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Ryan Ray - page 18

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].

Senate panel narrowly confirms Rick Scott’s Surgeon General

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The Senate Health Policy Committee on Tuesday gave the nod to state Surgeon General John Armstrong. Members granted him confirmation to extend his tenure as head of the state’s health care apparatus, but just barely by a 6-4 vote Armstrong has been under heightened scrutiny in Tallahassee because of recent public failures in the state’s health care infrastructure, including faulty pediatric cardiac standards and a growing rate of HIV/AIDS, particularly in South Florida. For his part, Armstrong cited progress on such…

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Florida GOP Senate candidates fear a liberal Supreme Court

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GOP Senate hopeful Todd Wilcox understands the need to analyze the politics of a change in the Supreme Court, but he says that he wishes there could have been a little more time to mourn the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Saturday in Texas at the age of 79. “This was a core conservative with a consistent conservative voting record and ideology,” says Wilcox, who specifically praised him for his view on textualism and originalism, and the fact that…

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Scholarship students urge teachers’ union to drop tax credit suit

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A handful of students from a private school in Osceola County visited Tallahassee Thursday to drop by the offices of Florida’s largest teachers’ union to deliver a message on behalf of adults in the school choice movement: “Drop the suit.” Specifically, they referred to the suit filed by the Florida Education Association and other groups against the state of Florida, challenging a tax credit scholarship program that allows Floridians to receive credits for donations to private institutions on their annual tax bill. The children…

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House panel approves raft of gaming bills

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The House Regulatory Affairs Committee approved a trio of bills that could reshape Florida’s gaming industry, mainly by ratifying a newly renegotiated compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and by separating pari-mutuel racing from the card games which have come to dominate those facilities. A panel passed all three bills sponsored by its Chairman Rep. Jose Felix “Pepi” Diaz by narrow majorities and with defections from Diaz’s fellow members of the GOP majority. The committee passed bills to give necessary…

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LGBT anti-discrimination bill on life support after contentious vote

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A bill to prohibit gender- and sexuality-based workplace discrimination died momentarily in a Senate panel on judicial affairs, before being brought back to life by legislative maneuvering. Monday afternoon’s meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee was likely the most controversial of 2016, in both form and in substance. Senators took up SB 120, a bill supporters are calling the “Competitive Workforce Act,” which aims to amend the state’s Civil Rights Act to prohibit employment, retail and other discrimination against people because of…

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Body camera bill poised for House vote

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A bill to require the use of body cameras for Florida law enforcement officers is ready for a vote before the full House after getting final approval in a committee. The House Judiciary Committee passed HB 93 by Rep. Shevrin Jones by a unanimous vote Thursday. Jones, a Broward Democrat, said his bill would provide comprehensive protections for residents  and law enforcement officers both. Florida has seen a rash of shooting deaths at the hands of police in recent years. Criminal justice reform advocates say…

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Donald Trump to campaign in Tampa Feb. 12

in 2017/Top Headlines by

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is planning a campaign event at the USF Sun Dome on February 12, sources inside the campaign and at the university tell FloridaPolitics.com. The event will likely come just days after Trump’s first victory of the 2016 GOP nominating contest. The New York real estate mogul and political novice is a heavy favorite to win the top spot in New Hampshire. A recent post-Iowa study shows Trump about 20 points ahead of his next-closest rival, Florida Sen. Marco…

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