Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryDecember 3, 2015

(UPDATED) The Florida Attorney General’s office has decided it’s up to the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission to decide whether it wants to hire lobbyists. The decision came at the request from St. Petersburg GOP state Sen. Jeff Brandes for an opinion on the issue. In a letter to Brandes on Thursday, Assistant Attorney General […]

Ryan RayDecember 3, 2015

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity issued a final order Thursday afternoon ruling that drivers for ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are “independent contractors” rather than employees per se. As such, drivers for the transportation network companies do not qualify for unemployment benefits, which are paid in part by former employers of laid off workers. “The Department finds […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 24, 2015

On Tuesday at high noon, a conference room in Jacksonville City Council’s offices had a Vehicles for Hire committee meeting, including Councilmen Bill Gulliford, Matt Schellenberg, Garrett Dennis, Jim Love, Anna Brosche, Reggie Gaffney, and Council President Greg Anderson. The Tuesday meeting’s main event: a phone-in presentation from Broward County Assistant County Attorney Annika Ashton regarding Broward’s Transportation Networking Company regulations, recently imposed […]

Mitch PerryNovember 23, 2015

Jeff Brandes is taking another shot at the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission, this time because it hired a lobbyist. The St. Petersburg-based state senator has been calling for the agency’s demise for several years now, in part because it has tried to regulate ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft. Now he wants Attorney General Pam […]

A.G. GancarskiNovember 16, 2015

On Monday, Jacksonville City Council President Greg Anderson met with Rules Committee Chair Matt Schellenberg (and a room full of interested parties from the taxi cab industry) regarding vehicles for hire, a legislative issue that Council has, of yet, no easy answers to. A special subcommittee might change that. Anderson: “where we left this off… we […]

Mitch PerryNovember 3, 2015

It’s Election Day in St. Petersburg and in several other places in Florida, as well across the nation today. Let’s stay local for a moment. In St. Pete, there are three city council races on the ballot. The fourth was already won by Ed Montanari when a would-be opponent failed to qualify against him in […]

Mitch PerryNovember 2, 2015

Fort Walton Beach Republican Matt Gaetz has filed legislation in the Florida House (HB 509) that would put ensure that Transportation Network Companies (TNC) such as Uber and Lyft aren’t regulated like taxi companies. The bill would require any representative for a TNC to obtain a permit from the state of Florida and pay an annual […]

Mitch PerryOctober 30, 2015

The Uber ride-sharing service has faced sharp questioning from authorities about its insurance policies for its drivers in the year and a half it has been operating in Florida. However, there may finally be an answer. This past year, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation decided that Uber’s $1 million commercial insurance policy with James […]

Peter SchorschOctober 22, 2015

I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting with Andy Gardiner at his home, but, based on his tenure as president of the Florida Senate, I have to wonder whether his house has working electricity, much less cable or Wi-Fi. That’s because Gardiner hates technology. To employ one of Daniel Ruth‘s gimmicks, Gardiner apparently represents the […]

Ryan RayOctober 13, 2015

The Florida Taxicab Association issued another broadside against Uber on Tuesday, this time focusing on a new University of South Florida-Nielsen poll that suggests most Floridians are in favor of legal restrictions on so-called transportation network companies. According to the new poll released Tuesday, 89 percent of Floridians think ride-sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft “should be required to have liability […]

Tag: Lyft

Pam Bondi’s office says PTC can decide whether to hire lobbyists

DEO rules Uber drivers are independent contractors for employment purposes

Broward County Assistant Attorney presents to Jax Vehicles for Hire Committee

Jeff Brandes wants legal opinion about Hillsborough PTC’s lobbying efforts

Jax Vehicles for Hire subcommittee being formed, to meet 11/24 at noon

Mitch Perry Report for 11.3.15 – Election Day calls for election day reform

Matt Gaetz files Uber preemption bill

In court filing, Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles approves of Uber’s insurance carrier

Senate President Andy Gardiner hates technology

Taxi group contends survey calls for regulating Uber