News & Updates

Governor Scott

Governor-Elect DeSantis to Appoint New Supreme Court Justices

Governor-Elect DeSantis to Appoint New Supreme Court Justices

After two recent Supreme Court decisions and with the Governor’s race now decided, the process for selecting three new Florida Supreme Court justices has become a little clearer. The justices are retiring in early January 2019 due to reaching the mandatory retirement age. Their mandated retirement coincides with the transition from current Governor Rick Scott […]

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Supreme Court Declines to Address Authority to Make Upcoming Appointments

Supreme Court Declines to Address Authority to Make Upcoming Appointments

The Florida Supreme Court dismissed a case that would have shed light on Governor Rick Scott’s ability to name three replacement justices as his term expires in January 19.  The end of three justices’ terms will coincide with Governor Scott’s expected last day in office, and of course the first day in office for his successor […]

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Florida Keeps Watchful Eye on Irma

Florida Keeps Watchful Eye on Irma

Governor Rick Scott has placed all of Florida under a state of emergency as the state continues to monitor the movement of Hurricane Irma.  The westward projections over the weekend have put much of Florida within Irma’s possible path, and the southern part of the state could see the effects by the end of this week. […]

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Atwater Selects June 30 Departure Date

Atwater Selects June 30 Departure Date

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has announced that June 30 will be his last day on the job, coinciding with the end of Florida’s fiscal year.  Atwater is leaving his CFO position to become a vice president at Florida Atlantic University. Atwater previously announced his resignation as of the end of the 2016 legislative […]

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Special Session Ends on Time

Special Session Ends on Time

The Florida legislature concluded its special session Friday afternoon as anticipated, but not without considerable speculation as to whether they would reach agreement on key budget issues. The original call of the special session indicated that the legislature would return to Tallahassee from June 7 through June 9 to adjust the state budget. The short […]

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Special Session to Focus on Budget

Special Session to Focus on Budget

The Florida legislature will convene in a special session beginning June 7, 2017, and ending June 9, 2017, to address several aspects of Florida’s budget.  The special session follows a decision by Governor Scott to veto $410 million in line item spending as well as other proposed spending from the budget passed by the legislature […]

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Governor Scott Advances Beach Restoration Following Hurricane Matthew

Governor Scott Advances Beach Restoration Following Hurricane Matthew

Under the authority of two executive orders, Governor Rick Scott is allocating approximately $15.8 million in state funds for emergency beach restoration projects in response to the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew in St. Johns, Flagler, Volusia and Brevard Counties. Hurricane Matthew caused significant beach erosion in many coastal areas.  The funding made available by Governor […]

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ORSA is Coming

ORSA is Coming

Governor Scott has signed SB 1422 into law, meaning that Florida has adopted the Own-Risk and Solvency Assessment (“ORSA”) reporting requirement. SB 1422 is now known as Chapter Law 2016-206.  A companion bill, SB 1416 (now known as Chapter Law 2016-205), provides for the confidentiality of information contained in the ORSA reports. An Own-Risk and […]

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State Keeps Eye on Erika

State Keeps Eye on Erika

Floridians received some good news Saturday morning as Erika began to dissipate.  Even so, storm paths and storm strengths can be difficult to predict, so many us will keep watching the Weather Channel this weekend. It’s hard to believe that ten years have passed since Florida saw the unprecedented series of hurricanes in 2004 and […]

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