House Speaker Larry Cretul's decision to demote Rep. Julio Robaina over a legal-fee bill might be as much of a surprise as Robaina's vote against the legislation in the first place. Last year, Robaina voted for identical legislation on the House floor. This year, he said it was "bad pub...

As a scrum of reporters jostled for sound bites after the governor's annual address last week, House Democratic leader Franklin Sands hung back, despite an aide's suggestion that he join colleagues holding court. Earlier, the 68-year-old lawmaker had deferred to a lower-ranking colleague to ...

Miami Beach Dem Rep. Richard Steinberg's announcement that he wants to amend a spring-training baseball bill to require a citizens' vote to approve the new Florida Marlins stadium has drawn a sharp rebuke from Hialeah Republican Rep. Eddy Gonzalez. Said Gonzalez in a statement: “As sponsor...

In his crusade to end duplication of enviro permits, Republican Rep. Greg Evers of Baker got animated this morning during an exchange with Florida Association of Counties lawyer Diana Ferguson in the Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Council. "Sugar," he drawled. A quiet murmur circ...

To the uninitiated, electronic medical records would sound like a pretty dull topic. But to Umatilla Republican Rep. Alan Hayes, it could be much more sinister. He said that, if the state spent more to get more on, say, improving electronic medical records, it could get the state hooked on federal m...

House Speaker Pro Tem Larry Cretul Thursday addressed business leaders taking part in a Florida Chamber of Commerce "Grassroots Tour" in Tallahassee, displaying a dry sense of humor and a no-nonsense approach. "I'm learning a lot about myself recently -- in the paper," Cretul...

In a presentation to the House & Family Services Council, Tampa Rep. and physician Ed Homan spoke about the sorry state of healthcare in an effort to show that the problem isn't just the government - it's us. "In my clinic, I have an easy way to measure healthcare: It's with a t...

House Finance and Tax Committee chairman Dean Cannon of Winter Park has assigned his 12 committee members a homework assignment: review the 239 sales-tax exemptions (worth about $12.3b) and figure out the reasons, benefits and drawbacks of each of them. Each member has been assigned to review and pr...

The two House budget chiefs are officially on a crash course now that Miami Republican Rep. Marcelo Llorente just filed to run for the west-Dade seat Sen. Alex Villalobos leaves in 2010. Miami Republican Rep. David Rivera filed for the seat before last week's special session began. A third membe...

A few legislators looked bleary-eyed at Friday's all-day session. The five House members, all proud Gator graduates, paid to charter a jet owned by a lobbyist and flew to Miami to watch the BCS championship game won by the Gators,......