida’s government prefers to operate in the shadows. Like vampire bats, cockroaches and mold spores. If you can’t see what the government is doing, you can’t fight it. That explains the 74 public records exemption bills before the Legislature this session. Yes, 74 new attacks […]
Phil AmmannJanuary 26, 2016
2min257
After a handful of amendments, an omnibus ethics bill unanimously passed the House Government Operations Subcommittee Tuesday afternoon. LobbyTools reports that HB 593 will create a host of new mandates and requirements to help prevent fraud and waste in state government The strike-all amendment approved by the committee was similar to the original bill, only adding text […]