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Tobacco bond repealer is again postponed, this time in House

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A House bill (HB 6011) that would repeal the cap on the amount of money tobacco companies have to put up as appellate bonds was “temporarily postponed” Thursday. With its Senate companion (SB 100) also indefinitely put off, the proposal’s fate is uncertain for the 2017 Legislative Session. The House version was slated to be heard in the Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee, records show. Tobacco companies are required to put up bonds before they appeal unfavorable damages awarded to former smokers, but the…

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Support for LGBT-protection bill grows among Legislature’s GOP members

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A measure that would prohibit employment, retail and other discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity has picked up a second Republican sponsor in the Florida Senate: Travis Hutson of St. Augustine. The group behind the the “Florida Competitive Workforce Act” (HB 45/SB 120) announced the move in a news release Friday. The prime sponsors are Democratic state Sen. Joe Abruzzo of Boynton Beach and Key Largo Republican Holly Raschein in the House. Hutson now joins Clearwater’s Jack Latvala in sponsoring the Senate…

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Maybe Polk County will build a toll road anyway

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Polk County business leaders and legislators are readying for a possible end run around the Florida Department of Transportation’s decision to postpone and perhaps even stop support for the Central Polk Parkway toll road … maybe a half-end run. Rep. John Wood, a Winter Haven Republican who has chaired the Central Polk Parkway Working Group, plans to discuss the creation of a Polk County Expressway Authority that will plan ways to keep the project alive. The working group meets 9…

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Three Florida cities receive perfect score for LGBT anti-discrimination policies

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Three Florida cities, including St. Petersburg and Orlando, earned perfect scores in enacting policies to protect gay, lesbian and transgendered citizens from discrimination. In a statement Tuesday, Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce recognized Orlando, St. Petersburg and Wilton Manors (in Broward County), for receiving 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation 2015 Municipal Equality Index (MEI). The municipalities were among 47 of 408 rated cities in the United States to achieve a perfect score. “We are proud of…

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Florida Competitive Workforce video talks successes, plans for 2016

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The Florida Businesses for a Competitive Workforce coalition is coming off a very good month. “Drumbeat Report,” a video compilation hosted by campaign manager Patrick Slevin, discussed the organizations recent successes, including such support from Fortune 500 companies and major Florida employers. The three-minute video reveals the group as “off and running” with what organizers describe as “pretty solid backing.” In recent weeks, telecommunications giant AT&T joined the grassroots movement, which seeks to modernize the Florida Civil Rights Act of…

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Joe Abruzzo, Holly Raschein file bills to expand public protections for LGBTQ Floridians

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A bipartisan pair of South Florida lawmakers — Democratic state Sen. Joe Abruzzo of Boynton Beach and state Rep. Holly Raschein, a Key Largo Republican — announced they will pursue legislation to update state law to include sexual orientation and gender identity under Florida’s workplace and public accommodations protections. The bill — HB 45, filed Tuesday morning — is dubbed the “Florida Competitive Workforce Act” and specifically amends F.S. 760.01, an anti-discrimination statute, to include “sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.” A business consortium called Florida…

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Anti-train group rails against All Aboard Florida

in Statewide/Top Headlines by

During a conference call late Thursday morning, the anti-rail group Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida inveighed against a plan backed by Gov. Rick Scott to build more rail lines in the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County areas. Its main bone of contention is an April poll conducted by Mason-Dixon that CARE says offers stark evidence that the public-private deal between the state of Florida and private engineering firms to add Miami-to-Orlando high speed passenger rail service — All Aboard Florida — is…

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