Five of today’s top Florida political stories at your fingertips:
Bill shifts ‘stand your ground’ proof to prosecution – A key supporter of Florida’s “stand your ground” law filed a bill Tuesday that would shift a burden of proof to the state in cases in which people argue they used force in self-defense. The bill (HB 169), filed by Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, came about two months after the Florida Supreme Court ruled that people who use “stand your ground” defenses have the burden of showing they should be shielded from prosecution. In such cases, pre-trial evidentiary hearings are held to determine whether defendants are immune from prosecution under the law. Read more
Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos bringing space company to Florida to build rockets – Blue Origin, the aerospace effort of technology entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, will build a $200 million manufacturing facility just south of Kennedy Space Center that will employ about 330 people in exchange for state and local incentives. With Gov. Rick Scott on hand Tuesday, Bezos, who founded the online marketplace Amazon.com and is ranked among the world’s wealthiest people, announced his project that also will use a Space Florida launch pad at Cape Canaveral. Read more
Rubio’s crack at Florida State stirs up rivalry – University of Florida fan Marco Rubio says his comment that Florida State University is for “people that can’t get into Florida” was just “college football trash talk.” … Florida State University President John Thrasher, a longtime ally of Rubio’s rival Jeb Bush, fired back. Read more
Related: Marco Rubio ripped Florida State, fired up FSU Twitter
Court gets 7 proposed Florida congressional district maps as Democrats weigh in – Legislators and the challengers to Florida’s congressional districts submitted seven maps Tuesday to a Tallahassee judge who must decide whether to accept modifications made to South Florida and Hillsborough County districts and whether any of the plans were drawn to protect partisans or incumbents. Read more
Creaky bureaucracy has lengthy budget wish lists for Gov. Scott – The Florida Lottery wants to offer cash bonuses to its sales staff. The Department of Environmental Protection needs to replace trucks that are unsafe to drive. The Department of Corrections wants new software to find archived emails faster to “prepare for lawsuits and investigations.” These are among hundreds of requests by state agencies to Gov. Rick Scott. Read more
ICYMI: Little boy’s kindness brings big, burly cop to near tears at Dunkin Donuts
For more Florida political news, visit BPR’s FLORIDA NEWS page
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