Ryan NicolFebruary 8, 2019
6min417
Jones has filed to run in Senate District 35 in 2020.
Tag: Oscar Braynon II
Ryan NicolFebruary 8, 2019
Jim RosicaAugust 27, 2018
4min391
Gov. Rick Scott appointed two Tallahassee attorneys to the Florida Elections Commission, his office announced Friday night. Coincidentally, both specialize in representing automotive dealers. Martin Hayes, 62, is a partner at the Akerman firm. Hayes fills a vacant seat and is appointed for a term beginning Aug. 24 and ending Dec. 31, 2020. Hayes, a litigator, mainly […]
Jim RosicaMarch 3, 2018
8min462
A win turned into a loss Saturday, as the Republican-controlled Senate first approved—then killed—an amendment on a school safety bill that would have mandated a moratorium on assault rifle sales in the state. The legislation, called the “Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act” (SB 7026), is in response to the Valentine’s Day shooting […]
Jim RosicaMarch 2, 2018
5min373
The House and Senate gambling bills were heard separately Friday, but one lawmaker already is folding his hand. “The chances of a gaming bill passing this session are none,” said Rep. Joe Abruzzo, a Boynton Beach Democrat. “Let’s go home.” A strike-all amendment had been OK’d on the Senate’s legislation (SB 840) in the Appropriations […]
A.G. GancarskiJanuary 30, 2018
4min640
On Tuesday, the Florida Senate Ethics and Elections Committee approved a landmark bill on “Creating the Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment and Misconduct.” SB 1628, sponsored by Plantation Democrat Lauren Book, mandates that the task force meets every four years. It bars legislators, candidates, agency employees, and lobbyists from sexually harassing anyone, and […]
Staff ReportsJanuary 9, 2018
7min676
[Updated 9:30 a.m. with statement from Flores and Braynon.] Apparently exposing new depths of Florida political espionage, an anonymous internet website appeared Tuesday morning claiming to show secretly-taped videos and secretly-shot photographs supporting allegations of a rendezvous between Republican state Sen. Anitere Flores and Democratic state Sen. Oscar Braynon II. The pair of Miami-Dade lawmakers issued a […]
Jim RosicaOctober 9, 2017
7min941
A newly-formed Miami-Dade company is seeking an OK from state regulators to install what it calls “self-checkout micro marts” with beer and wine. Or, as one regulated industries lobbyist privately put it, “Hey, booze from vending machines? What could go wrong?” Nothing, the company suggests. La Galere Markets of Coral Gables, which filed articles of […]
Jim RosicaApril 19, 2017
4min224
Surrounded by fellow black and Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Perry Thurston announced Wednesday he had filed a complaint to remove fellow Sen. Frank Artiles from the Senate. In a move sure to send chills through the Capitol’s lobbying corps, he suggested influencers who were within earshot when Artiles went on his tirade in the private Governors […]
Jim RosicaApril 12, 2017
2min306
A proposed conference to resolve differences between the House and Senate gambling bills, originally planned for this week, was postponed till next week. That’s because, as of Wednesday, lawmakers continued to talk with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which has six casinos in the state. One lobbyist suggested an end game: Passing only a new […]
Jim RosicaAugust 2, 2016
5min366
A brain-damaged Pasco County woman and a deceased Florida State football player are again the subjects of claim bills filed in the Florida Legislature. According to the Florida Senate website, 22 of the bills — also known as relief acts — were turned in Monday. Under the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity, Florida law limits local […]