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Matt Gaetz - page 20

Lawmakers tweet insults over budget dispute

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Now Florida lawmakers are arguing on Twitter. The 2015 regular session came to a screeching halt Tuesday when the House adjourned three days before the session’s scheduled end. Thursday Senate Democrats filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court to order the House back in session for the Friday. Senate Republican leaders say the House’s move is unconstitutional, trying to leverage power over the Senate by its absence. Thursday Senate Democrats filed a petition with the Florida Supreme Court to…

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Fracking public records bill hangs on whether supporters vote against exemptions

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State Rep. Matt Gaetz voted for a hydraulic fracturing regulation bill on Monday, but says he will vote against a companion bill that would provide a public records law exemption. The outcome of the public records exemption bill likely depends on whether Gaetz is joined by others who supported the bill to provide for fracking regulation. HB 1205, which the Department of Environmental Protection proposed to create a fracking permitting program, passed the House 82-34 on Monday. HB 1209, the bill to exclude…

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Legislature’s Uber regulation efforts stuck in neutral

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Advocates for ride-sharing firms Lyft and Uber evidently did not reach an agreement this weekend with traditional taxi cab and limousine stakeholders, as a ride-sharing policy bill sponsored by state Rep. Matt Gaetz was temporarily postponed Monday for the second time in as many appearances on the House floor. HB 817 is generally considered a pro-Uber piece of legislation, but it recently took on amendments sponsored by state Reps. Kathleen Peters and Mike Miller that tightened requirements on ride-sharing operations, making the bill more palatable to taxi companies. That legislative back and…

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Defense rests in Charlotte’s Web case; ruling to come down within 30 days

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The battle over the state’s Charlotte’s Web may come down to a snapshot in time. The question before administrative law Judge W. David Watkins is at what point did Baywood Nurseries become an affected party entitled to sue and block the state from implementing the Compassionate Medical Marijuana Act of 2014. Or, in the words of a Department of Health attorney, when did Baywood become pregnant? “Baywood was not pregnant on March 24,” DOH attorney Eduardo Lombard told Watkins. Lombard…

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House Uber bill TP’d, resolution with Senate still uncertain

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As is the case with so many other issues – not least of which is the $4 million budget chasm stemming from inter-cameral differences on hospital funding for indigent services – the House and Senate still seem to be quite a ways off from passing anything resembling a unified ride sharing bill to govern firms like Uber and Lyft. Swiftly and without any commotion, House leaders and bill sponsor Rep. Matt Gaetz of Shalimar came to an agreement by which his HB…

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Uber’s fortunes uncertain as House, Senate gear up for ride sharing fight

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With just six days before end of regular legislative business this Session, the House and Senate are still troublesomely far apart on legislation regarding the popular ride sharing apps Uber and Lyft, particularly if you’re an advocate for the expansion of “transportation network companies” as they are rendered in committee-speak. The Senate today passed SB 1298 by Altamonte Springs Sen. David Simmons which would increase insurance requirements beyond the now-voluntary insurance policies already they already carry. Support for the bill came well short of a…

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Lauren Book ends statewide trek with Tally rally to protect Florida children

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Krysta is an 18-year-old Florida State University student; she is the reason Lauren Book marches. Krysta’s abuse started when she was 6. She did not tell anyone for six years, until she first told a camp counselor, then her parents. Wednesday was the first time she has talked publicly about her abuse. “My legs are shaking, my whole body is shaking,” she said while waiting for Book’s final mile of her annual 1,500-mile Walk in My Shoes march across Florida.…

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