FEATURED STORIES
With redistricting lawsuit looming, legislators want immunity
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Related: Gov. Rick Scott signs off on new congressional districts
Related editorial: Another power play by brazen lawmakers
With state legislators facing lawsuits accusing them of drawing redistricting maps that favor Republicans, a House committee on Thursday passed a bill protecting lawmakers and their staff from having to testify if they get sued.
Gov Scott looking at prison privatization options
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Governor Rick Scott says he’s looking into privatizing the state’s South Florida prisons on his own, even though a proposal to do as such died in the Legislature.
Anti-abortion bill lacks protections for women with mental illnesses
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
Michelle Cory, a 58-year-old resident of Margate, says a law making its way through the Florida Legislature that would restrict access to third trimester abortions would endanger the health of women with mental health problems.
Senate panel OKs slashing hourly pay for servers, bartenders, others
By Sandra Pedicini
Orlando Sentinel
Restaurant servers, bartenders and other Florida workers who rely heavily on tips are expressing outrage about a plan moving through the Legislature that could slash their hourly wages.
Fla. lobbyists collect record amount of fees
By Gary Fineout
Associated Press
Florida lobbyists took in a record amount of money last year after Gov. Rick Scott took office and Republicans assumed a supermajority in the state legislature.
BEST OF THE BLOGS
While Rome burns, Mike Haridopolos fiddles (actually, he throws a football)
By Peter Schorsch
St. Petersblog 2.0
The image of Senate President Mike Haridopolos tossing a football on the lawn outside the Senate Office Building – a pastime the Merrit Island Republican engages in while the business of the Florida Legislature proceeds on without him – is a telling reminder that this was not how it was suppose to work out for Haridopolos.
Florida’s New (2012) Congressional Map
By Mario Piscatella
MPA Political
Now in a single handy post. An analysis from the prospective of progressive Democrats of the newly drawn US House district boundaries in Florida.
Religious Freedom
By Mustang Bobby
Bark Bark Woof Woof
The hue and cry being raised by some members of the Catholic church hierarchy and some opportunistic members of Congress over the Obama administration's requirement that employers provide contraception to their employees reminds me that their argument of religious freedom and how the evil federal government is stomping all over it applies to more than just pills and condoms.
Largest Private Prison Bill In History Dies In Florida Senate Despite Million Dollar Lobbying Campaign
By Scott Keyes
Think Progress
The largest proposed expansion of private prisons in the nation will not proceed after the Florida Senate voted down the proposal on Tuesday.
Does it matter who is president? Yes it does
By Gimleteye
Eye on Miami
I hear this a lot lately. Not just from my Republican friends -- uniformly dismayed by the GOP presidential primaries -- but also my Democratic ones.
FLORIDA POLITICS
Gov. Scott approves congressional districts, triggering new lawsuit
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed into law redrawn congressional boundaries lawmakers approved last week - triggering another lawsuit by Democratic-allied organizations.
Last-minute change puts Rep. Sandy Adams' home in her district
By Mark K. Matthews and Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Three weeks ago, state lawmakers sat down for what could be best described as a cleanup session: a chance to make final changes to a new map that would set the lines of congressional seats for the next decade.
Florida House committee taking up claims bills
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
Two claims bills that are top priorities for Senate President Mike Haridopolos are finally getting a hearing in the House.
Some Florida lawmakers are bucking the system and actually representing the people
By Dennis Maley
Bradenton Times
Entering the 2012 legislative session, there seemed like little hope for anything other than more of the same.
Alexander choosing his place in history
By Daniel Ruth
Tampa Bay Times
In the end, a career in public service eventually comes down to a simple proposition. After you leave office, how do you want to be remembered?
POLITICAL RACES
The .0000063% Election
By Ari Berman
Mother Jones
At a time when it's become a cliché to say that Occupy Wall Street has changed the nation's political conversation — drawing long overdue attention to the struggles of the 99 percent — electoral politics and the 2012 presidential election have become almost exclusively defined by the 1 percent.
ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY
Rubio introduces bill to force EPA to implement state-drafted water pollution rules
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., today introduced a bill that would force the EPA to scrap its set of Florida water quality standards and instead accept rules drafted by the state Department of Environmental Protection.
House vote puts Florida closer to oil spill money
By Maria Recio
Bradenton Herald
The House passed an amendment Wednesday night critical to the Gulf Coast that would direct at least 80 percent of BP oil spill fines to the five Gulf states.
LGBT
Same-sex custody battle could go to Supreme Court
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A custody battle between two lesbian former partners could be decided by the Florida Supreme Court.
Activists call on Republicans to not support ‘anti-LGBT GOP presidential candidates’
By Marcos Restrepo
Florida Independent
The National Stonewall Democrats, the “national voice of LGBT Democrats” have launched a campaign urging gay and lesbian Republicans to not support “anti-LGBT GOP presidential candidates.”
EDUCATION
Fla. bill would let parents decide school's fate
Associated Press
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Legislation moving quickly in the Republican-controlled Legislature would let parents "trigger" the turnover of failing public schools to private management.
Inside the Mathematical Equation for Teacher Merit Pay
By Sarah Gonzalez
StateImpact
School has always been about grading students. But now 24 states are starting to grade teachers.
Florida university oversight board's role being re-evaluated
By Bill Kaczor
Associated Press
The new chairman of the Florida Board of Governors told the House Education Committee on Thursday that his panel may have delegated too much authority to individual universities' trustee boards.
Bill would let UF, FSU charge higher tuition than other schools
By Nathan Crabbe
Gainesville Sun
On Gator Day in the state Capitol, the University of Florida took a first step toward its long-sought goal of being able to charge higher tuition than other state universities.
Panel discusses misleading recruiting, stat-keeping practices at for-profit colleges
By Virginia Chamlee
Florida Independent
A panel of former for-profit university students, professors and recruiters discussed the controversial higher ed institutions yesterday, making strong claims about questionable practices at schools like the Art Institutes, Argosy University, Brown Mackie College and South University — all of which are owned by the Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corporation.
Higher education: Don't trash tenure and undercut reform
Editorial
Orlando Sentinel
It's hard to see what benefit is to be gained by eliminating university and college faculty tenure, other than scoring political points.
JOBS, BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Florida has one-fourth of nation’s foreclosures
By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post
Florida's share of the nation's foreclosure crisis increased during the fourth quarter of last year compared with the same time in 2010 as other hard-hit states, such as California, shed some of their housing burden.
Consumer advocacy group asks legislators to close tax loophole for tobacco company
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The Consumer Federation of the Southeast, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, released a statement yesterday asking Florida lawmakers to close a tax loophole for a Florida-based tobacco company.
HEALTH AND SENIORS
Department of Health revamp clears Florida Senate Committee
By Jim Saunders
News Service of Florida
A Senate committee today approved a wide-ranging plan that would scale back the role of the Florida Department of Health, close the state's tuberculosis hospital and block mandatory septic-tank inspections.
Bill inspired by Barahona tragedy gets OK from Florida House
By Dara Kam and John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
Legislation aimed at fixing the failings of Florida's child protection system, exposed in tragic light by last year's death of 11-year-old Nubia Barahona, cleared the House Thursday, 119-0.
Senate budget increases funding for Healthy Start
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
The Florida Senate’s recently filed budget bill would restore funding for Healthy Start Coalitions to the amount they were receiving before suffering significant reductions last year.
Compromise between eye doctors could lead to litigation limits for other patients
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Patients who arrive at a doctor’s office could be given one more form to fill out — a waiver for their right to a jury trial if they ever accused the doctor of botching their care — under compromise legislation passed out of a key Senate committee on Thursday.
Behavioral Health Advocates and Leaders "Rally at the Capitol"
Staff Report
WCTV News Tallahassee
Protesters rally at the capitol this morning, their message: Florida lawmakers need to reconsider cutting mental health and substance abuse funding.
CIVIL RIGHTS, PEACE AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Senate panel shoots down "Dream" act
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Public Radio Tallahassee
Recently, a Senate panel rejected a proposal that would have granted in-state tuition to Florida residents, who are children of undocumented immigrants.
Alimony Could Be Changing
By Mike Vasilinda
Capitol News Service
Permanent alimony would no longer be allowed in Florida under legislation that cleared a key State House Committee today in Tallahassee.
Bills addressing homelessness pass unanimously in the Florida House
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Independent
A bill that would expedite emancipation for homeless youth and another that provides a way for Floridians to donate a dollar for programs to help the homeless when registering vehicles and renewing their driver’s licenses passed unanimously on the House floor today.
JUSTICE AND THE COURTS
Inmates, volunteers sue to keep Hillsborough women's prison openBy Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
For the second year in a row, inmates and volunteers at Hillsborough Correctional Institution are suing the state to block a proposed closure of the Riverview prison.
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