Don Gaetz

TALLAHASSEE — A couple of Florida non-profits released a research report Tuesday suggesting the public-private arm of Florida's economic development effort, Orlando-based Enterprise Florida, is a “pay-to-play” operation that gives...

The big topic in the Florida Legislature's upcoming session this year: ethics. Please, please! Stop the hysterical laughter! Quit rolling on the floor! It's unseemly for a grownup! Florida, once considered among the most accessible of states when it...

By David Royse, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Up to two Major League Soccer franchises would be eligible for subsidies given to other pro sports teams in Florida under a bill filed in the Legislature, a nod to Orlando's bid to bring an...

TALLAHASSEE — Two Democratic lawmakers plan to push bills to force the state to provide more data on its use of economic incentives to entice companies to add jobs or re-locate in the Sunshine State. Rep. José Javier Rodríguez, D-Miami, filed HB 563...

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Rick Scott didn't become a titan in the health-care industry by staying on the wrong slope of the learning curve. And what a transformation two years has made to the one-time tea-partyer. The Scott of 2011 rode into...

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Rick Scott's jobs team is going before House and Senate economic-development budget committees Wednesday to defend how it's spent tax-dollars, arguing its use of hundreds of millions of dollars  in tax-incentives has helped lead...

In local public-affairs programming this weekend: Guns in schools will be the topic on “Central Florida Spotlight” at 12:30 p.m. Saturday on WFTV-Channel 9. Moderator Greg Warmoth's guests include Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Orange...

TALLAHASSEE – Trying to clamp down on rampant perceived excesses of power, a Florida Senate committee on Tuesday began fast-tracking the most sweeping ethics reform proposal the state has witnessed in decades. If passed by the full Legislature...

TALLAHASSEE — A Florida Senate panel is fast-tracking a sweeping ethics proposal that would crack down on politicians' lavish lobbyist-funded living, their revolving-door jobs and even their paychecks in cases when they don't pay ethics fines. The...

TALLAHASSEE — Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said last week he wanted to curb the “fillet Mignon lifestyle” some lawmakers are living courtesy of political funds called “committees of continuous existence” that ...

TALLAHASSEE – Florida policymakers are facing a multibillion-dollar dice-roll over whether to capitulate to President Barack Obama and dramatically swell the size of the Medicaid health-care program. But they'll be in a unique position this...

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...