FEATURED
STORIES
Florida Senate panel rejects Medicaid expansion
By Tia Mitchell
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Related: What people are saying about Senate rejecting Medicaid expansion
A Florida Senate committee voted Monday against Medicaid expansion, joining the House in rejecting Gov. Rick Scott's proposal for a three-year trial covered entirely by federal funding.
A call to Scott's conscience on Medicaid expansion
By Steve Bousquet
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Gov. Rick Scott said the magic word. "Conscience."
Senate’s campaign finance compromise creates mega PACs
By Mary Ellen Klas
Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee Bureau
Political slush funds will get a new name and campaign finance limits will rise for statewide candidates under a Senate campaign finance bill that won unanimous approval by a Senate committee on Monday.
Ethics bill imperfect, but House should improve it, not weaken it
Editorial
Palm Beach Post
The Florida Senate unanimously passed an imperfect ethics bill. The House could improve it. Unfortunately, the House also could gut it, which several representatives seem eager to do.
FLORIDA
POLITICS
Bringing the sunshine back to Florida government
By Barbara Petersen
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Florida's open government laws have long been the envy of other states and indeed other nations struggling toward the transparency their citizens deserve.
It’s Sunshine Week 2013, but Clouds Still Threaten
By Bill Cotterell
Florida Voices
It's fitting that the American Society of News Editors decided in 2005 to recognize the public's right to know in March, just as we're shaking off the gray gloom of winter and seeing the first bright rays of spring.
Senator backing lobbyist restrictions is lobbyist himself
By Aaron Deslatte
Orlando Sentinel
Fueled by cases of legislators cashing in on their public offices, Florida Senate Ethics Chairman Jack Latvala has pushed for months to expand an ethics-reform bill to place tighter lobbying prohibitions on lawmakers when they leave office.
Bill advances in Florida Legislature to ease restrictions on lawsuit payouts by governments
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Individuals who have been injured or harmed by a local government such as a school board could get settlements of up to $3 million without the Legislature’s approval, under a House proposal gaining steam over the objections of cities and counties.
Analysis: Nelson, Rubio more divided ideologically than senators from almost every other state
By Peter Schorsch
Saint Petersblog
A new independent analysis of key congressional votes in 2012 shows Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio became more divided ideologically than senators from almost every other state.
Rep. Powell: First, let people know how much you care
By Dara Kam
Palm Beach Post
Interview with Rep. Bobby Powell, D-Riviera Beach.
POLITICAL
RACES
Door opens a tad wider if Putnam wans to run
By Joe Henderson
Tampa Tribune
Monday's decision by a Florida Senate committee to reject Medicaid expansion doesn't mean Charlie Crist or any other potential challenger should start measuring windows at the governor's mansion for new drapes.
Voters in eight Pinellas cities head to polls
By Kate Bradshaw
Tampa Tribune
Yard signs stuck in lawns throughout the county may be the only indication there's an election today, when voters in eight Pinellas cities weigh in on questions ranging from whether to ease building restrictions to who will be their next mayor.
It’s election day for some Broward and Palm Beach County cities
By Heather Carney
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Tuesday is Election Day in nearly a dozen cities in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
ENVIRONMENT
AND ENERGY
Consumer Energy Alliance nudges legislators on oil drilling, energy issues
By Bruce Ritchie
Florida Current
A Consumer Energy Alliance representative hinted to Florida legislators on Monday that they should reconsider the state's opposition to offshore drilling.
LGBT
Domestic partnership bill gets a second chance Tuesday
By Rochelle Koff
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A bill that would give domestic partners certain rights, including hospital visitations, property rights and end-of-life decisions, will have another chance at passing its first hurdle on Tuesday.
Lake School Board votes 3-2 to allow extracurricular clubs in middle schools
By Erica Rodriguez
Orlando Sentinel
Lake County School Board members, in a narrow 3-2 vote, Monday night moved to keep middle-school campuses open to extracurricular clubs after two hours of comments mostly from supporters of a Gay-Straight Alliance at Carver Middle School in Leesburg.
EDUCATION
Florida Senate looks to tackle cyberbullying
By Jeffrey S. Solochek
Tampa Bay Times
It's week two in the Florida Legislature, and for the Senate Education Committee that means a focus on school safety and security issues.
ACLU asks FAU for files to learn what school knew about it stadium sponsor
By John Lantigua
Palm Beach Post
The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida said Monday it filed a public
records request with Florida Atlantic University asking for all documents dealing with a $6 million pledge by the private prison company GEO Group of Boca Raton in exchange for the naming rights to the school’s football stadium.
Polk Teachers Take on Core Common Standards
By Merissa Green
Lakeland Ledger
Two Polk County teachers participated recently in an exercise that shows how life experiences can shape perspectives.
JOBS,
BUDGET, AND ECONOMY
Public Money in Private Ventures? We Taxpayers Want to Look at the Books
By State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
“It will create jobs.” This by-now-familiar claim is used to sell every new plan to use taxpayer money in cutting deals with private industry.
Florida senate president aims to hand out rare pay raises
By Margie Menzel and David Royse
Florida Today
The Senate president reiterated Friday that lawmakers will try to give state workers their first raise in six years, though he warned about the unpredictable nature of economic circumstances that could derail the plan.
Fla. Lawmakers Urged To Help Get Congress To Restore Affordable Senior Housing Funds
By Sascha Cordner
WFSU Tallahassee
Advocates for senior citizens are joining with several state lawmakers in urging Congress to restore funding to an Affordable Housing program for the elderly.
HEALTH
AND SENIORS
Florida committee rejects Obamacare Medicaid expansion; GOP lawmakers want their own plan
By John Kennedy
Palm Beach Post
A Senate panel Monday defied Republican Gov. Rick Scott’s call for expanding Medicaid, with GOP leaders saying they are now intent on crafting their own plan to provide health coverage to 1 million low-income residents.
In midst of health care fight, Legislature pushes bills to limit medical liability
By Mary Ellen Klas
Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau
A year ago this month, Michael Lawley of Melbourne disconnected the respirator that was keeping his brain-damaged daughter alive.
Nursing homes brace for the "nightmare bacteria"
By Diane C. Lade
South Florida Sun Sentinel
Longterm care facilities are bracing for what federal health officials call a "nightmare" drug-resistant bacteria that kills almost half of those it infects, after officials received a strongly worded advisory last week.
JUSTICE
AND THE COURTS
Fla. Senate panel considers death penalty changes
By James L. Rosica
Associated Press
In what would be a significant change to the state's capital punishment system, a Florida Senate panel discussed a bill Monday to require a jury to unanimously recommend the death penalty.
Florida Senate panel OKs tougher penalties for 'Caylee's Law'
Associated Press
Tampa Tribune
A Florida Senate panel has cleared increased penalties to a law closely related to "Caylee's Law."
Redaction Causes Delays in Accessing Court Files
By Mark Schneider
Associated Press
It seems like a reasonable idea: before the records in a criminal or civil case can be made public, Florida’s clerks of court must purge them of all Social Security, credit card and bank numbers.
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