Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bruce RitchieApril 29, 2015

A House bill establishing comprehensive water policy was amended and passed by the Senate on Wednesday, but was dead because the House had adjourned on Tuesday. House bills dealing with hydraulic fracturing were not voted on in the Senate because their Senate sponsor said they lacked the two-thirds vote needed. The 2015 Legislative Session continued […]

Bruce RitchieApril 24, 2015

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut off discharges from Lake Okeechobee on Friday in reaction to claims of an algae bloom in water coming from the lake. The federal agency discharges water to prevent weakening the Herbert Hoover Dike around the lake. But the nutrient-rich discharges can cause algal blooms that smother aquatic life […]

Peter SchorschApril 23, 2015

I like to think of myself as a centrist and I genuinely think good ideas come from both sides of the aisle. With that said, I must admit, that it’s kind of nice watching the Senate getting along pretty well. The vast majority of bills are moving through the upper chamber with almost no dissent […]

Bruce RitchieApril 21, 2015

A Senate water bill passed its final committee stop on Tuesday despite continuing concerns raised by counties and environmentalists. SB 918 replaces a Lake Okeechobee pollution permitting program with more reliance on water cleanup plans, sets deadlines for establishing minimum flow levels for springs, sets timelines for springs cleanup plans and creates a statewide advisory […]

Sally SwartzApril 15, 2015

They spell out “Buy the Land” in live bodies along a Stuart beach. They gather in standing-room-only crowds at South Florida Water Management District meetings, traveling from Miami aboard Tri Rail and car pools from the Treasure Coast. They travel to Tallahassee by the busload for rallies on the Capitol steps. Last week, singer Jimmy […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 15, 2015

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee voted 8-1 to approve Liz Dudek‘s appointment as head of the state Agency for Health Care Administration but only after she answered more than an hour’s worth of questions regarding Low Income Pool funding, Medicaid expansion and how negotiations are evolving with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. […]

Ryan RayApril 14, 2015

Martin School Board member Rebecca Negron has announced a run for the congressional seat vacated by Patrick Murphy, who is running for U.S. Senate. “I believe we live in a nation that, as our founding fathers intended, has given its citizens the greatest opportunities for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said Negron, wife of state Sen. Joe […]

Phil AmmannApril 9, 2015

New documents reveal a legislative attack on a trust fund intended to pay for corrections officer training and equipment, which intensified already aggravated under-funding of the Department of Corrections. The situation has led to dangerous failures in felon supervision, reports Noah Pransky of WTSP News. In 2004, lawmakers closed the trust fund, although the state […]

Ryan RayApril 7, 2015

As she portrayed her SB 840 as a mostly technical bill that simply clears up a legal conflict currently circulating in the courts, Sen. Eleanor Sobel probably was not prepared for the maelstrom of criticism from both parties that befell her effort. Following an easy and perfunctory confirmation process for a score of various agency officials — a process that […]

Guest AuthorApril 6, 2015

If there was any doubt that House Appropriations Chairman and Speaker-In-Waiting Richard Corcoran is a conservative crusader whose commitment to his principles leaves him indifferent to comity, convention and the nuances of legislative diplomacy, that doubt was laid to rest last week when he went on a rampage through the legislative china shop. It began […]

Tag: Joe Negron
Golf ball and golf club in bag on green grass

Water, fracking bills die as Senate meets without House

Feds halt Lake Okeechobee discharges after Florida pols sound alarm

You want more estoppel? I got your estoppel right here

Senate bill clears final committee stop despite concerns from counties, environmentalists

Sally Swartz: In fight to buy sugar land, Joe Negron needs to step up

Senate grills, then confirms, AHCA Secretary Liz Dudek

Rebecca Negron running for Congress in District 18

While lawmakers starve DOC budget, probationers still pay for supervision

Write-in residency requirements bill goes down in bipartisan flames

Jack Stevenson: House will pay for Richard Corcoran’s Medicaid rant