FLORIDA LEGISLATURE

The Republican-controlled House on Friday passed a measure that would make every Florida student eligible for taxpayer-backed school vouchers, as Democrats and other critics slammed the expansion as a “coupon for millionaires.”

Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades.

A Senate panel on Thursday moved Florida one step closer to allowing people to carry concealed firearms without licenses, as critics on opposite sides took aim at the proposal.

It’s a scenario that many families know all too well. Early each morning, parents struggle to rouse sleepy teenagers, get them in the car or to the bus stop and then hope they are prepared for the school day.

Florida lawmakers will look at a plan to stop people from speeding through school zones. If this bill passes, speed detection cameras would go up and people who are caught speeding would have to pay $100.

As the 2023 legislative session began Tuesday, Senate and House Republicans proposed measures that seek to prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

Florida Sen. Lauren Book filed a bill intended to protect animals, and the legislation included a proposal that would make it illegal to let a dog stick its head out of a window of a moving car. But after getting feedback on that proposal, Book reportedly plans to amend the bill and remove that ban from the legislation.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill that gives him control of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district.

The Senate began moving forward Tuesday with a proposal that would make every Florida student eligible for state-backed vouchers that could be used for private-school tuition and various other expenses, while opponents argued the measure would harm traditional public schools.

The Republican governor's 2022 law would have increased tax bills on Central Florida property owners by thousands of dollars each for a decade and a half.

A new Florida bill would make it illegal to let a dog be in a driver’s lap or stick their head out of a window of a moving car.

Florida Representative Cyndi Stevens filed House Bill 949 Monday, a bill that would improve safe operation of golf carts and other utility vehicles.

Florida lawmakers are trying to address the affordable housing crisis with a new bill that would put millions toward creating more options in the state.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed bills to expand his migrant relocation program and enhance the prosecutorial power of his election police unit.

A Florida House panel on Tuesday took a first step toward shifting to partisan school-board elections and backed a proposal that would limit school-board members to eight years in office instead of the current 12.

Three local high school students traveled to Tallahassee Wednesday morning to take their message of prevention directly to lawmakers.

Florida would make every student eligible for vouchers to attend private school with taxpayer money under proposed legislation House Speaker Paul Renner said will be a priority for the session that begins in March 7.

Planned legislation pushed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis aims to replace Disney World's self-governing power with a state-run board comprised of appointees.

Friday night’s Mega Millions Jackpot is flirting with $1 billion at $940 million. A portion of the money from the lottery goes to education.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was sworn in Tuesday for a second term, offering a theme of “freedom lives here in our great Sunshine State” to counter “faddish ideology” nationally.

A new Florida law is forcing some public officials to choose between their day jobs or holding office.

Beefed up lobbying restrictions and breaks for motorists who frequently use toll roads are among state laws and other changes that will arrive with the new year.

When the new year starts in less than a week, a number of new laws will take effect in Florida.

New rules for Florida landlords and property managers take effect next week as the new year begins.

The race for one Jacksonville City Council seat is a little less crowded for now.

A third case of a defendant who was arrested by an elections police unit created by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and a Republican-controlled Florida Legislature has been thrown out. Terry Hubbard, 63, was among 20 people arrested last August on criminal charges of illegal voting in 2020 in what was the first major action taken by the the Republican’s controversial new Office of Election Crimes and Security. A judge in Broward County this week tossed out the case on the grounds that the Office of Statewide Prosecution does not have jurisdiction to prosecute since it can only prosecute crimes that occurred in two or more counties.

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said she is considering expanding the state’s “Parental Rights in Education” law to additional grade levels in schools,

Florida lawmakers are in a second special session devoted to the topic of homeowners insurance. Lawmakers are considering legislation to help private insurance companies.

Insurance experts are calling it the most groundbreaking property insurance reform legislation ever introduced in the state of Florida.

Nearly 50,000 property owners forced from their homes for more than a month by Hurricane Ian or Hurricane Nicole could be eligible for tax relief under a bill that was being prepared Friday for a special legislative session next week.

The Florida Legislature will hold a special session on Monday to tackle the property insurance issues in the state.

The Florida Legislature will meet next week for a special session on property insurance and property tax relief in the wake of damage caused by Hurricane Ian.

High rents, skyrocketing insurance premiums and inflation are hot topics with the Florida Legislature.

The Florida Legislature will hold a special session before the end of the year to consider providing property tax relief for people and businesses whose property was destroyed by Hurricane Ian.

State money that would have gone to help the USS Orleck naval museum prepare for its permanent home has sunk.

Prices at the pump for Florida motorists should go down Saturday as part of a temporary gas-tax break, as 27 new laws kick in this weekend.

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.

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

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.