Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschJuly 22, 2017

A telecommunications company has sued the Department of Transportation (FDOT) and its secretary, Mike Dew, over legislation passed this year that pre-empts to the state the regulation of telecommunications companies putting “wireless facilities in rights of way.” The company, Rowstar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boca Raton’s Vertical Bridge, has exclusive deals with the state that […]

Peter SchorschJuly 29, 2017

We’ll kick off Takeaways with two of the more unusual lawsuits filed in Tallahassee’s circuit civil court this past week: — A corporation called Doctor’s Associates Inc. is seeking a court order against the state’s Division of Corporations “to strike and forever remove from the public records of the state … (a) certain inadvertently filed […]

Peter SchorschAugust 5, 2017

Rather than adding yet another specialty license plate to the state’s plethora of tags, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is coming out with a new twist on an old favorite. The department on Friday announced it was releasing a “newly redesigned Florida Panthers (hockey club) specialty license plate,” to be “delivered to […]

Peter SchorschAugust 13, 2017

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A federal court’s ruling this week in Kansas has bolstered Florida’s lawsuit against the feds over U.S. savings bonds it holds as unclaimed property. In 2016, then-Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater sued the feds for over $1 billion — the amount of all the bonds he held as unclaimed property. He said the U.S. Treasury […]

Peter SchorschAugust 19, 2017

And now for some good news out of Tallahassee, the Florida Lottery this week announced, “it has reached the $32 billion mark in contributions for the state’s” education fund. Maybe Lottery Secretary Jim Poppell’s ‘housecleaning’ is paying off? “We are extremely proud of this achievement and what it means for Florida’s students and schools,” Poppell said in a […]

Phil AmmannAugust 26, 2017

An Orlando entrepreneur is now demanding a jury trial in his suit against Attorney General Pam Bondi, in which he claims she forces businesses to donate millions of dollars to unregistered charities as part of settlements in consumer protection cases. John D. Smith, who invented Storm Stoppers plastic panels, marketed as a “plywood alternative” to protect windows during storms, […]

Peter SchorschJuly 30, 2016

If you can’t beat ’em, make sure they don’t have enough people to fight. The state’s Environmental Regulations Commission this week OK’d new standards that caused conniptions among the clean water set. The new rules seemingly have a split personality: They “will increase the amount of cancer-causing toxins allowed in Florida’s rivers and streams,” the AP […]

Peter SchorschMarch 15, 2016

No sooner than the hankies dropped Friday, Gov. Rick Scott‘s press office had fired out a release announcing the governor’s “Million, Billion Jobs Victory Tour.” “I am proud to announce that by working with Florida Legislative leaders, we have cut taxes by more than $1 billion in just two years,” he said. And there started the […]