Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaOctober 22, 2015

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Making the Tampa Bay region look like a game of Twister, Senate Rules Chairman David Simmons late Thursday filed his own proposed map redrawing the state’s Senate districts. For instance, Simmons’ map creates a 16th District that takes in about the same area currently represented by GOP Sen. Jack Latvala of Clearwater, not by jumping the bay, […]

Jim RosicaOctober 19, 2015

Keaton Alexander didn’t fall far from the family tree. Her great-grandfather, Ben Hill Griffin Jr., was in the Florida Legislature and ran for governor in 1974, losing the Democratic primary to Reubin Askew. Her father, JD Alexander, was a Florida state representative and senator for 14 years. And her sister, Britton, was press secretary for the Senate’s Republican caucus. […]

A.G. GancarskiOctober 14, 2015

On Wednesday afternoon on Heckscher Drive in Jacksonville, local dignitaries gathered for the grand opening and tour of the second public access compressed natural gas facility located at the GATE Convenience Store on Heckscher Drive. Big names in attendance included former mayor John Peyton (whose family owns Gate Petroleum) and state Rep. Lake Ray, who has been […]

Drew WilsonOctober 12, 2015

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Republican Sens. Jack Latvala and Joe Negron may have posted big-time fundraising numbers in September but they weren’t the only Senate Republicans raking in contributions. The political committee supporting Bradenton Republican Sen. Bill Galvano for Senate President brought in $207,500, its best fundraising performance since February, and it took only 10 contributions to hit that […]

Ryan RayOctober 8, 2015

The Senate Transportation Committee heard testimony from staff of two state agencies and a circuit court judge on Thursday morning as it continued to seek answers about a Florida driver licensing regime previous witnesses have called “cruel.” Panel Chairman Jeff Brandes wrote a handful of key administrators last month saying, “It is the intent of the committee […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 30, 2015

A Pasco County senator on Wednesday filed legislation to protect businesses that do work for government agencies from being harassed with lawsuits over public records violations. Sen. Wilton Simpson, a Trilby Republican, explained in a statement that “scammers use Florida’s open government and sunshine laws to target and intimidate job creators for unjust financial gain.” “Many Florida business owners contract […]

Staff ReportsSeptember 24, 2015

Associated Industries of Florida, the state’s premier business lobby, will hold its sixth annual Florida Water Forum today. The forum begins 9 a.m. at the Renaissance Orlando at Sea World. “This meeting will provide participants with the most current information from Florida’s policy leaders in the Legislature and state government on issues relating to water […]

Phil AmmannSeptember 21, 2015

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With a tip of the hat to Legislative IQ powered by LobbyTools, here are the latest movements – both on and off – of the legislative merry-go-round. Off: Pepper Uchino is no longer staff director of the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and Conservation. On: Ellen Rogers is now staff director for the Senate Committee on Environmental Preservation and […]

Drew WilsonSeptember 14, 2015

Political committees for top Senate Republicans have started to bring in cash again after the trio of sessions kept a lock on fundraising for most of the past five months. Clearwater Sen. Jack Latvala’s political committee, Florida Leadership Committee, brought in the most money last month with a $251,000 performance, though there was still plenty […]

Peter SchorschAugust 26, 2015

State Senator Joe Negron this morning upped the ante in the poker game to be President of the Florida Senate in 2016-18 by releasing the names of his colleagues who have pledged their support to him. Unfortunately for Negron, this latest ploy will likely fall flat. Claiming that he has the support of “Senators who […]

Tag: Wilton Simpson

David Simmons files map for Senate redistricting

Meet Keaton Alexander, one of the “30 Under 30” rising stars of Florida politics

2nd compressed natural gas fueling station comes to Jacksonville

Senate Republican committees post major fundraising numbers

Transportation panel inches closer to driver’s license suspensions fix

Wilton Simpson files legislation on public records litigation

Associated Industries of Florida to hold water forum Friday

Latest on the legislative staffing merry-go-round

Top Senate Republicans bring in committee cash for August

Sorry, Joe Negron, but this latest ploy for Senate Presidency is weak sauce