By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that would have at least temporarily allowed enforcement of a new state law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state. Uthmeier last month asked the Supreme Court for a stay […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The Trump administration Monday argued a federal appeals court should overturn a district judge’s ruling that blocked a new Florida law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys filed a 33-page brief backing the state’s appeal of a preliminary injunction […]
By The News Service of Florida Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational use of marijuana have submitted more than 600,000 petition signatures as they try to put the measure on the 2026 ballot. The state Division of Elections website Tuesday showed 613,206 valid signatures for the proposal, sponsored by the Smart […]
By The News Service of Florida Florida’s general-revenue tax collections beat expectations in May, with economists saying part of the gain was tied to people buying goods in anticipation of the effects of tariffs. The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research on Monday released a report that said Florida collected about $4.56 billion in […]
Alleging that Gov. Ron DeSantis did not comply with a constitutionally required deadline, an attorney asked the Florida Supreme Court on Friday to direct the governor to appoint a circuit judge in the Tallahassee area. Attorney Maite C. Garcia contended in the court petition that DeSantis was required to appoint a judge within 60 days […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A divided federal appeals court Wednesday backed a 2023 Florida law that requires teachers to use pronouns that align with their sex assigned at birth, rejecting arguments that the law violated First Amendment rights of a transgender teacher in Hillsborough County. A panel of the […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — The U.S. Supreme Court should reject a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to at least temporarily allow enforcement of a new law targeting undocumented immigrants who enter the state, attorneys for plaintiffs challenging the law argued Wednesday. Attorneys for the Florida Immigrant Coalition, […]
By Jim Turner and Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — With Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a state budget and a flurry of other bills, the dust has settled on the 2025 legislative session. Here are 10 laws that took effect Tuesday, the start the 2025-2026 fiscal year: BALLOT INITIATIVES: A law (HB […]
A new migrant detention center opened yesterday in the Florida Everglades, with President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in attendance. Nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz,” the 39-square-mile site located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport can house up to 5,000 detainees and is surrounded by swampland filled with alligators and pythons, which officials say serves […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed what he said was a $117.4 billion budget for the fiscal year that will start Tuesday and issued $567 million in line-item vetoes, while saying the plan better prepares the state for potential economic downturns. “I think what you […]