Life and politics from the Sunshine State's best city

Author

James Call - page 11

James Call has 398 articles published.

House refuses to dance with Senate, passes budget without Senate health plan

in Top Headlines by

The House doesn’t want to dance with the Senate on a healthcare deal to balance the state budget but it’s willing to go to war. Thursday afternoon the Florida House passed a $76.2 billion state budget. The Senate Wednesday had approved an $80.4 billion plan. Most of the difference between the two is found in the Senate’s plan to replace money lost when the federal government ends a hospital reimbursement program with money available to expand Medicaid. Earlier in the…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

House Dems to reject budget, say on healthcare GOP ‘is all alone on an island’

in Top Headlines by

Florida House Democrats intend to reject the House budget plan this afternoon on three counts: They will argue the spending plan does not include enough money for education, fails to comply with voter intent on Amendment 1 and doesn’t cover a billion-dollar gap in the healthcare budget created by the end of a federal program for safety-net hospitals. The Democrats support a Senate plan to bridge the gap with Medicaid dollars. “Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Civil rights groups oppose police body camera bill, alarmed by public records exemptions

in Top Headlines by

Civil rights groups are sounding the alarm about public records exemptions in a police body camera bill moving through the Senate. A coalition that includes the ACLU intends to argue Thursday the exemptions are so broad they prevent disclosure of evidence of police misconduct “even in the most egregious circumstances,” Groups including   Latino Justice, Organize Now, and Emerge USA say they support police-worn body cameras because they believe they will reduce instances of excessive force but that the exemptions defeat…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

The day that was at the Florida Capitol — April 1

in Top Headlines by

This day at the state Capitol things began to happen. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson was in the House and Senate warning lawmakers that Washington wasn’t bluffing about ending a federal reimbursement program for safety-net hospitals. Nelson met with both Senate President Andy Gardiner and Speaker Steve Crisafulli. Concerning the Low Income Pool question. Nelson said, “The day of reckoning is here.” Read more here. Washington plans to end the Low Income Program in June, opening a big hole in next…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Charlotte’s Web at session’s halftime, new issues bloom while families wait

in Top Headlines by

A Charlotte’s Web fix cleared its second Senate committee this week while drawing fire from patient advocates and black farmers for failing to increase permissible THC levels and discriminatory licensing requirements. State Sen. Rob Bradley is asking his colleagues to keep the bill moving while he continues discussions with stakeholders. Patient advocates’ concerns about the state’s inability to implement a medicinal marijuana law now includes the fact that there is no House bill addressing the problems in the law that has drawn…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

Debbie Wasserman Schultz rallies Florida Democrats for second half of Session

in Top Headlines by

Senate Democrats kicked off the second half of the 2015 legislative session with a pep talk from Democratic National Committee Chair and South Florida U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In a pre-floor session huddle Schultz said she came to bolster their efforts to uphold “the will of the voters” on both Medicaid expansion and the spending of Amendment 1 money. The Senate will consider an amendment by state Sen. Thad Altman directing more than $300 million toward land buying for conservation. However,…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

The day that was in Florida politics — March 31

in Top Headlines by

This day at the state Capitol lawmakers continue to clear their desks of items before getting down to serious budget work. They dealt with the contentious issues of marijuana, abortion and fracking before having to deal with the $4.2 billion really contentious differences in the spending plans they are developing. State Sen. Garrett Richter’s fracking proposal drew guffaws from environmentalists in the audience when it was presented as a regulatory plan for an industry already active in the state. The…

Keep Reading

You might be interested in

1 … 9 10 11 12 13 … 57
Go to Top