Politics & Law
Florida House votes to require parental consent for teen girls seeking abortion; similar legislation ruled unconstitutional in 1989
A major move to restrict reproductive rights in Florida advanced on Wednesday evening when the Florida House voted 69-44 to require teenage girls to get parental consent before having an abortion. The bill (HB 1335) would add a parental consent requirement to an existing state law that says women under 18 have to notify their […]
Gov. DeSantis links today’s Venezuela political situation to Cuba Bay of Pigs invasion
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday linked efforts to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the failed invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs. “They were fighting the good fight – against tyranny, against communism, against oppression,” he said during a luncheon in Miami commemorating the 58th anniversary of the disastrous CIA-backed incursion by 1,000 […]
Teachers with guns: Republican-led Legislature a step closer to allowing it
A proposal that would allow teachers to legally carry guns on school campuses is one step closer to becoming law, after the full Florida Senate advanced legislation Wednesday. The controversial measure passed 22-16, with Republicans approving and Democrats opposing. (Democrat Kevin Rader from Palm Beach and Republican Anitere Flores from Miami did not vote. Flores […]
Heads up: the Legislature is about to start work on your new state budget
It will be a mad dash for the cash as Florida lawmakers put together a new state budget. Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, a Clay County Republican, says lawmakers are not expected to begin their formal negotiations on the $90 billion-plus budget until after the upcoming Passover-Easter weekend break. Those negotiations could start as late […]
Gov. DeSantis meeting with Trump official, billionaire, and lunching at the Coral Gables Biltmore
Gov. Ron DeSantis is meeting today – for the second time in two weeks – with National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has been counseling the governor about the situation in Venezuela. The meeting is at the swank Biltmore Hotel Miami in Coral Gables, according to the governor’s schedule. The governor and first lady will […]
U.S. presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar pledges to work for Hurricane Michael disaster relief
Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar came to Tallahassee this week, and was immediately asked about a federal-state issue that’s top of mind for Panhandle residents: Hurricane Michael relief. Klobuchar said she is confident that a disaster relief bill that includes funding for hurricane victims in the Panhandle and in Puerto Rico can happen soon, but admits that “time […]
For all you Florida Legislature watchers: We follow the dollars
The Florida Republican and Democratic parties raised more than $6.2 million in contributions in the run-up to this spring’s Florida legislative session, according to the state Division of Elections. The Republicans collected $5.3 million. The Democrats raised just over $900,000. The contributions during the first three months of 2019 from utility companies, hospitals, trial lawyers, […]
Republican-led Senate advances sweeping criminal justice reform package
The Republican-led Florida Senate advanced sweeping reforms to Florida’s criminal justice system Tuesday, as former inmates and their families pled for the state to back off on the hardline punishments of the past and move towards more common-sense sentencing that could ease crowded jails and offer offenders more hope for rehabilitation. The reform package comes […]
It’s not a strike, it’s a “walk-in”: Educators to rally for traditional public schools
With the governor and Republican lawmakers pushing to expand vouchers for kids to attend private schools, educators and supporters across the state plan to rally Wednesday for traditional public schools. The event, called a walk-in — teacher strikes are not allowed — will give educators, staff, union members, parents and community members the chance to […]
Gov. DeSantis and the Cabinet are going to Jerusalem next month on taxpayers’ dime, but no details forthcoming
In about five weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the three members of the Florida Cabinet will fly to Israel to promote Florida as a business destination. While there, they’ll hold their regular monthly meeting. How will they get there? Where will they stay? Who’ll be included among the legislators and business people tagging along? What […]
Meet Florida’s Mean Gang
Along the Panhandle’s Emerald coast, property owners are putting up hostile fences to keep the public off the sugar-sand beaches that everyone has used for generations. At the statehouse in Tallahassee, peevish Republican lawmakers are trying to pass legislation that forbids local governments from doing local things like banning plastic straws to cut beach litter […]
On Tax Day, Florida Democrats call for state version of federal earned income tax credit
Saying Florida’s tax system is ranked among the nation’s most regressive, Democrats and advocates for the poor on Monday called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would give more working families tax breaks. The families would have to already be receiving federal taxes back in the form of the earned Income tax credit. That […]