By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — After a bipartisan uproar last year about a proposal dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” the Florida Senate on Tuesday began moving forward with a bill that would prevent building such things as golf courses, pickleball courts and hotel-style lodges in state parks. The Senate Environment […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers on Tuesday launched a third special session aimed at increasing enforcement of illegal immigration, putting aside an intraparty clash with Gov. Ron DeSantis over plans to help carry out one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities. Lawmakers are slated to vote Thursday on […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Special Florida House panels are teed up next week to scrutinize Gov. Ron DeSantis’ line-item budget vetoes, setting up possible overrides amid a dispute between the governor and Republican legislative leaders over immigration-enforcement plans. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, on Thursday assembled four “combined workgroups” […]
By The News Service of Florida A state panel this week decided to hold off on revising Florida population projections because of potential effects from new federal and state immigration policies. The panel, known as the Demographic Estimating Conference, meets periodically to analyze the state’s population. It met Tuesday and said in an executive summary […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis late Sunday proposed a $115.6 billion budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year that calls for increasing pay for state law-enforcement officers and firefighters, eliminating a commercial-lease tax and holding a new sales-tax “holiday” on guns and ammunition. The proposal is an initial […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Tallahassee TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican legislative leaders clashed throughout the week in a public and bitter tug-of-war over how best to carry out President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, convened a special legislative […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday pledged to veto an immigration bill passed during a special legislative session Tuesday, triggering a potential showdown with Republican House and Senate leaders in a tug-of-war over efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda. DeSantis lambasted the measure during […]
TALLAHASSEE — Saying they are trying to help President Donald Trump crack down on illegal immigration, Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature late Tuesday passed a plan that includes boosting criminal penalties for undocumented immigrants, ending in-state tuition rates for undocumented-immigrant students and creating a state “chief immigration officer.” The bill, which passed in a special legislative session, […]
By Jim Saunders, Dara Kam and Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature will revamp immigration laws this week but issued a sharp rebuke Monday to Gov. Ron DeSantis that included overriding a budget veto from last year. The House and Senate started and quickly ended a special legislative session […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — On the eve of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place additional restrictions on the ballot initiative process. The bills, in part, would end in-state tuition at […]