Mike Haridopolos

TALLAHASSEE – A week after delaying a vote, a House committee advanced an ethics reform on Tuesday that would make it harder for ex-lawmakers to score high-paying jobs thanks to their political contacts. The House State Affairs Committee OK'd the...

OVIEDO — Jim Greer loved to throw parties at his big, fancy home here, and he did it often. Sometimes he would literally roll out a red carpet. Guests arrived in tuxedos. Later, in the backyard, in front of a rock band, Greer would grab a microphone...

TALLAHASSEE – Less than three weeks into the 60-day session, House and Senate lawmakers are both advancing ethics changes designed to hold politicians to higher standards of conduct while they’re in office and after they’ve left. But...

TALLAHASSEE – You have to forgive Florida's reform-minded lawmakers if they don't want to preclude all their current colleagues from cashing in as lobbyists. This week, the Senate amended its sweeping ethics reform bill (SB 2) to allow current...

TALLAHASSEE — Add one more former legislator to the ranks of the lobbying corps. Former Senate President Mike Haridopolos is now lobbying for a rail company called Railex LLC that has ties to rail giant CSX. He's also gone to work for a gambling...

Over two days, we revealed this year's list of “The 25 Most Powerful People in Central Florida” — as chosen by a panel of leaders from the business, nonprofit and political communities. Below is the full list of 25 - with nutshell...

A Vero Beach retiree who lodged ethics complaints against more than 40 state representatives, including our own state Rep. Joe Gibbons, got no satisfaction. The Florida Commission on ethics cleared Gibbons of breaking any rules about his financial...

TALLAHASSEE — Policyholders of Florida, an insurance consumer advocacy group, has graded the state's lawmakers based on how often they supported property owners during the past year. In the Florida Senate, seven lawmakers — Mike Fasano, R- New...

TALLAHASSEE — You might expect critics of Colorado's controversial government revenue cap, known as the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, to make appearances in Florida where a similar constitutional measure is on the Nov. 6 ballot. But much of the financial...

TALLAHASSEE – There's an obvious reason why Florida politicos spend so much time talking about the cleansing effect of transparency without ever hopping in the tub. Whether in war, business or politics, informational advantages are powerful forces...

TALLAHASSEE – Cockroaches have a survival instinct to scurry from the light. And so do some of Florida’s highest-paid elections lawyers and consultants, who have done their darnedest this year to cover up the financing behind their advertising...

By Brandon Larabee, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Senators looking into the state's efforts to make budget information available online are expressing skepticism about Transparency 2.0, a site developed under a $5.5 million no-bid...