President Barack Obama on Monday signed U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan’s Veterans ID Card Act into law. Buchanan, R-Fla., introduced the bill earlier this year. Its purpose is to ensure all veterans receive ID cards from the VA instead of just those vets who served 20 years in the armed forces or are seeking medical treatment for service-related wounds.
Florida Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, will once again lead the Florida Senate’s efforts on redistricting as a special session looms in August.
Galvano will come back for another round to chair the Senate Redistricting Committee as legislators prepare to return to Tallahassee for a special session on congressional redistricting.
The government giveth and the government taketh away.
Last year the Legislature appropriated $4.5 million for low-income health care clinics under the umbrella of the Florida Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, a worthy organization that enlists health care providers to treat low-income people. It was the first time they received state funds.
This year, the Legislature appropriated $9.5 million but it was vetoed by Gov. Rick Scott.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, has appointed Rep. Jose Oliva, R-Hialeah, to serve as his point man for congressional redistricting when the Legislature convenes in special session Aug. 10-21.
Crisafulli announced Monday that Oliva, who is scheduled to become House speaker after the 2018 elections, will lead the House Redistricting Committee.
Conservative Citizens United Political Victory Fund (CUPVF) PAC doubled down on its support of U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., come 2016 even as U.S. Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., entered the race on Monday and Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera joined last week.
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The Florida Legislature will meet in special session in August to deal with congressional redistricting, the leaders of the two chambers announced Monday.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, announced the special session will start in Tallahassee on Monday, Aug. 10, and conclude Friday, Aug. 21. Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court ruled that eight of the current congressional districts fail to pass constitutional muster after voters amended the state Constitution in 2010 to limit gerrymandering.
Gov. Rick Scott is making protecting the military a priority in the wake of a shooting in Tennessee which left four Marines and a sailor dead last week.The governor ordered the temporary relocation of National Guard members from six “storefront” recruitment centers to armories through an executive order issued over the weekend.
On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott ordered flags across Florida to be flown at half-staff to honor the four Marines and the Navy officer killed by a jihadist gunman in Chattanooga, Tennessee last week. Scott ordered the flags remain at half-staff until the last of those five servicemen were buried. 
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Gov. Rick Scott weighed in on Monday as the U.S. and Cuba opened embassies for the first time in more than 50 years.
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Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush returned to Tallahassee this morning, site of his greatest accomplishments during eight years in office.
Proclaiming “voters want to know what we believe in, but also what we’ve accomplished,” he went through a litany of his policies that made Florida a better place to live, work and play.
He cut governmental bureaucracy by more than 10 percent, he tackled the systemic problems of child welfare by creating the cutting-edge Community Based Care system, and he vetoed more than 2,500 budget items, thus earning him the nickname “Veto Corleone.”
