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2017 Florida House - page 2

Florida House OKs legislation targeting soaring worker’s compensation premiums

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The Florida House approved a workers’ compensation fix Tuesday intended to answer the Florida Supreme Court’s objections to the system by adding flexibility on attorney fees in benefits challenges, and by boosting benefits for injured workers. The measure, HB 7085, passed on a vote of 82-37, shortly before the Senate bill cleared the Rules Committee. Danny Burgess, whose Insurance & Banking Subcommittee pulled together the various interests in hours of hearings on the bill, conceded, “This product is not perfect.”…

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House workers’ compensation bill survives Democratic floor amendments

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The House defeated a series of Democratic amendments to its version of a workers’ compensation fix Tuesday, with sponsor Danny Burgess promising the bill would “enhance the fairness and the balance of the workers’ compensation system in Florida.” Burgess, whose Insurance & Banking Subcommittee drafted the legislation, also predicted a decline in premiums, following the 14.5 percent rate increase that began taking effect in December. “We are told it could be up to a 5 percent reduction,” he said. Still,…

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House votes apology to Groveland Four family members, Dozier survivors

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The House voted unanimously Tuesday to apologize to survivors of four African-American men who were brutalized in 1949 following a false accusation of rape. The House also approved an apology to the survivors of abuse at the Dozier and Okeechobee schools for boys, and approved plans for memorials to children who died on the Dozier campus in Jackson County. “The state of Florida was wrong, and we are sorry,” said Rep. Bobby DuBose said during a news conference in advance…

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Higher education projects fail House’s strict new budget test

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The Florida House’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1 could make life uncomfortable for the state’s colleges and universities. The budget — agreed upon in principle, and due in bill form this week — will call for something like $2.2 billion in spending cuts, according to House leaders, for a total expenditure of $81.2 billion. Among the biggest targets — because they rank among the single most significant expenses outside entitlements like Medicaid — is member projects,…

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Bill targeting public-employee unions advances toward final House floor vote

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A proposal that could decertify public employee union chapters across Florida moved closer to a final House vote Wednesday, as its sponsor denied it was “union busting.” Sponsor Scott Plakon, a Republican business owner from Longwood, argued his bill was about transparency and democratic principles. “This empowers the majority who may not be paying dues,” he said. “Should a very small minority be able to impose their will on people who don’t want to be a part of it?” he wondered…

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Ban on public support for profession sports facilities cleared for final House vote

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Two days after the Oakland Raiders won NFL approval to move to Las Vegas, the Florida House Wednesday set a final floor vote on a bill that would ban professional sports teams from building or refurbishing stadiums on public land. CS/HB 77, by Bryan Avila, says “a sports franchise may not construct, reconstruct, renovate, or improve a facility on public land leased from the state or a political subdivision thereof.” The bill — one of a number targeting professional sports — also says the…

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Term limits for Supreme Court, appeals judges clear the Florida House, if barely

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A proposed constitutional amendment to impose term limits on justices of the Florida Supreme Court and state appellate judges squeaked through the Florida House Wednesday after a majority defeated a series of unfriendly — even sarcastic — amendments. HJR 1, by Eustis Republican Jennifer Sullivan, won 73 “Yes” votes — one more than the three-fifths support it needed. Forty-six members voted “No.” The measure would limit judges of the district courts of appeal and justices of the Supreme Court to 12…

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