Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaJanuary 21, 2017

Jon Steverson, the Secretary of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection under Gov. Rick Scott, has resigned. His departure was confirmed Friday night by McKinley Lewis, Scott’s deputy communications director, who provided a copy of the resignation letter. Steverson is set to join the legal-lobbying firm Foley & Lardner, sources tell FloridaPolitics.com. Herschel Vineyard, who also served as a DEP Secretary, […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 20, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered flags at half-staff in honor of a Marine who died during a training exercise. Lance Cpl. Austin J. Ruiz of Naples died last Friday. Scott, who has a home in Naples, ordered that the U.S. and state flags be flown at half-staff at City Hall in Naples, the Collier County Courthouse […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 20, 2017

Update: State Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples Republican, on Friday filed the Senate companion to the House bill, which she says is identical save for “a few punctuation differences.” State Rep. Colleen Burton will try again to overhaul the state’s alimony law, filing a bill on Wednesday. The Lakeland Republican still aims to toughen the standards by which alimony is […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 19, 2017

The state of Florida has filed an appeal to a federal judge’s ruling allowing the Seminole Tribe to keep offering blackjack at its casinos. The 7-page “notice of appeal” to the 11th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals was filed Thursday by Jason Maine, general counsel to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, which regulates […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 19, 2017

The state won’t end up on the hook for Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida‘s legal fees, according to an appellate court decision released Thursday. The health care organization had sought to punish the Agency for Health Care Administration by making it pay the group’s attorney fees after filing “administrative complaints … alleging violations of […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 19, 2017

I hate to overstate the findings of any report, but my first thought while reading the latest audit of the Agency for State Technology was: “Jeez, is this joint as potentially ‘leaky’ as I think it is?” The report by Florida Auditor General Sherrill F. Norman’s office, which I got a copy of on Thursday, […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 19, 2017

David Wilkins, who led the state’s perennially troubled child welfare agency, is now helping new CEO Ken Lawson right the ship at VISIT FLORIDA. An internal email sent Wednesday and shared with FloridaPolitics.com says Wilkins, secretary of the Department of Children and Families under Gov. Rick Scott in 2011-13, is “assisting VISIT FLORIDA in the review […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 12, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott has ordered flags at half-staff to honor two first responders killed in Central Florida. The governor issued the directive Thursday. “My wife Ann and I join Floridians across the state in praying for these officers and their families during this unimaginable time,” he said. “We ask that God provide them with much needed […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 12, 2017

The head of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Thursday defended the state’s handout of economic incentives, but said they were only ever meant to stoke job creation in a targeted way. “In very, very limited cases, incentives are in play,” said Mark Wilson, the organization’s president and CEO. “We shouldn’t be using incentives for every job we create. In fact, […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 10, 2017

Ken Lawson, the secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, now will be the next president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s public-private tourism agency. The move comes a few days after FloridaPolitics.com suggested that he was Gov. Rick Scott‘s preferred choice to lead the embattled organization. The VISIT FLORIDA board voted Tuesday morning on […]

Tag: Gov. Rick Scott

Jon Steverson resigns as DEP secretary

Rick Scott orders flags at half-staff for Austin J. Ruiz

Alimony reform bill filed for 2017

State appeals federal ruling on Seminole Tribe blackjack

State won’t have to pay Planned Parenthood’s legal tab

Audit slams security, other lapses at state tech agency

David Wilkins consulting at struggling VISIT FLORIDA

Rick Scott orders flags at half-staff for Central Florida officers

Florida Chamber head still bullish on incentives (with an explanation)

Ken Lawson picked as next head of VISIT FLORIDA