TALLAHASSEE — After fending off Democratic opponents, Republicans Randy Fine and Jimmy Patronis are heading to Congress. Fine, a former member of the Florida House and Senate, won a special election Tuesday to replace former U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz in Congressional District 6, according to results posted on state and county elections websites. Meanwhile, Patronis, […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday argued Floridians aren’t “clamoring” for a sales-tax cut as House Speaker Daniel Perez proposed last week and said they would prefer reducing homeowners’ property taxes. DeSantis said during an appearance at the industry group Florida Realtors in Orlando that the […]
By The News Service of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday called the Republican-controlled House’s decisions to override a series of budget vetoes “misplaced priorities.” In a video posted online, DeSantis said the overrides Wednesday would undo “millions of dollars in cost savings that I instituted back in June of 2024, when I signed the […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — House Speaker Daniel Perez said Wednesday he wants to lower the state’s sales-tax rate, trimming revenue by almost $5 billion a year. Perez, R-Miami, told House members he has directed Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, to produce a bill next week that would […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House and Senate on Tuesday continued moving forward with a proposal that would provide an exemption to the state’s voter-approved minimum wage for certain workers in on-the-job training. The Republican-controlled House Careers & Workforce Subcommittee voted 12-4 along party lines to support a […]
TALLAHASSEE — In a case stemming from a fiery, fatal crash after an 18-year-old motorist drove 116 mph, a federal appeals court Friday sided with Tesla, Inc. in a dispute about the design of the car’s battery system. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district-court decision in the […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a 2024 Florida law aimed at restricting children’s access to major social-media sites, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to fight the measure. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a ruling […]
By Dara Kam & Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Department of Management Services Secretary Pedro Allende got a grilling this week as a House budget panel digs into his agency’s employment of out-of-state workers, spending on travel and other hot-button issues. Allende’s appearance before the House State Administration Budget Subcommittee followed […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With state universities and colleges continuing to see turnover of presidents, a House panel Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would repeal a law shielding information about presidential candidates from public disclosure. The bill (HB 1321), unanimously approved by the House Education Administration Subcommittee, also […]
The Republican-controlled Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee on Tuesday approved a measure that targets diversity, equity, and inclusion, or “DEI,” efforts at medical schools and in state-agency contracts. The bill (SB 1710), filed by Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach, would prohibit money going to DEI offices or officers and would require “specific science […]