By Jay Waagmeester, The Florida Phoenix The Florida House gave final approval Thursday, the second-to-last-day of the scheduled regular legislative session, to a package formulated in the aftermath of the shootings at Florida State University last year that would arm professors. The House approval followed the Senate’s Wednesday. HB 757, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Salzman, […]
By The News Service of Florida The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday estimated 5,458 first-time jobless claims were filed in Florida last week, up on a revised count of 5,084 for the week ending Feb. 28. With a jobless rate at 4.3 percent, the state has now averaged 5,509 initial claims a week over […]
By The News Service of Florida A road running across south Florida would be named after President Donald Trump and Tallahassee’s airport would add legendary Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden to its name under a bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday. The bill (SB 628) would dub 125 miles of State Road […]
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix The Florida House has passed a bill labeled by one Senate Democrat as the “nail in the coffin” for public sector unions in Florida. The measure (SB 1296) would require that public sector labor unions could only be re-certified if at least 50% of all of the employees in the bargaining […]
By The News Service of Florida Gas prices have jumped nearly 60 cents in Florida since ongoing U.S. and Israel strikes on Iran started just over a week ago and effectively halted tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for global oil traffic. The auto club AAA put an average gallon of gas […]
By The News Service of Florida An effort to start tightening rules on the use of electric bicycles is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The House voted unanimously Monday to back the measure (SB 382) that in part would require e-bike operators to slow to 10 mph when within 50 feet of a pedestrian on […]
By Gray Roher, The News Service of Florida Lawmakers are again at a stalemate over the budget. Instead of negotiating the final details of the state spending plan for the next fiscal year, House and Senate leaders haven’t agreed to top line numbers. That means the Legislature will need extra time to pass the budget, […]
By Ana Goñi-Lessan, The News Service of Florida The two chambers of the Florida Legislature still haven’t decided whether to give Gov. Ron DeSantis the authority to spend money out of the state’s emergency fund for immigration enforcement, days before the 2026 regular session is scheduled to end. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund, created […]
By The News Service of Florida With just over a week left in the scheduled regular session, House and Senate leaders aren’t yet into formal budget negotiations. House Budget Chairman Lawrence McClure said Thursday talks with his Senate counterparts to set up budget negotiations will continue into the weekend. “I’m going to be doing it […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Trucking companies would have to pay a hefty civil penalty to get their vehicles back when drivers are found to be undocumented immigrants, under a bill passed by the Senate on Friday. The proposal (SB 86), which passed on a 29-5 vote, came about in […]