http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/index.html http://media.miamiherald.com/images/logos/rss_sitelogo.gif http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/index.html 140 25 News, sports and entertainment from MiamiHerald.com en-us Copyright 2009 MiamiHerald.com Legislature 60 Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:05:13 EST http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive's PubSys miamifeedback@miamiherald.com http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/844740.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/844740.html Fri, 09 Jan 2009 03:01 EST Caught running a red light? You'll pay $208. Speeding 25 mph over the limit? Get ready to cough up $258. If you pay a fine late: Tack on an extra $16. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/844567.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/844567.html Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:01 EST In the deepest of sweeping cuts to environmental programs, Florida lawmakers plan to ax the state's premier land-buying program, Florida Forever. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/843059.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/843059.html Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:40 EST The Florida Senate is considering halting the state's premier land-buying program, Florida Forever, to stave off more pressing budget cuts. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/843042.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/843042.html Thu, 08 Jan 2009 07:42 EST Florida's legislators will vote Thursday on two plans to close the state's $2.3 billion deficit by slashing programs that, some hospital officials say, could set off a statewide healthcare system crisis. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/840728.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/840728.html Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:01 EST Teachers are digging into their own pockets for school supplies. Identity-theft investigations are slowing down. And thousands of nursing-home workers are bracing for layoffs. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/839205.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/839205.html Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:01 EST House Speaker Ray Sansom reluctantly resigned a six-figure job at his hometown college Monday, succumbing to intense public criticism and questions about tens of millions in tax dollars he steered to the school. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/839178.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/839178.html Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:01 EST Florida lawmakers began a grim budget-cutting session Monday with more bad news: the state's deficit is likely $100 million bigger than expected and Florida leads the nation in food stamp requests. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/836787.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/836787.html Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:01 EST Florida legislators will start the new year in familiar fashion: by cutting aid to schools and other programs, borrowing money, skimming cash surpluses and hiking traffic and court fees to patch a $2.3 billion hole in a leaky state budget. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/832122.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/832122.html Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:01 EST House Speaker Ray Sansom has hired a well-known Tallahassee lawyer to defend him against an ethics complaint filed in connection with his taking a $110,000 job at his local college. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/832117.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/832117.html Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:01 EST The state Legislature will give the public a fleeting chance to sound off next week before making deep cuts in programs to patch a $2.3 billion budget deficit. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/829415.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/829415.html Mon, 29 Dec 2008 03:01 EST More than a year before accepting a controversial job with his hometown college, House Speaker Ray Sansom was regularly taking direction from the man who later would become his boss. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/824804.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/824804.html Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:01 EST To close a $2.3 billion budget hole, Gov. Charlie Crist asked lawmakers Tuesday to gamble a bit: Raid savings accounts and trust funds, avoid permanent spending cuts for now and hope for better times to come. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/824806.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/824806.html Wed, 24 Dec 2008 03:01 EST Gov. Charlie Crist started to quiet criticism over a Cuban-American lawyer's nomination for a Supreme Court seat by saying Tuesday that he'll consider another candidate, Judge Jorge Labarga, for the seat as well. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/823582.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/823582.html Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:32 EST Weston legislator Franklin Sands -- Democratic leader of the Florida House -- said Monday he and his wife Leslie Sands are among investment advisor Bernard Madoff's victims. He didn't specify their loss but said it's ''significant'' and that he is assessing his options for recovery. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/821328.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/821328.html Sun, 21 Dec 2008 03:01 EST By taking a six-figure job at a state college, House Speaker Ray Sansom has focused attention on a pattern of behavior that has gone on largely unchecked for decades in Florida's higher education system. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/819026.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/819026.html Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:01 EST The state's top lawyer and a local parimutuel on Thursday began pursuing a two-pronged approach to staunch the spread of the Seminole Tribe's Las Vegas-style card games, such as blackjack, which the Florida Supreme Court nullified months ago. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/819028.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/819028.html Fri, 19 Dec 2008 03:01 EST Florida lawmakers can fill a $2.3 billion budget hole by slightly trimming government spending, nearly emptying savings accounts and approving a gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, according to a draft document approved by Gov. Charlie Crist. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/817460.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/817460.html Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:01 EST Fresh from cutting up to $123 million in spending, the Miami-Dade School Board has taken its case to the state Capitol to spread the word: Don't cut classroom spending any more. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/815946.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/815946.html Wed, 17 Dec 2008 03:01 EST State regulators grilled an insurance group looking to raise workers compensation rates statewide, which could cost Florida employers $240 million more to do business in 2009. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/814535.html http://www.miamiherald.com/news/legislature/story/814535.html Tue, 16 Dec 2008 03:01 EST Big Tobacco appears more ready than ever to accept a higher tax on cigarettes that would raise Florida smokers' costs by up to $1 a pack. But there's a catch: It wants lawmakers' help in fending off a rising competitor from Opa-locka that makes dirt-cheap smokes.