House and Senate leaders have declared a special legislative session in early January to plug an expected $2.3-billion hole in the state budget. ...more

December 15, 2008

Democratic lawmakers want to raise the cigarette tax, and some Republicans are warming to the idea. Gov. Charlie Crist says he hasn't. ...more

December 11, 2008

The family of former Gov. Lawton Chiles said they will sue state leaders if they decide to raid the Lawton Chiles Endowment Fund for children and seniors in an attempt to balance the budget. ...more

December 7, 2008

PLANT CITY The Hillsborough County legislative delegation will hear public testimony this morning on a bill designed to crack down on predatory towing companies. The legislation would give Hillsborough's Public Transportation Commission enforcement powers over towing companies that target cars on private business property without the owner's written permission. ...more

December 2, 2008

Every year, city and county government officials and civic groups make pitches to Hillsborough County's state legislators for money. They come with requests for road, water and redevelopment projects, and seeking state tax dollars for local issues. ...more

November 28, 2008

There is no denying that Florida has a gang problem. In the Tampa Bay area, there are approximately 120 gangs with more than 3,200 members operating within the region. ...more

May 7, 2008

Faster payments of undisputed claims and an extension of the freeze on rates paid by customers of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. are among the mandates contained in a property insurance deal between House and Senate Republicans. ...more

May 2, 2008

State senators, who grilled Allstate executives under oath at a Capitol hearing last week, on Thursday requested a slew of documents relating to how the insurer sets its homeowners' rates. ...more

February 14, 2008

An unprecedented peek behind the curtain at how homeowners insurance rates are set in Florida has given state lawmakers plenty of ideas to take to bill-drafters in advance of this spring's annual legislative session. ...more

February 6, 2008

In his order barring Allstate from writing additional policies in Florida, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty included the remarks of state Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, from Tuesday's aborted hearing on the insurer's rate-setting policies. ...more

January 18, 2008