Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Phil AmmannMay 22, 2015

Speaker Steve Crisafulli says the Florida House can start passing a budget in June, now that the state could receive disputed federal healthcare money this year. Thursday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter to the state Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) indicating it will provide Low-Income Pool (LIP) funding for the […]

Daniel TilsonMay 19, 2015

Simplicity is always in season for some politicians. Cherry-picking what information to share with the public is part and parcel of how some of our most powerful elected officials – Gov. Rick Scott, House Speaker Steve Crisafulli and House Budget Chair Richard Corcoran, to name a few – do government business. You may think the […]

Gary FineoutMay 18, 2015

Backers of Florida’s largest private-school voucher program scored a significant victory Monday in an increasingly bitter legal battle. Circuit Judge George Reynolds tossed out a lawsuit that contended that the program that serves nearly 70,000 students across the state by placing them in private and mostly religious schools is unconstitutional. Reynolds ruled that the groups […]

Martin DyckmanMay 12, 2015

Confronted with a particularly mean Legislature that was accomplishing nothing good, Florida’s governor knew one reason why. “Remarks have been made, ‘What do we care? We won’t be around,'” he said. That was the late Lawton Chiles, commenting 20 years ago on the most immediate effect of the 1992 term limits initiative. Although the axe […]

Martin DyckmanMay 12, 2015

Confronted with a particularly mean Legislature that was accomplishing nothing good, Florida’s governor knew one reason why. “Remarks have been made, ‘What do we care? We won’t be around,'” he said. That was the late Lawton Chiles, commenting 20 years ago on the most immediate effect of the 1992 term limits initiative. Although the axe […]

Diane RobertsMay 6, 2015

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE — Which is worse: stupid and evil or smart and evil? It’s a thought experiment: You can apply it to, say, George W. and Jeb Bush, Rick Scott and Adam Putnam, the Florida House and — Jesus, those idiots don’t deserve to be in the same paragraph as the word “thought.” But while […]

Melissa RossMay 6, 2015

Cooler heads will likely prevail as the Florida House and Senate troop back to Tallahassee in June. So says influential Jacksonville lobbyist and consultant Marty Fiorentino. “I think the Legislature will come back in Special Session and create a budget that’s good for Florida,” he said. “The leadership of both the House and Senate will […]

Diane RobertsMay 6, 2015

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE – Which is worse: stupid and evil or smart and evil? It’s a thought experiment: you can apply it to, say, George W. and Jeb Bush, Rick Scott and Adam Putnam, the Florida House and – Jesus, those idiots don’t deserve to be in the same paragraph as the word “thought.” But while […]

Florence SnyderMay 4, 2015

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican, isn’t the only Tallahassee twerp to publicly disrespect his elders and betters, but he’s the first in memory to be called to account in the court of public opinion. Gaetz, 31, got his law license all of seven years ago and doesn’t have much to show in […]

Jac VerSteegMay 4, 2015

Politicians who disagree with Supreme Court rulings frequently point out that the justices are “unelected.” That’s true on both the federal and state levels. Florida House Speaker Steve Crisafulli echoed that disdain with comments after a majority of Florida Supreme Court justices agreed with an opinion written by Justice Barbara Pariente, who wrote that the […]

Tag: Florida House
Image via the Associated Press.

Steve Crisafulli says House can now pass budget, after feds change mind on LIP

Daniel Tilson: Gov. Rick Scott puts KISS principle to work in healthcare debate

Florida judge throws out lawsuit against voucher program

Martin Dyckman: Add House-Senate meltdown to ill effects of Florida’s term limits

Martin Dyckman: Add House-Senate meltdown to ill effects of Florida's term limits

Diane Roberts: The unavoidable subject of stupid

Marty Fiorentino: June Special Session should get results

Diane Roberts: The unavoidable subject of stupid

Florence Snyder: Impossible to miss racist content in Matt Gaetz tweet

Jac Wilder VerSteeg: “Unelected” high court chides House for unelecting itself