By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Legislation seeking to create a regulatory framework that would address key issues such as electricity and water use from massive data centers continues to move in the Florida Senate, while the House has yet to take similar action. The Senate Community Affairs Committee backed a measure Tuesday […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Senate Appropriations Chairman Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, said Wednesday his chamber’s planned roll out of the proposed fiscal year 2026-2027 budget has been delayed a week as they await action from the House. “Traditionally, the House and Senate roll their budgets out the same week,” Hooper told […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida An effort to expand the armed “school guardian” program to colleges and universities, following a deadly on-campus shooting near the Capitol last year, took another step forward in the House Tuesday. Calling for select post-secondary employees to be trained and armed, the Education & Employment Committee unanimously […]
By The News Service of Florida State general revenue collections fell just short of expectations in December primarily because of corporate income tax refunds. The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research reported last week that Florida collected about $4.393 billion in net general revenue in December, $6.5 million or 0.1 percent under an amount […]
By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix Officials from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Florida came to Tallahassee Monday to speak with lawmakers about pending legislation during the annual “Muslim Day” at the Capitol, but found conditions far different than in the past. That’s because in December, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order designating […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida Florida Decides Healthcare, a political committee sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at expanding Medicaid coverage, was quick to turn its eyes to 2028 as the state declared an end to all initiative petition drives for the November ballot. With litigation ongoing, Smart & Safe Florida, seeking […]
Driver’s license tests in Florida will be administered only in English starting Feb. 6, the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced Friday. “This change applies to all driver license classifications, including exams administered orally,” a news release said. Currently, exams for most non-commercial driver classifications are offered in English, Spanish and Haitian […]
By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix Jennifer Jenkins is dropping out of the Florida U.S. Senate primary and endorsing Alexander Vindman, the retired Army lieutenant colonel who played a key role in the first Trump impeachment and announced his candidacy on Tuesday. Jenkins is a former Brevard County school board member and was the first prominent Democrat […]
By the News Service of Florida An estimated 5,540 initial unemployment claims were filed last week in Florida, down from a revised count of 6,546 claims during the previous week, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report issued Thursday. The totals are similar to the state’s weekly average of 6,097 news claims in 2025. […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida A push by Gov. Ron DeSantis for Florida universities to pause hiring international faculty and staff members through what are known as H-1B visas moved forward Thursday. The state university system’s Board of Governors set up for final approval a proposed moratorium as part of rule changes […]