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2017 - page 61

Rick Scott to hold rally in Miami to call for release of Leopoldo Lopez

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Gov. Rick Scott is headed to Miami Monday to rally for the release of jailed Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López. The Governor’s Office announced Scott, a Naples Republican, will hold a Freedom Rally at 6 p.m., Monday at El Arepazo 2, 3900 NW 79th Avenue in Miami. He is expected to demand the release of López, who was arrested in 2014 and charged with arson and conspiracy after he called for peaceful protests. He was sentenced to 13 years and nine months in…

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See ya Monday: House and Senate adjourn after extending session

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The work of the people ended with a whimper Friday, as lawmakers agreed to extend the 2017 Legislative Session to complete the budget, killing a host of other legislation. As the Legislature turned out the lights around 9:30 p.m., high-profile dead bills included efforts to overhaul workers’ compensation and assignment of benefits, and to implement the state’s medical cannabis constitutional amendment. The House and Senate agreed to a concurrent resolution extending session to 11:59 p.m. Monday to pass the 2017-18 state…

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Blake Dowling: Looking back …

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Legislative Session is winding down – gaming, dope, infrastructure, assistive tech. It has been an exciting journey, with losers and winners, fights, name calling at the Capitol and at the Governors Club. Hopefully, when the dust settles, those in the trenches can regain some commonality and remember we are all on the same team as both Floridians and Americans (minus the UF-FSU rivalry, we will never be on the same team there). Besides that, it’s time for summer. Time to…

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Medical marijuana bill dead for 2017 Session

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A bill to implement the 2016 medical marijuana constitutional amendment is dead, after the House amended the bill to increases the cap on retail facilities twentyfold. The decision to send the bill back to the Senate kill the legislation (HB 1397), where senators were unwilling to increase the caps. Earlier in the day, Sen. Bill Galvano told POLITICO Florida the chance of passing was “slim to none, and I just saw slim leave town.” The House voted 99-16 to send…

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Renewable-energy tax break bill headed to Rick Scott

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The Florida Legislature has passed a bill that will give a renewable-energy tax break to commercial and industrial properties with solar installations. The measure (SB 90) was sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday after passing the Senate unanimously. If signed into law, businesses that install solar panels to their properties would not have to pay additional property taxes from the increased value of adding such devices. “The voters of Florida spoke loud and clear in support of an expanded…

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Senate approves amended medical marijuana bill, sends back to House for final vote

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The Florida Senate voted 31-7 to approve an amended version of a medical marijuana bill, sending it back to the House for a final vote on Friday. But with the clock running out on the 2017 Legislative Session, the fate of the proposal remains unclear. The Senate amended the House bill (HB 1397) to limit the number of retail facilities licensed growers can have and remove a provision that would have made medical marijuana exempt from sales tax. Sen. Rob…

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Florida politicians react to GOP vote to repeal Obamacare

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Relieved Republicans have pushed their prized health care bill through the House. The mostly party-line 217-213 vote advances a bill that addresses their longtime pledge to erase the 2010 Obama health care law. Thursday’s vote sends the measure to the Senate. Many senators consider the House bill too harsh and it’s expected to undergo substantial changes. Here is a compilation of reactions to the vote: U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz: “Today, I voted in favor of The American Health Care Act…

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