Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Drew WilsonFebruary 8, 2016

Lawmakers could only raise money for the first 11 days of the year, but that didn’t stop some of the top Republicans in Legislature the posting six-figure hauls to start the year. Campaign and committee finance reports aren’t due until Wednesday, though Sen. Bill Galvano’s political committee, Innovate Florida, leads early filers after posting $216,000 […]

Jenna Buzzacco-FoersterFebruary 3, 2016

Eight former and current Republican House Speakers are urging New Hampshire residents to vote for Jeb Bush on Election Day. The open letter to New Hampshire voters ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader on Wednesday. Politico reported that the advertisement is meant to highlight the number of Florida leaders backing Bush over Marco Rubio. […]

Drew WilsonFebruary 2, 2016

House District 51 got its first Democratic candidate this past week, setting up an Election Day contest for the Brevard County seat held by House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, leaving because of term limits. Cocoa City Councilman Michael Blake joins Republican Cocoa Beach Commissioner Tim Timulty, who filed for the seat this past February, and HD 50 Rep. Tom Goodson, […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 29, 2016

State Sen. Joe Negron, a former budget panel chief, told his colleagues last month in an acceptance speech for his upcoming Senate presidency that the state must do more for its troubled children and teens. “We should not and we will not tolerate serious wrongdoing by young people but, at the same time, let’s not criminalize adolescence,” he said, […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 28, 2016

Perennial gadfly and Capitol fixture Brian Pitts is suing Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature for “preliminary and perpetual relief” from what he calls an “invalid” state budget for this year. Pitts, a trustee of his St. Petersburg-based Justice-2-Jesus church group, filed a 30-page complaint in Leon Circuit Civil Court last week, according to court […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 21, 2016

Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed several pieces of legislation deemed a priority for Senate President Andy Gardiner and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli. One measure (SB 672) expand the personal learning scholarship account program and the Florida postsecondary comprehensive transition program for students with intellectual disabilities. It also renames the scholarship program to the Gardiner […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 21, 2016

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Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday continued to sound lukewarm on the prospects of his renegotiated deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that would let them keep blackjack at their casinos. Scott took questions after an afternoon bill-signing ceremony with House Speaker Steve Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner. “Well, I did my job. We […]

Jim RosicaJanuary 21, 2016

As expected, Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed into law three bills that were priorities of House Speaker Steve Crisafulli and Senate President Andy Gardiner. Scott approved SB 552, which “implements policies to protect and restore water and natural resources statewide, with a focus on meeting water quality and supply needs.” Crisafulli wanted the measure passed […]

Mitch PerryJanuary 20, 2016

This past May, Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation to require Florida to adopt online voter registration by October 2017, though he said he did it with “some hesitation.” Democrats were unhappy the state couldn’t enact the new system in time for this fall’s general election, but if it were up to Secretary of State Ken Detzner […]

Staff ReportsJanuary 14, 2016

A major trio of political players at the Florida Capitol are happy with the progress made Thursday on big-ticket priorities in the Legislature. The H2O Coalition, a water policy consortium affiliated with Associated Industries of Florida, applauded the further progress of what it calls comprehensive water reform in the Legislature. The praise comes after the […]

Tag: Steve Crisafulli
Debate party at Sports Grill Kendall. Image via AP.

Republican committees post 6-figure hauls in first days of 2016

Jeb Bush supporters take aim at Marco Rubio in full page ad

Cocoa Democrat joins HD 51 race

Senate budget eliminates direct funding for youth mentoring

Brian Pitts suing Rick Scott, lawmakers over “invalid” state budget

Capitol Reax: Rick Scott signs priority legislation; court clerks highlight talk funding needs; fracking bill heads to House floor

Rick Scott on Seminole Compact: “I did my job”

Rick Scott signs Legislature’s priority bills

Ken Detzner reports online voter registration on track to begin October 2017

Big-name groups, leaders trumpet progress on legislative priorities