By The News Service of Florida A Senate Republican this week proposed preventing local governments from regulating electric-vehicle charging stations. Senate Agriculture Chairman Jay Collins, R-Tampa, included the prohibition in a bill (SB 1084) that includes a wide range of issues related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Under the proposal, regulation […]
By Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida lawmakers during the upcoming legislative session could look to address the problem of chronic absenteeism among public-school students. Data collected by the Florida Department of Education showed that 20.9 percent of students in public schools, including students in adult education courses, missed 21 or […]
By The News Service of Florida Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at ensuring abortion rights in Florida continue to get closer to meeting a signature requirement to reach the 2024 ballot. The Florida Division of Elections website Friday showed 833,743 valid petition signatures for the proposal, up from 753,306 a week earlier and […]
By Jim Turner, Tom Urban The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — While still near historically low levels, Florida’s unemployment rate inched up to 2.9 percent in November. The November rate was an increase from 2.8 percent in October and represented 324,000 people out of work from a labor force of 11.19 million, according to […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Florida State University on Friday filed a lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference, alleging the conference has “persistently undermined its members’ revenue opportunities” and damaged FSU. The lawsuit, approved by the school’s Board of Trustees and filed in Leon County circuit court, could ultimately lead […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Focusing on what has become one of the most emotionally charged issues in the state and nation, a trial ended Thursday in a constitutional challenge to Florida restrictions on medical care for transgender children and adults. The challenge centers on a 2023 law and rules […]
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A $7 billion program to advance a series of transportation projects hit a funding gap as it enters its second year and will require more money than initially planned from the state’s general-revenue fund. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ proposed $114.4 billion budget for next fiscal year […]
By Jim Turner and Ryan Dailey, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday pitched a $114.4 billion budget for next fiscal year that includes a variety of tax cuts and spending on such things as teacher salary increases and police recruitment bonuses. Dubbed the “Focus on Florida’s Future Budget,” the […]
By Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A 2018 constitutional amendment designed to bolster victims’ rights “does not explicitly” shield the identities of police officers — or any other people — from disclosure, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in a major decision on Thursday. The unanimous opinion, authored by Justice John Couriel, […]
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida TALLAHASSEE — A statewide grand jury has issued a 146-page report that calls for taking a series of steps to try to curb illegal immigration, saying “it will be up to Florida and other states to help themselves, at least in the short term,” as problems go […]