Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersMarch 1, 2017

A gun laws debate featuring staunch 2nd Amendment Republican state Rep. Scott Plakon and irrepressible “common-sense reforms” Democrat state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith boiled down Tuesday night between a demand that fundamental rights should not be abridged without compelling reasons, and expressions of perceived compelling reasons. Plakon, a Longwood Republican who sponsored House Bill 6005, […]

Scott PowersFebruary 28, 2017

With Florida’s 2011 law forbidding doctors from talking to patients about guns struck down in federal appeals court, state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith and state Sen. Gary Farmer are seeking to repeal it. The law, introduced in 2011 by Republican state Rep. Jason Brodeur of Sanford as the “Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act” has been derided […]

Scott PowersFebruary 27, 2017

State Reps. Scott Plakon and Carlos Guillermo Smith – opposite sides on most gun rights debate in Tallahassee – will headline a debate panel being sponsored Tuesday by the Young Democrats of Orange County. Plakon, a Republican from Longwood who has sponsored a guns on campus bill and supported open carry bills; and Smith, the […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 23, 2017

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The issue of free speech on college campuses reached its nadir earlier this month when protests regarding the appearance of far-right writer and speaker Milo Yiannopoulos caused more than $100,000 damage to the University of Berkeley campus. Yiannapoulos speech was ultimately canceled, just as it was two weeks after protests erupted before his appearance at the University […]

Drew WilsonFebruary 21, 2017

A House bill to ban red-light cameras cleared its final committee Tuesday and is ready for a floor vote when the 2017 Legislative Session kicks off next month. The House Government Accountability Committee approved HB 6007 with a 13-3 vote; the only no votes came from Democratic Reps. Joe Abruzzo, Carlos Guillermo Smith and Clovis Watson. Last month, the bill had made […]

Mitch PerryFebruary 21, 2017

A bill to create statewide regulations for ridesharing companies easily advanced in its last committee stop Tuesday in the Florida House, but not without some dissent from a handful of Democrats on the panel. The bill (HB 221) is sponsored by Tampa Republican Jamie Grant and Palm Harbor Republican Chris Sprowls, and officials with Uber and Lyft are hoping that this is finally the […]

Associated PressFebruary 21, 2017

Florida Republicans are more determined than ever to pass bills expanding gun rights in the wake of the deadly Pulse nightclub and Fort Lauderdale airport shootings. They say law-abiding gun owners should be allowed to take their weapons to airports, government meetings and state universities, and would be in a better position to protect themselves […]

Scott PowersFebruary 10, 2017

Decrying that racing dog owners are “doping greyhounds,” state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith joined state Rep. Alexandra Miller and Dana Young Friday in another effort to tighten regulation of dog racing in Florida, with a bill explicitly banning the use of steroids. Smith, the Orlando Democrat, and Miller, the Sarasota Republican, introduced House Bill 743 […]

Scott PowersFebruary 3, 2017

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Citing email obtained through open-records requests, NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer declared the League of Women Voters of Florida as “Florida’s newest gun ban organization,” working in secret. “The League of Women Voters is not who you think they are. The Florida League of Women Voters is Florida’s newest gun ban organization,” Hammer wrote in a letter […]

Scott PowersFebruary 3, 2017

The social fallout from Puerto Rico’s multi-fasceted financial crisis must be dealt with in more immediate ways in Central Florida where so much of the diaspora is fleeing, a panel of scholars urged key Puerto Rican political leaders in Orlando Friday. Their call for concern for recognizing, assisting, and empowering Puerto Ricans settling by the […]

Tag: Carlos Guillermo Smith

Young Dems’ guns debate pits ‘fundamental rights’ versus ‘compelling reasons’

Carlos Guillermo Smith, Gary Farmer seek to repeal ‘Docs vs. Glocks’

Scott Plakon, Carlos Smith to duel in Young Dems’ guns panel

Florida to legislate free speech on college campuses?

Red-light camera ban clears final House committee

Ridesharing bill advances 21-1 in House committee

Florida looks to expand gun rights in wake of Pulse shooting

Carlos Smith, Alexandra Miller, Dana Young push new greyhound bill, banning steroids

NRA declares League of Women Voters as ‘gun ban organization’

Puerto Rico crisis panel brings it home to Florida