JUVENILE SENTENCING In response to a 2012 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Florida Supreme Court has ordered new sentencing hearings for four inmates who were minors when committing their crimes.The Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles who commit murders are unconstitutional. This ruling will lead to new sentencing hearings for scores of Read more about Legal Updates[…]
RPOF STAFF Incoming RPOF Chair Blaise Ingoglia announced interim staff assignments at the Republican Party of Florida. David Johnson will serve as the interim executive; Brad Herold as the deputy executive director; Sarah Bascom of Bascom Communications & Consulting, LLC, as the interim communications director and advisor in a volunteer capacity; Lyndsey Cruley, also from Bascom, Read more about Movers & Shakers[…]
SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM Leon County’s Chief Circuit Judge, Charles Francis, tossed out a lawsuit aimed at blocking the expansion of Florida’s school voucher program. The expansion allows middle income families, beginning in 2016, to receive partial vouchers and removes a requirement that students attend a public school immediately prior to receiving a voucher. After the ruling Read more about Legal Updates[…]
HEALTH CARE EXCHANGE The second enrollment period for HealthCare.gov opened on November 15th. In Florida, fourteen companies offer medical insurance plans. Thus far, approximately one-half of the enrollees are returning customers. The deadline for obtaining coverage effective January 1st was December 15th, but consumers have until February 15th to elect coverage starting at a later Read more about Issues of Interest[…]
Here is a sampling of the results of many county referendums that appeared on the ballot. ALACHUA COUNTY A protest referendum against the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision passed with 71.51% of the vote. The nonbinding proposal stipulated that corporations are not people and money is not speech. Also, voters defeated a proposed Read more about Local Referendums[…]