Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

A.G. GancarskiJune 2, 2017

There are a number of pieces of unfinished business for the Florida Legislature this month; among them: agreeing on rules for medical cannabis. The regular Legislative Session ended without complete agreement from the Senate and the House, especially on caps for retail dispensaries for licensed growers. While the Special Session announced on Friday by Gov. Rick […]

Michael MolineMay 12, 2017

Innovate Florida, state Sen. Bill Galvano’s political committee, spent a quiet April on the fundraising front while the Legislative Session concluded. It collected exactly $0. This after amassing $494,200 during the first three months of the year and $6.2 million since 2013, according to state records. Sen. Wilton Simpson’s Jobs for Florida committee’s fundraising took […]

Michael MolineMay 8, 2017

Legislators from Pasco County urged Gov. Rick Scott Monday to approve legislation authorizing construction of a $4.3 million criminal forensics laboratory there that would attack the state’s 16,000-case backlog of unsolved murders. “This is not about Pasco County. This is about the entire state,” Sen. Wilton Simpson said. The project would “greatly expand law enforcement’s […]

Mitch PerryApril 28, 2017

Officials had high hopes for a bill to reconfigure Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA). Those same officials are now expressing some contentment following an amendment from the bill’s original sponsor, Clearwater Republican Jack Latvala. The legislation would change TBARTA’s name from the Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority to the Tampa Bay Regional Transit Authority, and […]

Peter SchorschApril 25, 2017

Updated 2:45 p.m. — The House has sent over an offer and the Senate is reviewing, according to staffers in both chambers. — After teetering toward a late-session meltdown, the bones of a roughly $83 billion 2017-18 state budget are in place, according to three sources close to Gov. Rick Scott‘s office and several lobbyists familiar with […]

Peter SchorschApril 19, 2017

My father-in-law being a U.S. Marine, I’ve learned not to use the past tense to describe his service. Even at 67 years old, my father-in-law is a Marine, not was a Marine. Republican state Senate Frank Artiles is a Marine, not was a Marine. Volunteering to serve our country shows Artiles has far more courage than I’ve […]

Drew WilsonApril 11, 2017

Future Senate President Wilton Simpson added more than a quarter-million dollars to his committee account last month, according to fundraising reports filed with the Florida Division of Elections. The committee, Jobs for Florida, brought in $263,000 in the week leading up to the 2017 Legislative Session. Lawmakers are not allowed to raise money while the […]

Joe HendersonApril 3, 2017

If you don’t know Mike Moore yet, chances are you will soon enough. For now, he is content to be chairman of the Pasco County Commission, but former House Speaker Will Weatherford believes his friend and neighbor is destined for bigger things. “When you’ve been around politics and people as long as I have, you […]

Peter SchorschMarch 20, 2017

Nearly 200 job seekers will be able to wear a new-to-them suit as they hunt for employment, thanks to a clothing donation drive put on by ridesharing company Uber and Volunteer Florida Wednesday. The second annual “#SuitsForSession” campaign collected professional clothing donations at the Capitol and also sent out Uber drivers to pick up donations […]

Peter SchorschMarch 13, 2017

Late last month, former state Sen. John Legg announced that he would not attempt to return to the Legislature in 2018. Had he run, Legg’s best path to victory was thought to be through north Pinellas’ Senate District 16, where incumbent Jack Latvala is term-limited from running again. The person who benefits the most from Legg not […]

Tag: Wilton Simpson

Medical marijuana push continues for Rob Bradley

Future Senate leaders’ political committees went quiet during Legislative Session

Area lawmakers, Dozier survivor pitch Pasco forensics lab to Rick Scott

Tampa Bay officials OK with TBARTA bill, now before full Senate

State budget deal struck? Jack Latvala says, ‘no,’ but…

Of course, Frank Artiles should resign. Does the Senate have the steel to make that happen?

Wilton Simpson tacks on $263K for political committee

Joe Henderson: Keep an eye on Mike Moore, a man on the move in Pasco

#SuitsForSession clothing drive brings in more than 3,000 donations

This fundraising invitation from Ed Hooper has me worried