Matt Dixon, (@Mdixon55) To avoid the appearance of conflicts, many lawmakers said they would not raise campaign cash leading into a June special session where they will write the state’s roughly $80 billion budget. Taking four or five-figure checks days before finalizing the state budget from donors with items in the state budget, they said,…
Jeb Bush was in New Hampshire, talking to voters about the education standards called Common Core. Back in Washington, ears perked up on a team that spends all day, every day, scouring television and the Internet for appearances by Republican presidential candidates. A check of the team’s vast video archive unearthed a 2011 clip of…
The half-decade long race to determine who will serve as President of the Florida Senate from 2016 to 2018 — either Jack Latvala or Joe Negron — has taken on all the difficulty of a Chinese finger puzzle after a series of recent developments designed to solve the matter have only made the issue more complicated.…
In the beginning, there was Sayfie Review. For Floridians, the site started by Justin Sayfie in 2002 has long been the premier online destination for local political news. In fact, Sayfie’s brand has become so synonymous with Sunshine State political coverage that Twitter users regularly hashtag their discussions with his last name. In a 2009…
The News Service of Florida, an online media concern that focuses on state government and politics, has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Extensive Enterprises Media, L.L.C., the parent company of SaintPetersBlog.com and “Sunburn,” have infringed upon its copyright through the unauthorized copying and distribution of NSF’s works. In a 43-page filing with…
Since Citizens United, members of Congress have been increasingly engaged in a never-ending campaign to snare their share of cash flooding the political marketplace. But last week Chief Justice John Roberts deserted his conservative brethren, writing an opinion that offers Congress a roadmap for cleaning up campaign finance. If Congress embraces Roberts’s support for a…
Former State Rep. Doug Holder is showing he’s ready to compete hard for the Florida Senate in 2016 if State Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, leaves early. Holder is having a fundraiser on Thursday at The Francis in downtown Sarasota that will have three former Florida House Speakers on the host committee. Former Speakers Larry Cretul,…
Former Tallahassee state Rep. Loranne Ausley is looking to get her old job back. Ausley says she’s in the 2016 race to represent House District 9. HD 9 covers Tallahassee and the Western portion of Jefferson County. it’s the position currently occupied by Democratic Rep. Michelle Rehwinkle Vasilinda. Vasilinda is term-limited next year, and Ausley,…
To hear the insiders talk, one man is responsible for bringing havoc to Florida’s government. It wasn’t the governor. And it’s neither the Senate president nor the House speaker. “Richard Corcoran is the most powerful person in Florida,” one veteran GOP political strategist said following the collapse of the state legislative session last week, when…
TALLAHASSEE — With a billion dollar battle forcing the legislative session off the rails, lawmakers are in the unique position of being able to hold political fundraisers just before they meet in a special session to approve the state’s nearly $80 billion budget. Legislative rules don’t allow lawmakers to raise political coin during the state’s…