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Richard Corcoran - page 19

Jose Felix Diaz: ‘We were too far apart’ from Senate on gambling

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State Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, the House’s point man on gambling, said an impossibility of compromise over slot machines killed the 2017 gambling bill. “We were too far apart and the Senate wanted to bring it in for a landing during budget conference, and we were not going to be able to do that,” he told reporters after Tuesday’s House floor session. “The timing was off.” The sticking point was an offer to expand slot machines to pari-mutuels in counties…

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Adam Putnam running for governor

in 2017 by

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is no longer just a likely gubernatorial candidate. The Bartow Republican filed his paperwork Monday for a 2018 run to replace Gov. Rick Scott. He plans to make a formal announcement on the old county courthouse steps in Bartow at 11 a.m. on May 10, according to the Tampa Bay Times, which first reported Putnam’s annoouncement. “I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world because I get to call Florida home,” he said in…

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House will not vote on fracking investment bill

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A push by Florida’s largest power company to charge customers for out-of-state fracking appears dead for this session. House Speaker Richard Corcoran said Monday he has “too many reservations” about Senate Bill 1238 and the potential consequences it would have on state ratepayers and the environment. He added the House would not vote on it if the Senate passes it. Republican Sen. Aaron Bean, the bill’s sponsor, said his proposal would have helped keep electricity costs down in the long…

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Joe Henderson: Homestead exemption increase would be great politics, lousy governing

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Increasing the state’s homestead exemption by $25,000, which is a priority for House Speaker Richard Corcoran and his merry band of tax-slayers, would no doubt be popular with voters. If the measure gets past the legislative hoops and on the 2018 ballot as a constitutional amendment, I imagine it would easily break the 60 percent threshold required for passage. Corcoran and like-minded Republicans would celebrate. Homeowners would have more cash. And local governments, where the real heavy-lifting is done to…

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Hospitality marketing money still in play, lawmakers say

in Peter by

Money to help smaller communities market themselves during the off-season could still be in play as legislative leaders continue to negotiate the 2017-18 budget. The Senate has proposed language to move a state-funded marketing program run by the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation from Visit Florida. The House did not include the language in its proposal. The state’s tourism marketing has annually contracted with the FRLA to “develop a coordinated marketing, media, and…

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House links homestead exemption increase to Senate priorities

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The fate of this year’s gambling bill is being held hostage to passage of a homestead exemption increase, sources told FloridaPolitics.com Sunday night. Publicly, lawmakers have been saying that progress on omnibus gambling legislation was taking a backseat to the 2017-18 state budget talks. The Conference Committee on Gaming hasn’t met since last Thursday. The Senate is largely for some expansion of gambling in the state; the House wants to hold the line. Behind the scenes, however, House leadership made the decision to…

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Florida legislators agree to small boost for schools

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Florida’s public schools will get only a small increase in money for day-to-day operations under an agreement worked out by state legislators. House and Senate budget negotiators on Friday agreed to increase regular public school spending by $241 million. That amounts to about a 1.2 percent increase in money for each student. Republicans have defended the small increase by pointing out that they are setting aside money in other education programs, such as one aimed at helping students in failing…

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