By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — As calls from hurricane-battered Northwest Florida grow more desperate for state and federal financial help, Sen. Bill Montford on Tuesday removed a request for $315 million from a relief package while lawmakers prepare for budget talks. Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who is one of three […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday downplayed growing concerns that President Donald Trump is putting Florida’s coastal waters back in play for oil exploration. A political ally of the president, DeSantis said he will “be raising Cain” if drilling plans advance that include Florida waters, particularly […]
By Ana Ceballos, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A campaign about free speech on Florida college campuses — a hot-button issue across the nation — is being backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and public university presidents, who signed a resolution vowing to welcome all types of debate unless they promote “true threats or […]
By The News Service of Florida Staff With this year’s legislative session in its final three weeks, Gov. Ron DeSantis took time Monday to rally support for his education priorities at a Tampa Christian school. He told a crowd that he thinks his administration is on track to deliver on a number of his priorities […]
More than five months after Florida voters approved a ban on workplace vaping, the issue is on the way to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The House on Thursday gave unanimous approval to a bill (SB 7012) that would carry out the voter-approved constitutional amendment. The Senate unanimously passed the bill last month. The constitutional amendment, placed […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Senate’s top Democrat struggled Wednesday to quell a bipartisan firestorm over her opposition to a measure designed to snuff out anti-Semitism at schools and colleges. Speaking to reporters, Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson stopped short of apologizing but insisted that she is not […]
By The News Service of Florida State regulators Tuesday approved a plan by Duke Energy Florida to recoup money from customers for two solar power plants in Columbia and Hamilton counties. Duke sought approval from the state Public Service Commission to collect about $29.2 million a year for the 74.9-megawatt facilities in the North Florida […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — After hurricanes during the past three years knocked out electricity for millions of Floridians, lawmakers are moving forward with regulatory changes that could lead to more underground power lines. But it would come at a cost. A House panel this week approved a bill (HB […]
A wide-ranging higher education package, which includes a controversial mandate for an annual “intellectual freedom” survey on state university campuses, was backed unanimously by a Senate panel on Tuesday. The bill (SB 1296), sponsored by Senate Education Chairman Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, is similar to legislation (HB 839) approved by a House panel last week. […]
TALLAHASSEE — The tourism industry pushed Wednesday to keep the doors open at the state’s tourism-marketing agency as House and Senate budget committees advanced competing spending plans for next year. The House wants to fund Visit Florida only through Oct. 1, when the agency will be eliminated unless it is reauthorized by the Legislature. That […]