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Talks stalled, House schedules committee review of continuation budget

in Statewide by

The House Appropriations Committee will meet Tuesday morning to consider a “standard operating budget,” pending progress in negotiations with the Senate over spending priorities for the fiscal year that begins July 1. House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced the move in a note to House members Monday evening. He acted after Senate President Joe Negron rejected a House proposal to enact a “continuation budget” maintaining spending more or less at existing levels. “The purpose of this meeting is to consider a…

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Janet Cruz latest Democrat to call for Frank Artiles resignation

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Florida Democratic Minority House Leader Janet Cruz is calling for Miami Republican Sen. Frank Artiles to step down, following the outrage over published remarks of his racist comments to black Democratic lawmakers. “Frank Artiles’ comments Monday night transcend politics and get to the idea of who we are as people,” said the Tampa Representative in a statement issued late Wednesday afternoon. Her response was the latest in a series of calls by Democrats for Artiles to resign. The Florida Legislative Black Caucus, which includes seven…

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Carlos Frontela chastened by 2016 mistakes, is fired up for House District 62 bid

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

In declaring his candidacy early for the Tampa-based House District 62 seat, Carlos Frontela already demonstrates he’s learned from rookie mistakes made last year in his bid for the Hillsborough County School Board. “I jumped in really late, two months before the primary,” he says, reminiscing about his ill-fated run for the District 7 seat ultimately captured by Lynn Gray last November. “No time to really organize, no time to really gain any campaign contributions,” he says which is why he’s working on qualifying…

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Evan Jenne’s ‘tipping point’: A run for House Democratic Leader

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Evan Jenne

It’s tough to be a top Democrat in Florida, but Evan Jenne is going for it. Jenne, of Dania Beach, recently announced his intention to seek the leadership of the House Democrats in 2020-22. In a state where Republicans have controlled the Legislature for the last two decades, “you can’t promise definitively that something will happen,” he said. That said, he added, “If I say I’m going to do something, you can stick to my word.” The 39-year-old first served in…

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House amends Senate’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ bill

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The House on Tuesday began consideration of a Senate bill changing the state’s “stand your ground” law to make it easier to claim self-defense. But the House soon amended the measure (SB 128) to change the burden of proof to overcome self-defense to “clear and convincing evidence,” a lower threshold than the Senate’s “beyond a reasonable doubt.” The burden would be on “the party seeking to overcome the immunity from criminal prosecution,” usually prosecutors, requiring a separate mini-trial, of sorts. House Democratic Leader…

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Janet Cruz’s ‘tough haul,’ frustrations of the Democratic House caucus

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

In Tampa, Florida Democratic Party Chair Stephen Bittel waxed optimistically last month about the Democrats’ chance of winning back the state Senate in 2020. Notably, he didn’t say anything about the House, where Republicans outnumber Democrats, 79-41. Tampa Rep. Janet Cruz, serving the first year of a two-year stint as Minority Leader and four weeks into the 2017 Session, admits it’s been a tough haul. “I feel like we’re spending so much time on bills that in caucus meetings, we’ve grown to call them ‘dead…

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Dana Young, environmentalists still holds hope for fracking ban in 2017

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House members now say the possibility of a fracking ban is dead for the 2017 Legislative Session. Sen. Dana Young thinks it’s premature to administer last rites, at least just yet. “You never say never, but now we’re saying it looks like that will be next year,”  Rep. Mike Miller, an Orlando Republican, told the Naples Daily News about his bill (HB 451) as the first month of Session ended this week. The reason for the impasse is the desire by some…

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