PSC Chairwoman Nancy Argenziano wanted to serve a second term on the commission that regulate Florida’s electric and telecommunications utilities. But she wasn’t considered for re-appointment. Argenziano talks about why.

By Palm Beach County State Attorney Michael McAuliffe — Florida needs a clear, enforceablelaw that prohibits the purposeful hiding of financial interests in a matter by a public official. 

Another elected official charged with corruption. This time it’s an Orange County commissioner, Mildred Fernandez. It’s become all too common in Florida in recent years. Charlie Crist noted recently that he’s suspended 40 such tainted officeholders since becoming governor. Most of those cases involved elected officials directly lining their pockets with bribes and kickbacks in return for votes. The Fernandez case is a little different, though. She’s charged with racketeering, bribery and grand theft in raising money for her campaign for county mayor.

Gov. Charlie Crist might call the legislators back for a special session on ethics reform. The move would not be without risk for the Republican-turned-no-party candidate for U.S. Senate. GOP legislators are becoming increasingly open in their hostility toward Crist, and he has a few ethical skeletons in his own closet.

With the Legislature at the halfway point, its time to catch-up on several issues that we’ve examined at FloridaThinks. Some things that once looked hot – like oil drilling – may be fading. While other measures expected to draw more controversy – like leadership funds – are done and sitting on Gov. Charlie Crist’s desk awaiting approval. Here’s a handicapper’s guide to the session’s home stretch.

By Barbara Petersen
To paraphrase Lawton Chiles, the late governor and U.S. senator, the general premise of the Florida’s open government laws is quite simple: As citizens, we have the right to know when, how, and why our business is being conducted, and there’s little we take more seriously than how government spends our [...]

By John KennedyAssociate Editor
Disgraced former House Speaker Ray Sansom is gone, having resigned his seat on the eve of a House committee probing the deal he engineered that sent millions of dollars to a Panhandle community college that later gave him a six-figure job.
But will the Sansom case spark widespread ethics changes in a [...]

By Cheryl Forchilli
If a sports car barreling down the interstate at 120 miles an hour passes a Florida Highway Patrol officer, we expect that officer to flip on the lights, stop the speeder, and make our roads safer.
Wouldn’t the public be angry if the Legislature passed a law that forced the [...]