By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix A week after Republican members of the Florida House offered seven proposed constitutional amendments to address property tax reform on the 2026 ballot, Gov. Ron DeSantis has dismissed all of them, saying they reflect a lack of seriousness from the chamber. “Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida Citrus Commission on Wednesday moved forward with a $23.4 million budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, as the industry comes out of a year with historically low production. The commission, which oversees the Florida Department of Citrus, had expected to receive an initial […]
By Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix The rapid expansion of the state’s School Choice scholarship program burrowed a $47 million hole in the Florida Department of Education’s budget and left public and private schools complaining they aren’t getting properly paid. Money problems that arose during the 2024-2025 school year can largely be attributed to the mobility […]
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix TAMPA — A bipartisan group of state lawmakers heard from nearly a dozen doctors on Tuesday who called on them to reject any proposed legislation that would remove vaccine mandates from Florida schools. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last month in Hillsborough County that […]
By The News Service of Florida An average gallon of gas in Florida reached a nearly two-year low over the weekend, according to the AAA auto club. Florida’s average gallon of gas was at $2.90 on Sunday, which was 2 cents less than a week earlier and the lowest for the state since the pump […]
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem came to the Tampa Bay area on Monday, where she praised the partnership between the federal government and Florida law enforcement agencies in cracking down on undocumented immigration. “Florida has been, I think, the state that has provided the most law enforcement agreements under the […]
By The Center Square Florida tort-reform supporters pressed their message about the economic costs of excessive litigation during Lawsuit Abuse Awareness Week while conceding that the passage of additional reforms to route out injustices in the civil justice system was unlikely in 2026. Tom Gaitens, executive director of Florida Citizens Against Lawsuit Abuse (CALA), said […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House recently rolled out a series of proposed constitutional amendments to cut property taxes, while looking to shield funding for schools and law enforcement. House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, outlined the menu of proposals, which came as Gov. Ron DeSantis has made a […]
By Livia Caputo, Florida Phoenix A Florida Republican on Thursday re-filed a bill from last year requiring all private employers to use a federal database verifying whether new hires are legally in the country. Rep. Berny Jacques, a Seminole Republican, issued HB 197 to mandate all private businesses use E-Verify, a federally operated system allowing employers to […]
By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix Sounding as desperate as he ever has since being appointed four years ago, Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) Secretary Ricky Dixon asked a panel of state lawmakers Wednesday for more than $512 million for next fiscal year to maintain the prison system. “It is a staggering amount of money that […]