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Ryan Ray - page 16

Ryan Ray has 632 articles published.

Ryan Ray writes about campaigns and public policy in Tampa Bay and across the state. A contributor to FloridaPolitics.com and before that, The Florida Squeeze, he covers the Legislature as a member of the Florida Capitol Press Corps and has worked as a staffer on several campaigns. He can be reached at [email protected].

House, Senate gov’t ops budget proposals still nearly $11 million apart

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The Senate presented its first offer on funding for the government operations segment of the budget Saturday morning. Budget writers sounded conciliatory during the meeting, but the two chambers’ proposals remained $10.9 million apart. The biggest difference between the Senate and House offers, according to Legislative IQ powered by LobbyTools, is that the Senate would grant county clerks of court $10 million in additional trust fund authority. The extra $10 million flowing into the trust fund would depend on a…

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Rick Scott’s office claps back at budget chiefs after priorities snubbed

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

After the first meeting of 2016 legislative budget conference Friday evening, senior budget writers — in particular House Budget Chairman Rep. Richard Corcoran — told reporters the Legislature had so far more or less ignored two of Gov. Rick Scott‘s top priorities. Corcoran said their current proposal contained “zero” toward a $250 million dedicated Florida Enterprise Fund for state business recruitment efforts and less than half the amount requested for a massive tax cut package: just $400 million compared to Scott’s $1 billion…

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Budget conferees begin weekend of negotiations

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House and Senate budget writers met Friday night to organize the 2016 Budget Conference process. They plan to meet through the weekend as they negotiate how to reconcile the $1 billion gulf between their spending plans as they allocate taxpayers’ money to keep Florida’s government running. Rep. Richard Corcoran, House budget chief, said after the meeting that the Florida Enterprise fund – money to be used to attract jobs to the state and a major priority of Gov. Rick Scott –…

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Marco Rubio goes for the jugular against Donald Trump

in 2017/Top Headlines by

A newly pugilistic Marco Rubio showed Americans his skill with slings and arrows at Thursday night’s GOP debate in Houston, calling Donald Trump a “con artist” and giving Trump a taste of his own vicious medicine by repeatedly interrupting and ridiculing him. But, as Jeremy Peters of The New York Times wrote Friday, Rubio may have just been warming up: He mocked Mr. Trump’s misspellings on Twitter. He made fun of his flop sweat. He even said Mr. Trump might have wet his pants. “He…

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Senate budget chief Tom Lee adds gaming bills to Appropriations Cmte. agenda

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Senate budget chair Tom Lee has added a pair of potentially momentous gaming bills to the Appropriations Committee’s agenda for its meeting next week, set for Tuesday, March 1. SB 7072 would expand slot machines beyond South Florida and reduce the effective tax rate on the machines. It would allow slots in six counties where voters already have approved the form of gambling in a local referendum – namely Brevard, Gadsden, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, and Washington –  but would also allow…

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Gwen Graham introduces ‘AgShare’ legislation with Ted Yoho

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U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham – fresh off her barnstorming North Florida Farm Tour – is dropping an agriculture bill along with fellow North Floridian U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho. The bill would create a pilot “AgShare” program, which aims to free up farming equipment currently being held by the federal government for use by farmers. The legislation would create an equipment-sharing program administered through the Department of Defense, with an eye towards helping new farmers push past the extensive capital requirements that often serve as…

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Senate Dems huddle up to oppose fracking bill

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

After a fire alarm delayed the start of Wednesday’s meeting by almost half an hour, the Senate Democratic caucus finally got down to the task at hand: opposing Republican-sponsored legislation, particularly an energy exploration bill that has environmentalists up in arms. The caucus members were united in their resistance to a bill they said would preempt local bans on natural gas exploration via hydraulic fracturing, better known as “fracking.” Sen. Darren Soto came to the meeting fresh from a press conference in opposition…

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