States Scramble After Title IX Ruling Related to Gender Identity

States Scramble After Title IX Ruling Related to Gender Identity

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida Hours after a U.S. district judge ruled against them, Florida and three other states late Tuesday asked an appeals court to temporarily halt a new federal rule about sex-based discrimination in education programs. Attorneys for Florida, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and other plaintiffs scrambled after U.S. District […]

Trulieve Adds $5M to Pot Campaign

Trulieve Adds $5M to Pot Campaign

By The News Service of Florida The medical-cannabis company Trulieve has contributed another $5 million to a campaign to allow recreational marijuana in Florida, according to a newly filed finance report. The company made the contribution July 15 to the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, which is leading efforts to pass a recreational-marijuana initiative […]

State Moves Forward on Social Media Law

State Moves Forward on Social Media Law

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Facing potential First Amendment challenges, Florida has proposed details about how it will carry out a new law aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms and blocking minors from accessing online pornography. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office on Tuesday published three proposed rules that include […]

Court Dismisses Abortion ‘Statement’ Case

Court Dismisses Abortion ‘Statement’ Case

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — An appeals court Monday declined to take up a fight stemming from a “financial impact statement” that will appear on the November ballot with a proposed constitutional amendment on abortion rights, saying the case is moot because the statement was revised last week. A three-judge […]

Florida Jobless Rate Stays at 3.3 Percent

Florida Jobless Rate Stays at 3.3 Percent

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s unemployment rate held steady in June for a third consecutive month, as baby-boomer retirements affect the size of the labor force and the hospitality industry has shed some jobs. The Florida Department of Commerce on Friday released a report that said the state’s June […]

GOP Registration Edge Nears 1M

GOP Registration Edge Nears 1M

By The News Service of Florida The voter-registration gap between the Republican Party of Florida and the Florida Democratic Party continues to widen. The GOP had 5,257,407 registered voters at the end of June, while the Democratic Party had 4,300,964, according to newly posted data on the state Division of Elections website. That 956,443-voter advantage […]

FAMU President Stepping Down

FAMU President Stepping Down

By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida A&M University President Larry Robinson announced Friday he will step down after nearly seven years leading the state’s only historically Black public university and plans to return to the faculty. In a letter addressed to “FAMUly and Friends” that was posted online, Robinson did […]

Florida Tax Collections Top Estimate

Florida Tax Collections Top Estimate

By The News Service of Florida State general-revenue tax collections in May were 4.2 percent higher than expected, according to a report released Tuesday by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research. The report said net general revenue during the month totaled about $4.48 billion, $182.4 million more than expected when a forecast was […]

Citizens Tops 1.211M Policies

Citizens Tops 1.211M Policies

By The News Service of Florida The state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. topped 1.211 million policies last week, as it continued to add thousands of customers. Citizens had 1,211,914 policies as of Friday, up from 1,207,292 policies a week earlier and 1,202,696 policies two weeks earlier, according to information on its website. Citizens, which was […]

Sponsor of Florida Law Touts Homeless Ruling

Sponsor of Florida Law Touts Homeless Ruling

By The News Service of Florida The sponsor of a new Florida law designed to prevent homeless people from sleeping in public places praised a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Friday that upheld the constitutionality of an Oregon city’s ordinance cracking down on public camping. Rep. Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, called the Supreme Court ruling in […]