Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Scott PowersApril 24, 2017

More than a dozen Democratic Florida House members have formed the Progressive Legislative Caucus, with firebrand state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith of Orlando elected as its first chair. The caucus held its organization meeting last week with Smith becoming chair, state Rep. Amy Mercado of Orlando vice chair, and state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo of Boca […]

Mitch PerryMarch 21, 2017

Legislation banning sanctuary city policies moved through another Florida House committee Tuesday. Yalaha Republican Rep. Larry Metz‘s bill (HB 697) would force any “sanctuary city” or county in Florida to remove all formal or informal policies shielding undocumented immigrants from federal custody. It passed the House Subcommittee on Local, Federal and Veterans Affairs on a 9-5 vote on Tuesday. The […]

Staff ReportsMarch 6, 2017

The 2017 Session starts Tuesday, but some legislative hopefuls are already thinking about the next election cycle. State elections records show dozens of members of the House and Senate have filed to run in 2018. Rep. Jay Trumbull, a Panama City Republican, filed to run for re-election in House District 6 in 2018. First elected […]

Peter SchorschJune 14, 2016

More shake-ups in South Florida’s legislative races may be coming down the pike. According to a top South Florida Democratic political consultant, Andrew Korge may jump into the Senate District 40 race. That decision would set up a three-way Democratic primary between Korge, Dwight Bullard, and Ana Rivas Logan. Korge is currently running in Senate […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJune 14, 2016

Irv Slosberg has his sights set on the Florida Senate. Slosberg, a Boca Raton Democrat, filed to run Monday for the state Senate. He’ll challenge Kevin Rader in state Senate District 29. Slosberg’s decision is the latest in a series of shake-ups in South Florida’s Senate districts. Slosberg was first elected to the Florida House in 2000, […]

Peter SchorschJune 8, 2016

Democrat Maria Sachs will not run for another term in the Florida Senate, Sachs confirmed Wednesday after Florida Politics reported that multiple sources, including two of her Senate colleagues, said she had told them she wasn’t running. Sachs told John Kennedy of the Palm Beach Post that she has formed a nonprofit organization called the Coalition Against Human Trafficking, and […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 8, 2016

Monday saw the Florida Senate Finance and Tax Committee pass the Discretionary Sales Surtax bill that would allow a referendum authorizing the half cent Better Jacksonville Plan sales tax to be extended until 2060, to pay off Jacksonville’s unfunded pension liability. Ahead of the committee meeting, Lenny Curry lobbied committee members, via private January meetings with Curry […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 5, 2016

On Friday, the Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce (FBCW) coalition delivered a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee ahead of its Monday hearing. The letter provides information on why SB 120 by Sen. Joe Abruzzo and HB 45 by Rep. Holly Raschein must be heard in committee. Among other assertions the letter makes: Polling indicates 68 percent […]

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 5, 2016

At 4 p.m. Monday the second of three state Senate committees (Finance and Tax) will consider the “discretionary sales surtax” bill that Jacksonville’s financial future has become predicated upon. Passage of the bill to extend the Better Jacksonville Plan’s half-cent sales tax as far out as 2060 (from a current sunset date of 2030), would […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 4, 2016

A push to expand Florida’s Right to Try Act to include cannabis is moving through the Florida Senate. The Senate fiscal policy committee on Thursday approved a bill (SB 460), sponsored by Sen. Rob Bradley, that would include medical marijuana that is sold and manufactured by an approved dispensary in the state’s Right to Try […]

Tag: Joseph Abruzzo
Image via Palatka Main Street.

House forms first-ever Legislative Progressive Caucus

Bill to eliminate sanctuary cities in Florida moves through another House committee

More legislative hopefuls file to run in 2018

The latest musical chairs in play in South Florida’s legislative races

Irv Slosberg files to run in Senate District 29

Maria Sachs confirms she is not running for re-election

Jacksonville “pension tax” bill clears 2nd Senate committee

State business coalition urges Senate panel to hear statewide human rights bill

Lenny Curry pension tax proposal hits 2nd Senate committee Monday

Bill to add medical marijuana to Right to Try Act heads to Senate floor