Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJune 16, 2016

Five months from Election Day, Republican Sens. Jeff Brandes, Jack Latvala, Tom Lee and Bill Galvano are still running unopposed. The only two bay area Senate seats in contention so far are the Senate District 18 contest between Tampa Republican Rep. Dana Young and Democrat Bob Buesing and the three-way Democratic primary going down in SD 19. Young had built up quite the lead in her jump to the […]

Drew WilsonJune 9, 2016

Associated Industries of Florida held the first of three planned town hall meetings to discuss the impact of the state’s workers’ compensation system on employers and employees Thursday. “Today’s kickoff event was extremely successful in bringing together Florida’s business community to jumpstart an important conversation on workers’ compensation,” said AIF President and CEO Tom Feeney. “We also thank Sen. Jeff […]

Jim RosicaJune 3, 2016

State Sen. Jeff Brandes has given $200,000 toward his own re-election, May fundraising reports show. His latest numbers, posted Friday, also show Brandes pulled in another $32,000 in contributions for the month. That brings the St. Petersburg Republican’s total raised to nearly $480,000 for this year’s election. He has cash-on-hand of more than $310,000. As of Friday, he […]

Jim RosicaMay 31, 2016

Wednesday marks the beginning of “the official digital launch of the summer education campaign” of a proposed constitutional amendment on solar power. Florida for Solar, Inc., championed by state Sen. Jeff Brandes, and Floridians 4 Lower Energy Costs are joining forces to get “Amendment 4” passed on the Aug. 30 primary ballot. “Both organizations will be working together […]

Staff ReportsMay 27, 2016

A pair of groups pushing solar energy-related changes to the state constitution will collaborate on an effort to pass Amendment 4 on the August 2016 ballot. Florida for Solar, Inc., spearheaded by Sen. Jeff Brandes, and Floridians 4 Lower Energy Costs will combine forces in order to try to surpass the 60 percent threshold needed for […]

Drew WilsonMay 18, 2016

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Small-business group NFIB/Florida named St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes a “Guardian of Small Business” during a luncheon Wednesday. “As a small-business owner, I have seen firsthand the impact of burdensome government regulations,” Brandes said after accepting the award. “Small businesses are the backbone of our community. We should cut taxes and eliminate unnecessary red […]

Phil AmmannMay 18, 2016

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Florida officials are calling for a $125,000 study to consider dropping state’s system of no-fault Personal Injury Protection auto insurance. The Department of Financial Services is looking for a vendor to produce the report by June, LobbyTools reports. A draft report would be due Aug. 26, with a final report by Sept. 2. In March […]

Guest AuthorMay 18, 2016

I believe in second chances. It’s what I do. Everyone, including my late father, makes mistakes. Some of those mistakes, like my father’s mistakes, mean prison time. That’s why every year the Florida Department of Corrections releases about 30,000 men and women from prison. But for the vast majority of them, it doesn’t include a […]

Mitch PerryMay 17, 2016

Are Tampa and the state of Florida on the cutting edge of transportation that is about to transform the world in the next decade? Though Tampa leaders frustrated with the Florida Department of Transportation might think otherwise, that’s the viewpoint espoused Tuesday by Ray LaHood, the former secretary of transportation in Barack Obama’s first term in […]

Mitch PerryMay 12, 2016

So, Go Hillsborough is somehow still alive? Though they haven’t set a date yet, apparently there will be another public hearing on putting a sales tax referendum on the ballot this November. On Wednesday, the Hillsborough County Commission voted to support a half-cent sales tax for 15 years, and not the 30-year plan shot down […]

Tag: Jeff Brandes
Image via AP.

Where sh*t stands in Tampa Bay legislative races

AIF kicks off “Helping Florida Work” tour in Tampa

Jeff Brandes seeds state Senate re-election campaign with $200K of his own money

PR campaign to launch for solar amendment

Solar groups to unite in support of Amendment 4

Independent business group honors Jeff Brandes as ‘Guardian of Small Business’

Florida to study the possibility of cutting Personal Injury Protection auto insurance requirement

Bridges of America settles, but still helps inmates

Panel talks all about the future of driverless cars and how they’ll adapt to it

Mitch Perry Report for 5.12.16 — The proposed tax that will not go away