The Florida House did the nation a favor by refusing to expand subsidized health insurance to 1 million low-income Floridians, argues Speaker Will Weatherford.
TALLAHASSEE — Last year, the Florida Legislature mandated Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to offer a cheaper, more limited coverage option to homeowners, potentially saving them up to 70 percent on their premiums.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida House Republicans tried to close the state's pension system to new employees this year, saying it's a ticking time bomb that could cripple the state's budget for years to come.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has all but guaranteed a veto of the 3 percent tuition increase in the state budget and he recently reached out to an unlikely group to aid his cause.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott must soon sign the new state budget, and he's getting intense feedback on all sides: from lawmakers protecting hometown projects, hospitals worried about losing money and a business-backed group criticizing pork-barrel spending.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott has all but guaranteed a veto of the 3 percent tuition increase in the state budget and he recently reached out to an unlikely group to aid his cause.

OLDSMAR — Gov. Rick Scott launched a two-day, campaign-style swing through the state Monday to celebrate the Legislature's decision to temporarily eliminate a sales tax on manufacturing equipment.

TALLAHASSEE — Private online learning companies will get a better shot at Florida public school funding under a bill that won approval on the final day of the legislative session.
TALLAHASSEE — As the legislative session neared an end this month, state Rep. Erik Fresen found himself in an awkward position.

TALLAHASSEE — Lawmakers included a 3 percent tuition increase in next year's budget, but state universities say they aren't counting on the extra money.

Some bills that passed and failed in the 2013 Legislative session. Bills must be approved by Gov. Rick Scott.
Business

TALLAHASSEE — A bill that would allow school employees to carry weapons on campus won the support of the House education subcommittee on Wednesday.
TALLAHASSEE — Florida voters support universal background checks for gun purchases, other gun control laws and Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday.
TALLAHASSEE — There have been more gun control bills filed in the Florida Legislature this year than any in recent memory — but you wouldn't know it. Despite Democrats' push to spark a "conversation" about guns after the Trayvon Martin and Newtown, Conn., shootings, the Republican-led Legislature has …
TALLAHASSEE — Allow gun-toting teachers. Make lockdown drills as routine as fire drills. Boost local taxes to specifically pay for security at schools.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott must soon sign the new state budget, and he's getting intense feedback on all sides: from lawmakers protecting hometown projects, hospitals worried about losing money and a business-backed group criticizing pork-barrel spending.

TALLAHASSEE — After Gov. Rick Scott's highly prioritized manufacturing tax cut passed the Florida Legislature without receiving a two-thirds majority of votes, legislative staff analysts have had a change of heart and now believe such a supermajority was not necessary.
ST. PETERSBURG — Three Pinellas County legislators who voted against accepting federal Medicaid money defended their heavily subsidized state health plans Tuesday but said they were open to footing more of the bill.
For the past three decades, Florida TaxWatch has been a self-appointed fiscal watchdog, blowing the whistle on what it considers wasteful pork-barrel spending by the Legislature.

OLDSMAR — Gov. Rick Scott launched a two-day, campaign-style swing through the state Monday to celebrate the Legislature's decision to temporarily eliminate a sales tax on manufacturing equipment.

ST. PETERSBURG — Three Pinellas County legislators who voted against accepting federal Medicaid money defended their heavily subsidized state health plans Tuesday but said they were open to footing more of the bill.
TALLAHASSEE
Florida House Republicans last month loudly and proudly rejected billions of dollars in federal money that would have provided health insurance to 1 million poor Floridians.

TALLAHASSEE — The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the hospice company founded by Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, accusing the company of engaging in Medicare fraud for more than 11 years, including during the time Gaetz was vice chairman.

TALLAHASSEE — Few Florida politicians were known for being more likable and reasonable than House Speaker Will Weatherford.

TALLAHASSEE — Pressure is mounting on Florida Gov. Rick Scott to call a special session to end the Legislature's impasse on Medicaid expansion.

For the past three decades, Florida TaxWatch has been a self-appointed fiscal watchdog, blowing the whistle on what it considers wasteful pork-barrel spending by the Legislature.

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott will send the Legislature a $74 billion budget today that he says would boost spending in schools by $1.25 billion, but some of that money will never reach students.

TALLAHASSEE — What do violent video games, gory movies and high-powered assault weapons have in common? They have all been blamed for tragic mass shootings, including last month's at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. — and are all subsidized by Florida taxpayers. With Florida's tax code more …

TALLAHASSEE — Call it another unfortunate plot twist in an already upsetting script.
TALLAHASSEE — After months of defending the status quo, Florida Gov. Rick Scott drew praise and criticism Thursday as he endorsed early voting changes pushed by county election supervisors.

TALLAHASSEE — Florida's sputtering economy did not stop interest groups and donors from spending $306 million this election cycle on state political campaigns, according to final election year tallies released Friday.