Category: Florida

Rick Scott Opponent Drops Out of Senate Race to Challenge Vulnerable GOP Congressman

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A Democratic opponent of Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida in the state’s 2024 election has withdrawn from the race to challenge a Republican member of the House of Representatives, instead.

Phil Ehr, a U.S. Navy veteran and former Democratic candidate against Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida in 2020, announced Wednesday that he would run to challenge Republican Rep. Carlos Giménez of Florida. Ehr’s withdrawal makes former Democratic Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida the favorite in a crowded field to win the primary, according to polling.

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Florida Universities Leader Says Protesters May Have Broken the Law with Reported Calls to Wipe Israel ‘Off the Map’

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Ray Rodrigues, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, issued a memo Friday to university presidents warning that pro-Palestinian protesters, who allegedly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” may have violated Florida law, according to an email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Florida State University (FSU) hosted a protest on Oct. 11 advocating for “Palestinian resistance” just days after Hamas, a U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist organization, attacked Israel, killing over 1,300 and wounding thousands, according to Florida’s Voice. Rodrigues said in his memo that allegations had been made that protesters called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” and warned university presidents, if true, the behavior would “not be tolerated.”

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Florida Moves to Fly Stranded Americans Out of Israel

The Center Square

After Hamas attacked Israel, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state would be advancing greater sanctions against Iran. He also declared a state of emergency and issued an executive order to activate the national and state guard and other agencies to help bring Americans home who are stranded in Israel. 

According to some news reports, there are roughly 20,000 Americans, including many, who are stranded in Israel. They are unable to get out because of commercial flight cancellations and other travel and logistics disruptions due to the ongoing war with Hamas. 

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Florida Bill Would Ban Practice of Citizen’s Arrest

The Center Square

A new bill has been filed that would ban the practice of citizen’s arrest in Florida, but will likely find resistance in a Republican-dominated Legislature.

House Bill 27 is sponsored by Rep. Christopher Benjamin, D-Miami Gardens, and would prohibit citizen’s arrests while specifying exceptions. In the bill’s text, it states that a private person who is not in law enforcement is unable to arrest another citizen for any perceived violations of state law.

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DeSantis Announces Plan to Expand Sanctions on Iran

The Center Square

Within days of Hamas attacking Israel, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state plans to increase sanctions against the Iranian regime. The new sanctions include expanding the industries on Florida’s scrutinized companies list and strengthening Florida’s position against states that sponsor terror.

DeSantis said that as the federal government has eased sanctions on Iran and funded state-sponsored terrorism by sending billions of U.S. taxpayer money to Iran and restoring hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Palestinians that was previously halted by the Trump administration, Florida is taking the opposite approach.

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Florida Attorney General Asks State Supreme Court to Intervene in Proposed Abortion Amendment

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Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody of Florida asked the state Supreme Court Monday to review language for a proposed abortion amendment that would enshrine the practice up to viability, according to The National Desk.

The amendment was submitted by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF) and has amassed 0ver 400,000 of the 891,523 signatures needed by Feb. 1 to get the amendment on the November 2024 ballot, according to The National Desk. Moody has been vocal in her opposition to the amendment and told the court Monday that she felt FPF’s proposed language did not “satisfy the legal requirements” for a spot on the ballot.

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Florida Supreme Court Ponders Definition of a Riot in 2021 State Law

The Center Square
2020 George Floyd Riots

The Florida Supreme Court is pondering the definition of a riot related to a law passed in 2021 designed to prevent violent protests like those seen in 2020 after the death of George Floyd.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil, Jacksonville/Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams, and Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony were named as defendants in the 2021 lawsuit filed by Dream Defenders and other social justice groups including Black Lives Matter.

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Florida Sues Biden Admin over Threats to Withhold Funds Following Union Law

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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging that the Biden administration threatened to withhold grant funding over a new state union law, according to an office press release.

The suit claims that the federal government is violating the Spending Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act by threatening to withhold more than $800 million in funding for not complying with federal union laws after the state passed SB 256 earlier this year, according to a press release from Moody’s office. SB 256 places a number of restrictions on public unions, including a prohibition from using government resources to deduct union dues from certain workers’ paychecks, requiring unions to notify members of the cost of membership and requiring unions to undergo annual audits and financial disclosures, according to a press release.

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Ron DeSantis Rakes In $15 Million During Third Fundraising Quarter

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday his campaign brought in $15 million during the third fundraising quarter, according to a press release.

DeSantis is the first 2024 GOP presidential candidate who has announced the figures ahead of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing deadline on Oct. 15. The governor raised just over $20 million during his first fundraising quarter as a presidential candidate, and entered this fundraising quarter with $12.2 million cash on hand.

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Florida Bill Proposes a Change to State’s Cosmetology License Application

The Center Square

Crime convictions three years before applying for barber or cosmetologist licensure would not be held against the applicants under a proposal from an Orlando state senator.

Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, said she is “giving these important common sense policies that represent my constituency’s interests one last push towards the finish line.” Senate Bill 42 is similar to past efforts that have failed in the last two legislative sessions.

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Report Gives Florida Nation’s Best Overall Grade for Education Freedom

The Center Square

After a legislative session where Florida lawmakers passed universal school choice, the state was recognized as the nation’s best in a recent report for its policies on education. 

The nonprofit American Legislative Exchange Council, which previously published the Report Card on American Education over the past 25 years, has a new publication, The Index of State Education Freedom: A 50-State Guide to Parental Empowerment.

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Report: Jacksonville Uses Green Infrastructure to Combat Flooding

The Center Square

A recent report from Florida TaxWatch proposes new measures to help combat storm water runoff and reduce flooding through the use of green infrastructure.

Over the past few years, the Sunshine State has had its fair share of severe storms, as recently as August, when Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend region of the state, causing widespread flooding to coastal towns.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump

M.D. Kittle

If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.

With former President Donald Trump skipping the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA, top tier candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will try to tell those watching why they’re a better option than the race’s far and away frontrunner — and the rest of the crowded field of Republican candidates.

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DeSantis Suspends Florida School Choice Scholarships to Schools with ‘Ties to the Chinese Communist Party’

Just the News

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office announced that four schools will no longer receive school choice scholarships after an investigation from the state education department found the schools allegedly had “direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.”

DeSantis’ announcement Friday targets the Lower and Upper Sagemont Preparatory Schools in Weston, located west of Fort Lauderdale, and the Parke House Academy and Park Maitland School, both of which are located in Winter Park, a northern suburb of Orlando.

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Report Ranks Florida Third for Solar Power Implementation

The Center Square
Rooftop Solar Panels

The Sunshine State is quickly outpacing the rest of the country as a top solar energy installer, which looks to continue in coming years.

According to data from the Solar Energy Industries Association, Florida was ranked third in the country in 2022 behind Texas and California, installing around 12,000 megawatts of generation capacity since 2013, enough to power 1.51 million homes.

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Florida House Examines Implementation of ‘Responsible Fatherhood’ Law

The Center Square

A Florida House subcommittee met this week to discuss implementing some of the elements of a bill that passed during the 2022 session designed to promote responsible fatherhood.

House Bill 7065 was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in April of 2022 and was designed to “aid in creating and sustaining safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for children and families that allow children to grow up to their full potential,” and also focuses on responsible fatherhood.

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DeSantis’ Energy Plan: Midland over Moscow

The Center Square

On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis announced his energy plan. It includes reversing all Biden administration policies to get gasoline prices at the pump back to $2 a gallon in 2025. 

Gas prices and all other household goods reliant on petroleum have soared to over 40-year highs since President Biden implemented new energy policies in 2021. They include canceling the Keystone Pipeline on his first day in office, halting offshore and onshore lease sales, advancing EPA and other regulatory restrictions solely on U.S. oil and natural gas companies, halting investments in the industry by imposing environmental, social governance policies to restrict lending to U.S. oil and natural gas companies, among other policies. 

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Abortion-Related Bill Filed as Florida Supreme Court Ponders Six-Week Ban Law

The Center Square

A bill seeking to prevent Florida women from being prosecuted for seeking abortions out of state was filed last week as the state Supreme Court considers the constitutionality of the state’s six-week abortion ban. 

In a news release, Florida Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, D-Davie, said she had filed legislation to prevent pregnant women and girls from being criminally charged and imprisoned for obtaining an abortion, stating that the new bill — Senate Bill 34 — was in response to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ claim that only abortion providers would be prosecuted.

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Florida City Councilman Faces Recall Petition

The Center Square

Ballotpedia tracked one new recall effort against a local official in Florida from Sept. 4 through Sept. 10, bringing the yearly statewide total to six efforts against five officials. The most recent effort is: Henry Rosenthal recall, Islamorada, Florida (2023): Seat 4 Village Councilman. 

Recall organizers accused Rosenthal of malfeasance, alleging that he asked the village’s planning director to ask the rest of the council how they planned to vote on an amendment he needed for a project to open a theater and entertainment venue in the village, which violated multiple Florida laws.

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Florida First State to Officially Recommend Against COVID-19 Boosters

The Center Square

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said Wednesday that the Sunshine State will be the first state to officially recommend against COVID-19 boosters for those under age 65.

The state, in its guidance, discourages use of the booster for those under age 65 because the new U.S. Food and Drug Administration boosters lack a human clinical trial and evidence of their efficiency or benefits.

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Florida Enrollment in Medicaid Continues Recent Decline

The Center Square
doc nurse senior patient

Florida’s Medicaid enrollment continue to decline, according to recent data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on health policy, research and polling.

According to data from the Medicaid Enrollment and Unwinding Tracker, the number of people on Medicaid in the Sunshine State declined 7% from April to July, shrinking from 5.78 million to 5.36 million.

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Florida School Board Rejects ‘LGBTQ History Month’ Proposal Again

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Miami Dade County school board members rejected a proposal Thursday that would have recognized October as “LGBTQ history month,” according to Politico.

Miami-Dade County school board members acknowledged LGBTQ History Month in 2021 but did not do so in 2022 after the school board was realigned ideologically with members  endorsed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to Politico. School board members voted against the measure 5-3 following hours of public comment and debate on the issue.

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DeSantis Floats Pardons After Blasting Lengthy Sentences for Proud Boys

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Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Wednesday blasted the lengthy sentences given to Proud Boys members and said that he is considering pardons to “ensure that everyone’s treated equally.”

Multiple members of the group were sentenced to prison terms of up to 22 years over their involvement in Jan. 6. DeSantis noted that similar sentences were not imposed over the riots that followed the death of George Floyd in May 2020, which resulted in at least 24 people being killed and caused nearly $1 billion in property damage.

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Florida Initiative to Prohibit Abortion Restrictions Qualifies for State Court Review

The Center Square

Floridians Protecting Freedom, sponsors of an initiative that would prohibit restrictions on abortions before fetal viability, have submitted 297,586 valid signatures as of Sept. 1, qualifying the proposal for a review by the state Supreme Court.

The initiative would provide that “no law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s health care provider.” The amendment would not change the state legislature’s ability to require parental notification for abortions sought by minors.

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Several Florida Areas Lose Eligibility for Federal Rural Home Loan Program

The Center Square

Nine counties in Florida have areas that will no longer be eligible to participate in a federal loan program for rural housing due to population increases.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development completed its recent review of rural areas nationwide, using data from the 2020 U.S. Census. The ruling goes into effect for those areas on Oct. 1.

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Florida Continues Hurricane Idalia Recovery Efforts

The Center Square

Florida state officials say more than 476,000 electric customers have had their power restored 48 hours after Hurricane Idalia made landfall.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news briefing on Thursday that there were 91,000 customers in Taylor, Madison, Lafayette, Hamilton, Suwannee, Dixie and Jefferson counties that awaited  restoration after Idalia made landfall on Wednesday in the Big Bend as a Category 3 storm.

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Hurricane Idalia Leaves at Least Three Dead, Causes Up to $20 Billion in Estimated Damage

Just the News

Hurricane Idalia’s path of destruction through four different states has left at least three people dead and caused up to $20 billion in estimated damage.

The storm, which first hit Florida’s northern Gulf coast Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, traveled through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina before entering over the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

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DeSantis Turns Down Millions in Incentives from Biden’s Signature Climate Bill

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Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has effectively rejected nearly $350 million dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) designated for use in Florida, according to Politico.

The IRA, President Joe Biden’s signature climate spending bill, sets aside money for rebates for consumers to buy more efficient appliances that the Biden administration is pushing and to help low-income individuals buy solar panels for their homes, according to Politico. DeSantis and the Florida legislature have effectively refused $3 million set aside for cleaning up pollution, $5 million in federal funds to set up the appliance rebates program and $341 million to actually fund that program.

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Florida Regulators Hold First Hearing on Storm Preparation Charges for Utilities

The Center Square

The Florida Public Service Commission held the first of a series of hearings Thursday into how much utilities can potentially charge their customers to repair storm-damaged electrical infrastructure.

Thursday’s hearing was an organizational one to set the stage for the main hearings Sept. 14-17. Each utility and the commission’s staff can call witnesses and offer testimony during the hearings. 

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DeSantis Admin Says Private Schools, Colleges Must Use Bathrooms on Basis of Biological Sex

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The Florida Board of Education (BOE) voted Wednesday to require restrooms in private K-12 schools and state colleges to be used on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.

The new rule requires all institutions within the Florida College System to alert the Florida BOE if their bathrooms and locker rooms within instructional spaces and dormitories are separated on the basis of biological sex rather than gender identity, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. If violations of the policy are reported, institutions must have an investigation process that determines disciplinary actions, such as termination, under the rule.

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Florida Officials Forecast State’s Economy, Tax Revenues Will Continue Growth

The Center Square

Despite incorrectly predicting a mild recession for the first two quarters this year, Florida officials estimate that the state’s economy and tax revenues will continue to grow. 

The Office of Economic and Demographic Research held a Revenue Estimating Conference last week, with officials saying that the “current economic environment presented significant forecasting challenges.”

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Florida Officials Forecast State’s Economy, Tax Revenues Will Continue Growth

The Center Square

Despite incorrectly predicting a mild recession for the first two quarters this year, Florida officials estimate that the state’s economy and tax revenues will continue to grow. 

The Office of Economic and Demographic Research held a Revenue Estimating Conference last week, with officials saying that the “current economic environment presented significant forecasting challenges.”

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Florida’s New College Enrolls More Students, Looks to Cut Gender Studies

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A small public Florida college has rapidly transformed under Governor Ron DeSantis-appointed trustee board, as liberal faculty have resigned in large numbers, a gender studies major is slated for demolition and admissions numbers rise.

Conservative activist and journalist Christopher Rufo, who serves as a trustee of the New College of Florida, motioned at the latest board meeting to begin to dissolve the gender studies program.

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Florida Becomes First State to Sanction Medicaid Providers for Covering Minor Transitions

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Florida has become the first state to sanction Medicaid providers for covering the attempted gender transitions of minors.

The state is fining five Medicaid health care insurers for violating Florida’s new rule banning taxpayer funds from going to transgender treatments, such as performing a double mastectomy or administering puberty blockers, Jason Weida, secretary of the Agency for Health Care Administration, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview.

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Judge Rules Against ACLU Requesting to Block Florida Chinese Land Ownership Law

Just the News

A federal judge ruled not to block the new Florida law that restricts Chinese nationals and some nationals from other countries from purchasing land in the state

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor on Thursday denied an injunction requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was representing four Chinese citizens and a real estate firm that wanted the law overturned. 

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DeSantis’ Travel, Security Cost Florida Taxpayers $8 Million over Past Year amid Presidential Bid

Just the News

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ travel and security costs have cost state taxpayers over $8 million to Florida taxpayers over the past year as he tours the United States for his campaign to win the 2024 Republican nomination for president.

Over the 2022-2023 fiscal year, which in Florida is from July 1 to June 30 of the following, DeSantis’ travel and security expenses cost $8,073,607, according to data from the state Department of Law Enforcement cited by The Miami Herald in an article Wednesday.

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