Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJuly 28, 2018

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With a brow-raising $89.3 billion for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the state appropriated the largest budget in Florida history, a $4.36 billion increase from last year. Those big numbers make Florida TaxWatch’s recently released Taxpayer’s Budget Guide all the more valuable. Authored by the watchdog group’s vice president of research, Kurt Wenner, the interactive series […]

Peter SchorschJuly 21, 2018

Clouds are brewing over the journalism industry, but the long-term forecast is promising. That’s according to Diane McFarlin, the former publisher of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and current dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism. She delivered a media ‘forecast’ to an audience of UF alumni in Tallahassee this week. In the short term, […]

Guest AuthorJune 29, 2018

It’s another hot Florida summer and as a mother of five children, that means spending time running them from one summer camp to the next, and spending lots of time in the car. As I drive around, the one thing that stands out is the number of people who are texting or paying more attention […]

Scott PowersMay 23, 2018

An apparent glitch in how the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles tracks and responds to drivers’ insurance coverage once resulted in the suspension of the driver’s license of the state’s current top insurance regulator, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Through his staff, Patronis said he was unaware there had been any problems […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 2, 2018

January is “Move Over” month in Florida, according to a Tuesday press release from AAA-The Auto Club Group. A new law requires passing motorists to give adequate space to law enforcement, tow truck drivers, utility service vehicles and other first responders that are stopped on the side of the road. “This law is in place […]

A.G. GancarskiApril 5, 2017

The Duval County Clerk of Courts is allowed to use the Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles database known as DAVID. And a report from the Jacksonville City Council Auditor delineates that one of 15 employees with such access abused it. The DAVID system houses confidential information of drivers and is supposed to be used […]

William PatrickJanuary 23, 2017

It’s a vicious circle: Poor people who can’t afford their court-related costs and penalties incur escalating costs for not paying, further indebting them to the state. “It’s a circle that some people get stuck in and they can’t get out,” Christopher Torres, a Tallahassee defense attorney and former Florida assistant attorney general, told Watchdog.org. Compounding the problem is […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterDecember 12, 2016

State lawmakers will once again try to strengthen the state’s texting while driving during the 2017 Legislative Session. Two bills have already been filed in the Florida House aimed at beefing up the state’s texting while driving ban. The first — House Bill 47, sponsored by Reps. Richard Stark and Emily Slosberg — removes language from […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterOctober 3, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for all of Florida as Hurricane Matthew barrels toward Jamaica and Haiti. Heavy bands from the Category 4 storm have already flooded streets and sent many people to emergency shelters in the two countries. Two deaths have already been reported in Haiti, bringing the total for the […]

Jim RosicaApril 19, 2016

Don’t try to renew your driver’s license online the weekend of May 6-8. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) will be offline then as it moves its computers and other equipment to a new home, the agency said in a Tuesday news release. The move begins 8 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) on Friday, […]

Tag: Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Budget breakdown

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Weathering the storm

Jackie Toledo: Enough is enough — put down the phone

Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s insurance overseer, once sanctioned in apparent insurance glitch

AAA promotes ‘Slow Down, Move Over’ month

‘Unauthorized’ DMV database deep dives by Duval Clerk of Courts’ employee

Proposed legislation could break the cycle of debt for many caught in Florida’s legal system

Emily Slosberg files bill to strengthen texting while driving law

Rick Scott declares state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Matthew

State DHSMV moving its computers in May