The Senate just adjourned, ending the special session that Gov. Charlie Crist called to forward a proposed amendment banning oil drilling in state waters to the voters in November.
Backers of the measure in the Senate said they were ready to forward that measure to the voters -- only to have the House adjourn.
We are ready, willing and able to go, said Sen. Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, who sponsored the measure in the Senate.Villalobos said that he had the votes to get the measure through the Senate. The House is not here. I cant prevail because they left.
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Florida law-enforcement agents arrested five health-care executives and employees as part of a Medicaid fraud crackdown today.
Arrested were HC Healthcare owner Robert A. Krasnow, 36, of Gainesville; Dr. Yong Am Park, 66, of Lake City; Robert T. Krasnow, 58, of Gainesville, the father of Robert A. Krasnow; hospital administrator Christina L. Ortega, 42, of Lake City; and licensed practical nurse Ashley Lane Butler, 37, of Live Oak.
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Marco Rubios team is not the only conservative Republican campaign weighing in on Gov. Charlie Crists interview with the Wall Street Journal in which the governor said he is now open to backing new federal health-care laws endorsed by President Barack Obama. Republican gubernatorial front-runner Rick Scott blasted Crist for his comments -- and took a swipe at Attorney General Bill McCollum who is also running in the Republican primary.
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Throwing down the gauntlet at Gov. Charlie Crist who left the Republican Party earlier in the year, House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, convened the special session of the Legislature -- and adjourned it 43 minutes later -- rejecting the governors call to put a proposed constitutional amendment banning oil drilling in state waters on the November ballot.
Well, that was quick. Gov. Charlie Crist's special session ended in 43 minutes.
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While Florida lawmakers buzz around the Capitol, called back in the middle of the summer for Charlie Crist's overkill special session, the rest of the country is virtually split down the middle over whether offshore drilling -- even deepwater drilling -- should be allowed.
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Throwing down the gauntlet at Gov. Charlie Crist who left the Republican Party earlier in the year, House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, just convened the special session of the Legislature -- and quickly adjourned it.
The Florida Constitution authorizes the governor to call the Legislature into special session for any legislative purpose, said Cretul. When the call is issued, we are compelled to assemble.
But from the moment a quorum assembled here, the agenda in this House is and always will be set by its membership.
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While legal and political wrangling continues over the U.S. Sugar land deal, the U.S. government is moving forward with an $89 million purchase of development rights to restore the Everglades.
The acquisition of conservation easements on a portion of state Sen. J.D. Alexander's Blue Head Ranch in Highlands County is part of an overall 26,000-acre purchase by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The agency said the deal, which allows participating landowners to continue working their land, will help restore the upper reaches of the Everglades ecosystem.
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On Tuesday, Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a new poll showing that Gov. Charlie Crist, an independent candidate in the race for the U.S. Senate election, leads the race. Crist came in with 35 percent support while former House Speaker Marco Rubio, the likely Republican candidate, pulls second at 29 percent and U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, a Democrat, places a distant third with 17 percent.
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Less than an hour before the Legislature was to convene at noon on Tuesday for a special session, Gov. Charlie Crist spoke to Floridians who were visiting the Capitol to lobby for the Legislature to forward a proposed constitutional amendment banning oil drilling in Florida waters to the November ballot and received a standing ovation for his support of the ban.
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