Florida's Latest News

Special Session to start Tuesday on TRUMP Act fixes, new Board of Immigration Enforcement

It appears all parties (with any real say in the matter) reached a compromise. Less than a month after the Legislature passed a sweeping anti-illegal immigration package named for President Donald Trump, Senate and House lawmakers will reconvene for another Special Session on Tuesday to modify the measure.

This time, they have the full support of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been sparring publicly with Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez since they rejected bills he preferred in favor of their substitute, called the TRUMP Act.

The newly filed bills will address one of the Governor’s biggest concerns by removing a TRUMP Act provision designating Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson as the state’s new chief immigration officer. Instead, Florida’s border enforcement oversight will be handled by a new State Board of Immigration Enforcement, consisting of the Governor, Agriculture Commissioner, Attorney General, and Chief Financial Officer. All members must agree on a decision for it to become policy.

In a memo to lawmakers, Albritton and Perez said there has been “a great deal of productive discussion” on how Florida can best complement Trump’s efforts to curtail illegal immigration. They credited “important feedback” from DeSantis and Simpson and “technical assistance from the White House” for informing their decision to call for another Special Session to build on the “very strong legislation” passed last month.

Florida Bill Follows California, Would Ban Restaurants Selling Food With Cancerous Chemicals

Following in California's anti-chemical footsteps, a new Florida bill filed Monday would ban restaurants from selling food containing certain dyes or harmful substances. All nine additives Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin listed as forbidden in his new bill, SB 560, are banned in some or all of the European Union. The only two fully outlawed by the United States Food and Drug Administration were struck in the past seven months.

Under the bill, which would go into effect in January 2028, food establishments that illegally manufacture, sell, or distribute food with additives Martin wants to ban must pay a $5,000 fee. A second violation would require offenders to shell out $10,000.

"This is something that many of the people who voted in the state of Florida, and around the country, supported. [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.]—the relationship with him and the president—he’s been very clear that we’ve got to take a look at this,” Martin said in December, first discussing his plan to file the bill.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a previous independent presidential candidate, ran on an anti-vaccine platform preaching medical freedom. A huge opponent of food and water additives, RFK, Jr. has promised to "Make America Healthy Again" as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services under Donald Trump.

Report: Florida state technology fund has generated $1.1B in investment income

According to a recent report, a fund designed to invest public pension funds into Florida-based technology and high-growth businesses has distributed $1.1 billion to the Florida Retirement System Pension Fund since 2008.

The pension fund received $133.5 million from the Florida Growth Fund Program, according to the report by the Florida Legislature’s research arm, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. The agency says that the fund has met its benchmarks for returns every year since it was created.

Investment managers told state officials the fund generated 2,300 jobs and invested $391 million in capital expenditures during the review period. The fund, according to the report, invested in 91 companies through direct investments and invested in 62 private equity funds since 2008. In fiscal 2023-24, the plan invested $59.1 million in 12 companies and 15 private equity funds.

Under state law, the State Board of Administration that invests funds for state agencies, state universities and colleges and local governments directs 1.5% from the state’s defined benefit pension system for state and local employees to the Florida Growth Fund.

Florida legislators look to tackle state’s mental health crisis by expanding the role of psychologists

Efforts by Florida legislators are underway to tackle the state’s mental health crisis by expanding the role of psychologists in prescribing medication. Dr. Justin D’Arienzo, a Jacksonville psychologist, recently discussed his advocacy for a bill that would allow psychologists with additional training to prescribe medications.

“It’s been decades. You know, people know how difficult it is to get an appointment with a psychiatrist who’s often like a three to six-month wait, and there’s a dearth of them as well,” Dr. D’Arienzo explained. “Florida has been declared a health professional shortage area. Regarding psychiatrists, we are the 10th worst in the state.”

House Bill 23 outlines the requirements for psychologists to gain prescriptive authority. It requires that psychologists have a doctoral degree, pass a national exam, and complete specific training in clinical psychopharmacology.

The bill also requires the Board of Psychology to certify eligible psychologists and maintain records of those authorized to prescribe controlled substances. “People are resorted to going to the ER to get psychiatric medicine, or they’re resorted to go to their family practice doctor to get psychiatric medication,” Dr. D’Arienzo said.