Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Staff ReportsMay 7, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott is headed to Miami Monday to rally for the release of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López. The Governor’s Office announced Scott, a Naples Republican, will hold a Freedom Rally at 6 p.m., Monday at El Arepazo 2, 3900 NW 79th Avenue in Miami. He is expected to demand the release of López, who was […]

Associated PressMay 5, 2017

Florida could make it easier for parents and residents to challenge school textbooks and school library books under a bill passed by the state Legislature. The Senate on Friday narrowly approved the measure by a 19-17 vote. It now heads to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott. The legislation (HB 989) would allow parents and […]

Associated PressMay 5, 2017

Florida police officers may soon be required to undergo training to better deal with autistic individuals under a bill that has passed the state Legislature. The measure was sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Friday. It comes after a North Miami shooting that left an unarmed black therapist shot and injured while he tried to […]

Associated PressMay 5, 2017

The Florida Legislature has voted to rebury the bodies of children whose remains were found on the site of a now-shuttered reform school. The Florida Senate voted unanimously for a bill Friday that would also set aside money to build two memorials regarding the boys who lived and died at the Arthur G. Dozier School […]

Associated PressMay 5, 2017

A bill that would create new criminal offenses to combat terrorism is heading to Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The Senate unanimously passed the bill Friday that would create five new criminal offenses for people who work with terrorist groups or commit acts of terrorism. The House passed it unanimously last week. Acts of terrorism themselves […]

Phil AmmannMay 5, 2017

Florida senators, including some reluctant Democrats, voted to expanded two of Florida’s de facto education voucher programs that aid low-income students and those with disabilities. The Tampa Bay Times reports HB 15 passed 27-11 Friday morning, on a vote where four Democrats joined Republicans. The bill returns to the House this afternoon for final approval […]

Associated PressMay 5, 2017

The Florida House has rejected a Senate proposal to loosen mandatory-minimum-sentence requirements in a bill that cracks down on synthetic drug traffickers, putting the legislation in jeopardy with only one day left for it to pass. The bill’s primary sponsor, Republican Rep. Jim Boyd, said the purpose of the bill would be defeated without the […]

Staff ReportsMay 4, 2017

The Florida Legislature has passed a bill that will give a renewable-energy tax break to commercial and industrial properties with solar installations. The measure (SB 90) was sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday after passing the Senate unanimously. If signed into law, businesses that install solar panels to their properties would not have to […]

Scott PowersMay 4, 2017

In a friend of the court brief bound to raise state attorneys’ eyebrows throughout Florida, the Florida House is arguing that prosecutors have no discretion with regard to capital punishment, that the state Legislature’s intent was to rest all discretion with juries. The House filed the brief in the Florida Supreme Court case of Orlando’s State Attorney […]

Darryl PaulsonMay 4, 2017

Florida’s Republican Party has governed Florida for less than a third of the past 150 years. After the Civil War, a coalition of newly enfranchised blacks, a small number of native white Republicans and northern carpetbaggers dominated Florida politics from 1865 to around 1885. After the blacks were stripped of their voting rights at the […]

Tag: Rick Scott

Rick Scott to hold rally in Miami to call for release of Leopoldo Lopez

Florida parents may get a bigger say over school textbooks

Rick Scott gets bill requiring autism training for police

Bill to rebury Dozier victims, create memorial, on way to Rick Scott

Legislature passes anti-terrorism bill

Senate advances voucher expansion bill, goes to House for final vote

House puts fate of fentanyl trafficking bill at risk

Renewable-energy tax break bill headed to Rick Scott

House argues prosecutors have no discretion on death penalties

Darryl Paulson: Should the Florida GOP feel blue?