Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Peter SchorschSeptember 22, 2018

Brian Pitts, a perennial presence in the halls of the Legislature, has readied 11 bill proposals ahead of the 2019 Legislative Session. They cover a wide range of topics: Education, ethics, civil and criminal justice, and judicial reform. Pitts’ nonprofit Justice-2-Jesus this year is taking on a “controversial and aggressive bill package,” according to his website. The […]

Peter SchorschAugust 25, 2018

The work of the Constitution Revision Commission is under attack in the courts. And that’s fair, according to Brecht Heuchan, who led the CRC’s drafting process. “I’m not mad about the lawsuits,” he told us. “That’s what people do when they feel aggrieved.” But a new effort spawned this week encouraging Floridians to opt for […]

Peter SchorschAugust 18, 2018

Rick Wilson, the Tallahassee-based Republican operative whose moonshot to the spotlight accompanied his unwithering criticism of President Donald Trump, came home this week. His landing spot: The capital city’s Midtown Reader bookstore, to read from and discuss his new best-selling book, “Everything Trump Touches Dies.” “This process started a little bit as catharsis,” Wilson told […]

Peter SchorschAugust 11, 2018

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Charter chalks a win The Leon County School District suffered a bruising defeat this week when an appeal panel unanimously recommended the state overturn the county’s decision to block a new charter school from setting up shop in the county. The Charter School Appeal Commission, composed evenly of traditional public and […]

Peter SchorschAugust 4, 2018

Every July Fourth, Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston reads a copy of the Declaration of Independence reprinted in the Tallahassee Democrat. “I always sit in the morning with a cup of coffee and read back through that,” Polston told members of the Economic Club of Florida in Tallahassee this week. “I just enjoy doing […]

Peter SchorschJuly 28, 2018

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With a brow-raising $89.3 billion for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, the state appropriated the largest budget in Florida history, a $4.36 billion increase from last year. Those big numbers make Florida TaxWatch’s recently released Taxpayer’s Budget Guide all the more valuable. Authored by the watchdog group’s vice president of research, Kurt Wenner, the interactive series […]

Peter SchorschJuly 21, 2018

Clouds are brewing over the journalism industry, but the long-term forecast is promising. That’s according to Diane McFarlin, the former publisher of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and current dean of the University of Florida College of Journalism. She delivered a media ‘forecast’ to an audience of UF alumni in Tallahassee this week. In the short term, […]

Peter SchorschJuly 14, 2018

There appears to be a concerted effort between the state and federal government toward making industrial hemp a mainstream commodity. At the end of June, the U.S. Senate passed the 2018 Farm Bill by an 86-11 vote. Among the provisions: language removing hemp, a cannabis plant material with low levels of THC, from the federal […]

Staff ReportsJuly 7, 2018

A bill seeking to narrow the state’s practice of suspending driver’s licenses didn’t get very far during the 2018 Legislative Session. But the bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Jeff Brandes, promises it will be back next year, when nuanced support from the courts will accompany it. This week, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled unconstitutional a state law that suspends […]

Peter SchorschJune 30, 2018

Patriotism in the Sunshine State While the president may have a ‘Winter White House’ in Mar-a-Lago, Florida doesn’t quite make the cut as one of the most patriotic states in the union. According to a new WalletHub study that compiled the “Most Patriotic States in America,” the Sunshine State could use a bit more of […]

Tag: takeaways

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Signs of Session

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Second-guessing the CRC

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Hustlin’ 45

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Charter chalks a win

Takeaways from Tallahassee — A justice talks civics

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Budget breakdown

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Weathering the storm

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Hemp on horizon?

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Suspensions in suspense

Takeaways from Tallahassee — Patriotism in the Sunshine State