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Senate committee passes bill limiting drone surveillance without consent

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On Monday, a Senate committee approved the bill regulating drones used to take photos without consent. If passed, violations would carry a $5,000 fine. Distribution of the picture would cost the drone operator $10,000. Even though the Federal Aviation Administration expects to issue guidelines governing drones, officially known as unmanned aerial vehicles, Florida is among more than a dozen states not waiting on federal regulations. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee unanimously passed SB 1178, to protect Floridians from those swarming bug-size robots equipped with…

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Gwen Margolis’ ‘palcohol’ ban progresses in Senate

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A bill to prohibit the sale of powdered alcohol — known in industry lingo as ‘palcohol’ — before it has even arrived at Florida retailers passed another test in the Senate on Thursday. The ban was unanimously approved by the Rules Committee. State Sen. Gwen Margolis’ SB 998 now awaits a vote by the full Senate. Brandon state Sen. Tom Lee spoke for a lot of casual observers as well as his panel-mates when he asked Margolis — like Lee, a former Senate president…

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The day that was in Florida politics — March 31

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This day at the state Capitol lawmakers continue to clear their desks of items before getting down to serious budget work. They dealt with the contentious issues of marijuana, abortion and fracking before having to deal with the $4.2 billion really contentious differences in the spending plans they are developing. State Sen. Garrett Richter’s fracking proposal drew guffaws from environmentalists in the audience when it was presented as a regulatory plan for an industry already active in the state. The…

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Florida senators meet with feds over health care money

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Amid growing budget discord that could derail this year’s session of the Florida Legislature, Senate President Andy Gardiner dispatched two top Republican senators to Washington to talk with federal officials about more than $1 billion in healthcare grants the state could soon lose. Gardiner, an Orlando Republican who works for a hospital, took the unusual step even as top officials with the administration of Gov. Rick Scott are directly negotiating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and…

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Fracking bills pass Senate committee with DEP support

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Bills dealing with oil and gas hydraulic fracturing in Florida passed their first Senate committee stop on Tuesday after a state environmental official said they would provide needed regulation for the industry. SB 1468 by state Sen. Garrett Richter, a Republican from Bradenton, requires the state to develop rules for permitting “high-pressure well-stimulation,” which includes hydraulic fracturing — also called fracking. SB 1582 provides for a public records exemption for fracking “trade secrets.” Paula Cobb, the Florida Department of Environmental…

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Senate committee chair seeks to ban fracking during study

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An amendment that was filed Monday — and later withdrawn — by the chairman of a Senate committee would have placed a ban on state permits for oil and gas fracking until a study of the practice can be completed in 2016. SB 1468 by Sen. Garrett Richter, a Republican from Bradenton, requires the state to develop rules for permitting “high-pressure well-stimulation,” which includes hydraulic fracturing — also called fracking. The bill is scheduled to be considered Tuesday by the Senate Committee…

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Gov. Scott signs presidential primary push-back into law

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Gov. Rick Scott today signed into law legislation that will move Florida’s 2016 presidential primaries back two weeks, from March 1 to March 15. Scott’s approval of HB 7035, shepherded by state Rep. Ritch Workman and state Sen. Garrett Richter in their respective legislative chambers, puts Florida in position to take advantage of new Republican National Convention rules allowing states to adopt a winner-take-all primary in which all delegates are awarded to the winner, as opposed to meted out piecemeal according to proportion…

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