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Florida’s Matt Gaetz files “PENCIL” Act aimed at removing Adam Schiff from House Intelligence Committee
Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, one of President Donald Trump’s top wingmen in Congress, has introduced a resolution that would remove California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In a shout-out to the president, Gaetz is calling his proposal the “PENCIL ACT,” an acronym that stands for “Preventing Extreme Negligence […]
Short-term vacation rentals are all about property rights. But whose?
Jennifer Riley has lived for the past four years in a residential area a few blocks away from the water in Indian Rocks Beach in Pinellas County. For the first two years she loved living in the community – but no more. She’s been dealing with short-term renters in the neighborhood who play loud music, […]
Advocates and Dems mourn “the death of democracy” as GOP moves to block Constitutional Amendments
A group of Democratic lawmakers and liberal advocates held a press conference in the Capitol on Tuesday, speaking before a mock tombstone denoting the end of democracy in Florida. What’s going on? Two bills moving swiftly through the Florida Legislature would make it prohibitively more difficult to pass citizen-based Constitutional Amendments. “Issues like raising the […]
Minimum wage: $15 an hour in 2026? FL Supreme Court to weigh in
Attorney General Ashley Moody is requesting that the Florida Supreme Court review a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would ultimately raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. Organizers have submitted more than the 10 percent of valid signatures required to trigger the Supreme Court review. To be exact, they submitted 87,528 signatures to Florida’s Division […]
Groups issue “travel alert” for Florida
(Updated) As state lawmakers move closer to passing legislation that could cause more undocumented immigrants to get detained and possibly deported, a coalition of civil rights and immigrant rights organizations has issued a “travel alert” to people traveling to Florida. “Florida lawmakers need to realize that there will be consequences for attacking our families,” says […]
The battles over abortion haven’t abated in Florida
(Updated) Abortion rights activists plan to swarm the state Capitol on Monday, hoping to stave off what one progressive website says “could be the end of any abortion access in the South” if lawmakers have their way. Just a few days earlier, anti-abortion activists were rallying on the steps of the old Historic Capitol, criticizing […]
Gun safety group to launch media campaign over arming teachers
The Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund plans to spend more than $200,000 on an ad campaign, in opposition to classroom teachers carrying firearms on school campuses in Florida. The gun-control group, largely funded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will include a digital billboard truck that will drive around Tallahassee all next […]
Amendment 4 issue causing barriers: Money, and what it means to finish a prison sentence
A serious disagreement over what constitutes the completion of a prison sentence continues to be the issue that divides Republicans and Democrats when it comes to allowing ex-felons to vote. Constitutional Amendment 4 was approved by more than 64 percent of Floridians last year, providing automatic restoration of voting rights to former felons. But lawmakers […]
New poll: The honeymoon continues for FL Gov. Ron DeSantis
Nearly three months into his first year as governor, Republican Ron DeSantis is maintaining a strong approval rating and getting high marks in key demographic groups. A Mason-Dixon poll released Thursday shows DeSantis with 62 percent support from Floridians. Only 24 percent disapprove, while 12 percent remain undecided. The survey of 625 registered Florida voters […]
It’s not just Florida – politicians are trying to restrict citizen ballot initiatives all over the U.S.
The Florida Legislature is pushing hard line measures this year to restrict how citizens get initiatives on the ballot to amend Florida’s Constitution. It turns out that Florida is not the only state clamping down like this – Republican lawmakers are leading efforts to make it harder to do ballot initiatives across the country. Hundreds […]
Statehouse Democrats oppose GOP election reform bill; Elections Supervisors like the reforms
Two influential county Supervisors of Elections are defending a Republican-sponsored proposal that Democrats are labeling as “voter suppression.” The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Hernando County, makes a number of changes to the Florida Election Code, including moving the last day for voters to request vote-by-mail ballots from six days […]
Hundreds of crime victims rally for safety and criminal justice reforms in the Capitol
Aswad Thomas was a standout basketball player at Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, an NCAA Division III school. But his dream of playing professionally overseas ended abruptly when he was shot in a convenience store in Hartford, Connecticut in the summer of 2009. He says after he survived the incident, he didn’t receive any help. […]