Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaAugust 28, 2018

The state’s highest court has punted a challenge that six proposed constitutional amendments were wrongfully “bundled.” Without explanation, the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously kicked the case to the 2nd Judicial Circuit in Tallahassee, with a proviso that the trial judge assigned the case “should not interpret the transfer of this case as an […]

Jim RosicaAugust 21, 2018

There’s no such thing as improper ‘bundling’ of issues when it comes to amendments proposed by the state’s Constitution Revision Commission, Attorney General Pam Bondi argued in a new filing on Monday. Bondi responded to a challenge filed last week at the Florida Supreme Court by one of its retired justices, Harry Lee Anstead. He said six CRC amendments […]

Danny McAuliffeAugust 17, 2018

After successfully waging a legal battle against the state’s refusal to allow early voting sites on university and college campuses, the League of Women Voters of Florida is turning to campus leaders in an attempt to ensure those sites are established ahead of the Nov. 6 election. In a letter sent Friday to 10 college […]

Jim RosicaMay 17, 2018

Photo above: Greyhounds racing on the track in Bonita Springs. Credit: Van Abernathy. As promised, the group that represents Florida’s greyhound owners and breeders is suing to keep a proposed constitutional amendment to rid the state of dog racing off the November ballot. But a top greyhound racing opponent quickly called the suit “dead on […]

Jim RosicaMarch 19, 2018

Screen-Shot-2018-03-19-at-10.26.40-AM.png

From A. Duda & Sons, Inc., to Zurich American Insurance Co., 44 pages’ worth of concerns now have registered to lobby the Constitution Revision Commission (CRC). The 37-member panel, which began meeting in Session Monday, convenes every 20 years to review and suggest changes to the state’s governing document. The list of “principals“ and of lobbyists (259 pages) […]

Jim RosicaMarch 5, 2018

The Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) is considering a March 19-May 10 Session, according to a draft schedule sent to commissioners. The proposed dates, which will be considered by the body’s Rules Committee later Monday, would mean the CRC’s Session will begin just 10 days after the Legislature ‘sine die‘s this Friday. The commission’s Regular Session would begin […]

Martin DyckmanSeptember 23, 2014

If the Legislature decrees that two plus two equals five or that water runs uphill, does that make it so? A similar question is percolating in the Florida courts. Does a blind trust constitute “full and public disclosure” of the financial interests of a public official? Common sense says no. A law passed in 2013 […]

Martin DyckmanMay 18, 2014

Suppose that Gov. Rick Scott cancelled an election and announced that he, not the voters, would select their new state senator or representative. That hasn’t happened–yet. But something of the same nature is happening with a circuit judgeship in Jacksonville. It doesn’t pass the smell test either. The six-year term of Donald Moran, presently the […]

Florence SnyderMarch 31, 2014

Florida agency heads have been lying to reporters, spinning like dreidels, and withholding public records since the Chiles administration. So let’s give Rick Scott’s Secretary of State Ken Detzner points for breaking new ground with his prior restraint on journalist, author, Florida State University (FSU) professor and all-around state treasure Diane Roberts. Roberts is an eighth […]

Daniel TilsonFebruary 9, 2014

Last week there was yet another example of the enduring, unethical effort by forces in our Florida government to make it harder or impossible for some of us to vote. This time around, college kids are the targets. Students at the University of Florida in Gainesville thought increasing civic engagement at their publicly owned school […]

Tag: Secretary of State Ken Detzner
Image via AP.

Supreme Court passes on ‘bundling’ challenge to constitutional amendments

Pam Bondi says certain constitutional amendments can be ‘bundled’

League pressures higher ed leaders to prioritize early voting sites

Greyhound owners sue over proposed dog racing ban

Constitutional review panel’s “Process” has its own lobbyists

Constitutional review panel readies for its own Session

Martin Dyckman: Blind trusts protect the politicians, not the taxpayers

Martin Dyckman: Florida deserves an independent, professional elections office

Florence Snyder: Detzner praises “witty” speaker, then cancels her lecture

Daniel Tilson: Floridians must unite to fight voter suppression