INSIDER
As the Florida Legislative session enters its third day, developments are unfolding with the introduction of bills targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at the local government level.
Senator Randy Fine has introduced a bill for the 2025 Florida legislative session that would permit individuals under 21 to purchase firearms. Senate Bill 94, aims to repeal a law that currently prohibits licensed firearms dealers from selling or transferring firearms to those younger than 21.
A newly filed bill in the Florida Legislature, House Joint Resolution 1325, proposes eliminating the office of lieutenant governor and replacing it with a new Cabinet-level position: the commissioner of government efficiency.
Senate minority leader Tracie Davis, who represents Jacksonville, and House minority leader Fentrice Driskell of Tampa filed a bill on Tuesday to repeal Florida’s six-week ban on abortion.
State Sen. Tom Wright filed Senate Bill 572 after an 8-year-old boy was mauled to death last month in Volusia County, which Wright represents.
Florida lawmakers are gaveling in another special legislative session on immigration, aimed at leveraging state and local resources to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday continued to blast an immigration bill passed by the Florida Legislature and expressed frustration over politicians' inaction and the need for strong border policies.
As the Florida Legislature holds a special session this week tackling only one issue -- immigration -- Gov. Ron DeSantis hosted a roundtable on Wednesday in Titusville signaling a possible veto of the bill that lawmakers passed on Tuesday night.
Florida lawmakers gaveled in the special session Gov. DeSantis asked for on Monday, then quickly gaveled out of it and started their own, News4JAX sister station WKMG reported.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday morning announced plans to reform Florida’s petition and amendment process, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability.
Two Florida House Representatives, Hillary Cassel and Susan Valdés, recently announced they were leaving the Democratic Party to join the GOP.
Rep. Fentrice Driskell, Democratic Leader of the Florida House of Representatives, is urging action on the expansion of the Florida KidCare program.
State senators are off to a quick start filing bills as they gear up for the 2025 legislative session, which begins March 4.
Florida Rep. Debbie Mayfield has announced her candidacy for Florida Senate District 19, a seat she previously held before reaching the state’s term limits.
State laws that allow motorcyclists not to wear helmets are costing lives every year, according to a new study from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
With a federal appeals court poised next week to hear a challenge to a Florida law that bars people under age 21 from buying rifles and other long guns, the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday at least temporarily allowed a Pennsylvania gun restriction on young adults.
All Alachua County voters will see two local ballot questions in the 2024 general election: a proposed charter amendment and a school district referendum on property taxes. Additionally, voters in Gainesville, which makes up about half of the county's population, will make a choice on a proposed charter amendment.
Five at-large elected commissioners govern the district, each serving four-year terms, with staggered terms. Two seats on the board are on this November’s ballot.
On Tuesday at the RNC in Milwaukee, the incoming head of the Florida Senate called on former St. Johns County sheriff David Shoar to drop out of a Florida Senate race.
A new state law signed into effect Friday has the Jacksonville Ethics Commission sounding the alarm.
Laws passed in several Republican-controlled states after the 2020 presidential election have criminalized much of the work done by voter outreach groups.
Progressive civic groups have challenged how four congressional districts and seven state House districts in South Florida were drawn by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature.
DeSantis previously said he wanted a special session to address immigration issues, but another issue that is on the minds of many Floridians is what some are calling a “property insurance crisis.”
A federal judge on Friday heard arguments in a court battle over a law restricting educators’ use of personal pronouns and titles in schools, in one of a series of challenges to Florida policies targeting LGBTQ people.
According to FloridaFloodInsurance.org, Florida is more likely to flood than any other state because of its flat terrain.
The 2024 legislative session ended Friday with an annual hanky-drop ceremony in the rotunda between the House and Senate chambers. Here are snapshots of 10 big issues from the session
A bill passed by the Florida House aims to make it easier for people to shoot bears on their property under the claim of self-defense. The bill would provide self-defense protections to individuals who kill bears, as long as they can reasonably prove that their actions were necessary to prevent imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. Critics argue that the bill is based on fear rather than facts and does not include mechanisms to prevent excessive killings of bears.
Families, advocates and lawmakers will hold a rally Thursday at the state capitol to call for changes inside Florida prisons as two bills to address the issue are stalled in the Florida Legislature.
The Florida Senate is ready Thursday to pass a high-profile bill that seeks to prevent children under age 16 from creating accounts on what lawmakers say are “addictive” social-media platforms.
Senate President Kathleen Passidomo on Wednesday raised questions about the fate of a proposal to protect historic monuments and memorials after several lawmakers voiced outrage over comments Tuesday by supporters of the bill.
Governor Ron DeSantis announced he's working with the Florida Legislature to combat homelessness by moving bills through the legislative session.
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-2 to approve a bill (SB 1788) that is similar to a measure (HB 1) that passed the House last month and is a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast.
A little more than a month after Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan removed a Confederate monument from a Springfield park, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he’s strongly opposed to taking down any historical monuments.
Florida lawmakers are considering a cap on the awards for things like pain, suffering, and loss of companionship when someone is killed or seriously hurt by medical malpractice.
The Florida State Guard, revived by Gov. Ron DeSantis, could operate outside Florida and be called into service anytime he “deemed necessary,” under a bill approved Thursday by a House panel.
The Florida House is poised to pass a bill aimed at preventing children under age 16 from using social media, as parts of the tech industry argue the measure could be unconstitutional and create data-privacy concerns.
Some are questioning whether a proposal to tax electric vehicle owners is trying to address the infrastructure issue or if it is politically motivated.
While Florida lawmakers are getting ready to begin work in Tallahassee as the next legislative session gets underway on Tuesday, some are calling for all members to come together and work as a government and not just for individual political parties.
It could potentially reverse part of a law that passed in the aftermath of the 2018 mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis wants to expand what he calls one of the state's best-kept secrets: The Division of Consumer Services.
The 1st District Court of Appeal reversed a lower court’s ruling that the map that rewrote U.S. Rep. Al Lawson’s district was unconstitutional because it diminished Black voters’ ability to elect a candidate of their choice.
An appeals court has ruled that the Florida Legislature didn’t violate the state constitution when it approved congressional maps pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year.
A new statewide poll found that the cost of housing is the most important problem facing Florida right now.
The State of Florida may soon be taking a brand-new approach toward preventing the drowning deaths of children.
A slate of bills aimed at reducing regulations on public schools began moving forward Wednesday, as a key Florida Senate panel signed off on changes such as eliminating testing requirements for earning high-school diplomas.
In 2017, Florida lawmakers signed an education bill that carried several mandates including one that said students in kindergarten through fifth grade were entitled to 20 consecutive minutes of free-play recess every day.
State Representative Dean Black has filed legislation that would punish lawmakers who vote to successfully take down Confederate monuments. If it is passed next year by the Florida legislature, it would have a big impact on what’s happening in Jacksonville with Confederate monuments.
The proposal aims to give voters the choice of legalizing recreational marijuana use for individuals aged 21 and older.
The Florida Legislature will return to the Capitol for a special session that will allow lawmakers to express their support for Israel and give Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis more talking points as he campaigns for president.
The Florida Legislature has returned to the Capitol for a special session where lawmakers will express their support for Israel and give Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis more talking points as he campaigns for president.
A judge says that a Florida redistricting plan pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis violates the state constitution.
Planning for a hurricane means high-stakes decisions must be made quickly, especially when you're the person or organization responsible for people's lives and preparedness.
There are new calls for accountability from lawmakers as Florida homeowners face record-breaking property insurance hikes and outright cancellations of their policies.
Curtis Law, which officially takes effect Saturday in Florida, gives victims' families more rights during investigations, something Patricia Ward said she wished she had 26 years ago when her 16-year-old son, Curtis Williamson, was killed.
More than 200 new laws will go into effect in Florida on Saturday, and one of the new laws will allow guns to be carried almost anywhere in the state, without a permit.
Three organizations have filed federal lawsuits, claiming Florida’s Senate Bill 7050 violates First Amendment rights and harms efforts to sign up Black and Hispanic voters.
The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. has joined other civil rights organizations in issuing a travel advisory for Florida.
The NAACP on Saturday issued a formal travel advisory for Florida saying that the state is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Walt Disney Co. says it's scrapping plans to build a new campus in central Florida and relocate 2,000 employees from Southern California to work in digital technology, finance and product development.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared Friday that Florida is “on offense” as he signed two bills he said would protect Floridians against looming threats to their financial independence and financial privacy.
A bill that gives high school athletes greater options than ever in choosing where they want to play cleared the Florida Legislature and now awaits the signature of Gov. Ron DeSantis, another blow for the embattled Florida High School Athletic Association.
The district said Duval County students failed to provide principals with notice or get approval from the superintendent.
High school and college students across Florida plan to walk out of their classrooms on Friday to protest the state’s rapidly changing education policies.
Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Monday afternoon in Lake Buena Vista to discuss the ongoing dispute between the state and Disney World over the governing of the theme park and its 27,000-acre property.
Florida is proposing some of its toughest immigration laws in years, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. One bill proposes prosecuting legal resident who hide or transport those in the country illegally. As a result of that, another group has come out with a travel advisory for people coming to state. The Florida Immigrant Coalition wants people to know they might face problems if the law is passed. They join two other groups Equality Florida and The NAACP which has come out with similar warnings...to not come to Florida.
There was outrage on Tuesday from advocates of the LGBTQ community after a Florida lawmaker compared transgender people to “demons”, “mutants” and “imps.”
The Florida Legislature is voting on a bill that would allow the state to revoke the licenses of restaurants and other establishments that allow children to attend drag shows.
The Florida Senate is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill that would clear the way for the state to revoke the licenses of restaurants and other establishments that allow children to attend drag shows.
Some Florida teenagers may not be able to drive golf carts around their neighborhoods anymore if lawmakers pass a bill under discussion that would raise the age to operate a golf cart and add some additional requirements.
Police, fire and other government agencies across Florida must ground millions of dollars in aerial drones because of a new state rule banning the agencies from using devices made by China-based DJI.
Florida lawmakers are trying to crack down on thieves stealing catalytic converters from vehicles. This is happening more and more often, even in broad daylight.
A $711 million plan to make housing more affordable statewide is headed to the governor’s desk, and there is also help on the way for people in Jacksonville who are struggling to pay bills.
From expanding gun rights to going after “woke” investors, the Florida Legislature is quickly moving on a list of bills that will give Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis conservative-pleasing policy successes as he prepares to launch a presidential campaign.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
