Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Daniel TilsonMarch 23, 2015

We’re more than a quarter of the way through the 60-day 2015 legislative session. And our Florida Legislature remains deeply divided about whether to close the health insurance coverage gap that upwards of a million Floridians have fallen into, through no fault of their own. Almost a quarter of them are unemployed workers actively looking […]

Mitch PerryMarch 20, 2015

Last week, the Florida house struck down the state’s 38-year ban on same-sex adoptions. The Christian Right in Tallahassee has vowed ever since to make sure that such a bill never makes it to Rick Scott‘s desk. On Thursday the House Health & Human Services Committee passed a proposed bill, PCB HHSC 15-03, that would allow allow […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 20, 2015

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jon Steverson told a Senate panel this week he wants to cut and sell more trees from state parks — and do it faster. Citing other states that have increased revenue from timber sales on state land, Steverson told senators he is working to make Florida’s state parks financially […]

Bruce RitchieMarch 20, 2015

Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Jon Steverson told a Senate panel this week he wants to cut and sell more trees from state parks — and do it faster. Citing other states that have increased revenue from timber sales on state land, Steverson told senators he is working to make Florida’s state parks financially […]

James CallMarch 19, 2015

Stephen R. Wise served 25 years as a lawmaker, first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1989 and term-limited out of the Senate in 2014. Wise was a skillful lawmaker in the area of education, as chairman of both education appropriation and policy committees he would hold up bills until he thought them ready […]

Diane RobertsMarch 19, 2015

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE–When the Death Mermaid shows up, pay attention. Back in 1881, she appeared to Hamilton Disston, warning him against trying to drain the Everglades. Old Ham, never the most emotionally stable of multimillionaires, shut his eyes tight and swore on his mother’s grave he’d stop drinking cologne. In 1969, she scared the feds into […]

Peter SchorschMarch 19, 2015

Amid the early skirmishes of the 2015 Legislative Session, an unexpected upset occurred this past week when a bill died in its first committee of reference. The fact the bill died is not entirely surprising, especially in light of the policy in the bill. In fact, that the bill was even being considered is a testament […]

James CallMarch 18, 2015

The Senate Appropriations Chairman is drawing a line in the sand. Sen. Tom Lee wants clarity on health care spending before moving forward on building a budget, and both Sen. Aaron Bean and Sen. Renee Garcia are looking for the money to help him produce a balanced spending plan. The federal Low Income Pool program expires in June, and the more than […]

Christine Jordan SextonMarch 18, 2015

Employers can sign prepaid contracts with primary care providers on behalf of their employees and it won’t be considered an insurance policy under an amended bill approved by a House subcommittee on Wednesday. The bill, HB 7047, was amended, with little to no debate and advanced by the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee by a […]

Diane RobertsMarch 17, 2015

OCCUPIED TALLAHASSEE–When the Death Mermaid shows up, pay attention. Back in 1881, she appeared to Hamilton Disston, warning him against trying to drain the Everglades. Old Ham, never the most emotionally stable of multimillionaires, shut his eyes tight and swore on his mother’s grave he’d stop drinking cologne. In 1969, she scared the feds into […]

Tag: Steve Crisafulli
Arthur Chandler. Image via Pinsly Railroad Co.

Daniel Tilson: Tell House to end hidden healthcare tax, close coverage gap

John Stemberger weighs in on gay adoption law

DEP's Jon Steverson wants to cut down more trees, do it faster

DEP’s Jon Steverson wants to cut down more trees, do it faster

4th Floor Files talks with Steve Wise about shoes, spaghetti, and Ronald Reagan

Legislators, ignore the Death Mermaid at your peril

Medicaid dental carve-out saga shows fundamentals still matter

Five minutes with Tom Lee — Talk of playing cards while building a budget

New health option? Bill allows employers to enter direct primary care contracts

Diane Roberts: Legislators, ignore the Death Mermaid at your peril