Florida House unanimously passes sea-level rise legislation; bill now goes to governor's desk
Legislation hailed as some of the most robust yet to defend U.S. coasts against sea-level rise is headed to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a proposal that would provide millions of dollars annually to communities threatened with losing ground to rising oceans because of climate change.
Florida Senate passes 'alcohol to-go' bill
The Florida Senate approved a bill that would make permanent a move that has allowed restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks with take-home meals during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Florida lawmakers consider bill that would ban 'disability abortions'
Physicians who terminate pregnancies solely because women don’t want children with disabilities could face felony charges under a bill moving through the Florida House.
Transgender athlete ban heads to full Florida House
A proposal to ban transgender females from taking part in girls’ or women’s high-school and college sports is teed up for consideration by the full Florida House of Representatives, after a Republican-controlled education panel overrode fiery objections Tuesday.
Florida Supreme Court to hear challenge to insurance law
The Florida Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a constitutional challenge to a 2016 state law that put new requirements on life insurance companies to determine whether policyholders have died and to contact beneficiaries.
Bill in Florida Legislature would require moment of silence in schools every morning
Florida lawmakers are on the verge of requiring public schools across the state to set aside one to two minutes of silence every morning. If passed, Florida would become the 15th state in the country to mandate a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day.
Florida bill would require school districts to get parental permission before students take sex ed
A new Florida bill would require schools to get written consent from parents if they want their children to take part in sex education classes.
Dominion Voting sues Fox News for $1.6B over 2020 election claims
Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, arguing the cable news giant falsely claimed that the voting company had rigged the 2020 election.
Florida bill would let victims track rape kit processing
If passed, the law would require a tracking system for rape kits in Florida. The bill is called "Gail's Law" after a victim who raped in 1988, but whose sexual assault test kit wasn't tested until 2019, more than 30 years after her attack. She later learned her attacker had raped 15 other women.
Florida House passes bill to expand number of days a parent can surrender a newborn baby
Current Florida law allows parents to anonymously surrender a newborn baby up to 7 days old at a hospital or fire station. But the Florida House has now passed a bill that would expand that window to up to 30 days after a baby is born.
Florida Senate votes to close sex offender loophole
Last year, a judge ruled that a Tampa man convicted of molesting two young girls at a public pool didn't have to register as a sex offender because he hadn't paid off a court-ordered fine. Now the Florida Senate has unanimously passed a bill to close that loophole.
Florida lawmakers consider banning transgender female athletes from competing in high school, college sports
Florida lawmakers are considering a controversial proposal that would ban transgender girls and women from competing in women's high school and college sports. The bill would require student-athletes to compete according to their sex assigned at birth.
Revamped Bright Futures bill clears first hurdle
With dozens of students testifying against the bill, a controversial plan to reduce Bright Futures scholarships for students who pursue degrees deemed unlikely to lead to jobs was approved Tuesday by a Senate committee.
US intel report: Putin authorized operations to help Trump in 2020 presidential election
Russia and Iran sought to influence the outcome of last November's presidential election, but U.S. intelligence officials found no evidence that any foreign actor changed votes or otherwise disrupted the voting process.
Florida lawmakers target cigarette smoking on beaches
Florida lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow local governments to ban cigarette smoking on beaches and in public parks.
Controversial bill that would cut Bright Futures funding for certain students is back on the table
A major rewrite of the Bright Futures program bill will go before the Senate Education Committee.
House passes Equality Act, which would enshrine LGBTQ protections in US labor and civil rights laws
The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation's labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Joe Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
Dominion Voting Systems sues MyPillow, CEO Mike Lindell for defamation over election claims
Dominion Voting Systems, an election-technology company, alleges defamation in the lawsuit and is seeking more than $1.3 billion in damages.
Florida bill would add gender and gender identification to hate crime law
Florida's hate crime law could be expanded to create enhanced penalties for people who commit offenses against someone based on their gender or gender identity under a bill approved by a Senate committee Tuesday.
Florida lawmaker files bill to change state's vote-by-mail process
After Florida has received widespread praise for its handling of the 2020 election, Republicans and Democrats clashed over a bill that would require voters to more frequently request vote-by-mail ballots.