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Former Jeff Brandes staff member appointed to DCF role

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The Florida Department of Children and Families announced two key appointments Tuesday. Michael Wickersheim will be the agency’s legislative affairs director. Tim Parson, the employee who formerly held that post, will now be the executive staff director for Florida’s Drug Policy Advisory Council. “We are excited to bring Michael on board as we head into an important legislative session. His experience will provide us with a solid foundation that will allow us to further the important work of our department…

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Jeff Brandes files bill creating state flood mitigation program

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State Sen. Jeff Brandes is looking to help Florida communities address the effects of coastal flooding. On Tuesday, the St. Petersburg Republican filed SB 584, a bill to create a statewide flood mitigation and assistance program, providing up to $50 million per year in matching grant funds. The money would help reduce the risk and severity of coastal flooding. Part of the program includes a plan for land acquisition and preservation. The proposal will also extend the expiration of de-regulated…

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An angry Tom Lee questions Senate base maps

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A fiery state Sen. Tom Lee lashed out at the Senate’s outside attorney Monday, questioning why he didn’t object to specific allegations of unconstitutionality over the chamber’s current districts. The Legislature began a scheduled three-week Special Session to redraw the state’s 40 districts after the Senate settled a court challenge by admitting its current map was gerrymandered to benefit Republicans and incumbents. Lee, a Brandon Republican, also asked why all of the replacement maps contain districts that cross Tampa Bay when the Supreme Court, in…

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Taxi group: Survey says, regulate Uber

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The Florida Taxicab Association issued another broadside against Uber on Tuesday, this time focusing on a new University of South Florida-Nielsen poll that suggests most Floridians are in favor of legal restrictions on so-called transportation network companies. According to the new poll released Tuesday, 89 percent of Floridians believe ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft “should be required to have liability insurance as is required by current state law.” The level of insurance TNCs must carry has been a major sticking point between them and both Florida…

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Oscar Braynon rolls out first Senate redistricting plan ahead of Special Session

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State Sen. Oscar Braynon has filed the first proposed re-drawn Senate map under President Andy Gardiner‘s new redistricting regime, following a consent agreement under which the Senate admitted it violated state constitutional prohibitions against gerrymandering. Notably, the map does not feature a district that traverses the Tampa Bay, combining parts of St. Petersburg and Tampa by way of unpopulated territory in the middle, a maneuver the Florida Supreme Court ruled illegal in its opinion on the state’s congressional maps back in July. Instead, it…

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Mitch Perry Report for 10.9.15 — 1st chapter in Tampa citizens review board saga ends

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The activists went home unhappy last night, but their goals were never the same as the majority on the Tampa City Council when it came to the creation of a citizens review board to review the Tampa Police Department. The Council voted 5-2 Thursday evening for a compromise proposal on who gets to select the members of the nine-member board and two alternates; Mayor Bob Buckhorn will get five choices, the Council four, and the mayor still gets to pick the two alternates that were…

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Hillsborough Republican lawmakers mixed on PTC future

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

(UPDATED) Last month, Florida Senate Transportation Chairman Jeff Brandes and Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commissioner (PTC)  Victor Crist discussed their opinions on how to regulate Transportation Network Companies like Uber and Lyft. They met at Shula’s Steakhouse in Tampa’s Westshore district, and both have said  they enjoyed themselves and came to common cause on several issues regarding the regulation of the ridesharing companies going into the 2016 legislative session. Since those discussions, the PTC has announced it’s postponing further litigation with Uber until lawmakers…

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