Don Gaetz

So, how does Florida commemorate the anniversary of the tragic shooting death of Trayvon Martin, whose death following a confrontation with an armed and overzealous neighborhood watch volunteer prompted national outrage over one of our more...

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...

In local public-affairs programming this weekend: “Political Connections” previews the Florida Legislative Session at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday on Central Florida News 13. The guests are Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville; House Speaker ...

Uh-oh, hide the kids and grandma. The Florida Legislature is set to begin its annual 60-day session. The state House and Senate convene Tuesday in Tallahassee. The only thing legislators are required to do is pass a balanced state budget. But our...

Democrats in the Florida Legislature say there looks to be little they can do to stop the “parent trigger” bill this year, The Miami Herald reported yesterday. The bill was pushed by Republicans last year but was narrowly defeated in the...

TALLAHASSEE — Senate President Don Gaetz said Thursday he isn't sold on a campaign-finance reform rocketing through the Florida House that would raise contribution limits for candidates to $10,000 in exchange for quicker disclosure of those...

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott promised on the campaign trail that he would build "world-class universities" as part of his plan to jump-start the state's stagnant economy and bring new jobs to the Sunshine State. He pledged higher levels of state...

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott was following a well-read playbook when he campaigned in 2010 to kick-start the economy in part with deep property-tax cuts. It just didn't come off as scripted. Capping out-of-control property-tax spikes was once a...

One of Gov. Rick Scott's central selling points to economically rattled voters in 2010 was his direct line to Corporate America. He promised to cut corporate taxes, make Florida's business climate the best in the country and promote the turnaround in...

TALLAHASSEE — A sweeping ethics reform that cracks down on political slush funds, revolving-door lobbying, and Florida's weak ethics enforcement unanimously cleared its last Senate committee stop Tuesday. Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, has...

UPDATE: The post now includes Democratic lawmakers criticism of the bill. A bill filed today looks likely to revise last year's contentious “parent trigger” debate as it proposes to let parents at a struggling school help decide the future...

Since ushered in by a new law nearly two years ago, Florida's new teacher evaluations have prompted lots of complaints, worries and arguments. Recently, even Gov. Rick Scott and Republican lawmakers — who signed and voted for the law — have...