As a former assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy, I understand the importance of considering all forms of energy when discussing our state and nations future.

South Florida Water Management District will reconsider its policies on influence-peddling after news reports about it failing to follow state laws on insider dealing and requiring lobbyists to register.

Two Broward Bulldog reports this year pointed to how loopholes in the law allowed lobbyists at the district to avoid any public disclosure and let a former district board chairman sidestep state conflict-of-interest rules.

Floridas top financial regulator will step down this summer and South Florida securities lawyers, who say theyre seeing an ugly resurgence of boiler-room stock fraud and bucket-shop commodity swindles, are calling on Gov. Rick Scott to name a replacement who will beef up state regulation.

The South Florida Water Management District uses a loophole in state law to avoid requiring lobbyists to register and disclose who hired them, which officials they seek to influence and how much they are being paid.

None of the states five water management districts requires special-interest lobbyists to register before they contact board members and staff about big money contracts, environmental permits or other important matters involving public policy.

In an onslaught of last-minute political spending, conservative political action committees tied to Republican strategist Karl Rove have paid out more than $2 millionin the past three weeks to boost Republican U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio.