House subcommittee approves PIP insurance overhaul measure aimed at reducing...
TALLAHASSEE — A bill that would force all accident victims to go to emergency rooms instead of their family doctor — even for minor injuries — has cleared a House subcommittee.The bill (HB 119) was...
View ArticleSenate bill would allow prison privatization to be kept secret
TALLAHASSEE — A Senate committee, bucking a decades-long trend of open government in Florida, formally introduced two bills on Wednesday aimed at allowing the secret privatization of prisons.But the...
View ArticleFla. prison closings are legacy of wrong guess
TALLAHASSEE — When Florida’s prison system announced it was closing 11 facilities, it flew in the face of conventional wisdom that the state’s prison population was high and rising.If there’s room to...
View ArticlePrison privatization plan debated in Senate
Thrasher supports plan, says it provides savings TALLAHASSEE — Faced with opposition from Republicans and Democrats alike, Senate President Mike Haridopolos cut off debate Tuesday on a South Florida...
View ArticleAttorney: New evidence should spare death row inmate
TALLAHASSEE — A man set to be executed next week should be spared because of newly discovered evidence, his attorney told the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday.Robert Waterhouse, 65, was sent to death...
View ArticleFla. Senate kills prison privatization plan
TALLAHASSEE — In a rebuke to their own leadership, nine Senate Republicans joined the chamber’s Democrats Tuesday to kill a proposed handover of South Florida’s state prisons to private companies.The...
View ArticleRandom drug testing bill in limbo in Florida
TALLAHASSEE — A bill allowing state agencies to randomly drug-test employees was voted down Wednesday by a House committee, but the measure’s sponsor said he’ll try again after addressing fellow...
View ArticleSenate panel clears foreclosure bill
TALLAHASSEE — The state’s mortgage foreclosure process would be speeded up and streamlined under a new proposal cleared by a Senate panel on Monday.Critics say a faster process will infringe on the...
View ArticleTemporary ban on Florida welfare drug testing upheld
TALLAHASSEE — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a temporary ban on a law requiring drug testing of Florida’s welfare recipients, prompting Gov. Rick Scott to say he’ll now appeal to the U.S....
View ArticleSenate panel OKs ban on texting-while-driving
TALLAHASSEE — A Senate panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill imposing a statewide ban on texting while driving, but the road to becoming law is long for a measure that has already died the...
View ArticleHouse committee OKs 'parent trigger' bill for failing schools
TALLAHASSEE — School-choice supporters revived a bill that would give Florida parents a say in turnaround plans for failing public schools and saw its first win of the year on Thursday.The House Choice...
View ArticlePanel clears bill to end pension plan
TALLAHASSEE — Traditional pensions for new state and county employees, including teachers, would end under a proposal that’s advancing through the Legislature.The House Appropriations committee on...
View ArticleSenate panel OKs penalties related to 'Caylee's Law'
TALLAHASSEE — A bill that would increase penalties for lying to law enforcement was passed by a Florida Senate panel on Monday in a law that closely resembles “Caylee’s Law.”The Criminal Justice...
View ArticleHouse votes to close down guaranteed pension plan
TALLAHASSEE — New state and county employees and teachers will be shut out of Florida’s traditional pension plan under a bill passed by the Florida House on Friday.The bill (HB 7011), passed by a 74-42...
View ArticleFla. House passes 'parent trigger' bill on schools
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House on Thursday passed a bill to give parents a vote on turnaround options for failing public schools, despite a last-ditch effort to portray it as a backdoor measure to let...
View ArticleFla. Senate passes anti-drones bill
TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill limiting Florida law enforcement’s use of the remotely controlled aircraft known as drones — not that anybody’s using them...
View ArticleFlorida lawmakers look at speeding up death penalty
TALLAHASSEE — For Janet Spears, the waiting is the hardest part.Her only son, Keith, and his girlfriend, Melanie King, were robbed, murdered and set afire in their Wakulla County home in 1997. Two of...
View ArticleMan convicted in 1989 toddler murder has been ruled not eligible for parole...
TALLAHASSEE — The man convicted in the 1989 murder of a 2-year-old who was repeatedly dunked head-first into a toilet won’t be eligible for parole for another 71 years, the Florida Parole Commission...
View ArticleFlorida becomes 4th state to sue BP over oil spill
TALLAHASSEE — The state of Florida filed a lawsuit Saturday against oil company BP and cement contractor Halliburton over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, becoming the fourth state to seek damages for...
View ArticleFlorida becomes 4th state to sue BP over oil spill
TALLAHASSEE — The state of Florida filed a lawsuit Saturday against oil company BP and cement contractor Halliburton over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, becoming the fourth state to seek damages for...
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