Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 8, 2017

Call it another small victory for recess. The Senate PreK-12 Education Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously approved a bill (SB 78) requiring school districts to provide at least 100 minutes of supervised, unstructured free play each week — or 20 minutes of free play each week — to students in kindergarten through fifth grade. While the bill received […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 3, 2017

The state’s sandy shores have a powerful ally in the Florida Legislature. Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala announced Friday he filed legislation aimed at saving the state’s beaches from continued erosion. The proposal (SB 1590) would, among other things, dedicate a minimum of $50 million a year to beach nourishment and inlet management restoration projects […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 10, 2017

A Senate bill filed this week would create a task force to address the state’s affordable housing needs. The bill (SB 854), filed Friday by Sen. Jeff Brandes, would create an affordable housing task force assigned to the Florida Housing Finance Corp. According to the St. Petersburg Republican’s proposal, the task force would be charged […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 9, 2017

Industry advocates said a Senate proposal filed this week could change the way nursing homes that accept Medicaid are paid without severely impacting high-quality nursing homes. Sponsored by Sen. Aaron Bean, the bill (SB 712) transitions nursing homes that accept Medicaid payments to a prospective payment system. But LeadingAge Florida CEO Steve Bahmer said Bean’s […]

Michael MolineFebruary 7, 2017

House members had filed 319 bills seeking money for local projects as the deadline for such legislation fell Monday. They would cost more than $708 million if enacted. Under rules approved when Richard Corcoran assumed the speakership, members must file a specific bill describing each project they hope to insert into the state budget. The […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 2, 2017

The Florida House has fired back, filing a proposed committee bill this week completely eliminate Enterprise Florida, the state’s public-private jobs agency. The proposed committee bill (PCB CCS 17-01) would, among other things, abolish Enterprise Florida and Visit Florida, two organizations which have drawn the ire of House Speaker Richard Corcoran. The bill, which is […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 26, 2017

There is a movement afoot in the United States to allow reformed criminals to have a second chance, and a couple of bills in the Florida House could be part of that. Earlier this month, Rep. Shervin Jones filed House Bill 31, which would remove the requirement on job applications for an applicant to disclose whether […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJanuary 23, 2017

Drug Free America is urging Florida lawmakers to “proceed with caution” as they begin crafting legislation to implement the state’s newest medical marijuana law. “While we were opposed to Amendment 2 for a number of specific reasons, we recognize Florida voters have spoken,” said Calvina Fay, the executive director of Drug Free America, in a statement. “We also […]

A.G. GancarskiJanuary 17, 2017

A bill codifying statewide standards for the reporting of drug overdoses was filed in the Florida House Tuesday, a response to the opioid epidemic. House Bill 249, filed by Southwest Florida Republican Bob Rommel, requires certain people to report overdoses to authorities in their respective counties. Failure to report is not an option, according to the […]

Michael MolineJanuary 12, 2017

A House panel began talking Thursday about imposing term limits on judges — and also reviewed how quickly the courts are clearing their caseloads. Judicial term limits failed in the Legislature last year, but House Speaker Richard Corcoran has declared the issue an important priority. Heather Fitzenhagen, chairwoman of the Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee, said […]

Tag: Florida House
Image via FPL.

Mandatory recess bill sails through second Senate committee

Jack Latvala, Kathleen Peters file beach renourishment bill

Jeff Brandes files bill to create affordable housing task force

Aaron Bean files bill focused on nursing home Medicaid reimbursement rates

House members’ project bills would add $708 million to state budget

House to consider proposed committee bill to eliminate Enterprise Florida

Florida House to mull ‘ban the box’ bills

Drug Free America urges caution as lawmakers discuss Amendment 2 implementation

Mandatory overdose reporting bill filed in Florida House

House civil justice subcommittee takes up judicial term limits