Columns by Mary Ann Hutton

Acting Secretary Meredith Ivey of Florida Department of Economic Opportunity recently stated, “Thanks to Governor DeSantis’ commitment to Florida’s future, Floridians can trust in Florida’s workforce, businesses and communities for years to come. Florida’s...

The political world is turning faster than the earth rotates on its axis. That is 1,000 miles per hour. So many issues, campaigns, rumors and just plain ole guessing going on these days. Which makes it very hard to keep up and really have a factual understanding of...

The offices and halls of the Florida Capitol and both the Senate and House wings are filled with hustle and bustle as the 2023 Florida Legislative Session begins this week. Truthfully, they have all been hard at work for months and now is the time to debate,...

Legislative Session will officially begin next Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Wanted to provide you with an update on the house appropriations project funding requests, filed for fiscal year 2023-2024 by State Representative Shane Abbott. He has been working very hard...

This legislative session is ever evolving with additional bills and funding requests being introduced daily. Last week Governor DeSantis set in motion legislation to protect Floridians digital rights and privacy. Governor DeSantis stated, “Today’s proposal builds...

Our Florida elected officials have been hard at work, in Tallahassee. Special Session 2023B convened on Monday, February 6, 2023, and they have already passed and presented 3 bills for Governor DeSantis’s consideration and signing. Governor DeSantis has until...

Governor DeSantis has presented the framework for the proposed Florida’s Freedom Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. The proposed budget totals $114.8 billion which is a $3.8 billion increase over the current $110.9 billion budget. The general revenue budget is $42.4...

The 2023 Florida Legislative Session is just around the corner. Session will officially begin on March 7, 2023 and run 60 consecutive days until May 5, 2023. Even though the start date is weeks off, our elected officials, their staff and committees are already...

What is democracy? The word democracy comes from the Greek words “demos”, meaning people, and kratos” meaning power. Merriam Webster defines democracy as “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people”. Democracy only works when its people are...

The United States has enacted the most thorough and rigorous standards for food safety. Congress enacted The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) with the goal of preventing foodborne illness. The nation’s food safety system had primarily been a system which...

At the steps of Florida’s Historic Capitol, Governor Ron DeSantis’s inaugural address focused on Florida’s achievements to improve resident’s lives and safety and to ensure Florida “remains The Free State of Florida” In his address Governor DeSantis spoke of the...

What could George Washington’s Farwell Address from 1796 and Alexander Hamilton’s, The Federalist No. 68 have in common with governance today? Both documents are over 200 years old, and they both warn Americans that foreign powers striving to influence our...

Agricultural land is a strategic resource to our Nation, Florida, and Jackson County. Maintaining controlling ownership, directly or indirectly, of our agricultural land allows us food independence and ensures our food supply chain.  The largest sector of land use...

Why is TikTok so controversial? TikTok is a social media app that allows short-form video hosting which hosts over 1 billion monthly active users. The TikTok app has been downloaded over 2.6 million times worldwide with 138 million active users here in the U.S. The...