Flush with cash, Florida lawmakers on Tuesday released a $117 billion budget for the fiscal year that will start July 1. The record budget would be about $7 billion larger than the spending plan for the current fiscal year. House and Senate negotiators finished working out details Monday. Tuesday’s release …
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TALLAHASSEE — With the future of abortion rights in Florida potentially hinging on the case, attorneys for abortion clinics and a doctor are pushing back against arguments that the state Supreme Court should reject decades of legal precedents about a privacy clause in the Florida Constitution. The attorneys late Friday …
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The law says any state officeholder who “qualifies for federal public office must resign from the office he or she presently holds if the terms, or any part thereof, run concurrently with each other.”
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TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House on Wednesday gave final approval to a controversial plan that would place additional restrictions on public-employee unions, teeing up the issue for Gov. Ron DeSantis. Union members repeatedly came to the Capitol to fight the bill (SB 256), but it moved quickly through the Senate …
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TALLAHASSEE — The Florida House on Wednesday passed a measure that would put new requirements on universities related to debates and other campus forums, with supporters saying it would bolster free speech but critics arguing it could have unintended consequences. The Republican-controlled House voted 82-34 along near-party lines to approve …
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TALLAHASSEE — Disney’s iconic monorail system would face periodic state inspections, as Republican lawmakers continue to back Gov. Ron DeSantis in his clash with the entertainment giant. Voting along party lines, the Republican-controlled Senate Fiscal Policy Committee on Tuesday amended a transportation bill (SB 1250) to apply Department of Transportation …
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TALLAHASSEE — A measure that seeks to prevent colleges and universities from spending money on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is ready to go before the full Senate amid strong objections from Democrats, with one Black senator calling the proposal “racist at its core.” The bill (SB 266) also has …
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TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill eliminating a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before judges can impose death sentences. The new law took effect immediately and represents a major change in Florida’s death-penalty system. Lawmakers moved forward with the issue after Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to …
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TALLAHASSEE — A federal judge has tossed out a challenge to a controversial 2021 Florida law that includes requiring surveys about “intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity” on state college and university campuses. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker issued a 22-page decision Monday that said plaintiffs, including the United Faculty …
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TALLAHASSEE — A federal jury was empaneled Monday in the trial of former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum, who was indicted last year on corruption charges including wire fraud and lying to federal investigators. Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor, catapulted to rising-star status in Democratic circles as he campaigned …
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WUFT News News and Public Media for North Central Florida from the University of Florida in Gainesville