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Guest AuthorJune 25, 2015

Now the Special Session is finally over and the Legislature finally finished the budget they worked on long into the night. They handed it to the governor so he could have his way with it and put his pen to paper, signing it into law with one hand and slashing it with his veto pen […]

Guest AuthorMay 7, 2015

With state prison and criminal justice reforms in the news, state inmates, their families and supporters, lawyers, and other advocates should be aware of early-release options and strategies. Florida has nearly 101,000 inmates in 56 major state prisons and numerous annexes and work camps. A clemency commutation of sentence and parole are alternate paths to […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 25, 2015

It is widely acknowledged that the fox should not guard the henhouse. It follows that he shouldn’t hire those who do. That’s a potential problem in the Florida Senate’s comprehensive and well-meant prison bill. (SB 7020) Among other things, it creates a Florida Corrections Commission to monitor what goes on in a prison system becoming […]

Martin DyckmanFebruary 24, 2015

It is widely acknowledged that the fox should not guard the henhouse. It follows that he shouldn’t hire those who do. That’s a potential problem in the Florida Senate’s comprehensive and well-meant prison bill. (SB 7020) Among other things, it creates a Florida Corrections Commission to monitor what goes on in a prison system becoming […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 19, 2015

So we’ve got this Sunshine Law in Florida. It’s supposed to be all about “open” government decision-making and freedom of information, including unrestricted access to public records. As many of us now know more than ever before, Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the Cabinet have made a farce of the law. And they’ve had plenty […]

Christine Jordan SextonFebruary 13, 2015

You won’t have to travel to Tallahassee to catch the follow up to the high profile Cabinet meeting in Tampa last week. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has asked the Florida Channel to broadcast the March 4 Cabinet aides meeting so those interested in following the discussions during the Cabinet’s next meeting. The chief issue […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 3, 2015

It hasn’t been much of a honeymoon since Rick Scott won his re-election last November, and it may not get better anytime soon. The controversy regarding the dispute circumstances surrounding the firing of FDLE head Gerald Bailey continue to dog him on a daily basis, and a new poll conducted by St. Pete Polls commissioned […]

Dan GelberJanuary 20, 2015

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Baileygate took a foul turn Sunday from bad political optics to something much more ominous. And the Florida Cabinet and Legislature need to respond accordingly. Longtime cop and FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey was fired by Gov. Rick Scott staffers last month. Initially it was reported that during his reelection campaign, Scott political campaign staffers had […]

Dan GelberJanuary 19, 2015

Baileygate took a foul turn Sunday from bad political optics to something much more ominous. And the Florida Cabinet and Legislature need to respond accordingly. Longtime cop and FDLE Commissioner Gerald Bailey was fired by Gov. Rick Scott staffers last month. Initially it was reported that during his reelection campaign, Scott political campaign staffers had […]

Daniel TilsonJanuary 19, 2015

Our worst worries about Florida Gov. Rick Scott were well-founded. The bombshell of BS he unintentionally dropped in a press conference early last week has exploded in his face, revealing just what a bloody mess his governorship really is. By repeatedly pressuring highly esteemed, veteran Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Gerald Bailey to […]

Tag: cabinet
Mike Johnson. Image via AP.

Gary Stein: What have tax cuts really accomplished?

Reggie Garcia: Florida inmates should explore their early release options

Martin Dyckman: Prisons need monitoring, but so does Rick Scott

Martin Dyckman: Prisons need monitoring, but so does Gov. Rick Scott

Daniel Tilson: Ain’t no sunshine: Make our legislators clean the mud off Florida government ‘transparency’

Jeff Atwater secures TV coverage for cabinet aides meeting

New poll shows Rick Scott hurt by Baileygate

Dan Gelber: Baileygate takes an ominous turn

Dan Gelber: Baileygate takes an ominous turn

Daniel Tilson: Independent counsel needs to probe Scott administration