As wildfires rage across Florida’s Panhandle, three of Florida’s four cabinet members traveled to the region to assess the damage and offer state support. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis (R), and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried all traveled to the Panama City region to assess the three wildfires in the Bay County area.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), when speaking to reporters last week, said if constitutional carry were passed, he would sign it. DeSantis directly responded with “put it on my desk, I’ll sign it.”
The Florida Capital Star has previously reported that the bill, HB 103, was likely dead last month. Historically, bills that do not receive much backing after the halfway point in the legislative session will likely die. In the case of the constitutional carry legislation, it has yet to make it out of committee or have a Senate companion sponsor.
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Former President Donald Trump officially endorsed two incumbent Florida officials: Attorney General Ashley Moody and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis. So far, both incumbent Republicans are facing challenges from notable Democrats.
Moody has two Democrat challengers: attorney Jim Lewis and former Florida State Attorney Ayala Aramis. Aramis was once a rumored challenger to Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) for a Florida Senate seat.
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The Florida Legislature has passed HB 1421 which updates and provides additional provisions to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act originally passed in 2018. It passed without a single “no” vote from either legislative chamber.
The bill’s additions clarify expectations for public and charter schools and will institute updated training for school officers.
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Florida lawmakers continue to be in budget conference reconciling differences between House and Senate budget proposals. So far, numerous agreements and billions of dollars have been agreed upon.
The Florida House approved a $105 billion budget and the Florida Senate approved a $108 billion budget.
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The Florida House passed HB 7071, which would codify four new sales-tax holidays for Floridians. The bill was passed unanimously and was championed by Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) as the “coolest tax package.”
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The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill classifying religious institutions as “essential” during states of emergency. The bill was a result of the COVID pandemic, which saw many churches across the country forced to shut down due to pandemic-related conditions.
SB 254 already passed through the Senate in January with predominantly bipartisan support. Only three state senators – Sen. Lori Berman (D-Lantana), Sen. Tina Polsky (D-Palm Beach County), and Sen. Bobby Powell (D-West Palm Beach) – voted against the measure.
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A map from the Florida House proposes that Florida’s congressional redistricting process will see Congressional District 5, currently held by Representative Al Lawson (R-FL-5), eliminated as it currently sits. According to the new map, Lawson’s district would only encapsulate an area in Duval County.
The recommendation to shift the boundaries of District 5 come from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The rest of the voters in the Tallahassee and North Central Florida area would be incorporated into District 2, held by Representative Neal Dunn (R-FL-2).
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In an effort to “Buck the CDC” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and recently appointed Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo announced new COVID guidelines for Floridians. They are entitling the effort “Buck the CDC.”
In a flyer pushed out by the governor’s office, the new guidance includes four proposals: end corporate masking, right to try treatments, keep kids in school, and reduce isolation.
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Florida lawmakers have been advancing a bill and its companion, rather quickly, through House and Senate committees so that it can be heard for a vote on each chamber’s floor. HB 1335 by Florida State Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart) has been described as an expansion to a 2019 Florida law passed that banned sanctuary cities.
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The Florida Senate is set to hear HB 7065, a priority piece of legislation for Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor), that would designate $70 million for addressing Florida’s “fatherhood crisis.”
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved the bill and full Senate consideration is its next stop.
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Earlier this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced $11 million will be going to supporting rural infrastructure in three counties: Madison, Suwannee, and Putnam. He made the announcement from Madison, Fla., as the money will come from the Community Development Block Grant program administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) submitted a second round of maps for congressional redistricting earlier this week. It comes as the redistricting process has been stalled in the Florida Legislature.
The most controversial part of DeSantis’ first submission was the inclusion of boundaries eliminating District 5 as it currently stands, held by Congressman Al Lawson (R-FL-5), which stretches from Tallahassee to Jacksonville along Florida’s northern boundary with Georgia.
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The Florida House and Senate have each passed HB 5001, known as Florida’s budget entitled “General Appropriations Act.” The total amount in Florida’s budget for the 2022-2023 Fiscal Year is $105 billion in the House version, and $108 billion in the Senate version.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced that Florida’s domestic tourism levels have returned to pre-pandemic levels and have even reached an all-time high. In 2021, Florida had a total of 118 million domestic visitors.
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In a series of interviews, Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) warned about an impending “new world order.” He specifically said an invasion of Ukraine from Russia would be an indicator of a new global order with China and Russia as the leaders.
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A recently released poll from CNN shows Republican party voters are split between former President Donald Trump (R) and another Republican candidate, primarily Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
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Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R) issued a proclamation offering his support for the Canadian Freedom Convoy. Patronis announced the proclamation through Twitter.
“Florida stands with the truckers of Canada,” Patronis said. “May Trudeau’s repression come to an end. #CanadaTruckersForFreedom”
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More than three years after Hurricane Michael made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced another wave of recovery dollars for rural communities. DeSantis said over $91 million will be distributed to numerous communities through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) Rebuild Florida Mitigation General Infrastructure Program.
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Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D), running for Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination, raised a combined total of $313,000 in January. Fried’s campaign raised a total of $171,502 and her political action committee, Florida Consumers First, raised $141,854.
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The Florida House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that will enact term limits on elected public school board members. CS/BS 1467 by Florida Representative Sam Garrison (R-District 18) originally included a provision that would have eliminated salaries for school board members. However, that provision was axed after an late-arriving amendment.
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Florida’s constitutional carry bill, HB 103, is likely dead, as the Florida legislature is over halfway through its 2022 Legislative Session, which concludes the first week of March. The bill has yet to be heard by its first committee stop or received companion Senate legislation. Rarely do bills get fast-tracked through the legislature if they have not even reached committee.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) have simultaneously called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue a Disaster Declaration for farmers and growers in counties impacted by the recent, uncharacteristic hard freeze.
DeSantis penned a letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack where he reinforced Florida’s agricultural impact to the American economy, and how much Florida’s farmers have had to endure.
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President Joe Biden (D) and the White House entered the debate focused on Florida House Bill 7 by Representative Bryan Avila (R-District 111). On Twitter Tuesday, both the White House account and the president’s account chimed in, criticizing Florida’s Republican lawmakers for their support of the legislation.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) was a featured speaker at the Federalist Society’s convention in Florida late last week. DeSantis participated in a “fireside chat” with former President Donald J. Trump’s White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) said on Fox News on Sunday that she, along with the approval of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), will investigate GoFundMe, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the world.
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Currently operating under personnel totals appropriate to Florida’s population in 1958, a memorial passed by the Florida Senate would ask the federal government to consider increasing the size of the Florida National Guard.
SM 826 sponsored by State Sen. Tom Wright (R-FL-14) would “impel the United States National Guard Bureau to examine the resource allocations of the Florida National Guard and allow an increase in its force structure.”
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has announced recommendations for Florida to invest $100 million in cancer research. However, Florida lawmakers have proposed healthcare budgets that do not meet the $100 million threshold.
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On Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency executive order for almost all of Central and South Florida after the extreme cold weather threatened Florida’s farmers and growers.
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Florida lawmakers have suspended talks of Florida’s congressional districts until after the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion on Congressional District 5. Florida State Rep. Tyler Sirois (R-FL-51), chair of the House panel leading the congressional redistricting, said the committee is not currently discussing the matter.
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A new poll from Suffolk University shows Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) is leading Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL-10) in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup. The in-depth look at the data shows Rubio leads Demings in most demographics, except black Floridians.
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Florida Congresswoman Val Demings (D-FL-10) announced on social media that her senate campaign raised more than $ 7 million during the last four months of 2021. Demings thanked her contributors in her message.
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The federal trial has begun for Florida’s election integrity law, signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last May. Before the law came into effect, it was known by its legislative number, SB 90. After DeSantis signed SB 90, numerous legal challenges were filed immediately.
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In a press conference from South Florida, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) called on the President Joe Biden administration to accelerate funding for the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir project. The announcement came after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers earmarked $1.1 billion in funding for the project. The money came from the infrastructure package Congress agreed upon last year.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced $80 million is being warded to multiple South Florida communities to help develop and revitalize storm infrastructure projects. The projects are a part of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s (DEO) Rebuild Florida Mitigation General Infrastructure Program.
The City of Miami will receive almost $20 million to support flooding and stormwater inlets. Miami will receive an additional $18.4 million to go to the community of East Little Havana to alleviate repeated flooding issues.
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A proposed ballot initiative seeking to become a Florida Constitutional amendment backed by sports betting giants DraftKings and FanDuel fell short of a petition gathering deadline. The ballot measure is now dead in the water after receiving only 502,903 verified petitions. Constitutional ballot measures require 891,589 verified petitions by February 1 to move forward in Florida’s constitutional process.
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Florida State Sen. Jim Boyd (R-FL-21) sponsored legislation that would crack down on organized retail theft, but included a provision that would have legalized theft of food items so long as the thief consumed the food.
Critics of the legislation quickly pointed out that the provision in the bill resembled Proposition 47 in California, which was adopted in 2014. The proposition made thefts of $950 or less a misdemeanor.
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Florida TaxWatch, a non-profit taxpayer research think tank based in Tallahassee, Fla., predicted in one of their latest reports that the runaway inflation facing the United States could subsist by the end of 2022.
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Yesterday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that he held a roundtable discussion with doctors and patients who recently received monoclonal antibody treatments. The point of the roundtable was to highlight the treatment’s effectiveness after the federal government ended the treatment’s Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).
DeSantis said that his view is that Floridians want the treatment to be available for doctors to have in the event that they would find it useful.
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Florida State Rep. Bryan Avila’s (R-FL-111) HB 7, which is part of the legislature’s effort to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT), got approval from the House Judiciary Committee this week. The bill was supported entirely by Republicans and opposed by Democrats with a vote of 14-7. The bill is part of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) “anti-woke” legislative effort and will likely lead to some of the most notable debate in the legislature during this session.
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A new statewide Florida poll shows most Floridians feel the state is heading in the right direction. The poll was conducted at the tail end of 2021, lasting from November 30 through December 9 and was facilitated by TargetSmart.
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The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) filed a notice last week that they intend to appeal a previous judicial ruling that shut down the Seminole Gaming Compact, the News Service of Florida reported Monday. The notice did not clarify details of the arguments the DOI plans to make.
The Seminole Gaming Compact was a multi-billion-dollar agreement between the tribe and the State of Florida where the state recognized the tribe as the sole controller of sports betting in the state. In turn, the state would net billions in revenue from tribal payments.
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A report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission’s Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Task Force has found that Florida’s algal blooms and red tide could get worse in the coming years. The report recommends more research into determining the causes of such water quality issues.
The task force was appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and found more Floridians could suffer from respiratory illnesses and sea life could die. Algal blooms are increasing amounts of nutrient rich water build-ups found in algae and lead to harmful effects to humans’ breathing and the life of sea animals. Florida’s coastlines and freshwater ecosystems have been enduring intermittent flare ups for years.
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Two of Florida’s notable marketing programs, VISIT FLORIDA and Enterprise Florida, have received funding extension support from two of its committee stops so far. The programs are prioritized in HB 489 sponsored by Florida State Rep. Linda Chaney (R-FL-69).
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A jobs report from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) shows Florida is continuing to lead the county in job creation and lower unemployment rates. Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in December 2021 – down 0.1 percent from November 2021.
The report indicates good news for Florida’s economy with Florida gaining 479,300 jobs throughout the entirety of 2021, which is an increase of 5.6 percent. The national jobs creation average during the same time period was 4.5 percent.
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Thursday night, former President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News’ Hannity and said that the accusations and reports of a growing rift between he and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is “totally fake news.”
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A bill in the Florida Legislature sponsored by State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson (R-FL-17) would move to protect private voter information from being accessed in public view. The intention is to keep third party voter registration groups from obtaining private information.
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Earlier this week, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-FL-10) indicated he would support a constitutional carry bill if the Senate were to take up that kind of legislation. Historically, Florida Republicans have been hesitant to take up expanding gun rights during the legislative session.
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Attorneys for the federal government announced they are withdrawing an appeal in the State of Florida’s fight against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s conditional sailing order. The back-and-forth fight between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration and the CDC ends.
Florida and the federal government have been in a legal battle since last summer when the CDC imposed their conditional sailing order on cruise lines. According to the order, cruise ships were required to complete four phases of certification before returning to operation, including vaccination status.
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Yesterday, numerous mainstream media outlets published articles claiming Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is prioritizing legislation that protects white Floridians from feeling “discomfort” when learning or discussing discrimination in the workplace or at school.
However, the bill they reference is SB 148 where individual races of people are not named.
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