Steve Bousquet
Steve Bousquet has covered state government and politics for three decades at the Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald. He was the Times' Tallahassee bureau chief from 2005 to 2018 and has also covered city and county politics in Broward County. He has a master's degree in U.S. history from Florida State.
Florida Lawmakers Excited, Wary About Capitol Return In A Pandemic
In a month or so, all 160 members of the Legislature are scheduled to return to Tallahassee, despite predictions that the COVID-19 pandemic could be worse than it is now. Some lawmakers say they're confident everything will be fine while others—especially those who've had the coronavirus—want to make sure safety is the top priority.
Workers Lose In Legal Effort To Get The State To Speed Up Processing Unemployment Claims
Hundreds of thousands laid-off workers who can't get their unemployment money from the state of Florida got more bad news Wednesday. A state judge says she had no authority to order the immediate payment of jobless claims.
DeSantis Announces Investigation Into State's 'Connect' Online Unemployment System
Governor Ron DeSantis has called it "a jalopy" and "a clunker," and says it was "in tatters." He's talking, of course, about Florida's online system for handling claims for unemployment benefits, which cost taxpayers 78 million dollars and still doesn't work right. Now, that system is going to be placed under a long-awaited microscope.
Brandes Talks Early Release for At-Risk, Elderly Inmates
Florida lags far behind other states in reforming its criminal justice laws. But the fight continues for prison advocacy groups and their allies in the Legislature. Now, the new coronavirus pandemic has intensified concerns about an aging inmate population.
Florida Grapples With Low Unemployment Benefits As Numbers Skyrocket Due To COVID-19 Layoffs
The COVID-19 pandemic is creating unprecedented demands for help on virtually every government service in Florida. At the top of the list is the state...
Florida Is Aging. Broward Has A Plan To Help, But It Needs A Reluctant Legisalture To Agree
Within the next decade, 25% of Floridians will be over 60, and so will most new residents relocating to the state. As Florida grays, there's greater...
Florida House Panel Approves Arming Teachers Over Objection Of Parkland Parents
Facing anguished relatives and classmates of shooting victims, a panel of Florida legislators took the unprecedented step Tuesday of creating a new...