Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterJanuary 10, 2017

The House Commerce Committee is poised to tackle everything from assignment of benefits to economic incentives, but it’s the most narrowly defined subcommittee that could be the busiest in the months leading up to, and during, the 2017 Legislative Session. The full House Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, met Tuesday morning to […]

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 […]

Peter SchorschJanuary 6, 2017

Is Ken Lawson the right man to right the state’s beleaguered tourism agency? The smart money in Tallahassee now is betting on Gov. Rick Scott to move Lawson, his secretary of Business and Professional Regulation, to head VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s “official tourism marketing corporation.” As you’ll recall, Scott called on former CEO Will Seccombe […]

Florence SnyderMarch 30, 2016

In Greek mythology, Ajax is known as the guy who raped the prophetess Cassandra. In Tallahassee, Ajax is known as the absentee landlord of Northwood Centre, a state office building so sick with mold and bat poop that Gov. Rick Scott took the extraordinary step of cutting off rent payments and relocating 1,500 state employees. […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 18, 2016

Dozens of state officials whose appointments need Senate approval will be considered Thursday by the Florida Senate, records show. Among Gov. Rick Scott‘s top officials on the docket are Corrections Secretary Julie Jones, Children and Families (DCF) Secretary Mike Carroll, and Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Commissioner Rick Swearingen. Swearingen replaced former Commissioner Gerry Bailey, forced […]

Associated PressJuly 27, 2015

Florida and the Seminole Tribe of Florida seem headed for a showdown about the operation of the tribe’s successful casinos. A deal authorizing blackjack and other types of card games at casinos such as the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa expires Friday. The state’s top gambling regulator wrote a letter to the […]

Christine Jordan SextonMay 4, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott on Monday reappointed 14 men and women as directors of state agencies despite the Florida Senate refusing to confirm them during the Legislative Session. The agencies run the gamut from Department of Economic Opportunity to the Agency for Persons with Disabilities to the State Technology Agency. Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner […]

Tag: Ken Lawson
Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

Seminole Compact, other gambling issues expected to be top priority in House Commerce committee

Ken Lawson picked as next head of VISIT FLORIDA

Could Ken Lawson next be tapped to head VISIT FLORIDA?

Florence Snyder: State workers bothered by bats, bad air

It’s confirmations day in Florida Senate

State to tribe: Prepare to end blackjack games at casinos

Rick Scott reappoints 14 agency heads after Senate snub