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Florida News Archive

Mar 28, 2025

House panel takes aim at agency head

Tallahassee – Saying the Florida Department of Management Services’ “fiscal house is completely out of order,” a House budget leader Mar. 27 excoriated the head of the agency and threatened to zero out his salary as lawmakers prepare to begin budget negotiations.
Mar 27, 2025

House speaker calls for sales-tax cut

Tallahassee – House Speaker Daniel Perez said Mar. 26 he wants to lower the state’s sales-tax rate, trimming revenue by almost $5 billion a year.

Perez, R-Miami, told House members he has directed Ways & Means Chairman Wyman Duggan, R-Jacksonville, to produce a bill next week that would lower the rate from 6 percent to 5.25 percent.

Mar 27, 2025

Senate backs off later school start times

Tallahassee – Florida lawmakers in 2023 passed a law aimed at starting high-school classes later in the morning, pointing to research showing that teens are not getting enough sleep.
Mar 26, 2025

Lawmakers eye oil drilling permits

Tallahassee – Amid a legal battle about an effort to drill for oil and gas near Northwest Florida’s Apalachicola River, state House and Senate panels Mar. 25 approved proposals aimed at shielding environmentally sensitive areas from drilling.
Mar 25, 2025

AI eyed in insurance claim denials

Tallahassee – A Florida Senate committee Mar. 25 approved a bill that would prevent insurers from using artificial intelligence as the sole basis for denying claims, with the proposal saying decisions should be made by a “qualified human professional,”
Mar 24, 2025

Wetlands fight teed up for arguments

Tallahassee – A federal appeals court will hear arguments in May in a closely watched case about whether the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2020 improperly shifted permitting authority to Florida for projects that affect wetlands.
Mar 21, 2025

Social media lawsuit tossed; fight to continue

Tallahassee – A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging a 2024 Florida law aimed at restricting children’s access to major social-media sites, ruling that industry groups did not show they had legal standing to fight the measure.
Mar 19, 2025

Lawmakers seek ‘transparency’ in higher ed searches

Tallahassee – With state universities and colleges continuing to see turnover of presidents, a House panel Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would repeal a law shielding information about presidential candidates from public disclosure.
Mar 18, 2025

Lawmakers eye changes after 2024 hurricanes

Tallahassee – From holding down property taxes on homes rebuilt after hurricanes to new post-storm rules for elections supervisors, the Florida House on Mar. 18 started moving forward with a proposal to address issues whipped up during the damaging 2024 hurricane season.
Mar 6, 2025

Lawmakers back restrictions on ballot initiatives

Tallahassee – After fierce — and expensive — political battles last year about abortion rights and recreational marijuana, Florida lawmakers Thursday began moving forward with a proposal that would place additional restrictions on the ballot-initiative process.
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