Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Gary FineoutMarch 7, 2017

Once the Florida Legislature kicks off its 60-day Session March 7, legislators are expected to pass, or kill, dozens of measures dealing with everything from abortion to gambling and the environment. So far, more than 2,000 bills have been filed, but in the end, legislators usually pass fewer than 300 pieces of legislation each year. […]

Michael MolineFebruary 21, 2017

Bills that would require unanimous jury votes to impose the death penalty, and ask voters whether to impose term limits on appellate judges, were headed to the House floor following their approval Tuesday by the House Judiciary Committee. The death penalty bill attracted a single “no” vote, and that was from Democrat Joe Geller, who said […]

Associated PressFebruary 20, 2017

Florida prosecutors can seek the death penalty in ongoing cases despite a state Supreme Court ruling that found a new death penalty law unconstitutional. The court ruled Monday that the death penalty can be applied as long as there is a unanimous jury recommendation. It ruled last October that a new state law requiring at […]

Michael MolineJanuary 10, 2017

A House committee considering the future of Florida’s death penalty statute heard Tuesday from a man once sentenced to Death Row. Henry Brown, who described himself as a capital mitigation consultant in Tallahassee, said he was sentenced to death in 1973 but released after he pleaded to second-degree murder in 1993, although he denied killing […]

Jim RosicaDecember 30, 2016

From algebra to Zika, 2016 brought a plethora of material to the Capitol Press Corps. Trying to pick the top state government stories is a subjective pursuit, to say the least, but here are the FloridaPolitics.com picks for the passing year. In (kind of) chronological order: — Kevin McCarty ousted as state Insurance Commissioner, replaced by […]

Martin DyckmanDecember 23, 2016

Thanks to Vladimir Putin‘s hackers and his outlets in the American press, we know that Hillary Clinton said different things in public and in private. Imagine that. But I suspect that you couldn’t find very many politicians (or other people, for that matter) who don’t speak differently depending on who’s listening. Money could safely be […]

Jim RosicaDecember 23, 2016

The state’s leading death penalty opposition group is calling for more than 200 Florida death row inmates to have their sentences reduced to life imprisonment. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (FADP) says a Florida Supreme Court decision on convicted killer Mark Asay out Thursday means that many are “entitled to be resentenced.” The court […]

Jim RosicaDecember 22, 2016

Mark Asay will remain on the state’s death row, the Florida Supreme Court decided Thursday, likely to become the “first white person executed for the murder of a black person in this state.” Its 80-page opinion also determined that this year’s U.S. Supreme Court opinion, Hurst v. Florida, requiring Florida juries—not judges—”to (determine) the facts necessary to sentence a defendant […]

Michael MolineDecember 20, 2016

Senate President Joe Negron on Tuesday defended his plan to store runoff from Lake Okeechobee instead of sending it into coastal estuaries where the nutrient-rich water can feed noxious algae blooms. One of the Stuart Republican’s top priorities for 2017 is to spend $2.4 billion to buy 60,000 acres of land south of the lake […]

Joe HendersonDecember 9, 2016

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Convicted murderer Ronald B. Smith reportedly coughed and heaved for 13 minutes Thursday night as the state of Alabama carried out its execution of the condemned murderer. What does this have to do with Florida? Maybe plenty. Florida has applied the death penalty with enthusiasm since it was reinstated here in 1976. The state has […]

Tag: death penalty
Elizabeth Martinez Strauss. Image via campaign.

Guns, gambling and taxes: Legislators return to work

Judicial term limits, death penalty bills clear final House committee votes

Florida prosecutors can seek death penalty despite questions

Former death row prisoner appears before House panel

Jim Rosica’s review of top state government stories in 2016

Politicians can learn lesson from LeRoy Collins balance of public, private speech

After Asay decision, anti-death penalty advocates call for commutations

In Mark Asay case, court says death penalty ruling isn’t retroactive

Joe Negron addresses Okeechobee overflow in broad-ranging briefing

Florida’s death penalty, a never-ending fight between state, opponents