Even conservative lawmakers are talking these days about making tax changes that could expand Florida's shrinking coffers. ...more

February 15, 2009

It's no surprise that Ray Sansom stepped down as Florida speaker of the House. Under criminal and ethical investigations, Sansom had become a liability to his Republican colleagues, who wanted him out of the limelight pronto. ...more

January 31, 2009

Gov. Charlie Crist is wise to be suspicious of the Legislature's plan to suspend Florida Forever funding this year. This looks to be not the temporary measure backers claim, but an effort to kill the state's highly successful land acquisition program altogether. ...more

January 27, 2009

Gov. Charlie Crist may override the Legislature's decision to suspend the $300 million Florida Forever land conservation program, even as lawmakers prepare to make further state budget cuts this spring. ...more

January 23, 2009

Florida House Speaker Ray Sansom said Gov. Charlie Crist should suggest ways to offset any items he vetoes in a deficit-elimination package when he submits his recommendations for the next state budget. ...more

January 22, 2009

A task force looking to return Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to its original status as an insurance company of last resort recommended Thursday that lawmakers increase homeowner rates by as much as 20 percent. ...more

January 22, 2009

The Florida Legislature returned to Tallahassee last week to make the budgetary reductions necessary to meet our state's constitutional requirement for a balanced budget. ...more

January 13, 2009

State lawmakers face a daunting task in cutting $1 billion from the state budget in the next 10 days, but it's a task they largely put on themselves. ...more

January 8, 2009

Funding for a pro-abstinence, anti-abortion program would disappear under a plan advancing in the Senate. ...more

January 7, 2009

Funding for a pro-abstinence, anti-abortion program would disappear under a plan advancing in the Senate. Nan Rich, vice-chairwoman of the Senate Health Appropriations panel, is pushing to eliminate all $600,000 remaining in this year's budget for an abstinence-only education and crisis pregnancy program that counsels women about abortion alternatives. ...more

January 6, 2009