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2015 legislative session - page 3

Jack Latvala bill protecting condo owners clears Senate committee

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A bill aimed at ensuring condo owners aren’t forced to sell their homes for pennies on the dollar unanimously passed the Senate Regulated Industries Committee Tuesday. Senate Bill 1172 sponsored by Clearwater state Sen. Jack Latvala is a direct answer to an oversight in 2007 legislation that allowed investors buying condo units in bulk to scoop up control of condos and convert them into apartments. Remaining tenants were then forced to sell their units for pennies on the dollar. That bill allowed…

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Jack Latvala’s anti-human trafficking bill moves in Senate committee

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A bill aimed at shining a light on human trafficking breezed through the Senate Criminal Justice Subcommittee Monday with unanimous approval. Latvala’s bill requires posted signs including the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline and text numbers to be posted at various places throughout the state. Those locations include rest areas and welcome centers, airports and bus stations, truck stops, emergency rooms, adult entertainment locations, public schools and libraries and some privately operated job recruitment centers. “There is absolutely no…

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Email insights: As medical marijuana stalls in Tallahassee, Ben Pollara presses on

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As Tallahassee lawmakers finish their third week of the 2015 legislative session, Ben Pollara finds little to cheer this week in Florida’s struggle to legalize medical marijuana. “It ain’t looking good,” the United for Care leader says in a new email update. “Despite the voices of 58 percent of Floridians and our efforts in the Legislature,” Pollara continues, “third week of the session just ended without a hearing in either house.” Elected representatives do just that – represent the people of Florida. As…

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Jeff Brandes’ ‘Right to Try Act’ clears Health Policy committee

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A compassionate bill aimed at patients suffering from terminal illnesses pushed its way through the Senate Committee on Health Policy today. The Right to Try Act by St. Petersburg state Sen. Jeff Brandes earned broad support in the committee. The law would allow dying patients to access experimental medical treatments that have passed a Phase One Clinical Trial, but have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. “Floridians deserve to have access to medical treatments that could…

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Email insights: Opponents look to rally against guns on campuses bill

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Florida’s controversial gun bill that would allow guns on college campuses has already passed one committee and will be heard in another next week. The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus is asking for help defeating the measure. “The vast majority of Florida’s students and faculty don’t want guns in their classrooms or other buildings on campus,” wrote state director Kathryn Grant in an email. “We can defeat S.B. 176, but will need your help to fight the powerful and…

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Must-read: Vocational rehab program could be on the state’s chopping block

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There’s a bill floating through both the House and the Senate that has raised nary an eyebrow, but could have some very real implications for people with disabilities in Florida. The agency that runs the program isn’t speaking out about it. And organizations that support persons with disabilities have been lukewarm on the issue. But one Tampa woman is trying to shine a light on a bill she sees as a potential dismantling of crucial disability benefits. Faith Olivia Babis was…

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The week that was in Florida politics

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At the end of the first week of the 2015 legislative session, the capital city’s newspaper printed an editorial cartoon that compared lobbyists to great white sharks. The cartoon asks which species pose a greater threat to Floridians; paid advocates or jaws. Psychologists tell us we see what we know and what we know influences how we think, which affects what we see. It wouldn’t be fair to say the cartoonist provided insight to his view of the world when…

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