FEATURED STORIES
Florida House passes six anti-abortion bills
Staff Report
Palm Beach Post
Related: The Florida Legislature's assault on women's lives
The House passed six anti-abortion measures Wednesday mostly on party-line votes, with the Republicans approving.
Scott signs growth management bill
Staff Report
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Legislature poised to repeal much of Florida's growth law
Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday signed the first in a series of growth management bills designed to respond to a court ruling last year that threw out a 2009 bill.
Senators reject Rick Scott’s pitch to fight unions
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/St. Petersburg Times Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott paid a rare, personal visit to the offices of four Republican senators Wednesday in a last-minute attempt to rescue an anti-union bill that appeared destined for defeat.
Questions raised over lawmaker's push for charter school bill
By Patricia Mazzei and Christina Veiga
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Rep. Erik Fresen, who sits on several education committees in the Florida House, is again raising eyebrows for his family ties to a Miami-Dade charter school company.
New divide in Florida budget debate: the federal health care law
By Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A new wedge developed Wednesday between legislative Republicans as they hammered out a budget deal: President Barack Obama's health care law.
Lawmakers may let Scott hand out cash to companies offering jobs
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
To help Gov. Rick Scott sell the state to corporations, budget writers assembling the governor's new jobs super-agency are preparing to give him broad authority to offer tax dollars to companies willing to create jobs.
FLORIDA POLITICS
State ethics officials find no conflict of interest for Scott
By Stacey Singer
Palm Beach Post
Florida Commission on Ethics officials have tentatively OK'd the steps that attorneys for Gov. Rick Scott have taken to protect the wealthy businessman from running afoul of state ethics laws.
You have their word: Early voting will be restored in Senate elections bill (kind of)
By Travis Pillow
Florida Independent
On Tuesday the state Senate budget panel cleared a controversial elections bill that, unlike the House version, cuts Florida’s early voting period in half.
Thrasher working to amend House version of union dues bill
By Matt Dixon
Florida Times-Union
Sen. John Thrasher, R - St. Augustine, filed an amendment Tuesday that would bring the House's version of a union dues bill in line with changes he made to his version two weeks ago.
Republican Senator Questions Lobbyist Influence in Plan to Shutter Citizens
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
The improbable, if not outright impossible, has happened.
Death of 'birthers?' --Not in South Florida, where birth certificate doesn't sway all doubters
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
The questions that President Obama's most skeptical political rivals have raised about his birthplace and his right to be president won't die easily.
U.S. Senator Rubio wows crowd
By Derek Catron
Daytona Beach News-Journal
As Marco Rubio stood alone under the bright lights of the News-Journal Center stage Wednesday morning, Florida's junior senator remarked on the unusual setting for a political meeting.
Today in Tallahassee: Racing against the clock
By Jodie Tillman
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Lawmakers today continue racing against the clock to sew up spending gaps between the two chambers.
POLITICAL RACES
Early fundraising gives Senate clues
By Hastings Wyman
Southern Political Report
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has released 1st Quarter reports for US Senate candidates and the results – although more than a year and half before the 2012 election – give some early indications of the shape of next year’s five U.S. Senate races in the South.
A new contender emerges for GOP U.S. Senate race?
By Adam C. Smith
St. Petersburg Times
The chatter and speculation has barely let up that a stronger, surprise, self-funding candidate may yet emerge in Florida's U.S. Senate race.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Controversial permit streamlining bill includes extension for replacing petroleum tanks
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
A House bill that supporters say would streamline the state permitting process also would extend yet again the deadline for gas station owners to remove leaking underground fuel tanks.
Feds sink plan to ban bottom fishing off Florida, Georgia coast
By Steve Patterson
Florida times-Union
The federal government has dropped a plan to ban bottom fishing in almost 5,000 square miles of ocean off Florida and Georgia.
EDUCATION
God, segregation, and vouchers
By Kim MacQueen
Florida Tribune
The Florida House -- giving a long-sought after victory for private school voucher supporters -- approved along party lines a measure that would end a long-standing ban on state money going to religious organizations.
Education bills enter last leg of session race
By Lynn Hatter
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Several education proposals are on their way to clearing the senate, with at least one headed to the governor's desk.
Students, Castor speak out against higher ed cuts in GOP budget
By Kate Bradshaw
WMNF Community Radio Tampa
Two weeks ago, Republicans in the US House of Representatives passed a budget that would drastically cut health care and education.
Obama kicks off So. Fla college graduation season
By Serena Dai
Miami Herald
President Obama kicks off the graduation season among South Florida’s institutions of higher learning Friday when he appears as the main speaker at Miami Dade College.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Scott talks taxes with supportive lobbyists
By Lloyd Dunkelberger
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Speaking to a sympathetic group of lobbyists who support his call for less government regulation and spending, Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday put the responsibility for passing his major tax cuts on House and Senate leaders.
Insurance package may get Senate vote on Thursday
By Paige St. John
Ocala Star-Banner
Florida property insurers that funnel money through affiliated companies — pocketing profits while claiming paper losses — would be required to open those related firms’ books under a surprise legislative change Wednesday.
Sen. Nelson asks for investigation of tax fraud by identity thieves
By Sally Kestin
South Florida Sun Sentinel
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is calling for a federal investigation into an explosion of tax fraud by identity thieves that is holding up legitimate refunds for thousands of taxpayers.
Save Our Homes property-tax break loses luster
By Mary Shanklin
Orlando Sentinel
Central Florida's housing slump has wiped out longtime homeowners' favorite tax break — Save Our Homes — as the once-fast-rising home prices that had long penalized newcomers, landlords and snowbirds have come back down to earth.
Back-to-school sales tax holiday back in business
By Gary Fineout
Florida Tribune
Florida’s popular back-to-school sales tax holiday will be back in business again this year.
Mike Haridopolos says many states, but not Florida, are deficit spending: False
By Aaron Sharockman
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald PolitiFact
After some bumps and squabbling, Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos and House Speaker Dean Cannon emerged from secret budget negotiations on April 26, 2011, to announce that they had reached the framework of a budget agreement.
Endeavour launch brings tourists, traffic to Fla.
By Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Florida Space Coast hotels are sold out, residents are renting bedrooms and restaurants are doubling food supplies as thousands of tourists arriving for Friday's launch of space shuttle Endeavour are boosting a region fearing its economic future.
Sen. Haridopolos: More bitter than sweet
Editorial
Florida Today
Tomorrow, Florida hosts President Obama and his family as they witness first-hand the launch of Endeavour, one of America’s final space shuttle missions.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
As abortion measures pass Florida House, fight breaks out between Democrats
By Janet Zink, Katie Sanders and Marc Caputo
St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
During hours of passionate debate Wednesday, emotions ran high.
Campbell, Julien buck Democratic party line during House passage of abortion-restricting bills
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Today, six abortion-restricting bills passed during their final vote on the Florida House floor. Even though each of the bills were sponsored by House Republicans (and Democrats had little input on final versions of the bill), some House Democrats broke party lines to speak during debate in support of some of the legislation.
Privatizing Medicaid Under Fire
By Les Coleman
Public News Service Florida
Basic health security for seniors, the poor and people with disabilities would be privatized under a Republican plan pending in the Florida Legislature.
Cannon gives special treatment to bills dealing with nursing home litigation and permitting
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Tribune
Three bills Wednesday were placed on the House calendar for second reading, bypassing committee stops despite House Speaker Dean Cannon's memo Tuesday stating there was no need to withdraw bills from committees.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Immigration debate ramps up as students take over Senate president's office
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Division over proposed immigration reform ramped up in the Capitol on Wednesday as undocumented students and other immigrants staged a sit-in in Senate President Mike Haridopolos' office and national advocates pushed for a boycott of Florida.
Immigrant groups respond to letter charging that Flores and Alexander should have reported activists to ICE
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
Immigrant-rights groups are up in arms after a retired U.S. Navy chief Geoff Ross filed a complaint with Immigration and Customs Enforcement alleging that GOP state Sens. Anitere Flores and J.D. Alexander “engaged in dialogue” with “suspected illegal aliens” — actually, immigrant activists — and did not report them to authorities.
Senate set to OK bill giving Fla. final authority on guns
By Paul Flemming
Florida Capital News
The Senate is teed up for final approval of a bill to establish the state's authority to set gun policy with fines against local governments who dare pass gun-regulating ordinances.
Wrong way on illegal immigration
Editorial
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The United States needs sensible, humane, nationwide immigration reform. That's not what CS/HB 7089, proposed in the Florida House, would provide.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Prison savings illusoryEditorial
St. Petersburg Times
There is strong evidence that the best way to reduce prison costs is to pump resources into substance abuse treatment, mental health services, education and job training. Investment in those programs can translate into big reductions in recidivism.
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