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Young activists flock to the Florida Capitol to fight for LGBTQ+ rights
A crowd estimated at around two hundred mostly young people marched from the Florida State University campus to the fourth-floor rotunda in the state Capitol Friday, decrying what they called a legislative attack on the LGBTQ+ community. They arrived just as the Florida House of Representatives was voting to support what has been described as […]
Florida hemp industry fears for the worse as regulations loom
Hemp entrepreneurs from all parts of Florida have made the trek twice to Tallahassee this month to testify against a legislative proposal that they say poses an existential threat to their livelihoods. At the same time, states around the country have been enacting regulations regarding intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids, and that’s become a conundrum for all […]
FL Senate on death penalty: 8 jurors, not 12, would be required to put someone to death
The Florida Senate passed legislation Thursday to get rid of a requirement for a unanimous jury recommendation before a death penalty can be imposed. The measure would require just eight jurors, not 12, to support a penalty of death. The vote was 29-10, though it was not along strict party lines. Lauren Book, the Senate […]
FL Senate moves closer to passing permitless carry bill
The Florida Legislature moved one step closer to bringing a “permitless” gun bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk Wednesday, with the state Senate moving the bill to a final vote in the upcoming days. The controversial proposal would allow individuals who carry concealed weapons to forego a license or training course – a notion that […]
Legislation: A ‘scoresheet’ might help when it comes to determine if a defendant can vote
Last summer, more than a dozen convicted murderers and sex offenders were arrested under a shakedown by the DeSantis administration for allegedly voting illegally. Some of those individuals arrested for voter fraud later said that they received information from their local government that they were eligible to vote. Wednesday in a House committee, Miami Democrat […]
Secretary of State Byrd up for confirmation; elaborates on why FL left national voter verification system
As a way to improve the accuracy of Florida’s voter registration rolls, Florida joined the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) in 2019. The organization shares data with member states to keep voter rolls accurate. But earlier this month, Secretary of State Cord Byrd announced that the state was withdrawing from what was then a 30-state […]
Florida GOP legislators blast Tampa officials who met with Cuban ambassador
A group of Florida Republican lawmakers, several of them Cuban-American, held a news conference in front of the old Florida Historic Capitol steps on Monday to announce that they are supporting a resolution in the state Senate condemning the Cuban government and three elected officials in Hillsborough County who met earlier this month with Lianys […]
Permitless carry passes in the Florida House – the measure now goes to the Senate
The Florida House of Representatives passed a permitless carry bill (HB 543) along party lines Friday that would allow people to carry guns without being required to obtain a concealed-weapons license from the state. If ultimately approved, it would make the Sunshine State the 26th state in the nation to have such a law. The […]
FL House approves $700 million affordable housing package, but bill excludes rent control measures
In an ambitious effort to improve Florida’s affordable housing crisis, the state House Friday passed legislation to add more than $700 million to existing housing programs and bolster initiatives for developers as well as working Floridians, though critics bemoaned that rent control measures were excluded in the bill. The bill would create tax incentives for […]
FL House poised to vote on ‘permitless’ carry bill; Dems, gun safety advocates raise concerns
The Florida House is hours away from approving gun legislation to allow individuals who carry concealed weapons to forego a license or training course. Democrats and gun safety advocates say the proposal will make the state less safe — right now, people must get a permit through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Currently, […]
Five years after Parkland, proposal to allow 18-year-olds to purchase long guns gains favor
Five years after the Florida Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott passed a package of gun reforms in the immediate aftermath of the Parkland school shooting massacre, a committee in the state House advanced a bill Thursday that would repeal one of those provisions – reducing the age to purchase rifles and other long guns from […]
‘Open Carry’ measure now off the table, disappointing Second Amendment advocates
Less than 24 hours after a GOP lawmaker filed an amendment to gun legislation that could potentially allow open carrying of firearms in Florida, the change has been withdrawn, disappointing Second Amendment advocates. That leaves the gun legislation, a permitless carry bill, to proceed to a vote before the full Florida House of Representatives later […]