Florida's Latest News

Tyler Sirois proposes tax-exempt rocket ships

Rockets and the cargo they might lift into orbit would be tax exempt when they’re launched from Florida, under a bill introduced by Rep. Tyler Sirois.

“Zero G, Zero Fee,” declares Sirois’ House Bill 65, filed last week.

HB 65 would create a state and local sales tax exemption and other competitive incentives in order to give Florida more advantage when trying to entice aerospace companies to operate out of Florida.

Florida may have the world’s premier launch center with the combined facilities of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. But competition is rising internationally — and from several states, notably Virginia, Texas, California, New Mexico and Nevada.

Ron DeSantis to keynote Florida Chamber’s Future of Florida Forum

Gov. Ron DeSantis will be the top-billed speaker at the 2021 Future of Florida Forum, the Florida Chamber of Commerce announced Wednesday.

The Future of Florida Forum, scheduled this year for Oct. 27-28, is an annual Florida Chamber event focused on the long-term outlook of the state’s economy and business environment. The past few editions have homed in on ways to bring Florida’s economy into the top 10 if measured as a country.

In an announcement, the Chamber noted that Florida’s economy has begun to thrive again despite the continuing pandemic. DeSantis deserves a large share of the credit, the Chamber says, for “following the facts and not the fear” while navigating the state’s reopening.

Legislative Commission OKs $750 Million Budget Amendment To Help Battle COVID

Even as there are signs that the latest round of COVID-19 infections may have finally peaked, Florida is pushing ahead with a plan to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the months ahead to pay for testing, medical staff support and a media campaign to encourage vaccinations.

State legislators on Friday signed off on two substantial budget amendments for the Department of Health totaling nearly $750 million. The money comes from federal coronavirus relief funding that the state has received over the past two years.

Michele Tallent, Department of Health deputy secretary for administrative services, told the Joint Legislative Budget Commission that $480 million will go toward a “three-pronged strategy” designed to battle COVID-19. The plan includes $355 million for testing support for both public and private health labs.

Labor Day Weekend Biscayne Bay fish kill highlights urgent need for action

A fish die-off has again struck Biscayne Bay, this time over Labor Day weekend near the 79th Street Basin in Miami Beach.

While Miami-Dade crews and environmental groups are still working to quantify the number of dead marine life, the cause is assumed to be similar to that of past fish kills: severely depleted oxygen in the bay.

“Early evidence indicates that the cause is a combination of extreme heat with numerous rainy days, which reduces oxygen levels in our waterways,” a city press note said.

A Miami-Dade spokesperson told the Miami Herald the county’s Department of Environmental Resources was aware of hundreds of dead fish on the eastern side of the bay along Miami Beach’s coastline.