Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryMarch 7, 2018

Commissioner Les Miller‘s proposal to have Hillsborough County ban assault weapons died Wednesday after failing to pick up a second vote from the County Commission. The five-member board did come out to support a measure extending the waiting period to buy a firearm in the county from three days to five, as well as voting to advance new […]

Mitch PerryDecember 6, 2017

Nearly three months after Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill and Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn engaged in a verbal skirmish about who had the power to call for an emergency curfew in Tampa, County Commissioners would like local state legislators to weigh in. The issue goes back to the days leading up the arrival of Hurricane Irma […]

Mitch PerryNovember 15, 2017

Ken Hagan is offering no guarantees for a possible Tampa Bay Rays stadium move to Ybor City. For the first time since the Hillsborough County Commissioner divulged to the media last month that a site in Ybor City was identified where the Tampa Bay Rays could (maybe) relocate, Hagan addressed the issue with colleagues Wednesday. During […]

Mitch PerryDecember 7, 2016

Hillsborough County Commissioners approved a motion on Wednesday directing their attorney to research and provide draft language on a proposal that would ban them from receiving text messages from a lobbyist during a board meeting. However, the proposal’s ultimate passage is unclear, based on comments from some members. “In the event that we did receive a text […]

Mitch PerryDecember 4, 2015

Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission (PTC) Chairman Victor Crist says that Jeff Brandes’ recent inquiry on whether the PTC should be allowed to hire lobbyists was simply a ploy “to try to stir the pot” in advance of next week’s Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation meeting. “This is a publicity stunt by Sen. Brandes to stir […]

Mitch PerryDecember 3, 2015

(UPDATED) The Florida Attorney General’s office has decided it’s up to the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission to decide whether it wants to hire lobbyists. The decision came at the request from St. Petersburg GOP state Sen. Jeff Brandes for an opinion on the issue. In a letter to Brandes on Thursday, Assistant Attorney General […]

Mitch PerryNovember 23, 2015

Jeff Brandes is taking another shot at the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission, this time because it hired a lobbyist. The St. Petersburg-based state senator has been calling for the agency’s demise for several years now, in part because it has tried to regulate ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft. Now he wants Attorney General Pam […]

Tag: Chip Fletcher

Hillsborough Commission rejects assault weapons ban

Hillsborough Commissioners want Legislature to address who has curfew power

Stee-rike! ‘No guarantee’ of money for Rays stadium in Tampa

Hillsborough Commission to copy Richard Corcoran’s proposal to ban texting by lobbyists?

Tensions about Hillsborough PTC build as legislative delegation meeting approaches

Pam Bondi’s office says PTC can decide whether to hire lobbyists

Jeff Brandes wants legal opinion about Hillsborough PTC’s lobbying efforts