Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschSeptember 22, 2018

Brian Pitts, a perennial presence in the halls of the Legislature, has readied 11 bill proposals ahead of the 2019 Legislative Session. They cover a wide range of topics: Education, ethics, civil and criminal justice, and judicial reform. Pitts’ nonprofit Justice-2-Jesus this year is taking on a “controversial and aggressive bill package,” according to his website. The […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 20, 2018

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Tampa Republican Sen. Dana Young offloaded more than half of the cash available in her affiliated political committee last week with a single, $800,000 check to the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. Her committee, Friends of Dana Young, had $1.38 million in the bank on Sept. 7 but at the end of the reporting period […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 18, 2018

Gainesville voters will decide in November whether to change the governance of their municipal utility and Sen. Keith Perry, a Gainesville Republican, has been using advertising – some say deceptively – in a push to get the measure passed. The utility, Gainesville Regional Utilities, is currently under the control of the Gainesville City Commission, but the referendum […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 18, 2018

St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes has released a new ad for his re-election campaign highlighting his roots in Senate District 24 and promising to hold “bureaucrats and politicians” accountable. The 30-second ad features shots of Brandes walking with and talking to employees of a lumber yard and touts the values instilled in him when […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 16, 2018

State Senate President Bill Galvano, Majority Leader Wilton Simpson and Fort Myers Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto will be in Tampa next Friday to help four area Senate candidates boost their campaign accounts ahead of the November general election. The Sept. 17 event will be held in the Snowy Egret Room on the second floor of the […]

Staff ReportsSeptember 14, 2018

Incoming House Speaker Jose Oliva will take over chairmanship of the Public Integrity and Ethics Committee “to investigate the misuse of funds by the University of Central Florida,” term-limited Speaker Richard Corcoran announced Friday. The university’s chief financial officer, William Merck, stepped down Thursday after an audit revealed the school improperly used $38 million in state […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 12, 2018

Incoming Senate President Bill Galvano will host a fundraiser for Gainesville Republican Sen. Keith Perry in Tallahassee next week. The Sept. 20 reception will be held at the Florida Retail Federation office, 226 S. Adams St., from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Making the host committee alongside Senate Appropriations Chair Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 10, 2018

As Gov. Rick Scott continues to stump for Senate, his influence over policy in the state capital appears to be waning. The latest example of such: incoming Senate President Bill Galvano and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission snubbing Scott’s request to move $58 million from the state’s school safety “guardian program” to hire more campus police officers. “We are less […]

A.G. GancarskiSeptember 8, 2018

Incoming Senate President Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican, sees positives in the state’s latest long-range financial outlook, per a memo released Friday. Galvano describes the outlook as “steady and consistent with prior budget and economic snapshots” from recent years, with “modest surpluses in the current and upcoming fiscal year, followed by shortfalls in the out-years that would […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 6, 2018

A new ad paid for by a committee charged with maintaining the Republican majority in the state Senate is hitting House Minority Leader and Senate District 18 candidate Janet Cruz for claiming homestead exemptions on multiple properties a decade ago. The ad, titled “Lower Taxes,” notes that even though the Tampa Democrat, who is challenging […]

Tag: Bill Galvano
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Takeaways from Tallahassee — Signs of Session

Spending spree: Senators send back up to swelling GOP Senate fund

Keith Perry under fire for Facebook ads on Gainesville utility

Jeff Brandes says he will hold politicians accountable in new SD 24 ad

Top Senate Republicans raising cash for Tampa Bay candidates on Monday

Jose Oliva to lead investigation of misspent state money at UCF

Bill Galvano helping Keith Perry raise re-election cash in Tallahassee

Rick Scott ‘very disappointed’ in school safety funding snub

Bill Galvano upbeat about state budget picture

New ad hits Janet Cruz over past property tax blunder