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Jeff Brandes - page 31

LGBT anti-discrimination bill on life support after contentious vote

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A bill to prohibit gender- and sexuality-based workplace discrimination died momentarily in a Senate panel on judicial affairs, before being brought back to life by legislative maneuvering. Monday afternoon’s meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee was likely the most controversial of 2016, in both form and in substance. Senators took up SB 120, a bill supporters are calling the “Competitive Workforce Act,” which aims to amend the state’s Civil Rights Act to prohibit employment, retail and other discrimination against people because of…

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Senate panel passes red light camera preemption 4-3

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A key Senate panel narrowly passed a proposal to effectively end the use of red light cameras around the state of Florida on Thursday. The Senate Transportation Committee passed the bill by a 4-3 party-line vote. Bill sponsor St. Petersburg Sen. Jeff Brandes, who also chairs the panel, said the bill simply reflects the public policy reality that infraction detectors are not making intersections safer. “The Department of Highway Safety will not testify that there is a safety benefit,” said Brandes. “Red light…

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Specialty plate reduction bill draws flurry of amendments adding plates

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Lawmakers are filing a flurry of amendments to a bill aimed at reducing the number of specialty license plates on Florida roadways. Legislators filed at least 16 amendments to Jeff Brandes’ omnibus new plate bill adding at least one specialty plate each. However, adding plates in the proposal doesn’t necessarily defeat the purpose. Currently, groups wishing to sell specialty license plates have to presell 1,000 plates before they can be manufactured. If that group didn’t maintain at least 1,000 plates…

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Bill to move 2nd District Court to Tampa riles Polk legislators

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When the Florida Legislature convenes Tuesday to begin the second week of the nine-week Legislative Session, the House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee will consider a proposal that divides the Tampa and Polk County legislative delegations. House Bill 815, sponsored by Tampa Republican Shawn Harrison, would move the 2nd District Court of Appeal from Lakeland to the Tampa area. “It’s becoming a public safety issue,” Harrison said. About 50 employees and judges work in the courthouse. A recent air quality report shows the roof…

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Be careful what you wish for, Victor Crist. It might cost you your job

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Be careful what you wish for, Victor Crist. In the ongoing struggle at the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission over what to do about Transportation Network Companies (TNC) Uber and Lyft, Crist — the commission chair — threatened a “radical solution” if the lawmakers didn’t act during the 2016 Legislative Session. “If they don’t fix it within the next 60 days, we will here,” Crist said, as reported by FloridaPolitics.com. “You may or may not like our fix. But this…

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Mitch Perry Report for 1.15.16 — Has the GOP contest wilted down to 2-and-a-half men?

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Happy Friday, y’all. As we go into the NFL’s best weekend (and one of the greatest in all of professional sports) and reflect on the Oscar nominations (DiCaprio, Brie Larson and Stallone are locks, by the way, and though she won’t win, I’m all in for Alicia Vikander for Supporting Actress), Friday’s national story is Thursday night’s GOP presidential debate. It was dominated by the clash between front-runners Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, with Marco Rubio again putting in impressive…

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Jeff Brandes driver’s license suspension reform bill passes unanimously in committee

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

A bill that would that would reform the driver’s license and revocation process in Florida passed unanimously Thursday in the Senate Transportation Commission. The legislation (SB 7046) sponsored by St. Petersburg Republican Jeff Brandes would revise requirements relating to the payment of court-related fines or other monetary penalties, fees, charges, and costs. It would also require traffic citation forms to include certain language relating to payment of a penalty and require a court to inquire regarding a person’s ability to pay at…

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