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 […]
By: Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix Local governments would be severely restricted from implementing measures to reduce the effects of climate change under a bill approved Thursday by a Florida House committee. The measure (HB 1217) comes nearly two years Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation declaring that the state would no longer be required to consider […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida A proposal to further limit the amount of out-of-state and international students at some Florida universities continued to advance in the House on Tuesday. The House Budget Committee approved a proposal (HB 1279) by Rep. Jennifer Kincart Jonsson, R-Lakeland, that would require preeminent state universities to reserve […]
By Stephanie Kanowitz, The News Service of Florida A bill that would make it harder for undocumented immigrants to obtain certain licenses and financial assistance advanced in the Florida House on Tuesday. The measure (HB 1307) would prohibit “unauthorized aliens” from getting any licenses the state Department of Financial Services issues, such as those related […]
Florida gubernatorial candidate David Jolly is staking out a controversial position on immigration enforcement, saying he would not require state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if elected governor. The 287(g) program allows local police and sheriff’s deputies to carry out certain federal immigration […]
By Mitch Perry, The Florida Phoenix A proposal to empower the head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to designate domestic or foreign terrorist organizations if the group meet specified criteria advanced through its second committee in the Florida House on Tuesday. The proposal (HB 1471), sponsored by former Democrat turned Republican Rep. […]