Last week in Orlando, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis convened dozens of government officials who run Florida’s 23 professional licensing boards for what he called a “Deregathon” event to advance an agenda of “aggressive and appropriate deregulation.” The idea was for each government agency to discuss and recommend “regulations that can be targeted for immediate elimination.”
Florida’s most influential gun-rights lobbyist says don’t move --- at least for now --- the state’s concealed-weapons licensing program from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
But in a thin olive branch to Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer in a letter posted online Tuesday also made clear she and the other concealed-carry permit holders in the state --- there were 1.95 million as of Jan. 15 --- will be watching how Fried handles the high-profile program.
Ever wonder where "assignment of benefits" abuse came from?
Let me introduce you to Harvey V. Cohen of Orlando and Maitland and any place else where tragedy has befallen Florida homeowners. Cohen is the self-professed "go-to attorney for assignment of benefits contract cases ... known throughout the state of Florida and nationwide," reads his bio.
Which I don't doubt for one minute.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is blaming President Donald Trump’s tax cuts for the Empire State losing revenue and helping move people to states like Florida with healthy tax climates--and state CFO Jimmy Patronis is more than happy to see the Democrat in Albany boost the Sunshine State.
Cuomo weighed in on Trump’s tax cuts this week as he tried to spin why New York was short almost $3 billion in revenue.
Florida House leaders have rolled out a proposal that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana, but only after going through what one critic called a “bureaucratic mess of red tape.”
The House proposal, released Tuesday afternoon, would require doctors get the approval of a “case review panel” before they could order smokable marijuana for patients.
Under a Senate plan approved by a key committee Monday, patients would have to see two doctors before being allowed to smoke, adding to out-of-pocket costs.
Rep. Jay Trumbull is casting a wide net in search of money for his storm-ravaged Panhandle district.
As House members continued to submit projects to be considered for the state’s 2019-2020 budget, Trumbull on Tuesday submitted 41 bills --- worth a total of $253 million --- all with an eye on Hurricane Michael recovery.
Trumbull, a Panama City Republican who represents most of hard-hit Bay County, called it “a good start.”
This week, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who sits on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, brought back a proposal taking aim at ZTE, a telecommunications company run by the Chinese government.
Members of the Florida delegation weighed in after President Donald Trump offered the State of the Union address on Tuesday night with reaction divided along party lines.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., praised Trump for focusing on keeping the strong economy going.
Earlier this week Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, introduced a bill allowing medial marijuana patients to be allowed to smoke pot.
It was the first step for a very controversial bill in the upper chamber, but it almost died because of a tie vote which required Senate Democrats to have to quickly call for a reconsideration motion when the bill initially ended up in a tie vote. Once it was reconsidered, the bill passed and the sponsor vowed to work the bill so that it has a chance for consideration later in the session.
In the first major demonstration of an ideological shift on the revamped Florida Supreme Court, justices Tuesday refused to consider an appeal in a Miami Beach minimum-wage lawsuit that a former liberal-leaning majority of the court had scheduled to hear next month.
The move by the now-conservative majority was a victory for business groups who have fought an ordinance that Miami Beach passed in 2016 to raise the minimum wage locally. The Supreme Court effectively let stand lower-court decisions that blocked the ordinance.
