Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Phil AmmannMarch 10, 2015

Jason Fischer, Republican hopeful for Florida House District 16, announced Tuesday he raised more than $84,000 in the first quarter since announcing his candidacy. The Jacksonville native added more than $18,700 in contributions from about 50 donors during February, which the candidate calls proof of “continued momentum and increasing grassroots support.” “The growing support our […]

Peter SchorschMarch 10, 2015

Yet again, the taxicab industry is pushing around a new proposal focused on handicapping popular ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft. Dubbed an “insurance-fix,” the proposed measure aims to impose new harmful regulations to force ridesharing companies to buy insurance they don’t need and does little to improve public safety. Since their launch in Florida, […]

James CallMarch 10, 2015

The House Education Committee spent about an hour Monday discussing and approving an overhaul of Florida’s testing-focused school accountability program. The measure was approved on a unanimous vote. Read a staff analysis here. Chairwoman Marlene O’Toole said this past week she wanted to get the measure to the floor as quickly as possible, and Monday […]

Peter SchorschMarch 9, 2015

Today’s installment of the “4th Floor Files” talks with Joshua Aubuchon of the Tallahassee office Holland & Knight. Josh’s specialties include advocacy for alcoholic beverages, property and automobile insurance, tort reform, and healthcare. Clients include Florida Chamber of Commerce, State Farm Florida, Shands HealthCare and the Florida Brewers Guild, which puts Josh in the thick […]

Peter SchorschMarch 9, 2015

Today’s installment of the “4th Floor Files” talks with Joshua Aubuchon of the Tallahassee office Holland & Knight. Josh’s specialties include advocacy for alcoholic beverages, property and automobile insurance, tort reform, and healthcare. Clients include Florida Chamber of Commerce, State Farm Florida, Shands HealthCare and the Florida Brewers Guild, which puts Josh in the thick […]

Phil AmmannMarch 9, 2015

Floridians for Fair Business Practices (FFBP) released a new video Monday arguing two reasons Florida should repeal its “outdated” Prohibition-era liquor-purchase separation laws: convenience and common sense. “Convenience” is the second in a series of FFBP digital ads available on YouTube. Florida is one of the 20 states with a separation law between liquor stores […]

James CallMarch 8, 2015

This week politics at the state Capitol will be about money and a search for clarity. Legislators will get a better view of the hill they need to climb in building a state budget for the year beginning July 1. The Revenue Estimating Conference meets Tuesday and will count up how much tax money the […]

Phil AmmannMarch 7, 2015

Red-light Cameras (RLC) caught violations by nearly one million Floridians last year, creating quite the revenue stream for municipalities across the state, according to a new report Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. As reported by Lloyd Dunkelberger of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, of 941,000 violations issued to motorists, a majority of them (648,000) […]

Peter SchorschMarch 5, 2015

Today’s chapter of the “4th Floor Files” talks with attorney and lobbyist Sean Pittman, named one of the Top Twenty-Five Most Influential People in Tallahassee by the Tallahassee Democrat. In addition to his lobbying and legal practices, Pittman also co-hosts “The Usual Suspects,” one of North Florida’s and South Georgia’s premier weekly political talk shows. […]

James CallMarch 4, 2015

At this pace, Florida’s political class may be exhausted by the end of March when budget writers begin deciding what will be left in and what will be taken out of a $77 billion dollar state spending plan. The state Capitol wakened Wednesday with word that Gov. Rick Scott had penned a commentary calling on […]

Tag: legislative

Jason Fischer raises $84K in first quarter of 2016 HD 16 run

Taxicab industry again attempting to handicap Uber

House Education panel talks school accountability reform

4th Floor Files talks to Joshua Aubuchon about "the game," Makers' Mark and freeing growlers

4th Floor Files talks to Joshua Aubuchon about “the game,” Makers’ Mark and freeing growlers

FFBP video calls for common sense, convenience in repealing alcohol separation law

Capitol Preview: Money, press skits and the search for clarity

Red light cameras, with $105M in revenue last year, remain controversial

4th Floor Files talks to Sean Pittman about compassion, Gretna and the Big Bend Minority Chamber

The day that was in Florida politics — March 4