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5/24/2013 - Adjourned

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HOSPITAL CEOS ASSURED SCOTT ON MEDICAID PAYMENTS
JIM SAUNDERS | May 23, 2013
As Gov. Rick Scott considered budget vetoes last week, some of the state's best-known hospitals feared he would slice $65 million that lawmakers had set aside to help the industry move to a new Medicaid payment system... Story

REPEAL OF ETHANOL LAW FUELS DEBATE
JIM TURNER | May 23, 2013
A bio-energy company on the Treasure Coast is calling for Gov. Rick Scott to veto a measure that would repeal the state law requiring most gasoline sold in the state to include nearly 10 percent ethanol... Story

JUSTICES ALLOW PUBLIC DEFENDER TO PULL OUT OF CASES
JIM SAUNDERS | May 23, 2013
Describing what it called a "damning indictment" of representation for poor criminal defendants, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Miami-Dade County public defender's office could withdraw from a large chunk of felony cases because of excessive workloads... Story

SPLIT CITIZENS BOARD OKS POLICY TAKE-OUT DEAL
JIM TURNER | May 22, 2013
A relatively new St. Petersburg-based insurance company with a few deep Tallahassee ties was given the go-ahead on the eve of the 2013 hurricane season to be paid to acquire policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp... Story

SCOTT VETOES LEGAL AID FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR
MARGIE MENZEL | May 22, 2013
For the third year in a row, Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed funding for legal aid to low-income Floridians... Story

PERSONNEL FILE - PEOPLE ON THE MOVE, MAY 22, 2013
STAFF | May 22, 2013
HUBERT "BO" BOHANNON has been selected as chairman of the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists. Bohannon is principal and managing director of the Tallahassee office of The Fiorentino Group... Read the Personnel File

COURT SHIELDS LAWMAKERS FROM TESTIFYING IN REDISTRICTING CASE
BRANDON LARRABEE | May 22, 2013
Lawmakers will not have to testify about last year's redistricting process as part of a legal challenge to the congressional maps the Legislature approved, a divided three-judge panel ruled Wednesday... Story

SCOTT SIGNS ELECTIONS BILL WITH LITTLE FANFARE
BRANDON LARRABEE | May 21, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott's office confirmed Tuesday that he quietly signed a bill Monday aimed at cleaning up the voting problems that plagued parts of the state during the November elections... Story

NFL, MLS AVOID FLORIDA AFTER STADIUM BILL FAILS
JIM TURNER | May 21, 2013
Florida was shut out Tuesday by the National Football League and Major League Soccer... Story

BUDGET SURPLUS LIFTS SOCIAL SERVICES
MARGIE MENZEL | May 21, 2013
Florida had a budget surplus this year for the first time since the recession began, and that's good news for the state's social services programs... Story

BENNETT CONSIDERING DEPARTMENT OF ED REORGANIZATION
BRANDON LARRABEE | May 21, 2013
Education Commissioner Tony Bennett is mulling a reorganization of the state Department of Education, but the project has been slowed by laws that spell out the responsibilities of some positions at the agency... Story

SCOTT QUESTIONS MONEY FOR LOCAL PROJECTS
JIM SAUNDERS | May 21, 2013
Florida lawmakers sprinkled the new state budget with projects to take to the folks back home... Story

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA HAS: FIVE QUESTIONS FOR ED MOORE
MARGIE MENZEL | May 20, 2013
Ed Moore, longtime president of the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, represents 31 private, not-for-profit institutions. They award about one-quarter of Florida's bachelor degrees and include institutions such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Nova Southeastern University, Stetson University, the University of Miami and Bethune-Cookman University... Story

SCOTT SLASHES TURKEYS AND MORE, BUT SIGNS BUDGET
BRANDON LARRABEE | May 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday sliced a rafter of turkeys and plenty of other projects out of the formerly $74.5 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, bringing an end to speculation about what the governor would do with the heftiest spending plan in state history... Story

SCOTT VETOES GO FAR AND WIDE
JIM SAUNDERS | May 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott spread the pain. As Scott signed a $74.1 billion state budget Monday, he used his line-item veto power to eliminate proposals that ranged from spending $14 million on a building project at Gulf Coast State College in the Panhandle to earmarking $20,000 for the Hialeah Junior Fire Academy in South Florida... Story

MIAMI-DADE BIG BUDGET WINNER ONCE AGAIN
BRANDON LARRABEE | May 17, 2013
An annual ritual once again produced a sign of Miami-Dade County's clout and size: The county took in by far the most money from the state budget, according to a county-by-county breakdown of local projects released Friday by the Legislature... Story

FLORIDA DELEGATION SEEKS MORE WATER IN TRI-STATE FIGHT
MARGIE MENZEL | May 17, 2013
The fate of the Apalachicola Bay could be hanging in the balance as Florida's congressional delegation fights for more water from Georgia, and seafood workers try to restore oyster beds... Story

ADVANCES: WEEK OF MAY 19, 2013
STAFF | May 17, 2013
The governor, with the budget on his desk awaiting a signature, heads to Chile on a trade mission next week. Bills continue to leave the fourth floor of the Capitol and head to the governor's desk - and presumably administration officials are starting to think about a lieutenant governor pick... Read the Advances

WEEKLY ROUNDUP: JOBS REPORT IS NO TURKEY
JIM SAUNDERS | May 17, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott must have dreamed of a day like Friday. Not only could Scott tout an unemployment rate at its lowest level since September 2008, but the jobs, jobs, jobs governor also signed a tax-break bill for manufacturers that was one of his top legislative priorities... Read the Roundup

RICK SCOTT, ENTERPRISE FLA TO PITCH TRADE EXPANSION IN CHILE
JIM TURNER | May 17, 2013
Early Tuesday Gov. Rick Scott should be wheels down at Aeropuerto de Santiago de Chile with most of the 100 others taking part in his eighth international trade mission... Story

JOBLESS RATE DROPS TO 7.2 PERCENT AS SCOTT SIGNS TAX BREAK
DAVID ROYSE | May 17, 2013
The unemployment rate in Florida dropped to 7.2 percent in April, down from 7. 5 percent a month earlier, giving Gov. Rick Scott more fodder for his claim that the administration's efforts are working to return the economy to pre-recession success... Story

SCOTT WANTS MONEY-BACK PLEDGES ON BUDGET ITEMS
JIM TURNER | May 16, 2013
With the deadline approaching to sign the new budget, Gov. Rick Scott wants several organizations to pledge a return of state funding if they fail to produce promised economic benefits... Story

'TURKEY' LIST PART OF INTENSE LOBBYING ON BUDGET
BRANDON LARRABEE | May 16, 2013
With speculation mounting that Gov. Rick Scott could sign the Legislature's proposed $74.5 billion budget as early as Friday, a research organization released its annual list of "turkeys" that it said the governor should consider striking with his line-item veto... Story

...Read More in the Monthly Digest

CHILEAN POOL MAKER HEADING TO SOUTH FLORIDA
May 23, 2013
As the Gov. Rick Scott-led Enterprise Florida trade mission to Chile came to an end Thursday, at least one company from the South American nation is bringing its headquarters to the Sunshine State...

FLORIDA REPAYS BORROWED UNEMPLOYMENT MONEY
May 23, 2013
Florida has repaid money that it borrowed from the federal government to cover unemployment costs stemming from the Great Recession, business groups announced Thursday...

FRAUD LAWSUIT GOES AFTER DIGITAL DOMAIN LEADERS
May 23, 2013
Two investment firms have filed suit against John Textor, the former CEO of the ill-fated Digital Domain Media Group, along with executives, auditors and even his wife, over allegations of fraud...

SCOTT APPOINTS DOCTORS TO DETERMINE GORE'S SANITY
May 22, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott has assigned three psychiatrists to determine if convicted murderer Marshall Lee Gore, who faces a lethal injection June 24, is sane enough to be executed...

PRIDE TO KEEP LICENSE PLATE CONTRACT
May 22, 2013
After lawmakers stepped in, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles issued an order Wednesday that will allow a prison-industries firm to continue making the state's license plates...

DOJ WEIGHS IN ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LAWYER
May 22, 2013
The U.S. Department of Justice said this week that federal law bars undocumented immigrants from getting professional licenses, dealing an apparent blow to a law-school graduate who is trying to get admitted to The Florida Bar...

BONDI, COLLEAGUES TAKE DRUG FIGHT TO URBAN OUTFITTERS
May 22, 2013
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has joined with her counterparts in 21 other states and the territory of Guam to call for Urban Outfitters to pull its "prescription line" of products from shelves...

COURT RULES AGAINST COPS WHO PEERED THROUGH WINDOW
May 22, 2013
Saying their constitutional rights had been violated, a state appeals court Wednesday overturned the convictions of two north Florida men who were arrested after police officers peered through the window of a mobile home and saw marijuana plants growing...

REALTORS: HOMES SALES UP 17.4 PERCENT ACROSS FLORIDA
May 22, 2013
Statewide single-family home sales are up 17.4 percent from a year ago, Florida Realtors reported Wednesday. The statewide sales mark was trumped in some markets...

STATE SEEKS STAY IN TEACHER PAY CASE
May 22, 2013
Pointing to new legislation that could affect the case, the Florida Board of Education is asking a federal judge to put on hold a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2011 law that ties teacher pay to student performances on tests...

MIAMI-DADE MASS MURDERER LOSES COMPETENCY APPEAL
May 21, 2013
A man convicted of killing eight people in the 1970s in Miami-Dade County lost an attempt to avoid the death penalty Tuesday, as a federal appeals court ruled he is mentally competent to be executed...

SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT LEADER RESIGNS
May 21, 2013
Melissa Meeker, the executive director of the South Florida Water Management District, has resigned after two years...

TEXTING BAN, WATER STANDARD BILLS SENT TO GOVERNOR
May 21, 2013
The Legislature dropped 14 bills on the governor's desk Tuesday, including a texting-while-driving ban (SB 52) and a measure (SB 1808) about water-quality standards across Florida...

AMERICA SECURITY GETS MORE TIME ON FORCE-PLACED FILING
May 21, 2013
The state has given American Security Insurance Co., a few more weeks to answer questions about its force-placed coverage for homeowners who find themselves without property insurance...

DITCH THE AMPERSAND: IT'S NOW UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA HEALTH
May 21, 2013
The health-care partnership formerly known as UF&Shands has received a new name: University of Florida Health...

NORTH, SOUTH HOUSE RACES TAKE SHAPE
May 21, 2013
With Rep. Jimmy Patronis, R-Panama City, facing term limits in 2014, a third Republican filed paperwork this week to run for the House District 6 seat, according to the state Division of Elections website...

DOZENS OF BILLS AWAIT SCOTT DECISIONS
May 21, 2013
House and Senate leaders Monday sent 34 bills to Gov. Rick Scott, who will have until June 4 to make decisions about a wide range of issues such as the Everglades and expert-witness testimony in lawsuits...

SCOTT: EXTRA HOSPITAL MONEY OK FOR 1 YEAR
May 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday approved a plan to provide $65 million to help hospitals transition to a new payment system in the Medicaid program...

DOC FACES $45M DEFICIT IN NEW YEAR
May 20, 2013
The Florida Department of Corrections will enter the 2013-14 fiscal year with a budget deficit, after lawmakers did not fully cover a shortfall from the current year, Gov. Rick Scott said in a written budget message Monday...

WEATHERFORD, GAETZ TO HIT THE ROAD
May 20, 2013
House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, will go on a two-day tour this week to highlight accomplishments during the 2013 legislative session...

SOLICITOR GENERAL NAMED TO FIRST DCA
May 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday appointed state Solicitor General Timothy Osterhaus to a seat on the 1st District Court of Appeal, which hears cases from across north Florida...

SCOTT, DETERT PLAN SIGNING FOR TEXTING WHILE DRIVING BILL
May 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott and Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, are coordinating schedules for a ceremonial signing of the long-sought texting while driving bill, a representative from the senator's office said Monday...

SUPREME COURT REJECTS FL DEATH PENALTY CHALLENGE
May 20, 2013
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case that tested the constitutionality of part of Florida's system for imposing the death penalty...

AARP GAMES A CASUALTY OF NEW LAW
May 20, 2013
A new law aimed at closing Internet cafes could have an unexpected casualty: games run by the senior-advocacy group AARP...

SCOTT GETS SIGNATURES ON MONEY-BACK PLEDGES
May 20, 2013
A number of organizations up for state funding in the budget have agreed to potential repayment terms set down by Gov. Rick Scott. Scott is expected to sign the state's $74.5 billion fiscal plan on Monday...

JAX CHAMBER NAMES STATE REP DAVIS NEXT PRESIDENT
May 17, 2013
State Rep. Daniel Davis, R-Jacksonville, who has been executive director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association since 2006, was announced Friday as the next president and CEO of the JAX Chamber...

SCOTT SET TO SIGN TAX EXEMPTION BILL
May 16, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott on Friday will sign a measure that includes a sales-tax exemption on manufacturing equipment for three years, one of his top priorities in the 2013 legislative session...