Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed 17 bills into law, and formally received 20 more pieces of legislation.

The bills he signed are known as local bills, dealing with a piece of law affecting only specific city or county jurisdictions.

For instance, one bill (HB 4029) puts a referendum on the November ballot for Hillsborough County voters, giving them the option to increase their county commission from seven members to nine members, with further expansion to 11 members if their population hits 2.5 million. As of the 2020 census, Hillsborough County had 1.58 million people.

Another bill (HB 4027) asks Hillsborough voters if they want to move from an appointed school district superintendent to an elected one.

Among the bills DeSantis received Tuesday are measures to increase the penalty for the manslaughter death of a law enforcement officer to life without parole (SB 156) and adding the existence of an illegal gambling house to the places that qualify as a public nuisance (SB 168).

DeSantis has until June 30 to act on the bills he received.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Cabinet on Tuesday approved $90 million in grants for local law enforcement agencies for items related to enforcement of illegal immigration.

The $90 million is for new and amended grants to 56 county and city police departments for radios, body cameras, riot gear, ballistic helmets, X-ray machines, inmate restraint chairs and other items.

DeSantis, Attorney General James Uthmeier, Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who comprise the State Board of Immigration Enforcement, unanimously approved the funding.

Out of the $90 million in grants, $30.3 million is for new awards and $57 million are additional funds for law enforcement agencies that had already asked for assistance.

In the latest batch of requests, Orange County and Polk County sheriff offices asked for the most money. The bulk of Orange County’s $10 million proposal is for equipment, with $9 million of those funds going to 910 portable radios.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office asked for $10 million, with $8.7 million being spent on encrypted radio device systems and servers. The current radios the sheriff’s office uses cannot communicate with ICE agents because they lack encryption capabilities, the request says.

“With the proposed upgrades, communication with ICE will be enabled, ultimately reducing the risk of our officers and ICE agents, and strengthening the overall security of our sensitive communications,” the request states.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office south about $9 million, which includes more than $2.5 million for a rapid DNA testing system and 2,000 DNA processing swabs.

“With DNA results available quickly, we can reduce detention and processing times, resolve immigration status faster, and reallocate resources to more critical enforcement and investigative tasks,” Walton County’s request says.

The Collier County Sheriff’s Office requested more than $8 million, with about $5 million to be used for communication equipment, including radios. Notably, the county is asking for $600,000 for two Skywatch mobile towers to “enhance situation awareness and support immigration enforcement operations.”

The state has approved $147 million in immigration enforcement grants and disbursed almost $5 million to 25 local law enforcement agencies, according to Transparency Florida, a state website that tracks government spending.

Lawmakers in 2025 set aside $250 million to reimburse local law enforcement for purchases related to illegal immigration enforcement, including overtime for officers who participate in operations with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The board also extended an emergency rule allowing funds to reimburse agencies with an agreement with ICE for vehicle purchases.

Local law enforcement agencies are allowed to buy one multi-passenger van to transport immigrants between county, state and federal detention facilities.

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Weather: Today, partly sunny, with a high near 90. Tonight, partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Wednesday, a 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm, with a high near 93. Wednesday night, a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, with a low around 73. NWS

US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.3%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +0.9%) (More).

Local & State News

According to 2025-26 data published by the Florida Department of Education, the Leon County School District (LCS) maintains a higher ratio of administrators and non-instructional staff to student population when compared to both the Florida average and the average of comparable school districts. Details.

As the U.S. continues to lower is petroleum stockpile, gas prices continued to fall in Florida. Details

The Florida Department of Education is directing school districts to add artificial intelligence use to their internet safety policies. Details

National News

The Justice Department announced yesterday that it will work to strip citizenship from 17 naturalized US citizens, the largest cohort to date. The announcement comes weeks after the DOJ named a dozen other cases.

Trial begins for man accused of starting last year’s Palisades Fire; Jonathan Rinderknecht allegedly started a blaze on Jan. 1, 2025, that spread undetected in root systems and reemerged days later, killing 12 people (More).

Peer Group Analysis

But what about school districts with comparable student enrollment and that are in the same region of Florida?

A comparison of five similarly sized Florida school districts (See table below) shows Leon County Schools employs significantly more administrators and non-instructional staff than most of its peers, despite having a student population nearly identical to several neighboring districts.

The Florida department of Education data provides a standardized comparison among districts and their peers, offering a snapshot of how Leon County’s staffing levels compare with those across the state during the 2025-26 school year. The FDOE administrator category includes principals, assistant principals, and deans. The non-instructional category includes social workers, school psychologists and school counselors.

According to 2025-26 staffing data, Leon County Schools serves 30,964 students, making it the second-largest district among the comparison group behind Okaloosa County, which enrolls 31,055 students. Despite the similar enrollment figures, Leon County employs 211 administrators, substantially more than Okaloosa’s 144 administrators. These 211 adminstrators include 81 assistant principals TR has previously reported on.

Leon also exceeds Santa Rosa County’s 110 administrators and Alachua County’s 173 administrators. Only Bay County, with 222 administrators serving 27,126 students, reports a higher administrative total. The disparity is even greater among non-teacher instructional and support staff. Leon County employs 415 noninstructional personnel, the highest total among the five districts.

By comparison, Santa Rosa and Alachua counties each employ 248 non-teacher staff members, Bay County employs 239, and Okaloosa County employs 226.

The average number of administrators and non-teacher instructional staff for the Leon’s peer group is 403. This is 224 staff members less than the numbers reported by LCS.

The staffing comparison comes as school districts across Florida face budget pressures tied to enrollment trends and increased scrutiny of administrative spending. The figures come as LCS continues to confront declining student enrollment, a trend that reduces state funding because Florida’s education formula is largely based on student counts. Critics have argued that administrative growth has outpaced enrollment trends and have called for closer scrutiny of staffing levels outside the classroom. Supporters of the district’s staffing structure contend that modern school systems require specialized personnel to manage student services, accountability requirements, technology, safety initiatives, and other operational responsibilities that have expanded in recent years.

The staffing comparisons are likely to attract additional attention as district leaders evaluate budget priorities and as community members debate proposals involving school funding and operational efficiency.

LCS Addresses Staffing Issue

During the last school board meeting, elected officials voted 4-1 to approve the placement of a 1 mil property tax increase on the November ballot. If passed by the voters, the tax would raise approximately $24 million. After the vote, Chair Marcus Nicolas acknowledged the concern about staffing but took the position that the tax increase and the “administrative structure” were not connected. The board scheduled a workshop to address the issue.

The Florida Department of Education is directing school districts to add artificial intelligence use to their internet safety policies.

All districts already have an “Internet Safety” policy in place, and now the DOE is requiring districts to amend the policy to include AI.

The rule development workshop will be held June 22.

The Legislature failed to pass a measure imposing restrictions and requirements on AI companies this year, even though it was one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ priorities.

The measure included a parents’ rights provision to control children’s interactions with AI chatbots; prohibited Florida government agencies from contracting with AI firms tied to a “foreign country of concern”; and set rules about the unauthorized use of people’s names, images or likenesses. But it didn’t address how AI could or couldn’t be used in schools, colleges or universities.

As the U.S. continues to lower is petroleum stockpile, gas prices continued to fall in Florida.

The auto club AAA put the average gallon of gas in Florida at $3.78 on Monday, 26 cents less than a week earlier and 73 cents lower than on May 21, before U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said “significant progress” had been made on a potential ceasefire and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

The national average of $4.16 a gallon on Monday has declined 16 cents over the week and 40 cents since May 21.

To contain the surge in pump prices since the start of the war with Iran on Feb. 28, the U.S. has continued to draw down its strategic reserves stored across Texas and Louisiana.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told CBN News the reserves are close to the lowest levels since the early 1980s.

“There’s just no telling what the next crisis could be beyond this, but the U.S. is going to have a significantly curtailed ability to insulate itself from any future supply shocks with a strategic reserve that is approaching the lowest level since it was filled up,” De Haan told CBN News on Thursday.

Diesel in Florida declined 23 cents the past week to $4.90 a gallon. The national average went down 13 cents to $5.32 a gallon in the same time.

For electric vehicles, the cost per kilowatt-hour at Florida charging stations stood unchanged over the week at 41 cents.

Monday, June 8, 2026

Weather: Today, a 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 4pm with a high near 93. Tonight, a 10 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm with a low around 75. Tuesday, mostly cloudy with a high near 90. Tuesday night, partly cloudy, with a low around 72. NWS

US stock markets drop sharply Friday (S&P 500 -2.6%, Dow -1.4%, Nasdaq -4.2%) as investors get anxious over AI chip companies; tech-heavy Nasdaq sees worst day since last April (More).

Local & State News

Leon County commissioners will receive a detailed report on June 9 outlining the circumstances surrounding five inmate deaths that occurred at the Leon County Detention Facility during 2025, with county staff concluding that all investigations have been completed and found no evidence of foul play. Details.

ICYM: LCS students decline as tax increase is approved. Details.

Orange County Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Demings announced Friday he is suspending his 2026 campaign after being diagnosed with a treatable form of prostate cancer. Details

National News

Los Angeles councilwoman Nithya Raman (D) overtakes Spencer Pratt (R) as vote counting continues; Mayor Karen Bass (D) refers to Raman as her “general election opponent” (More).

Pharma giant Eli Lilly says its “triple agonist” drug—a GLP-1 drug with added appetite-suppression mechanisms—showed weight reductions of 25%-30%, with reductions in sleep apnea, knee osteoarthritis, and more (More).

The report was prepared at the request of the County Commission following public interest in inmate deaths and the procedures used to investigate them. According to the review, the five deaths represented less than 0.07% of the approximately 7,255 individuals who were incarcerated at least once in the detention facility during 2025.

County staff noted that inmate mortality rates at the Leon County facility remain below national averages. The U.S. Department of Justice reports a mortality rate of approximately 0.17% in local jails nationwide, compared with Leon County’s rate of less than half that figure.

The report explains that every in-custody death triggers both criminal and administrative investigations by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, along with an independent review by the Medical Examiner. Investigators examine evidence, interview witnesses, review medical records and determine whether any criminal conduct or policy violations occurred. The Sheriff’s Office is also required to report all inmate deaths to state and federal authorities under the federal Death in Custody Reporting Act.

The five inmate deaths reviewed included two overdose deaths, two deaths from natural medical causes and one death involving self-inflicted head trauma.

According to the report, a 46-year-old male inmate died in October after suffering an overdose. Another inmate, a 36-year-old man, died in January from an overdose after being found unresponsive in his cell.

Two deaths were attributed to natural causes. A 72-year-old inmate receiving hospice care through the Sheriff’s Office Inmate Comfort Care Program died from stage 4 throat cancer in September. A 36-year-old inmate died in June from a pulmonary embolism while housed in the medical unit.

The fifth death involved a 26-year-old female inmate who was being treated in the medical unit after engaging in self-injurious behavior. The Medical Examiner ruled her death accidental, citing severe cerebral edema caused by self-inflicted head trauma.

The report also highlights ongoing efforts to improve inmate safety, including increased staffing, enhanced behavioral health services, suicide-prevention measures, and facility upgrades such as suicide-resistant furnishings. The detention facility maintains accreditation through the National Commission on Correctional Health Care and conducts medical screenings for inmates shortly after intake.

Orange County Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Demings announced Friday he is suspending his 2026 campaign after being diagnosed with a treatable form of prostate cancer.

In a prepared release, Demings said that “continuing to run for governor would have likely led to injurious effects on my prognosis. I am a fighter through and through, and now is the time to fight cancer and be there for my loved ones.”

He will finish out his mayoral term, which expires in November.

The mayor broke the news while speaking to reporters after completing his final “State of the County” address at the Orange County Convention Center. He said he intends to serve the remainder of his term in office.

“Running for governor has been one of the biggest honors of my life. Up until my diagnosis, our campaign was continuing to add staff and grow our reach throughout the state. Our polling showed a strong chance of victory, and I had been looking forward to articulating my vision for our state on the (campaign)trail through the primary and into November,” the statement reads.

Demings, 66, had a lengthy career in law enforcement before being elected Orange County Mayor in 2018. He had joined the Orlando Police Department in 1981. In 1998, he became Orlando police chief and was elected Orange County sheriff in 2008, serving until 2018. In all three positions, he became the first Black person to win the.

He entered the race for governor in November and has been competing for the Democratic nomination with former Republican U.S. Rep. David Jolly, who became a Democrat only a year ago.

Polls have shown the race to be competitive, with a majority of Democratic voters in some of those surveys saying they were undecided.

Jolly quickly issued a release wishing Demings well.

“Jerry has dedicated his life to public service, fighting with passion, mettle, and faith,” Jolly said in a statement. “I know he’ll bring that same spirit to this new chapter. Laura and I wish him a full recovery as we personally pray for Jerry and his family.”

Republican gubernatorial candidates such as Byron Donalds and James Fishback also released statements wishing Demings well.

Demings’ candidacy for governor came four years after his wife, former U.S. Rep. Val Demings, was the Florida Democratic Party’s nominee for U.S. Senate. She failed to oust Marco Rubio. The couple are the parents of three sons and have five grandchildren.

Friday, June 5, 2026

Weather: Today, mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Tonight, mostly clear, with a low around 67. Saturday, sunny, with a high near 91. Saturday night, partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Sunday, mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Sunday night, mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. NWS

US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.4%, Dow +1.7%, Nasdaq -0.1%) (More).

Local & State News

TPD crime incident numbers for May 2026 are in. The numbers show that year-to-date (YTD) property crime and violent crime incidents are up 15.9% when compared to YTD numbers in May 2025. Details.

The Leon County Commission recently voted to postpone a decision on a proposed overhaul of the county’s cultural grant administration system, directing staff to bring the issue back for discussion during the June 16 budget workshop. Details.

First-time jobless claims declined in Florida for a third consecutive week, following a spike last month when nearly 5,000 Spirit Airlines workers were laid off in the state when the carrier shut down operations. Details.

National News

The Senate began voting yesterday on a $70B Republican-backed bill that funds both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection through 2029. Passage is expected as soon as today, before the bill heads to the House. 

Former national security adviser John Bolton will plead guilty later this month to one count of retaining classified national security information, pay $2.3M fine; Bolton criticized President Donald Trump in his 2020 memoir (More).