Gov. Rick Scott, the outsider who at one point railed against the political establishment, may soon start getting the kind of control that was never bestowed on Florida’s previous chief executives.
Backers of a controversial plan to bring high-end destination-casino resorts to Florida initially billed it as a way to limit gambling in the state. But the measure has since morphed into a behemoth of a bill that could spread slot machines — if not casinos — to every corner of the Sunshine State.
A heated, special interest-saturated debate over gambling swept through the Capitol last week.
The gambling bill that would allow three casinos to open in Florida remains stalled in the House after a second workshop on the proposal Wednesday.
A day after legislation to bring three destination casino resorts to Florida passed its first committee, one of the bill’s biggest detractors, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, announced the formation of the Bad Bet for Florida Coalition to combat the bill.
Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, expects the highly controversial destination gaming bill to reach the Senate floor for a full “up or down” vote.
A man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit and the brain-damaged and paralyzed victim of a crash with a speeding sheriff’s deputy who was late for work would receive millions in compensation through claims bills that cleared the Florida Senate shortly after the Legislature opened its 2012 session Tuesday.
Senate President-designate Don Gaetz has become the prime co-sponsor of a bill that would ban lawmakers from working with universities or colleges while they serve and for two years after leaving the Legislature.
TALLAHASSEE — Call it a decennial dance for democracy.
Critics of State Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, his job as a university professor and his old-but-still-controversial book deal with Brevard Community College are sure to like a new ethics bill.