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Visit Florida CEO will Seccombe says he has been pushing rap artist Pit Bull to release the details of a contract with the agency for more than a year. The contract for the Sexy beach promotion by Pit Bull has resulted in the Speaker of the House suing the rapper over a confidentiality clause in the contract. Seccombe says he’s hopeful the suit will soon be moot.

“I can’t really comment on the contract” says Seccombe, “but I am very hopeful that Pit Bull and his team will release the details of the deal because it would be a very good thing for the state of Florida and it will really highlight what a great deal the state of Florida got in the Pit Bull program last year.”

Because of the controversy, Visit Florida says it will never enter another agreement with a confidentiality clause.

For the second year in a row, Second amendment advocates in the state legislature are trying try to override a Supreme Court decision they say turned the states Stand Your Ground law upside down. But opponents say the change would stack the deck against justice.

Florida’s stand your ground statute says police can’t arrest someone who claims they feared for their life or that of others unless an investigation finds the use of force was illegal. But since a 2015 Supreme Court of Florida ruling, courts have required a hearing in which a defendant has the burden to prove force was necessary. State Senator Rob Bradley thinks that’s upside down.

“Most Floridians understand intuitively that the Government has the burden of proof throughout a prosecution. So what this bill does is to insure that the Government has the burden of proof, not just at trial but the immunity hearing as well” says Bradley.

The move is opposed by Prosecutors, Dennis Baxley passed Stand Your Ground in 2005 as a House member.

“We did this for the law abiding citizens. We didn’t do it for the prosecutors” says Baxley, who was elected to the state Senate in November.

On the other side, State Senator Gary Farmer would like to see Stand Your Ground go away…completely..

“This sort of cowboy mentality of shoot first and claim it was justified later, I don’t think that’s the best policy for our state” Farmer told us.

And Audrey Gibson from Jacksonville says prosecutors should forget the hearing and just charge someone.

We get to justice quicker if we go to charging and build the case from there’ says Gibson.

Among the slew of gun bills being proposed this year, many believe the stand your ground changes have the best chance of passing.

The legislation passed the Senate last year, but not the House.

A call to the State Prosecutors Association for comment on this story was not returned.

Businesses fearing a hike in the cost of workers compensation in Florida after a Supreme Court decision that threw out limits on attorneys fees made their case at the state capitol today. So did lawyers who say Florida is one of only 9 states that does not set rates based on competition. Tampa lawyer Christopher Smith told the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee that in the state, workers comp is the only one of 37 lines of business that has no competition.

“Unfortunately, in Florida, despite that the rates are high. Higher than the national average, only 48.5% of the premium dollar goes out in the form of benefits to injured workers. So where does the rest of the money go? we would submit that it goes to profits and expenses that are not being reigned in through the competitive rate making process” says Smith.

Lawmakers expect the workers comp issue will be the most heavily lobbied issue for business in the spring legislative session.

Music icon Bob Dylan won a Pulitzer this year for his impact on music and culture, penning lyrics about marijuana and getting high. Now, attitudes about marijuana are changing in the state Capitol decades after Dylan started signing protest songs.

7 of every ten voters said yes to medical marijuana last month.The power was quickly recognized at the state capitol.

“So a lot of Marijuana? 800 pounds?

“Yes Sir” is what Governor Rick Scott asked of a convicted pot smuggler at a recent clemency hearing.

The states executive clemency board recently restored the rights of three convicted pot smugglers.

“It looks like you’’ve done fine since. I move to I move to grant restoration of civil rights” are the words Stephen Beck has been waiting to hear.

Largo marina operator Joseph Brenna did a lot of time.

“I ended up with an eleven year jail sentence” he told the board

and Robert French got caught in the middle of a DEA sting.

“I knew better, but I did it.”

Q:”A lot apparently”

“Right, a lot” he said afterwards

Each can now vote,even run for office. Dwight Ferguson wasn’t so lucky. He wasn’t smuggling pot, but exotic pythons.

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam wasn’t happy. “Everyone has the sense that this is an inconsequential crime util we have to spend millions of dollars mitigating the environmental harm that comes from these things” Putnam told the clemency seeker.

Attorney General Pam Bondi was also displeased.“I have a problem with this. I have a big problem.”

Rick Scott took the case under advisement, which means there was no decision one way or the other.

Jeff Sharkey of the Florida Marijuana Business Association sees a sea change in attitudes.

“The reefer madness rhetoric is gone.  71 percent of the people voted on it, so I think people are taking  a much more practical pragmatic approach to people who have used it.” says Sharkey.
And now,lawmakers are saying the penalties for non violent offenders need to be reviewed.
So as Bob Dylan once sang, “the times they are a changing”.

Newly installed Senate President Joe Negron met with the Chairs of every Senate committee this afternoon. Negron told the men and women who will control committee meeting that he wanted them to pay attention to what the public was saying in the meetings, suggesting that has not always been the case.

“I view public testimony at committee hearings to be an integral part of the process, not an afterthought that we just do before we take a vote, or some kind of formality to be disposed of as a procedural matter. I think public testimony is equally important,and in many cases, more important than some of the others things that will be occurring in a vote” Negron said to his committee chairs.

Two years ago, Negron passed legislation that allowed citizens to speak at public meetings, Until the law passed, citizens had a right to attend but not speak.

A judge in the state capitol has spent all day listening to arguments that he should grant bail for a woman accused of being the arranger in a murder for hire. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, the defense says the case comes down to a bad guy getting leniency for lying.

Katie Magbanua is the alleged go between in the murder for hire plot of an FSU law professor. Dan Markel was killed in 2014. She is the mother of the alleged triggerman’s children and a one time girlfriend of the slain law professors brother in law. Her lawyer, Chris DeCoste says prosecutors need to keep her in custody to convince her to help.

“They want her to lie. No cooperate. They want her to lie” he told the judge.

But prosecutors contend a large influx of cash, breast enhancements, and a Lexus sold far below market value were part of the payoff to Magbanua.

Tallahassee Police Investigator Chris Isom told the court Magbanua deposited more than 44 thousand in cash following the murder.

“This is cash and this shows the spike in August 2014, immediately after the homicide” says ISom.

Prosecutors told the court they recovered a gun. they did not say it was the murder weapon.

Defense attorneys spent much of their time trying to undermine the testimony of a third defendant…Luis Rivera.

“This case rests on the shoulders of Luis Rivera, wouldn’t you agree?” asked DeCoste

“No.” resounded Isom.

Prosecutors played a handful of taped phone conversations between Magbanua and former brother in law charlie adelson. In one, he is encouraging her to leave the country.

“To live in that country, you are rich as (expletive) and you ar not working”

Lead Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman says flight is a very real possibility.

“Is that a fear if she gets bond?”

“That is a fear. we are very concerned about  her fleeing and the possibility she could flee” says Cappleman.

The first degree murder trial is set for late February.

The third defendant, Luis Rivera, plead guilty and is cooperating. He is serving 19 years for his role in providing the gun used in the murder.

Now that amendment 2 passed and expanded medical marijuana will be allowed in the state, how will law enforcement handle it? Matt Galka spoke with the Florida Sheriff’s association, a group that didn’t back the measure.

Florida voters spoke loud and clear on medical marijuana when the approved it with 71 percent of the vote.

But Florida Sheriff’s weren’t among the many singing the drug’s praises. The Florida Sheriff’s Association opposed Amendment 2 both in 2014 and this year.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings is also the president of the FSA.  Now that Amendment 2 has passed, law enforcement still has their concerns and hope the legislature hears them.

“We want to make certain that as the rules are put in place that the packaging of the different products marijuana byproducts for medical purposes look like medicine so that if it falls in the hands of unsuspecting individuals, children that it doesn’t look like it’s something that it’s not,” he said.

And supporters agree that law enforcement should have a seat at the table while Amendment 2 is implemented.

Medical Marijuana Business Association founders Jeff Sharkey and Taylor Biehl believe the sheriff’s voice will be heard

“Absolutely, public safety, educators need to have involvement, substance abuse and training folks need to be involved, and I think that conversations been going on and I think it will continue,” said Sharkey.

And lawmakers aren’t waiting around. A Florida Senate committee will hold their first workshop on Amendment 2 implementation next week.

Recent studies indicate that medical marijuana sales in Florida could top the one billion dollar mark in the next three years.

The death penalty is still in limbo here in Florida, and as Matt Galka tells us, it could remain that way for some time and ultimately be up to the high court.

Florida’s legislature thought they’d be fixing death penalty sentencing problems earlier in 2016. Instead, they may have to try again.

“The most single biggest issue is going to be the death penalty,” said Rep. Chris Sprowls (R-Clearwater).

Sprowls will lead the House Judiciary Committee this upcoming legislative session.  They’ll have to tackle an October ruling from the Florida Supreme Court again calling for unanimous juries when recommending the death penalty.

The ruling came after the legislature changed Florida’s laws to require 10 out of 12 jurors to recommend death.

“Part of us is looking at what the U.S Supreme Court is going to do, but as we roll into committee weeks and into the session, obviously it’s an issue that’s hanging over us and one we’ll have to look at,” said Rep. Sprowls.

And Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says she’ll be appealing the October ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The move by Florida’s supreme court leaves the door open for new sentencing trials for some inmates on Death Row.

“We’re waiting on clarification, I don’t want to comment on that yet. The opinion was not…not vague, it left many questions for us as to what to do next, and we just want to do it the right way,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The legislature could choose to do nothing at all and wait until the legal challenge plays out.

80 convicted criminals asked for mercy today at the state capitol. It happens four times a year, and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, many believe the system is inefficient and not working.

Florida is one of just 9 states that require action by the Governor to restore the civil rights of convicted felons.

“Speeding on a county road, no registration certificate, no proof of insurance, speeding, speeding” read Rick Scott, who has access to confidential information.

It’s seldom easy.

“He doesn’t care about the law” said Scott to one lawyer.

Robert French got bused 30 years ago smuggling pot. He told the panel “I take full responsibility for everything I’ve done.”

French got his rights back, in part because he brought the sheriff elect of Franklin County to speak for him.

“I should support people who have made mistakes but now are doing the right thing. That’s what I want to do because a lot of people make mistakes but it doesn’t man they are bad people” said the Sheriff elect.

The board meets just four times a year., and there were only 80 cases on the agenda.

It wasn’t always this way.  In 2011, The current board reversed a policy started four years earlier that automatically restored the rights of non violent felons. Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed the change.

“If you committed a felony, especially any type of violent felony, you should ask. You should have to ask to have your civil rights restored” said Bondi, who added she stands by the change.

UPDATE: The AttorneyGeneral says the Clemency Board  handles hundreds of more cases each month, but they are decided without a hearing, saying that once the Governor signs off on a restoration of rights, other members also consider the cases

Now voters may change the policy. The Supreme Court is set to review a proposed initiative restoring rights when a sentence is completed.

Melissa Beth Ann-Miller got her rights back the hard way, but she wants to see a change.

“Being a second class citizen is indescribable to those haven’t been disenfranchised” the Tampa resident told us.

An estimated 1.5 million people could get their rights back if the initiative were to pass.

While 80 cases were on the agenda today, fewer than half got their rights restored. At the same time, an average of 95 people a day are released from state prison. Rules require a felon to wait at least five years to apply to regain their rights.

Problems continue for the state’s troubled prison system, as Matt Galka tells us, a surprise visit from a Florida lawmaker uncovered more problems.

Representative David Richardson (D-Miami) has been known to pop in on prisons.  But he wasn’t ready for what he saw when he showed up to Columbia Correctional Institution in late November.

“”This is the worst that I have seen…I saw two toilets that weren’t working properly. One of them, apparently, took about 20 flushes to get the water to go down, and so I asked the inmate how long it had been like that, he and his Bunkie told me it had been that way for about two weeks,” he said.

Richardson spent the better part of last year visiting facilities all over the state.

And even if the problems might sound small – they can grow into dangerous situations. Now the hope is that there can be some fixes legislatively.

Representative Chris Sprowls (R-Clearwater) chairs the House judiciary committee and he knows the Department of Corrections budget will be a big issues.

“It’s too early, it’s too early to say, obviously everytime you look at a budget item, whether it’s something as important as department of corrections, or healthcare, or education, we have to look at global needs and find out where the resources need to go first,” he said.

Overrun corrections officers have had to quell six riots at prisons this year.

Statement from DOC:

Ensuring that all inmates are living in safe, humane and protected environments is a top priority of the Department. Building repairs and maintenance issues are addressed by priority as our facilities staff triage repair requests within each of the Florida’s 49 major institutions. FDC leadership worked to immediately address Representative Richardson’s concerns during his visit to Columbia Correctional Institution and scheduled a follow up visit for this week.

Both the Governor and the Legislature have provided support and significant funding in recent years and we welcome our Legislative partners’ additional input and support as we work to address infrastructure needs at our prisons.

Attorney General Pam Bondi added fuel to speculation that she is bound for the Trump administration, but as Mike Vasilinda tells us, Governor Rick Scott is hoping she will stay.

Attorney General Pam Bondi spent two hours in Trump Tower on Friday. Afterwards, she said three times she is the Attorney General. “Right Now.” Right now I’m the Attorney General of Florida.” I’m AG of Florida right now” when asked about job prospects.

Bondi was back in the state Capitol Tuesday. She dodged the question of a job offer once again.

“Frankly, I don;t think anyone should come out of those meetings and talk about anything that was said in those meetings” says Bondi.

Speculation has Bondi becoming the next drug czar. And the Attorney General would not commit to finishing out the remaining two years of her term.

“I knew you were going to be asking that question today and I’m not prepared to answer anything. I’m not going to confirm or deny anything right now” leaving little doubt she has been offered a job.

The Governor told us he’s not yet developed a short list to replace the Attorney General.

“Look, I have, what, 29 hundred appointments to boards and commissions.  So I focus on the things that are infant of me. I’m hoping that Attorney General Pam Bondi stays” says Rick Scott.

Bondi was the only Republican elected statewide to miss last weeks legislative swearing in. We asked if her duties on the Trump Transition team were taking most of her time.

“I hope not. I’ve been busy more with National Attorneys General than anything, fighting this war on drugs. I was in DC with them and then in Ft. Lauderdale as well” which only bolsters her anti drug credentials.

And while Scott may not have a short list of potential replacements, Others do. The list includes former Scott Job Czar Jesse Panuccio.

The Constitution allows the Governor to fill unexpired terms until the next election. No Senate confirmation is necessary. Bondi and anyone who would be appointed to the job are second in line of succession if something were to happen to the Governor.

After allowing more than 70 million gallons to go into Tampa Bay during Hurricane Hermine, the City of St. Petersburg and the State Department of Environmental Protection are negotiating a consent order. The order would require the city to spend upwards of eight hundred thousand dollars to improve sewer facilities. DEP Secretary Jon Stevenson says the order should work for both sides.

“They have the ability. I don;t want them to just stroke the department a check. I want them to actually fix the issues at hand, and they have the ability instead of one government paying another government, they have the ability to put back in their infrastructure and improve that overall” says Steverson.

Q:”This is not something they would do on their own, you assume?”

“I don’t know that, but I know we have a consent order now and we’re going to make sure they do that in a timely manner.”

A twenty year plus veteran of the Highway Patrol was honored this morning as the Trooper of the Year. Lt. Channing Taylor was on his way home on a Sunday night. He stopped to gas his car, noticed a car without headlights pull into the station, and wen to caution the driver as a courtesy. When the driver couldn’t produce an ID, Taylor ran the tag on the car and was hit as the passenger began firing. Taylor retuned three shots, killing the passenger.

“Law enforcement is a thankless occupation and it always has been. We don’t go into it because we want the recognition and the rewards and money and stuff. There’s no money in our job. Unfortunately. we do it because we want to help people and there’s a lot of other occupations that are the same way, and they don’t get shot at” says taylor.

Q:”How do you feel having a target on your back these days” we asked.

“It makes me nervous. It makes think twice. I make some enjoy the minutes I do have on the face of the earth and in Florida. I wouldn’t trade it for anything” responded taylor.

The Trooper fired just three shots because he was worried about other in the station.

The woman charged in the murder for hire of an FSU law professor made her first court appearance today after being indicted on first degree murder charges last week. The court set a February 27th trial date for Katie MagBanua (Mag-Bon-A-Wah). She is accused of setting up the hit and being the go between the father of her children, who is accused of pulling the trigger, and the family of the professors ex wife. She has plead not guilty and the family has denied any involvement.

An election recount, in Florida, again?! As Matt Galka tells us, not likely, but some are pushing for it.

Donald Trump won Florida by more than 100 thousand votes.  The results were certified. Still, not everyone’s happy.

Three voters filed a lawsuit challenging the results in the Leon County courthouse this week.  They want a recount due to what they claim were irregularities in this year’s election.

But the idea isn’t gaining much steam around Tallahassee.

“Our elections already been certified, Donald Trump is going to be our next president,” said Gov. Rick Scott (R-Florida).

Even Democrats aren’t exactly thrilled. Strategist Steve Schale says energy could be better spent elsewhere.

“This is a waste of money chasing a tinfoil conspiracy and that money would be better spent organizing voters, registering voters, doing research and getting ready for 2018,” said Schale.

The court has ten days to respond to the filing.

Barry Richard knows a thing or two about recounts.  He represented former President George W. Bush during the 2000 recount.

“In 2000 it all came down to one state, and that was the first time since 1876 that we had an election that was that close, in this case Clinton would have to get the election overturned in multiple states, and in each one of those states the difference is substantially larger than it was Florida in 2000,” he said.

In short.

“It’s not gonna happen,” said Richard.

The clock is also ticking – the electoral college meets December 19^th. The lawsuit calls for a hand recount of every paper ballot in Florida.