FlaglerLive | April 2, 2013
No one expects any major gun control legislation to pass in Florida’s GOP-controlled Legislature, but Rep. Cynthia Stafford said there should be at least a discussion of the issue. There hasn’t been much of one.
FlaglerLive | April 1, 2013
The latest proposal to provide health care to Florida’s poorest snubs federal money while creating limited health accounts the poor may tap, but for limited services, and with burdensome conditions of employment–and premiums that most may not be able to afford.
FlaglerLive | March 29, 2013
The Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a bill Thursday lowering motor vehicle fees in exchange for repealing an insurance tax credit, turning aside protests from the insurance industry that the measure would hurt a thriving business.
FlaglerLive | March 25, 2013
Rather than worship his homeschooling past, what Will Weatherford needs to be wondering is what Florida will be like if its 4 million uninsured citizens continue to go without health coverage, argues Rhonda Swan.
FlaglerLive | March 25, 2013
With a third of the annual regular legislative session already gone, a bill that would close gaps in access to health care coverage for Florida children has passed just one committee and appears in danger of not passing.
FlaglerLive | March 24, 2013
Florida is quick on the trigger to ban Internet cafes, which have never killed anyone, but is doing nothing to rein in the state’s worship of guns, while 191 people have been killed by firearms in this state alone since the Newtown massacre.
FlaglerLive | March 23, 2013
In turns moving, startling and informative, a day-long workshop on the death penalty in Flagler Beach, featuring two exonerated men, urged an assembly of 60 to more actively get involved in a movement to abolish capital punishment in Florida.
FlaglerLive | March 22, 2013
Palm Coast at one point had nearly a dozen such businesses. Last week it had seven. This week, according to Palm Coast Mayor Jon Netts, the number was down to three, as several of them closed pre-emptively.
FlaglerLive | March 21, 2013
Under current law, the highest lawsuit payout by a local government is between $200,000 or $300,000, depending on how many people are involved in an incident — totals that would go to $1 million and $1.5 million under the House bill.
FlaglerLive | March 20, 2013
The so-called parent-trigger bill does not empower parents. Rather, it empowers out-of-state corporate interests and their lobbyists to siphon Florida tax dollars away from our already underfunded public school system, argues Paula Dockery.
FlaglerLive | March 20, 2013
The measure would allow parents to petition their school board to adopt a specific turnaround option for any school that draws an “F” on state report cards for two straight years.
FlaglerLive | March 18, 2013
The proposed law, by Sen. David Simmons, is intended to thwart efforts to pass labor-friendly laws in local governments, since state-level labor reform is beyond reach with the anti-labor, GOP-led Florida Legislature.
FlaglerLive | March 18, 2013
The vote moves the Senate closer to outlawing the cafes and arcades, a proposal that was approved by the House last year but never reached the Senate floor. The proposal drew concerns about the potential impact on other amusement games used by charities and amusement arcades.
FlaglerLive | March 17, 2013
Forecasters added $153 million in tax revenues in the budget year that ends June 30, and $106.5 million for the year that begins July 1. Even taking into account likely policy decisions and budget increases, the state could have a surplus of $1.1 billion.
FlaglerLive | March 16, 2013
Carroll’s political career appears all but finished. Making matters worse for the former Navy lieutenant commander, she will be remembered for her involvement with Allied Veterans of the World, a group that authorities say held itself out as a charity for veterans but actually was a gambling operation that enriched a handful of people.
FlaglerLive | March 15, 2013
The new law would end a gray area in state statutes used by operators of Internet cafes that the games are contests of skill and that the contests are similar to regulated sweepstakes offerings by places like McDonalds, Coca Cola, Chucky Cheese and churches.
FlaglerLive | March 15, 2013
Although Florida lawmakers have made it known they have no intention of going along with an expansion of Medicaid under the federal health care law, legislative leaders say they’re open to crafting an alternative that would find some way to expand health care coverage to many more uninsured as the law envisions.
FlaglerLive | March 14, 2013
Ethics Commissioner Matt Carlucci says an ethics reform bill adds teeth to previously weak enforcement, but would also open a loophole that would give politicians greater immunity from prosecution while increasing the costs of ethics cases.
FlaglerLive | March 14, 2013
If they become law, the restrictions would seriously crimp the use of red-light cameras as revenue generators, as is the case in Palm Coast, where up to 52 such cameras are in place–at least for the companies operating the cameras, since Palm Coast is guaranteed revenue regardless of the number of tickets issued.
FlaglerLive | March 14, 2013
Analyzing Florida’s prisons and jails is a revelation of unsustainable incarceration rates and prison-building, argues Milissa Holland, who explores more logical alternatives to end the vicious cycle of punishment and recidivism.
FlaglerLive | March 13, 2013
Sen. John Thrasher, an influential senator who represents Flagler County, and who has sought to place a moratorium on new Internet cafes, said Wednesday that criminal allegations of racketeering and other wrongdoing in the industry should spur lawmakers to close the storefront businesses.
FlaglerLive | March 12, 2013
The Flagler County School Board Tuesday evening will approve going to a tax referendum in June, asking voters to increase their property taxes modestly to preserve programs and add security in schools, but the proposal doesn’t have the unanimity two similar proposals had in the last three years.
FlaglerLive | March 12, 2013
Florida lawmakers say they want to pursue an alternative plan, possibly expanding Healthy Kids, that would use federal money to help uninsured low-income people get coverage through private insurers. Democrats are not entirely opposed.
FlaglerLive | March 11, 2013
The state’s share would only be a fraction of the $55 billion overall expansion cost, with the federal government paying the rest. Under the law better known as Obamacare, Washington would pay 100 percent of the expansion costs during the first three years and gradually reduce that share to 90 percent in 2020.
FlaglerLive | March 10, 2013
State lawmakers are speeding toward repealing a new law that says international visitors need special permits to drive in Florida. The law, which took effect Jan. 1, has caused a brouhaha, particularly for Canadian snowbirds who pile into the Sunshine State each winter to take a break from the cold.
FlaglerLive | March 8, 2013
Supporters say the proposal will improve chances for children trapped in failing schools.Opponents worry that politically savvy for-profit corporations could encourage parents to back the charter school option.
FlaglerLive | March 7, 2013
Rep. Lori Berman said Wednesday that about 40 percent of gun sales are at gun shows or done on the Internet, allowing the buyer to complete the purchase without going through any background screening as would be required at a storefront gun dealership.
FlaglerLive | March 6, 2013
The proposed constitutional amendment would shift power from the courts system to lawmakers to set rules about what are known as “post-conviction” appeals in death-penalty cases.
FlaglerLive | March 5, 2013
As Gov. Rick Scott stepped to the podium Tuesday morning for his third State of the State address — a sort of unofficial midpoint in his term — he embarked on a very different path than the ultraconservative businessman who spent his first two years trying to shake up Tallahassee.
FlaglerLive | March 5, 2013
Currently, police can search the possessions – including the contents of a personal electronic device – of someone who is arrested. The bill would require a warrant except under certain circumstances, including scenarios related to national security and missing children.
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