By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Laurel M. Lee was named Monday by Gov. Ron DeSantis as Florida secretary of state, replacing Mike Ertel, who abruptly resigned last week after the release of photos showing him wearing blackface more than a decade ago. Lee, whose duties will […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — State ethics officials have found probable cause that former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, who narrowly lost the governor’s race last year and continues to draw national political attention, violated Florida ethics laws by accepting gifts from lobbyists. The Florida Commission on Ethics isn’t expected to […]
By The News Service of Florida After leaving office this month, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is joining the Ballard Partners lobbying firm. Bondi, who was term-limited after eight years as attorney general, will lead a national regulatory-compliance practice aimed at Fortune 500 companies, a release from Ballard Partners said. Bondi was long rumored […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — After spearheading efforts to pass a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana, Orlando attorney John Morgan said Tuesday he is moving ahead with a ballot drive aimed at gradually raising Florida’s minimum wage to $15 an hour. Morgan said a group he leads […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — In the final step in reshaping the Florida Supreme Court, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday named Carlos Muniz, general counsel at the U.S. Department of Education, as his third selection to the state’s highest court. The appointment of Muniz, 49, who served as chief of […]
By Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Saying the county conducted its last election like the “Keystone Cops,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday suspended Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher. In his executive order, DeSantis cited a litany of problems with Bucher’s office, such as failing to complete a machine recount […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday rescinded 46 of the last-minute appointments former Gov. Rick Scott, now a member of the U.S. Senate, made in his final days in office. The selections to various boards yanked by DeSantis Friday required Senate confirmation. Among the names pulled […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Saying they failed to heed the will of voters, Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Florida lawmakers Thursday to eliminate a ban on smokable medical marijuana and, if they don’t comply, threatened to drop the state’s appeal of a court ruling that found the prohibition ran afoul […]
By The News Service of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday appointed appellate Judge Robert J. Luck to the Florida Supreme Court, filling the second of three vacancies on the high court. Luck has served on the 3rd District Court of Appeal since March 2017 and previously was a Miami-Dade County circuit judge. DeSantis last […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — In one of his first acts after taking office, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday made a historic appointment to the Florida Supreme Court, naming appellate Judge Barbara Lagoa as the high court’s first Cuban-American female justice. DeSantis’ selection of Lagoa, the daughter of Cuban émigrés, […]