The Miami Herald has picked up BrowardBulldog.org’s investigation of lobbyists operating in the shadows of Florida government. The in-depth report found broad loopholes in otherwise tough requirements for lobbyist disclosure and registration in Florida.
(An excerpt): .. Florida’s independent special districts are a separate class of government — a hodgepodge of obscure taxing and other authorities that, with few exceptions, offer the public no information about lobbyists or what they’re up to at their agencies.
BrowardBulldog.org, supported by a grant from the Washington-based Fund for Investigative Journalism, spent months documenting that sweeping lack of government accountability, a free ride enjoyed by lobbyists at independent special districts around Florida with the power to tax, assess fees and/or sell low-interest bonds to finance government spending.
The story is already generating reaction in the Florida Senate, as reported by BrowardBulldog.org.