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Tom Lee - page 13

Budget conferees agree on general gov’t and prison funding issues, bump state radios funds

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Senior budget writers met Sunday afternoon to continue hammering out differences in House and Senate appropriations proposals, still hundreds of millions of dollars apart. In keeping with their recent meetings since committeeĀ sub-chairs “bumped up” remaining budget issues to the at-large budget conference, ChairĀ Rep.Ā Richard CorcoranĀ and Vice Chair Sen.Ā Tom LeeĀ – their respective chambers’ appropriations chiefs – made swift progress at the hearing, though a simmering industry “fist fight” over state police radios slowed down discussions over the weekend and prevented the panel…

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Budget writers close out TED, justice budget silos

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Legislative budget writers met Friday evening to take up another pair of unreconciled budget areas – Transportation & Economic Development and Civil & Criminal Justice – and came to a final agreement, closing out millions in funding items in a multibillion dollar move when the House and Senate accepted each others’ offers. Among the most notable changes that became closer to becoming law Friday was a Conference Chair Rep.Ā Richard Corcoran-favored move to stop the Florida Department of Transportation from adding…

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Senate votes 24-14 to approve alimony overhaul bill

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The Florida Senate OKā€™d a proposal that overhauls the stateā€™s alimony system. The Florida Senate voted 24-14 to approve the measure (SB 668), which changes the way Florida judges can award spousal support. ā€œThis is a very, very emotional thing,ā€ said Sen. Kelli Stargel, the Lakeland Republican who sponsored the bill. Among other things, the bill allows the court to modify alimony payments if there is a substantial change in circumstances, including unemployment or retirement. For years, former spouses have…

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House and Senate close out health care, general gov’t budget silos

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In a swift 15-minute meeting Thursday night, the full bicameral Budget Conference Committee closed out all remaining differences in the chambers’ massive health care and general government budget silos, swapping tens of millions of dollars and making significant progress towards reconciling their respective $80-plus billion proposals. “We could go huddle up for 30 seconds and come back but we knew we were close, so we just thought we’d cut to the chase,” said committee Vice Chairman Sen.Ā Tom Lee, the Senate’s…

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Tug of war over tax package kills bills

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A squabbleĀ over tourist taxes, a last-minute amendment to the Senateā€™s tax cut package, sucked up about half of the 2016 Legislative Sessionā€™s lastĀ Senate Appropriations meeting, killing bills left hanging on the agenda. The panel OKā€™d the House plan (HB 7099), amended with the Senateā€™s own tax package. The legislation promises about $400 million in tax relief, though Gov. Rick Scott wanted $1 billion. For instance, it scales back Floridaā€™s back to school sales-tax holiday from 10 days to three days…

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Mitch Perry Report for 3.2.16 – How safe will it be for Republicans to endorse Donald Trump?

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We were prepared not to weigh in on the results from last night’s Super Tuesday results, but watching the evisceration of Chris Christie on Twitter last prompted a closer look at what Florida GOP strategist Rick Wilson writes about in today’s Daily Beast. “Far from having the same kind of Kevlar media armor Trump enjoys, if you think you inherit his invulnerability, youā€™re deeply, sadly mistaken,” Wilson writes, referring to Republicans like Christie, who have come out and endorsed the…

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House all but declares defeat on Seminole Compact, gambling legislation

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Their lips were saying “not dead yet” but House leadership otherwise made clear that the Seminole Compact and gambling legislation were goners for this session. “I’m not ready to declare it dead yet,” said state Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, the Miami Republican who shepherded the bills through the process this year. Diaz spoke after the House’s floor session. After a deep breath, he added, “…but that’s the word around town.” Diaz said he talked to his counterpart, state Sen. Rob…

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