TALLAHASSEE — After three hours of testimony from experts on Monday, the Republican head of a Florida Senate panel looking into mass violence and white nationalism suggested that increased background checks on…
Tag: Florida Senate
Sen. Broxson and other senators file Triumph Gulf Coast bill
State Sen. Doug Broxson, along with Senators Bill Montford and George Gainer, have a filed a bill that would appropriate $300 million in BP oil spill settlement funds directly to Triumph Gulf…
Podcast: Broxson picks up another endorsement and defends record
State Rep. Doug Broxson picked up the endorsement of Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), a national construction industry trade association that represents nearly 21,000 corporate members. Broxson is seeking the District 1…
Florida Senate revamps, reduces Gov. Scott tax-cut package
By JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Gov. Rick Scott’s request for $1 billion in tax cuts, which the House initially sought to match, was cut by lawmakers to $129.1 million…
Anti-corruption, ethics and accountability: Always the toughest bills to pass
State Sen. Don Gaetz this afternoon sent out this email to his constituents. The Anti-Corruption has been passed by all the appropriate House and Senate committees. The Government Accountability Act still must…
Weekly State Capital Roundup: Hoping for a happy ending
By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Budgets have been approved. Committee meetings are dropping off. And the major differences between the House and the Senate are coming into focus. The…
Details on $1B budget gap between Florida House and Senate
The Appropriation Committees of the Florida House and Senate passed their proposals to fund the state government for FY 2016-17. The gap between the two chamber is $1.58 billon. Both proposals are…
Uber has a battle in Florida Senate
By JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA The Senate isn’t ready to match a House proposal that would prevent local governments from regulating popular app-based transportation services, such as Uber and…
Fur flies on Florida Senate floor on redistricting vote, Latvala v. Gaetz
Notes from the News Service of Florida on today’s meeting of the Florida Senate: CONVENED: The Senate convened at 10 a.m., President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, presiding. PRAYER: Sen. Bill Montford, D-Tallahassee, led…
Florida deals with 17 redistricting amendments today
Today, state senators will face a slate of 17 amendments when they meet to consider a new set of lines for the chamber’s 40 districts. Four members of the Senate account for…
Senate removes Confederate flag from seal
By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Without a formal vote, the Florida Senate on Monday agreed to strip the Confederate battle flag from its official seal, removing one of the…
Panel votes to remove Confederate flag from Senate seal
By BRANDON LARRABEE THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA Lawmakers took a step toward removing the Confederate battle flag from the Senate’s official seal Thursday, as a committee unanimously voted to establish a…
Scott undermines Senate health care plan
Senate Appropriations Committee is tired of the games the Scott administration is playing in the legislative battle over health care. On Monday, state Medicaid director Justin Senior appeared before the House Health…
Gaetz hopeful lawmakers will hammer out health care solution
Don Gaetz is hopeful that the Florida House and Senate will hammer out a budget in June. The biggest sticking point is how the state will be budget for the health care…
Senate scuttles Conscience Protection bill
A controversial bill that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples appears ready to die Friday with the end of the regular legislative session. House members…
Breaking news: Florida House flips out Senate, adjourns
From News Service of Florida: Amid a bitter impasse with the Senate about the budget and health-care issues, the House adjourned “sine die” about 1:15 p.m. Central. The adjournment came three days…
Gaetz leads floor debate for adoption incentives, repeal of gay adoption ban
This morning I received a text from Ryan Wiggins, political strategist and regular guest on Pensacola Speaks. She was watching the Florida Senate debate on a bill that restored cash incentives for…
Florida lawmakers talk with feds about health care coverage
By DARA KAM THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA With a $5 billion health-care budget breach between the House and Senate halfway through the legislative session, Senate President Andy Gardiner dispatched two of…
Bipartisan health care bill praised
A Healthy Florida Works, a bipartisan coalition of business leaders, chambers of commerce, statewide business organizations and concerned individuals, today released an ad thanking Senate President Andy Gardiner and the Florida Senate…
Gaetz Greyhound Protection bill passed unanimously by Florida Senate
The Florida Senate opened the 2015 legislative session with unanimous passage of bi-partisan legislation to better protect greyhounds by requiring more accountability from the greyhound racing industry. Senate Bill 2, named in…