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Christine Jordan SextonApril 25, 2015

The House and Senate exchanged and rejected budget offers on Friday and with one week left in the Session the two chambers continue to disagree over how to finance health care and whether 800,000 working Floridians should receive health care access. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli said if the chambers cannot find a “reasonable approach to […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 24, 2015

The Florida Senate has not backed off its position that working uninsured Floridians need to have access to health insurance and that the Medicaid supplemental program known as Low Income Pool should remain intact. In a counteroffer to the House’s offer to put $200 million into health care financing the Senate held firm on its […]

Peter SchorschApril 23, 2015

I like to think of myself as a centrist and I genuinely think good ideas come from both sides of the aisle. With that said, I must admit, that it’s kind of nice watching the Senate getting along pretty well. The vast majority of bills are moving through the upper chamber with almost no dissent […]

Ryan RayApril 22, 2015

The House passed a bill to implement new procedures relating to suspects and other members of the public with diabetes Wednesday afternoon. The new law would require the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to create online continuing-education courses to teach officers about indicators of and appropriate precautions to take when dealing with a diabetic suspect. […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 21, 2015

The 2015 session of the Florida Legislature came crashing down Tuesday as both House and Senate Republicans calcified their positions regarding hospital funding and Medicaid expansion. The impasse prompted Gov. Rick Scott to finally weigh in late in the day, saying he will call lawmakers back into special session if they can’t quickly resolve the […]

Associated PressApril 21, 2015

Florida House leaders met behind closed doors Tuesday while Senate leaders held a special hearing in a last-ditch attempt to agree on Medicaid and finalize a budget as the need for a special session grew more imminent. Impassioned senators, including many Republicans, tried to put aside politics and put a human face on the bickering […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 21, 2015

Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee said Tuesday that he had a face-to-face meeting with Gov. Rick Scott Monday night, the first of the session focusing on the substantive difference between the Senate and the governor’s office on the health care financing impasse. Lee told reporters that Scott initiated the meeting and that he went down […]

Mitch PerryApril 20, 2015

In Tallahassee on Monday, a state Senate committee postponed a vote on a controversial bill that would allow private adoption agencies in Florida to turn away same-sex couples based on religious and moral beliefs. The fate of the legislation is now in question. Senate Rules Committee Chairman David Simmons said he would confer with Senate President […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 17, 2015

Senate President Andy Gardiner has scheduled a Tuesday workshop for senators to brush up on the Medicaid issues that have brought the session to a standstill. In a Friday memo to senators, Gardiner said he asked Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Lee to use the first portion of his all-day meeting to discuss Low Income […]

Christine Jordan SextonApril 16, 2015

Borrowing the governor’s often-used slogan “let’s get to work” House Democrats on Thursday said it’s time for House Republicans and Gov. Rick Scott to work on finding a solution to the impasse on health care that has brought the 2015 legislative session to a grinding halt. At an early morning press conference on Thursday House […]

Tag: Tom Lee
Image via AP.

Offers fly but still no budget agreement

Senate counters House with Medicaid expansion; other health care items may be in play

You want more estoppel? I got your estoppel right here

House passes diabetes sensitivity training for Florida law enforcement

Facing budget train wreck, Rick Scott offers “continuation” plan

Special session seems imminent as Medicaid fight continues

Health care impasse taints national Republican Party image, Tom Lee says

Senate panel postpones vote on gay adoption ban

Andy Gardiner calls for meeting on Medicaid funding options

House Dems say “Let’s get to work” on Medicaid expansion