Florida's Latest News

John Snyder, Kevin Steele to steer new information tech-focused panel prioritized by House Speaker

Republicans John Snyder and Kevin Steele, two House members with backgrounds in tech entrepreneurship, will have a strong hand in guiding Florida’s future investments in information technology (IT), a major focus of House Speaker Daniel Perez.

Perez just named Snyder and Steele as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the chamber’s new Information Technology Budget and Policy Subcommittee. They’ll lead a diverse group of 16 fellow lawmakers in hearing from and dictating in-state strategies for the IT industry, including how and where to spend state dollars in the fast-growing market.

Both are suitable choices. Snyder, a Stuart-based U.S. Marine Corps veteran, owns and operates ESI Works, a tech-reliant recruitment and payroll company that specializes in health care and education staffing.

Steele, meanwhile, is the founder and principal of DataLink, a health care technology company offering clients real-time data aggregation, electronic health record connectivity, and dynamic dashboards and reporting.

Alex Andrade named House Health Care Budget Chief

House Speaker Daniel Perez and Budget Chief Lawrence McClure are turning to Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade to oversee the largest silo of the state budget.

In a Tuesday announcement, Perez named the Chairs and Vice Chairs for the chamber’s various subcommittees and released the full list of committee assignments for all members.

Andrade landed the top spot on the Health Care Budget Subcommittee, with the Vice Chair slot going to Rep. Karen Gonzalez Pittman.

While not the primary focus of his legislative career, Andrade has served on health care policy committees throughout his tenure, which began during the Speakership of José Oliva, whose prime directive was disrupting the status quo in Florida’s health care system.

During that term, Andrade sat on the Health Market Reform Subcommittee followed by a stint on the Professions & Public Health Subcommittee during the 2020-22 term.

Pinellas vote means the Rays' return to St. Petersburg is still in play

The Tampa Bay Rays may yet play in St. Petersburg once again. That's because Pinellas County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to help pay for a new baseball stadium. 

The 5-2 vote came after two commissioners flipped their earlier opposition to the deal. Dave Eggers said the county has an obligation to uphold the deal that was signed over the summer to help build a replacement for Tropicana Field. 

Eggers said he did so reluctantly. 

“I suspect that the deal — they'll want to change the deal,” Eggers said of the Rays' leadership. “And when the deal wants to be changed, all bets are off because the deal that was approved back in July, I honestly feel there's some responsibility we have to honor that.” 

Commissioner Chris Latvala said he changed his mind because of the possibility that the team could still redevelop the Tropicana Field site without building a new stadium — if the bonds were not forthcoming. 

State approves the protection of 85,000-plus acres of working Florida farms and ranches

Land and conservation easements worth $318 million and designed to protect more than 85,000 acres of Florida’s most important wildlife habitats and rural ranchlands were approved for purchase by the state Cabinet Tuesday.

Many of the proposed easements are part of the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

The purchased conservation lands cover 134 square miles, or 2.5 times the size of the City of Miami, and constitute the largest increment of conservation land and easement purchases ever proposed on a single Cabinet agenda. House and Senate leaders in the Florida Legislature included strategic appropriations for conservation land acquisitions and easements in Florida's budget—an important investment in Florida's economy, ecology, and quality of life.

Purchases were made under the Florida Forever program including five land ownerships and two proposed conservation easements totaling 23,113 acres. Tracts protected range in size from 113 acres to more than 12,000 acres. Counties where conservation land and easements will be purchased under the Florida Forever Program are: Bay, Duval, Polk, Volusia, Walton and Santa Rosa counties.