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Brian Pitts

House committee advances lobbying ban; impeachment power for attorneys, public defenders

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Florida lawmakers advanced two key pieces of legislation through the House Thursday, including one to lengthen the period before elected officials could begin lobbying after their time in office. The other bill would make state attorneys and public defenders in each judicial district eligible for impeachment under the governor’s power. In an overwhelming vote, the House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee passed PCB PIE 17-01 and HJR 999, though there was thorough debate by both the public and committee members on each measure.…

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Claim bills filed for 2017 Legislative Session

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A brain-damaged Pasco County woman and a deceased Florida State football player are again the subjects of claim bills filed in the Florida Legislature. According to the Florida Senate website, 22 of the bills — also known as relief acts — were turned in on Monday. Under the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity, Florida law limits local governments and other public bodies to paying no more than $200,000 per person in damages unless lawmakers approve extra money. But in recent years, as…

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Brian Pitts suing Rick Scott, lawmakers over “invalid” state budget

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Perennial gadfly and Capitol fixture Brian Pitts is suing Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature for “preliminary and perpetual relief” from what he calls an “invalid” state budget for this year. Pitts, a trustee of his St. Petersburg-based Justice-2-Jesus church group, filed a 30-page complaint in Leon Circuit Civil Court last week, according to court records. The suit also names House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, Senate President Andy Gardiner, and Secretary of State Ken Detzner. He’s well known to observers of…

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Joe Negron bill to cut ties with anti-Israeli boycotters sails through committee stop

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A bill sponsored by state Sen. Joe Negron to prevent state funds from flowing to organizations that boycott or have divested from Israel on human rights grounds passed unanimously through a Senate budget panel general government Tuesday afternoon. The bill creates a state list of “scrutinized companies” that boycott Israel to be kept by the State Board of Administration responsible for investing funds from state workers’ retirement and other state accounts, and prohibits the board from investing in those companies in the future.…

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Mitch Perry Report for 7.1.15 — The politics of envy and being relatable

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Envy is considered one of the seven deadly sins in Christianity. It’s something that would be ideal if we didn’t occasionally suffer from, but it’s all too human for us to do so. I don’t know if it’s something I read or heard years ago, but when it comes to money (like sex), I always have tried to take the notion that it’s only one’s own that one should be concerned with. Otherwise one could go mad, bemoaning the fact…

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Justice-2-Jesus’ Brian Pitts’ lawsuit calls for repealing every law passed this year because of Legislature’s premature exit

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

When House Speaker Steve Crisafulli abruptly called on the Florida House of Representatives to depart Tallahassee three days before the regularly scheduled legislative session was scheduled to conclude in late April, he angered many Floridians, including Senate President Andy Gardiner. The division between the Florida House and Senate this spring prevented the Legislature from producing on time a budget as they are constitutionally charged to do by the end of the 60-day session. That lead to the creation of a…

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