News Service of Florida - page 13

Florida lawmakers will have nearly $1.6 billion in additional general revenue available when they craft a 2014-15 budget, according to estimates released this week. The estimates, put together by state analysts, take into account a variety of factors, including increased revenue and money expected to be carried forward from the current fiscal year. In all, the state would have an estimated $28.82 billion in available general revenue in 2014-15, up from $27.26 billion in expected appropriations this year. The estimates…

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The organization behind the ongoing “stand your ground” protest inside the Capitol submitted paperwork Tuesday needed to collect charitable contributions. The Hialeah-based Dream Defenders submitted the documents to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services so the group could continue to solicit for cash and in-kind support. “As young people sifting through how to build this organization and do this work we’re going to slip up some times,” said Ahmad Abuznaid, legal and policy director for the Dream Defenders. “We’re…

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Secretary of State Ken Detzner’s office is reviewing a request from University of South Florida researchers to reconsider his decision to deny a permit to exhume bodies from four gravesites at the closed Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. “The department received the letter yesterday and is reviewing the letter for response,” Detzner’s spokesman Mark Ard said in an email Tuesday. Detzner on July 15 denied a permit sought by the USF researchers to dig for reportedly unaccounted-for…

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Marion Hammer is one of Florida’s most influential lobbyists. She served as president of the National Rifle Association from 1995 to 1998, is a member of the NRA board and has been the executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, the state’s NRA affiliate, since 1976. Bloomberg News has called Hammer “the woman responsible for many of the nation’s most permissive gun laws.” She’s credited (or blamed) for the passage of concealed-carry legislation, the controversial Stand Your Ground self-defense…

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The week will start with prayer, as Gov. Rick Scott calls for unity in the aftermath of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. But the rest of the week will involve more-typical business of state government, including hearings about insurance issues and town-hall meetings. MONDAY OBAMACARE RATE IMPACTS AT ISSUE: The state Office of Insurance Regulation will hold a rule hearing about notices that will be sent estimating the potential insurance-premium impacts from the…

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Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office has asked the Florida Supreme Court to reject a challenge to a new law aimed at reducing delays in carrying out the death penalty. Attorneys representing Death Row inmates filed the challenge late last month, after Gov. Rick Scott signed the “Timely Justice Act” into law. They contended the measure is unconstitutional, in part because it would violate the separation of powers by imposing obligations on lawyers that conflict with judicially-determined rules. But in a…

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Senate President Don Gaetz and two other Panhandle lawmakers this week urged the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to approve a ban on importing deer from out of state, amid concerns about the spread of a disease that can be fatal to the animals. Last month, Gaetz, his son, Rep. Matt Gaetz, and Sen. Greg Evers asked the commission to wait for more evidence of the impact of Chronic Wasting Disease. The panel postponed a decision on a ban…

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