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Gary Farmer

Officials push deadline for disclosing finances

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Seven state lawmakers were among more than 600 state and local officials and employees testing a two-month grace period to file personal financial disclosure forms. Fines of $25 a day start to be imposed Saturday for those who don’t file or get their annual reports in the mail and postmarked Friday. Officials faced an initial July 3 deadline but were given until Sept. 1 to comply.

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David Simmons: We’re not done yet with HB 7069

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Interparty, cross-house fighting over the controversial education omnibus bill House Bill 7069 is not yet over, nor are efforts to stop provisions that could spell death sentences to underperforming public schools, Republican state Sen. Dave Simmons vowed Wednesday. And the bill might face a legal challenge led by state Sen. Gary Farmer, a Parkland Republican who has become the bill’s most outspoken critic. At a panel discussion, with three Republican state representatives, held by the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce…

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Gary Farmer to Rick Scott: Veto ‘dreadful’ HB 7069

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A new state senator who is also a prominent trial attorney is telling Gov. Rick Scott to veto a contentious education policy bill, saying it’s a brew of “bad policy” and “a textbook example of a failure in government transparency.” Sen. Gary Farmer, a Parkland Democrat, wrote a 2-page letter to Scott Tuesday on HB 7069, which critics have said will benefit charter schools to the detriment of traditional public schools. “This dreadful piece of legislation, if signed into law,…

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Amid continued calls to veto HB 7069, Rick Scott says he is still ‘reviewing it’

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Gov. Rick Scott isn’t showing his cards when it comes to a wide-sweeping and contentious education bill, despite rumblings he could sign the measure as early as this week. The Naples Republican said he is still reviewing the bill (HB 7069), which, among other things, creates a “Schools of Hope” charter school program backed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran. However, many people believe Scott will sign the bill in return for Corcoran’s support of his priorities, including full funding of…

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Senate avoids loading down schools funding bill with hostile amendments

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The Senate rejected amendments Thursday that might have blocked a meeting of minds with the House on public schools funding — including bids to tie the legislation explicitly to economic development investments. “These issues have been parsed out separately,” said Sen. Gary Farmer, who offered both amendments. “Let’s put them together. And let’s candidly assert ourselves as the Florida Senate. Let’s make a statement about what our policy is. Let’s send the House one bill, one package,” he said. “Let’s…

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Fate of program for disabled children rests with Rick Scott

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Debby Dawson, who lives in southwest Florida, has a simple message to Gov. Rick Scott: The state’s existing scholarship program for disabled children is “life changing” and has helped her 7-year-old autistic son “develop by leaps and bounds.” Dawson is part of a chorus of parents from around the state who have mounted a campaign through letters, emails and phone calls urging the Republican governor to sign a sweeping education bill that will soon come to his desk. But that…

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Must-pass workers’ compensation, AOB reform languishing in Legislature

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With House and Senate leaders caught up with budget negotiations ahead of Friday’s deadline for adjournment, advocates for legislative fixes for assignment of benefits and workers’ compensation reform confronted this possibility: Their must-pass legislation might not pass. There’s a workers’ compensation bill on the Senate calendar, but it differs in significant respects from the version the House adopted, and it was unclear whether those differences could be reconciled in the time left. Meanwhile, the House has adopted assignment of benefits,…

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