With the state preparing for a legal challenge from the tech industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a high-profile bill aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms. “You better believe, I am going to fight like hell to uphold this in court,” Attorney General Ashley Moody said during a bill-signing event in Jacksonville. Lawmakers…
When Florida lawmakers went home after ending the 2024 legislative session Friday, they left behind hundreds of bills that did not pass. Here are snapshots of 10 issues that died during the session: — DEFAMATION: Proposals to revamp defamation laws could have exposed media organizations to increased liability. That could have included making it easier…
Havana resident Chrissy Shorter-Arnold is suing Gadsden County Commissioner Eric Hinson as an individual and in his official capacity as commissioner. According to a complaint filed in the United States District Court Northern District of Florida, while searching for information about the Gadsden County Voting Lines redistricting, Shorter-Arnold realized she had been blocked from Hinson’s…
A federal appeals court Monday rejected restrictions that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers placed on addressing race-related issues in workplace training — part of a controversial 2022 law that DeSantis dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act.” A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the restrictions violated First Amendment rights. “This…
Florida’s 60-day legislative session is expected to end on time Friday after the release Tuesday of a $117.46 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. House Speaker Paul Renner announced at 11:49 a.m. Tuesday that the spending plan was “on the desk,” after House and Senate budget leaders finished negotiations Monday. “It was a textbook…
A bill is heading to the full Florida Senate that would lead to local referendums in November about whether voters want to impose eight-year term limits on county commissioners. The Senate Rules Committee on Monday voted 18-2 to approve the measure (SB 438), sponsored by Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill. Previous versions of the bill…
America the homeless. A never-ending problem that is devastating the nation with a pandemic of drugs, prostitution, and stockpiles of trash. Who is responsible for the out-of-control homeless camps taking over America’s public parks, streets, store fronts, and more? There once was a time when everyday Americans were scurrying to raise funds and open facilities…
Describing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed 2024-2025 budget as “very responsible,” House and Senate Republican budget chiefs on Tuesday brushed aside concerns about the $114.4 billion spending plan. Democrats have said they hoped to see more in the proposal to address issues such as stemming rising housing and insurance costs and making improvements at the Florida…
A little more than a year after calling on the National Guard to assist the state Department of Corrections, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is proposing to assign another 100 guard members to Florida prisons and buy dozens of now-leased trailers to house them and family members. The corrections agency for years has grappled with staffing…
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is trying to fend off a potential class-action lawsuit that alleges the state has not provided adequate information to Medicaid beneficiaries before dropping them from the health-care program. Attorneys for the state Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Children and Families on Friday filed court documents arguing that…
