FLORIDA LEGISLATURE

The third proposed amendment to the Florida Constitution that the Florida Legislature voted to place on the ballot this November this year would increase the homestead exemption for teachers, law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, child-welfare services professionals and active-duty members of the military and Florida National Guard.

The first of three proposed amendments to the Florida Constitution that the Florida Legislature voted to place on the ballot this November is an effort to help homeowners fight the effects of rising sea levels and climate change

Pay hikes, shorter shifts and shuttering facilities are some of the strategies Florida has employed to try to rehabilitate a prison system that leaders have said is in crisis.

After establishing a six-month program to save certain commuters about $10 a month on tolls, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to expand the program next year.

Governor Ron DeSantis called on the Florida Legislature to protect health care practitioners’ freedom of speech and bolster patient access to and education of COVID-19 treatments through the right to prescribe. The Free Speech of Health Care Practitioners Act, House Bill 687, and Senate Bill 1184, would solidify these rights for both patients and health care workers. “Despite ongoing health care practitioner shortages across the nation, these crucial frontline workers continue to face threats to their licenses if they dissent from the prevailing narrative of the medical establishment,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Here’s a look at some of the results Tuesday from notable races in the Florida Legislature..

Here’s a look at some of the results Tuesday from notable races in the Florida Legislature..

When Councilman Garrett Dennis resigned to run for a seat in the Florida Legislature, three candidates signed up to run in a special August election for District 9, Jacksonville City Council. Democrat Tyrona Clark-Murray received 53% of the vote and was elected to fill the seat through next June. She must run for re-election next spring to win a full four-year term.

The new law is in effect for now because the judge’s order won’t have an impact until he puts the ruling in writing.

As the battle continues in Florida over a 15-week abortion ban that was slated to take effect Friday but is being blocked by a state judge, an open letter went out to Florida businesses from the governor of Connecticut.

A Florida judge on Thursday said he would temporarily block a 15-week abortion ban from taking effect, following a court challenge by reproductive health providers who say the state constitution guarantees a right to the procedure.

Nearly 150 laws that Florida legislators passed this year are set to hit the books Friday.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling drew fiercely polarized reactions in Florida, with Gov. Ron DeSantis saying the state will “work to expand pro-life protections.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday that will require the Florida Department of Health to improve education and community outreach programs related to Alzheimer’s and dementia-related disorders.

An iconic downtown Jacksonville landmark that’s currently boarded up is about to get a makeover.

The Walt Disney Co. is delaying by more than three years the opening of a campus in Florida to which 2,000 workers were being relocated from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development.

A South Florida Jewish congregation has challenged a new state law that blocks abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, contending the measure violates privacy and religious-freedom rights.

Two weeks after the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1421, a bill that is designed to improve school safety in Florida.

As a national debate rages over gun laws after last month’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, proponents of “red-flag” policies point to a Florida law as a model for states seeking to strip deadly weapons from people who could cause harm.

A contractors group and an Orlando-area roofing firm Thursday challenged the constitutionality of a new law that combines a property-insurance change with efforts to bolster the safety of condominium buildings.

Pointing to a need to further brace the state against a potential recession, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued $3.13 billion in vetoes Thursday as he signed a record $109.9 billion budget for the fiscal year that will begin July 1.

Reproductive health providers have sued Florida over a new law banning abortions after 15 weeks.

Less than a week after Florida lawmakers rushed to make property-insurance changes, a contractors group Tuesday filed a constitutional challenge that targets a new restriction on attorney fees in lawsuits against insurance companies.

An appeals court Friday said a circuit judge issued a “patently unlawful” temporary injunction against a congressional redistricting plan pushed through the Legislature by Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving another sign that the controversial plan likely will be used in this year’s elections.

With more than 850,000 policies, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has become an 800-pound gorilla in Florida’s troubled insurance market.

A bill has been sent to Florida's governor that would require statewide recertification of condominiums over three stories tall, in response to the Surfside building collapse that killed 98 people.

Supporters said the plan will stabilize the property-insurance market. Critics said it doesn’t do enough to help homeowners.

The Florida Senate has approved a sweeping legislative package meant to combat rising property insurance rates and other problems in the state’s turbulent insurance market, creating a $2 billion reinsurance fund and writing new rules around coverage denials and attorney fees.

Lawmakers are trying to find a way to lower home insurance premiums for Floridians.

People who owned condominiums in the Florida building that collapsed nearly a year ago but didn’t suffer a loss of life will together collect at least $96 million from a court settlement.

The Florida Legislature on Monday began a special session focused on fixing the state's turbulent property insurance market.

Roof-damage claims. Lawsuits. Reinsurance costs. For tens of thousands of homeowners, those issues could add up to large property-insurance rate increases if state regulators sign off on proposals presented Tuesday.

Little more than an hour after a judge issued a temporary injunction against a new congressional redistricting plan, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration Thursday launched an appeal that put the ruling on hold.

Starting this summer, the home hardening incentive removes sales tax from storm resistant windows, exterior doors and garage doors.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was noncommittal Wednesday about whether he will ask lawmakers to further restrict abortion in Florida, as the nation awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision.

The Florida Department of Education has reinstated more math textbooks that were previously rejected because the state said they contained “prohibited” content such as critical race theory, social emotional learning and Common Core frameworks.

The Florida Department of Education reinstated nine math textbooks that were previously rejected because the state said they contained “prohibited” content such as critical race theory, social emotional learning and Common Core frameworks.

As a new round of legal battling begins about congressional redistricting, the state is asking a federal court to dismiss a lawsuit that has urged judges to draw new district lines.

In taking on Disney, Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is testing the limits of his combative leadership style while sending an unmistakable message to his rivals.

Governor Ron DeSantis announced Friday he signed a new congressional redistricting bill.

The former Honduran president has been extradited to the U.S. to face weapons and drug trafficking charges.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants the state Legislature to revoke a provision that gives Walt Disney World autonomy in governing areas near its theme parks.

Over the objections of Democrats who contend Republicans are being “bullied” by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Senate on Wednesday approved a congressional redistricting plan that would favor the GOP.

Now that Gov. Ron DeSantis has put out his proposed map for Florida’s congressional seats, there’s talk Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry could have his sights set on one of those dramatically redrawn districts.

The Florida Legislature has moved forward with making certain types of car meetups and street races illegal.

Campaigns for Congress are underway for this year’s elections, but lingering disagreements over the final shape of new voting districts have left some candidates — and would-be candidates — in limbo.

Television viewers across Florida will soon be losing a very familiar face who has been a broadcasting institution in the state. Mike Vasilinda is retiring.

With lawmakers heading into a special legislative session this month, Secretary of State Laurel Lee is asking a federal court to put on hold a case that argues judges should set Florida’s new congressional districts.

A federal judge in Tallahassee has ruled that Florida lawmakers overstepped their authority last year concerning an election reform law.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday followed through with his promise to veto a congressional map that was approved by the Florida Legislature earlier this month.

Governor DeSantis signed a bill eliminating the annual student assessments – in favor of a “progress monitoring” system.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill that is ending the Florida Standards Assessments and replacing the standardized exams with a “progress monitoring system” that would test students three times a year.

It’s Monday, Feb. 7, and mark this as the week the distance between the governor and the GOP-led Legislature widened.

Enough with the Obama excuse, Florida Legislature.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says it’s “idiotic politics” to accuse the Florida Legislature of approving a gaming deal last month that would give Donald Trump and a Miami Beach hotelier an opportunity to open casinos in our backyard.

It looks like Miami Beach probably has gotten a temporary reprieve from having a casino at the Fontainebleau Resort jammed down the throats of residents by the Legislature. That’s great news.

The bill would add voter ID requirements to mail voting and add limitations to the use of drop boxes.

When Rep. Matt Gaetz vacationed in the Bahamas in 2018, he was joined by a doctor who donated to his campaign and a former colleague in the Florida Legislature. The Republican congressman, Dr. Jason Pirozzolo and Halsey Beshears were united in their enjoyment of politics, fancy travel and the company of beautiful women. The Bahamas trip is a central element of a federal investigation surrounding Gaetz that has suddenly endangered his political career.

Of all the bills rammed through by the Florida Legislature this session — sometimes revived late at night and then quickly passed by GOP lawmakers — the most egregious remains House Bill 1.

It's the latest Republican-led effort to alter state voting rules following record-breaking turnout during the 2020 election. Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the measure into law.