Tallahassee – Florida has appealed after a federal judge sided with two Chinese graduate students in a battle about a 2023 law that seeks to restrict ties between state universities and colleges and China.

Tallahassee – Building on a years-long effort to make it harder to change the state Constitution, the Florida House on Thursday approved a controversial measure that would impose new requirements on the ballot-initiative process and increase penalties for wrongdoing.

Tallahassee – The Florida Senate on Apr. 3 passed a wide-ranging education bill that includes eliminating a requirement that high-school students pass algebra and language-arts tests to earn standard diplomas.

Tallahassee – For the first time in 16 years, the state wouldn’t offer sales-tax “holidays” under a House proposal that calls for an overall cut in sales taxes.

Tallahassee – A proposal that would require small businesses to use the federal E-Verify system to check the immigration status of newly hired workers started moving forward Apr. 1 in the House.

Tallahassee – A year after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill on the issue, lawmakers again are considering proposals aimed at imposing strict regulations on the sale and production of euphoria-inducing hemp products.

Tallahassee – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Mar. 31 argued Floridians aren’t “clamoring” for a sales-tax cut as House Speaker Daniel Perez proposed last week and said they would prefer reducing homeowners’ property taxes.

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.

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.

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.