House looks to boost teacher salaries in budget proposal
Teachers could see a pay raise and PreK-12 schools would get more funds for exceptional students under a House budget plan released by the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee. The plan for the...
View ArticleHouse looks to cut Job Growth Grant program, Senate keeps level funding
Funding for key economic development programs in Florida would mostly stay the same under a budget plan released by the Senate, but a House plan would cut a key grant fund. The Senate plan, unveiled by...
View ArticleHouse budget bill lets state gambling enforcers keep contraband, proceeds
A bill released this week as part of the House budget plan would allow state gaming regulators to keep illegal gambling devices they confiscate. The bill (HB 5203) allows the Florida Gaming Control...
View ArticleRick Scott doesn’t support bill rolling back Parkland gun restrictions
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott isn’t backing legislation to repeal part of a landmark bill passed in the aftermath of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland in 2018 that banned 18-...
View ArticleAngie Nixon falsely accused of stealing food from House member’s lounge
A Jacksonville Democrat is involved in a food fight in Tallahassee. But it’s not about legislation. Rep. Angie Nixon said she was accused by the House Sergeant at Arms of “stealing food from the...
View ArticleBill lowering rifle-buying age to 18 clears House panel
Six years after lawmakers passed a bill to increase the minimum age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21, a House panel approved a measure to repeal that provision. The 2018 age limit increase was one part of...
View ArticleHouse, Senate advance budget proposals amid ‘austere’ warning
The heady times of state coffers being flush with money from soaring revenues boosted by inflation and federal infusions of COVID-19-era stimulus won’t last forever. That was the message sent by the...
View ArticleBill hiking pay for future Governor, Cabinet advances in House
Florida’s next Governor and Cabinet officials could get a pay raise under a bill moving in the House. The measure (PCB APC 24-04) would tie the salaries of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chief...
View ArticleHouse moves on Citizens-surplus lines bill, but clash with Senate awaits
Three days after the Senate advanced a bill allowing lightly regulated surplus lines companies to take over some Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policies, a House panel approved a similar bill. But...
View ArticleHouse passes bill easing child labor laws
Lawmakers took a significant step to relax restrictions on child labor laws as the House passed a measure allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to work more than 30 hours a week and as late as 11 p.m. on a...
View ArticleHouse COLA push for state workers could hit dead end in Senate
A move to add back a 3% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for state workers’ pensions that the state took away in 2011 started to move in the House this week, but it could ultimately falter amid...
View ArticleHouse, Senate budgets clash on prisons, health care
The House and Senate are poised to pass their preferred spending plans (HB 5001, SB 2500) this week. While the packages are only separated by $392 million in total out of more than $115 billion, the...
View ArticleSenate passes bill making changes to home hardening grant program
A program aimed at paying for wind and storm mitigation upgrades to homes would be reworked to prioritize low-income homeowners under a bill that passed unanimously off the Senate floor. “This is...
View ArticleWill lawmakers include Gov. DeSantis’ insurance tax cut in tax package bill?
Legislators are still developing plans for a tax cut package, but it’s unclear whether one of the major pieces of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recommended tax plan will make the cut. House and Senate leaders...
View ArticleHouse, Senate pass budgets at odds on prisons, COLA, more
The House and Senate have passed their preferred budgets off their floors. But major differences remain on capital improvements for prisons and state worker retirement benefits to be resolved in formal...
View ArticleBill with more ‘hoops’ for unemployment benefits advances in House
Legislation requiring more stringent verification of those applying for unemployment insurance benefits and imposing more work search requirements to stay on the rolls is gaining ground in the House,...
View ArticleHouse tax package eyes cuts for businesses, consumers
Businesses paying rent on commercial property and consumers accustomed to buying during sales tax holidays would be the big winners under the House tax cut package. The bill (PCB WMC 24-05) would save...
View ArticleHouse panel OKs elimination of local wage, heat protection rules for contractors
Local governments wouldn’t be able to set minimum wages for their contractors and subcontractors, and couldn’t require businesses to protect their workers from heat exposure, under a bill passed by the...
View ArticleBill mandating disclosure for artificial intelligence in political ads headed...
Political ads using artificial intelligence (AI) technology will need a statement disclosing the fact under a bill advancing in the House. The bill (HB 919) from Rep. Alex Rizo, a Hialeah Republican,...
View ArticleFantasy sports regulation bill advances in House
New regulations for large-scale fantasy sports betting could be on the way to Florida, as legislation setting up parameters for companies offering the games to operate passed through a House panel. The...
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