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 […]

Scott PowersMarch 21, 2016

Former state Sen. Gary Siplin is trying again to return to the Florida Senate, this time, for the moment, without his rival state Sen. Geraldine Thompson in the race. Siplin filed last Friday to seek another term in the senate, after having served the area in the Senate District 19, prior to redistricting that pushed the […]

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 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 […]

Ryan RayMarch 10, 2016

A representative of Uber personally delivered what he said were 32,588 petitions to Senate President Andy Gardiner on Thursday morning, continuing the intensifying fight between Senate leadership and the ride-hailing industry. They have sparred for months over insurance regulations and the preemption of local ordinances. The two parties are locked in a heated debate over whether the Senate should […]

Jim RosicaMarch 10, 2016

The 2016 tax package was back in the Senate Thursday, one day before the end of the 2016 Legislative Session, with state Sen. Dorothy Hukill trying to safely land the more than 100-page bill. Ironically, a watchdog group issued a report the same day that said the real tax problem in Florida isn’t at the state level, […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 10, 2016

The Florida Taxicab Association is calling on Sen. Jeff Brandes to withdrawn a pro-Uber amendment and “respect the legislative process.” In an email Thursday, the association said Brandes has pushed “model legislation” written by the ride-sharing company Uber “as a solution for any regulatory impediment the company may encounter in Florida now or in the […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterMarch 10, 2016

It’s the last call for ride-hailing legislation. A bill (SB 1118) to set minimum insurance requirements for ride-hailing companies, like Uber, is once again on the Senate’s special order calendar. So is a similar House proposal (HB 509) that addresses insurance requirements and deals with preemption concerns. With just days left in the legislative session, […]

Tag: Florida Senate
Buccaneers QB Teddy Bridgewater. Image via AP.

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

Gary Siplin enters Senate District 11 race, faces Bob Sindler and Chuck O’Neal

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

“Pastor Protection” bill now state law

Uber drops off thousands of pro-ridesharing petitions to Andy Gardiner

With clock ticking, tax package discussed in Senate

Email Insights: Taxicab Association calls on Jeff Brandes to ‘respect the legislative process’

Email Insights: Uber calls on customers to demand a Senate vote