Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

James CallMarch 22, 2015

Florida Medical Cannabis Association lobbyist Louis Rotundo nailed it this past month when he said, “We’re about to smoke them out.” Rotundo commented after the Department of Health released a proposed Charlotte’s Web rule, a product of a negotiated rule-making session with stakeholders in a medicinal marijuana industry. “I think the Department did as good […]

James CallMarch 22, 2015

This week in Florida Politics we shall seek clarity. By week’s end we will know about the House and Senate’s competing budget proposals, how Sen. Rob Bradley intends to solve the Charlotte’s Web mystery, and whether service in the Confederate Army is Hall of Fame material. The highlight of a busy week comes Wednesday when both the Senate Appropriations and […]

James CallMarch 22, 2015

My publisher thinks Charlie Crist’s announcement that he will not be a candidate in 2016 signals the end of the Crist era. I hope he’s wrong. My boss is a political insider. I’m an unemployed steelworker who hangs around the Capitol like others do a tavern, pool hall or barbershop. My sense is that the Crist brand represents […]

James CallMarch 22, 2015

My publisher thinks Charlie Crist’s announcement that he will not be a candidate in 2016 signals the end of the Crist era. I hope he’s wrong. My boss is a political insider. I’m an unemployed steelworker who hangs around the Capitol like others do a tavern, pool hall or barbershop. My sense is that the Crist brand represents […]

James CallMarch 20, 2015

This week in Florida politics, gulfs widened: The separation between the House and Senate, environmentalists and lawmakers, and relevancy and the Democratic Party grew wider and deeper. The Senate moved $5 billion further away from the House over a state budget for next year. The Senate has a plan to fill the hole created by […]

James CallMarch 20, 2015

Sen. Rob Bradley is preparing to free the Charlotte’s Web law from a bureaucratic swamp of lawsuits, hearings and workshops. He filed a shell bill, which his Regulated Industries Committee will take up Tuesday. SB 7066 states: “The Legislature intends to revise laws relating to low-THC cannabis. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.” The bill’s language […]

James CallMarch 20, 2015

Sen. Rob Bradley is preparing to free the Charlotte’s Web law from a bureaucratic swamp of lawsuits, hearings and workshops. He filed a shell bill, which his Regulated Industries Committee will take up Tuesday. SB 7066 states: “The Legislature intends to revise laws relating to low-THC cannabis. Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.” The bill’s language […]

James CallMarch 19, 2015

A marijuana lobbyist said to me a couple of weeks ago that he suspected the latest challenge to the Charlotte’s Web rule would “smoke out” people’s true intention, whether they disliked the rule or disliked the law. It’s the end of the third week of the session and we’re getting to the “smoke out” point on a […]

James CallMarch 19, 2015

A record number inmates — 346 — died last year in Florida prisons. Most were from natural causes, but Federal and state law enforcement agencies are investigating why there were so many deaths. In recent legislative hearings, several prison guards testified under oath about the stressful conditions they work under. Republican Sen. Greg Evers of Baker […]

James CallMarch 19, 2015

Stephen R. Wise served 25 years as a lawmaker, first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1989 and term-limited out of the Senate in 2014. Wise was a skillful lawmaker in the area of education, as chairman of both education appropriation and policy committees he would hold up bills until he thought them ready […]

Tag: legislative

Charlotte’s Web glitch bill to fly Monday, bypass rules to get pot going

The week ahead in the Legislature

Charlie Crist, Allison Tant are workers' only hope

Charlie Crist, Allison Tant are workers’ only hope

The week that was in Florida politics — March 20

Charlotte's Web's unsolved mystery to be investigated Tuesday

Charlotte’s Web’s unsolved mystery to be investigated Tuesday

The day that was in Florida politics — March 19

House prepares Corrections bill; Democrats say it lacks oversight

4th Floor Files talks with Steve Wise about shoes, spaghetti, and Ronald Reagan