By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a controversial bill that will bar classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in early grades, characterizing the measure as a way to “protect students” and “support parents.” Lawmakers approved the measure (HB 1557) during this year’s legislative […]
The most recent U.S. Census data release shows that Florida counties that voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election gained 224,336 residents from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021, while Florida counties that voted for Biden lost 13,140. Late last year the U.S. Census reported that the largest net domestic migration gains from 2020 […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Calling it a move toward “curriculum transparency,” Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed a bill that will intensify scrutiny of school library books and instructional materials and impose 12-year term limits on school board members. Lawmakers approved the measure (HB 1467) during the legislative session […]
During the 2022 legislative session Florida Republicans took actions that distanced themselves from some of Florida’s biggest corporations – Governor DeSantis took on Disney, and the Florida Legislature let a corporate income tax break expire. The publisher of Floridapolitics.com, Peter Schorsch, tweeted that corporations “got (royally) screwed during Session.” This assessment goes against the traditional narrative that corporate […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers finished the regular legislative session Monday by passing a $112.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. Here are snapshots of 10 big issues from the session: — ABORTION: The Republican-controlled House and Senate passed a proposal that would […]
By The News Service of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday formally received two high-profile education bills that would overhaul the state’s standardized testing system and create a public-records exemption for colleges and universities as they search for new presidents. DeSantis will have until March 29 to act on the bills, which received final approval […]
By Jim Saunders, Ryan Dailey and Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers passed a record $112.1 billion budget Monday to end a legislative session dominated by fierce debates about issues such as education, abortion and immigration. Only three lawmakers voted against the election-year spending plan, which was pumped up by […]
An analysis of news articles published by journalists in the Tallahassee Democrat between February 9th and March 11th show that reporters repeatedly used the term “Don’t Say Gay” slogan when writing about the Parental Rights in Education bill. The analysis shows that the “Don’t Say Gay” term was used over 6 times more than the […]
One day after Disney CEO Bob Chapek came out against the Parental Rights in Education bill, Governor Ron DeSantis responded forcefully with references to China and woke corporations. On Wednesday, Chapek addressed the parental rights legislation at a shareholders meeting by saying, “I know that many are upset that we did not speak out against the […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A fiercely debated bill that would bar instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity for young public-school students is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis, despite Democrats’ warnings Tuesday that the measure’s approval sends “a message of hate” to Floridians. Senators voted 22-17 to pass the […]