Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 22, 2016

The stack bills on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk just keeps getting higher. The Florida Legislature sent 20 bills — including ones to repeal the state’s ban on cohabitation, legislation to allow All Aboard Florida riders to drink beer on trains and a bill to create the Florida Holocaust Memorial — to Scott on Tuesday. The […]

Diane RobertsMarch 22, 2016

So the other jackboot has dropped: Rick Scott endorsed his Soul Brother but only after that big Florida Primary win. Scott signaled his man-crush back in January, writing breathlessly for USA TODAY that Herr Drumpf reminds him of, well, him: rich, an “outsider,” a business hombre incensed over “endless and tedious regulation and taxation.” You know, […]

Diane RobertsMarch 21, 2016

So the other jackboot has dropped: Rick Scott endorsed his Soul Brother but only after that big Florida Primary win. Scott signaled his man-crush back in January, writing breathlessly for USA Today that Herr Drumpf reminds him of, well, him: rich, an “outsider,” a business hombre incensed over “endless and tedious regulation and taxation.” You […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 16, 2016

Planned Parenthood supporters are calling on Gov. Rick Scott to veto a bill that could restrict access to reproductive health care. The organization plans to deliver more than 12,000 petitions opposing the bill (HB 1411) to Scott on Thursday. Among other things, the bill requires the Agency for Health Care Administration to perform annual inspections […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 15, 2016

Florida Gov. Rick Scott took a pre-emptive strike Tuesday, saying he plans to veto more than $250 million in projects when lawmakers send him the fiscal 2016-17 budget. The move comes just days after the Legislature voted overwhelmingly — 40-0 in the Senate and 119-1 in the House — to approve the $82.3 billion spending plan. […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 15, 2016

As elections officials across the state are focused on Election Day, Gov. Rick Scott is tasked with pondering giving them a pay raise. The Legislature on Tuesday sent Scott more than a dozen bills, including a proposal that would increase the base salaries of the state’s 67 county elections chiefs. The bill (SB 514) puts […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 11, 2016

The Florida Legislature overwhelmingly approved the state’s $82.3 billion spending plan, with just one lawmaker voting against it. The Senate passed the fiscal 2016-16 state budget shortly after 5 p.m. Friday with no debate. The House approved the budget 119-1 earlier in the day. State Rep. John Tobia, a Melbourne Beach Republican, was the lone […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 10, 2016

Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli bid farewell to his colleagues Thursday, thanking his staff and fellow for making the House “an incredible institution.” “It has been a true honor to serve with all of you,” Crisafulli said. “The past two years have been challenging; they have brought on extraordinary times. But I am so proud […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 10, 2016

A controversial bill that shields clergy members who refuse to perform gay marriages is now law. The so-called “Pastor Protection Act” was one of more than two dozen bills Gov. Rick Scott signed into law Thursday. Rep. Scott Plakon, the House sponsor, said this month the proposal offered protections to clergy who have concerns about […]

Associated PressMarch 9, 2016

Couples shacking up together would no longer be breaking the law under a bill passed by the Florida Legislature. The Florida House on Wednesday voted 112-5 to repeal the state’s largely unenforced prohibition on cohabitation. The bill heads now to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott. Under a law that has been on the books […]

Tag: Florida House

Cohabitation repeal, All Aboard Florida beer bill among the 20 latest bills sent to Rick Scott

Diane Roberts: Florida GOP voters don’t want to think, they just want to believe

Diane Roberts: Florida GOP voters don’t want to think, they just want to believe

Planned Parenthood calls on Rick Scott to veto abortion bill

Rick Scott says he’ll veto more than $250 million from state budget

Legislature sends bills on elections supervisors’ pay raise, Dozier School to governor

Legislature approves $82.3 billion budget, adjourns Sine Die

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli says goodbye to “an incredible institution”

“Pastor Protection” bill now state law

Shacking up: Florida Legislature repeals cohabitation ban