By Jim Turner, The Florida News Service Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet will be asked Tuesday to designate 22 acres at Hillsborough College into the talks involving a stadium location for the Tampa Bay Rays. Hillsborough College is working with the Rays ownership over the use of about 113 acres of the Dale […]
By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix The major election bill being pushed by Florida Republicans in the Legislature this session would require proof of American citizenship to register to vote, similar to federal legislation advocated by President Trump and Republicans in Congress. The proposal (SB 1334) advanced on a party-line vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee […]
By The News Service of Florida A bill that would immediately remand someone who was found guilty of a dangerous crime into custody unanimously passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee on Civil and Criminal Justice on Wednesday. Entitled “Missy’s Law,” SB 928 would also require the person to stay in custody pending sentencing or further […]
By The News Service of Florida A proposal that would scale back a 2025 law that temporarily blocked cities and counties from approving “more restrictive or burdensome” changes to growth plans is headed to the Senate floor. The Rules Committee on Tuesday backed the measure (SB 840) that has yet to see any action in […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Tougher steps to qualify for unemployment benefits cleared the Florida House Tuesday. The Republican-controlled chamber voted 81-31 on the proposal (HB 191) that would disqualify claimants who do not contact a required number of employers weekly, don’t appear for scheduled job interviews or don’t return to work […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida A key campus in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push for a conservative overhaul of the state’s higher-education system would see its physical footprint grow under the House budget. The Higher Education Budget Subcommittee on Monday advanced a bill that would transfer buildings, facilities, equipment and about $53 million […]
By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix With Florida’s prison population expected to increase in the coming decades, a committee in the Florida House approved a measure (PCB JUB 26-02) Monday that would appropriate $250 million to the Department of Corrections to develop new and existing prisons through 2067. In their proposed budget released last week, the House […]
By Christine Sexton, The Florida Phoenix The Tallahassee money games have begun. The Florida House and Senate in the last 24 hours released dueling state budget plans that are about $1 billion apart, with the House proposing to spend $113.6 billion and the Senate $115 billion between July 1 this year and June 30, 2027. […]
By The News Service of Florida A proposal to compensate the families of the “Groveland Four” is headed to the Senate floor, while the House has yet to act on the effort. The Appropriations Committee on Thursday backed the proposal (SB 694) after $4 million was added to the measure that seeks to compensate the […]
By The News Service of Florida An estimated 5,427 first-time jobless claims were filed in Florida last week, according to a U.S. Department of Labor estimate out Thursday. The figure is down from a revised count of 5,645 for the week ending Jan. 31. The estimate also marked the fourth consecutive week with a decline […]