A Leon County judge Thursday removed a major part of a lawsuit that contests how lawmakers decided to spend money that voters approved last year for land buying and preservation. However, an attorney for four environmental groups challenging the state’s spending called the ruling a victory. “We’re in this case,” said David Guest, managing attorney […]
Florida Legislature
Hunting Undocumented Immigrants,
Travis Hutson Discovers His Inner Jim Crow
Sen. Travis Hutson filed a pair of bills that would criminalize undocumented immigrants in Florida. The bills are unconstitutional, bigoted and unnecessary.
Proposal Would Allow Students to Sub Computer Coding for Foreign Language Classes
Bill sponsor Jeremy Ring, a Margate Democrat who is a former Yahoo executive, said the proposal would give Florida students a “true leg up” in the increasingly tech-driven world.
Killed in House, Stand Your Ground Bill That Shifts Burden of Proof Lives Again in Senate
A proposal that would shift the burden of proof to the state in cases involving Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law is poised to go to the full Senate.
Supreme Court Approves Congressional Districts; Flagler’s Stays Whole, Inching Left
The congressional district the Supreme Court approves keeps Flagler County whole, shedding Putnam and moving it south to take in more of Volusia County, which will help Democrats slightly.
Proposal Would Force Cities, Including Bunnell and Flagler Beach, to Move Elections to November
Cities intend to fight a proposal now before state lawmakers that would take away their ability to set local election dates and could extend the terms of some current elected officials.
Florida Picks 5 Nurseries to Grow and Distribute Medical Marijuana for Select Patients
Parents of children with severe epilepsy pushed for a 2014 law to legalize the purportedly non-euphoric marijuana — low in THC, high in CBD — as it can end or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures.
Scott’s $79.3 Billion Budget Proposal Draws Criticism for Gimmickry and $250 Million Fund
The budget would cut taxes $1 billion, create a business fund and raise per-student funding but would still be $1,284 per student below the 2006, inflation-adjusted level.
Conservatives Should Be Leading the Charge to Accept Syrian Refugees. We Have No Choice.
Doesn’t American exceptionalism demand that we lead where others have neither the will nor the courage? We have no choice. America gives sanctuary to those fleeing persecution, argues Nancy Smith. This is what we do and who we are. We’re the good guys.
Measure Allowing Guns on Florida College Campuses Heads for Likely House Passage
But the fate of the NRA-supported gun measure, vehemently opposed by university officials, still hangs in the Senate, where passage is less certain.
In Rare Defeat for NRA in Florida, Lawmakers Kill Broader Stand Your Ground Measure
A National Rifle Association-backed measure that could have made it easier legally for people to claim self-defense in shooting incidents failed to get through its first House committee on Tuesday.
Legislature on Defensive After Congressional Redistricting Fight Reaches Supreme Court
A key Florida Supreme Court justice sounded skeptical Tuesday about the Legislature’s proposal for a contested South Florida district in a battle over the map for the state’s congressional delegation.
3rd Special Session Implodes as Senate Kills Redistricting Plan and Blames Fair Law
This time, instead of blaming each other, GOP leaders blamed a pair of voter-approved constitutional amendments that ban political gerrymandering in legislative and congressional redistricting.
Campus Gun Bill Advances in House While Opponents Pitch More Police Funding
If the aim of more guns is to prevent more rapes on campus, one opponent of the legislation said more police officers would provide better protection.
Angry With Liberal Court, Florida Lawmakers Propose Judicial Term Limits
The proposal comes after years of rising anger in the Legislature at members of the Supreme Court. With its more-liberal majority, the state’s highest court has emerged as the only major hurdle in Tallahassee to Republicans’ conservative agenda.
House Pitches New Redistricting Senate Map, But Hutson’s District Would Still Shift South
Rep. Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, said in a memo to House members that his proposal for the 40 state Senate districts was inspired in part by a plan floated by the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida.
Name-Calling on Florida Senate Floor Further Divides Republicans Over Leadership
Referring to Sen. Jack Latvala, Sen. Don Gaetz said, “when a bully throws a sucker punch, you hit back and never give in.” The fight is over the Senate’s helm.
Hutson’s District Boundaries Would Shed Putnam for Daytona But Leave Flagler and St. Johns Whole
Even Senate supporters of the map say they aren’t sure whether House leaders will accept the proposal before a redistricting special session ends next week.
Senate Bill Would Overhaul Florida’s Foster-Care Placements to Child-Centered Approach
The bill, aimed at reducing instability for foster children, would match children with their best placement options — rather than, as critics charge, the first beds that are handy.
Supreme Court Clears Floridians for Solar Choice’s Ballot Initiative, Setting Up Battle With Utilities
The initiative has drawn opposition from a coalition including major electric utilities and has spawned a competing solar ballot proposal. That proposal, spearheaded by the group Consumers for Smart Solar, is awaiting a review by the Supreme Court.
NFL’s Dolphins Want $3 Million a Year in Taxpayer Subsidies, Daytona Speedway May Be Next
The Legislature created a new funding method for professional stadiums in 2014 in an attempt to reduce the lobbying from prior years for state money.
Corey Jones Killing by Cop Triggers Black Lawmakers’ Calls for Independent Review
Corey Jones, 31, a church musician whose car stalled on an Interstate 95 exit ramp early Sunday after a gig, was shot by a plainclothes officer in an unmarked car. Some lawmakers are calling for automatic reviews of all police-related shootings, among other safeguards.
Openly Displaying Handguns and Guns on Campus Bills Win Senate Panel Approval
One of the Florida Senate committees also supported a measure that might make it easier for people to claim they have stood their ground in self-defense when shooting others.
Palm Coast Joins Local Governments in Opposition to Utilities’ Proposed Cost-Shifting
Upending a century-long arrangement, utilities want local governments to pay for moving utility lines in public construction projects even though the lines use public right of ways at no cost to utilities.
Scott Wants Tax Cuts Larger Than Projected Surplus. Lawmakers Are More Prudent.
Scott wants a larger tax-cut package in 2016 than the $673 million he sought this year, even though the state budget surplus is projected at $635.4 million, much of it one-time revenue that won;t recur in subsequent years.
Florida’s Clergy Did Not Need More Protection from Gays. They Don’t Bite.
Florida lawmakers in each chamber are plowing ahead with bills to protect the religious freedoms of lawsuit-fearing clergy in case the U.S. Constitution doesn’t. It’s entirely unnecessary, argues Nancy Smith.
County Administrator Is “Chastised” Over Cryptic Handling of Question in Open Forum
Flagler County Commissioner Barbara Revels said she felt treated like “a bad girl” speaking out of turn when this week when Administrator Coffey would not openly address a question she raised about legislative priorities. Coffey later explained he’d mishandled the matter.
Senate Panel Votes 11-0 to Remove
Confederate Flag From Official Seal
In the latest sign of a backlash against the symbols of the Confederate South, the official insignia would still include other non-American flags that flew over Florida.
Florida Lawmakers Consider Dumping Property Tax and More Than Doubling Sales Tax
If the state eliminated all property taxes, committee records indicate the state’s sales tax would have to go from 6 percent to 12.72 percent to cover existing state, local, school and special district expenses.
Proposed Florida Law Would Tell Employers to Butt Out of Employees’ Social Media Accounts
The measure, which is filed for the 2016 legislative session, would prohibit employers from requesting access to private social media accounts, but pressure from business caused it to fail in two previous years.
Yet Another Sales Tax “Holiday” Proposal, For Two Months, This Time for Military Veterans
The military veteran sales tax break would last from Nov. 1, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2016, just in time for the holidays, but competes with other breaks.
Florida Senate Will Consider Removing Confederate Flag From Its Seal
It is the latest reflection of the persisting backlash against the presence of the Confederate flag in public spaces. Senate President Andy Gardiner and Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner pushed for the reconsideration. A committee will do so next week.
New Laws Next Week On Revenge Porn, Domestic Violence, Trafficking, Cop Funerals
Among 27 new Florida laws starting next week, it’ll be illegal to post sexually explicit material without the knowledge of people identified in the images, criminal penalties will increase on sex trafficking, the state may spend $5,000 on cop funerals.
Doctors and Pharmacists Complain: Patients Aren’t Getting Their Pain Meds Fast Enough
Pharmacists complain that distributors are limiting their supply of powerful narcotics, forcing the pharmacists to ration their limited stock to their regular patients.
Worrisome Study in Hand, Lawmakers Question Tying Teacher Salaries to Test Scores
The study supported the use of the Florida Standards Assessment for school grades and teacher evaluations but said that “the FSA scores for some students will be suspect” because of the computer glitches.
John Thrasher on Campus Guns, FSU’s Alleged Inferiority and Marco Rubio’s Oats
Florida State University President John Thrasher talks about Rubio trash-talking FSU, his opposition to guns on campus, academic freedom and having the time of his life.
Cocked Again, College-Campus Gun Bill Makes It Through First Two Legislative Hurdles
The concealed-carry legislation won support from criminal-justice committees in the Florida House and Senate but is widely opposed by academic leaders.
Facing Lawsuit from Florida Carry, FSU Scraps Gun Ban in Cars on Football Game Day
The changes to the school’s “Game Day Plan 2015” guide for fans won’t holster the legal challenge by Florida Carry Inc. as legislators again consider allowing concealed weapons on campus.
Citing “Thousands” Of Untested Rape Kits, Bondi Seeks More Money For Crime Labs
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is expected to request an additional $35 million in funding during the 2016 legislative session, including $7.76 million to raise the base salaries of people working in crime labs.
Confederate General Is Out, Henry Flagler May Be In as Florida Lawmaker Seeks Capitol Statue Switch
The bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith has stood in the U.S. Capitol since 1922. It would be replaced by the likes of Henry Flagler or Walt Disney under a bill filed Tuesday by Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Republican.
Florida’s New Drone Law, Restricting “Surveillance,” Is a Gift to Personal Injury Lawyers
Like medical marijuana, there’s an entrepreneurial rush to get in on the drone business, but states like Florida have been stumbling their way to legislation., argues Nancy Smith.
Flagler, Among Top 10 Counties With Most Concealed-Weapon Licenses, Will Fast-Track Permitting
Flagler has 8.24 concealed carry permits for every 100 residents. Starting Jan. 1, the Flagler Tax Collector’s office will accept concealed-weapon permit applications for $134 and renewals for $72.
State Education Board’s “Historic” Funding Proposal Is Still $1,000 Per Student Below 2006 Level
In inflation adjusted dollars, current spending on public education is $1,100-per-student less than it was in 2007, and would still be $1,000 less if the Legislature goes along with a state board of education proposal.
Lawmakers and Judge Turn to Supreme Court to Break Congressional Map Stalemate
A Leon County judge will ask the Florida Supreme Court how to move forward with a redistricting lawsuit after the Legislature failed to draw new congressional lines in a special session that collapsed last week. Circuit Judge Terry Lewis told lawyers for the House and Senate at a conference Tuesday that he wants to hear […]
Lawmakers Can’t Get It Done: Redistricting Session Collapses, Leaving It Up to Courts
The end of the session without agreement on the shape of Florida’s 27 congressional districts likely means the final decision will be made by the courts, though some lawmakers held out slim hopes for a resolution in the coming days that could avoid such an outcome.
House and Senate at Odds Over Congressional Map, But No Disagreement Over Flagler District
The 6th Congressional District would be redrawn southward, losing most of St. Johns County and all of Putnam, and taking on all of Volusia and a segment of Lake, thus pushing the district more to the center than it’s been.
Despite Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, Gay Adoption Rights Remain Restricted in Florida
While same-sex couples have long been able to adopt from private, gay-friendly adoption agencies, adopting children from the foster care system has proved more difficult in some states, among them Florida.
Clashing Again, Florida House and Senate Are on Collision Course Over Redistricting
The House and Senate seemed unconcerned about whether they could reconcile their differences before the scheduled conclusion of the special session on Friday. They all but ruled out forming a joint House-Senate conference committee to hammer out a compromise.
Florida’s Tax Revenue Expected to Grow by Modest $462 Million By June 2017
At least some of the extra money is likely to be eaten up by increasing enrollment in the state’s public schools, changes to health-care spending and the like.
House Committee Approves District Joining Flagler, Volusia, Drips of Lake and St. Johns
The shift may be reflective of the weakness of the region’s legislative delegation: neither Sen. Travis Hutson nor Paul Renner, rookies both, has pull in his respective house, neither has bargaining chips to deal with.