I don't know what to say.
I am glad many of those laws do not affect me and I'm horrified for the ones who are affected.
how did this happen?
I'm not done yet...This is the scariest of them all:
http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/03/house-republicans-bring-back-a-golden-oldie-leadership-funds.htmlThe Florida Legislature voted Thursday to revive so-called “leadership funds” that will let future legislative leaders dig deeper into the pockets of industry groups and lobbyists and spend those dollars more directly on campaigns.
The bill, HB 1207, was vetoed last year by former Gov. Charlie Crist, who said Florida’s history of political corruption before the funds were outlawed in 1989 had allowed “legislative leaders to solicit and accept campaign contributions during the legislative session from lobbyists and interest groups outside the public view.”
But with breakneck speed, House and Senate leaders decided last week to revisit the issue and overturn the veto. Republicans said the change would shine more light on the gobs of money that legislative leaders have to raise presently through the state parties.
Right now, lawmakers can only raise $500 per contributor for their campaigns, but political parties don’t have the same limits.
Legislative leaders routinely are tasked with fundraising for the party, and more than one-third of the 160 lawmakers in the Legislature already have set up individual committees that can accept virtually unlimited amounts of money from lobbyists, corporations and industry groups. But state law prohibits spending those dollars directly on campaigns, so they’re used to pay for everything from meals to lawyers, consultants, mail and other political expenses.
“This is something new. This is not a revival of the past,” said House Majority Leader Carlos Lopez-Cantera, R-Miami, who accused Democratic critics of trying to live in the “shadows.”
But Democrats said it would make it easier for powerful politicians with control over the legislative agendas in Tallahassee to command giant checks from interest-groups.
