Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiFebruary 6, 2018

The Florida Senate proposes cutting the Visit Florida budget to $50 million, which is $26 million below the current level. Gov. Rick Scott wants $100 million. He addressed this discrepancy in a gaggle Tuesday in Jacksonville. “Visit Florida’s very important to the state,” Scott said in a gaggle that covered similar lines. “1.4 million jobs are tied […]

Jim RosicaDecember 26, 2017

Spoiler alert: If you’re a regular of this site, and reading this story, you can guess what the #1 pick is. Otherwise, 2017 still offered a bounty of material to Tallahassee’s reporting ranks. We still chuckle at the uninitiated who ask, “What do you write about when the Legislature isn’t in session?” Without further ado, […]

Peter SchorschNovember 29, 2017

A new poll released Tuesday found a majority of Floridians support the use of state money to lure jobs to the Sunshine State and also showed significant shifts in attitudes about the Florida budget, taxation and the quality of government services. The USF-Nielsen Sunshine State Survey found 58 percent of Floridians support business incentives while […]

Scott PowersNovember 7, 2017

Orange County and Visit Orlando are working on new rules to open the convention and visitors bureau’s business to more public scrutiny, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs told Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran in a letter sent Monday. “We believe that the additional transparency measures we plan to implement will greatly enhance the transparency and […]

Terry RoenNovember 1, 2017

Gov. Rick Scott announced the kick-off Wednesday of a new discount program to lure Canadian visitors back to Florida. The Canadian Power Play Program makes it more affordable for Canadian families to travel to the state through travel deals from Visit Florida partners offering 20 percent discounts at Florida hotels, attractions and car rentals. Canada […]

Danny McAuliffeOctober 26, 2017

House Speaker Richard Corcoran has opened the next front in his personal war for transparency, moving legislation that would bar companies seeking to do business with the state from hiding information behind claims of “trade secrets.” A pair of bills (HB 459, HB 461) was filed Thursday by Rep. Ralph Massullo, a Republican representing Citrus and […]

Jim RosicaOctober 12, 2017

The House’s ethics panel Thursday voted to subpoena a television production firm for details on exactly how it spent millions of taxpayer dollars on a fishing show and a cooking show with celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. The Public Integrity and Ethics Committee unanimously approved the move to compel information from Tallahassee-based MAT Media and its owner, Pat Roberts. […]

Terry RoenOctober 12, 2017

Visit Florida announced Thursday it is doubling down on its efforts to show visitors across the world that Florida is open for business. The state’s marketing agency will start the second phase of its post-Irma marketing campaign to ensure visitors see for themselves that the state’s destinations are ready to welcome back visitors. The second […]

Scott PowersOctober 4, 2017

The Florida Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee will take up hurricane effects and recovery efforts across the business community in Florida at its first meeting of the 2018 session, Chairman Bill Montford announced Wednesday. That is assuming the committee’s hearing is not postponed because of a hurricane. Very early projections of Tropical Depression 16 forming off […]

Terry RoenSeptember 20, 2017

Visit Florida has launched an aggressive month-long marketing campaign to entice tourists back to the Sunshine State. Gov. Rick Scott announced that the multi-phased campaign will be paid for with existing Visit Florida funding and include digital, social, broadcast and traditional marketing methods in both domestic and international markets. The marketing push starts this week […]

Tag: Visit Florida
Charlie Kirk. Image via AP

Rick Scott hammers proposed Visit Florida budget cuts

Jim Rosica’s review of top state government stories of 2017

Floridians back business incentives, split on how state should tackle 2018 budget

Teresa Jacobs tells Richard Corcoran Orange County, Visit Orlando working on transparency

Rick Scott launches travel deals for Canadians

House wants to clamp down on ‘trade secrets’

House panel OKs subpoenas for Emeril Lagasse show

Visit Florida steps up efforts to woo visitors back

Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee plans hurricane talk

Visit Florida unveils campaign to bring tourists back