Category: Ethics
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Gov. Scott had stake in pipeline firm whose $3 billion venture he and his appointees backed
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
Shortly after Gov. Rick Scott was elected, a Florida Power & Light executive on his transition team pitched the idea of building a major new natural gas pipeline. Last year, Scott signed bills to speed up permitting for the project and the Public Service Commission approved its construction. Not known at the time: Scott owned a stake in the company that will build the $3 billion pipeline. -
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16417 SEEN/
Federal judge: ‘Bullying’ by Florida JQC threatens independence of state judges
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
In unusual public criticism, a South Florida federal judge has accused the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission of “bullying” that threatens the independence of the state’s judges. -
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8734 SEEN/
In support of Gov. Askew’s legacy of open government, ex-aide challenges Florida’s blind trust law at Supreme Court
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
The former chief of staff for the late Gov. Reubin Askew filed an emergency petition at the Florida Supreme Court Wednesday challenging the legality of the state’s 2013 blind trust law. -
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9217 SEEN/
Lobbyists at water districts must register and disclose under new ethics bill
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
Lobbyists hired to influence spending and policy at Florida’s five water management districts must register and disclose their clients under ethics reforms unanimously passed by the Legislature last week. If signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, the bill would for the first time apply state lobbying regulations to some special-purpose governments that raise and spend hundreds of millions dollars every year. -
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12554 SEEN/
Gov. Scott’s blind trust deviates from U.S. model; Florida law omits federal safeguards
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
When Florida’s Commission on Ethics OK’d Gov. Rick Scott’s blind trust last September it acted after being told by the governor’s lawyers that it was “modeled on the blind trust of the federal Office of Government Ethics.” But the governor’s blind trust – packed with more than $70 million in Scott’s stocks, bonds and other financial assets – deviates substantially from the federal model. -
Gov. Scott chose a familiar face to manage his $72 million blind trust
By Dan Christensen
BrowardBulldog.org
Most Floridians have never heard of Alan Lee Bazaar. Yet as chief executive of the New York investment advisory firm that serves as trustee of Gov. Rick Scott’s blind trust, Bazaar is the keeper of an important public trust for Florida’s citizens.
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