Florida's Latest News

Florida Legislature passes elections bill that adds restrictions to voting

One signature now stands between Florida voters and a slew of new restrictions on casting ballots in the Sunshine State.

After days of contentious debate and last-minute amendments bouncing between chambers, the Republican-controlled state House and Senate came to an agreement and party-line votes approved Senate Bill 90 on the eve of Florida's final day of the legislative session.

The bill, which Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday night he will sign, will create restrictions such as adding new ID and signature requirements for voting by mail, limiting who can return a completed mail-in ballot, expanding partisan observation power during ballot tabulation and creating additional restrictions for drop box use.

Trump: DeSantis ‘certainly’ in the mix for vice president in 2024

If Donald Trump runs for president again in 2024, could there be an all Florida ticket?

The former president told Fox Business on Thursday that he would “certainly” consider Gov. Ron DeSantis as a potential running mate if he mounts another bid for the White House.

“A lot of people like that,” Trump told host Maria Bartiromo in an hour-long interview on her morning show. “You know, I’m just saying what I read and what you read. They love that ticket.”

DeSantis has quickly become one of the more popular figures in the Republican Party since the election. His approach to the coronavirus has won him praise from conservatives across the country, and unlike other GOP leaders, he has stayed in Trump’s good graces. Though Trump lost the election, DeSantis delivered a decisive win for Republicans in Florida, a critical swing state.

 Florida Senate declines to protect COVID-19 vaccinated employees from discrimination

The Florida Senate declined Thursday to take action against businesses and schools that discriminate against employees who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

The issue came to the forefront after a Miami private school’s CEO sent a letter riddled with misinformation to its faculty and staff and discouraged them from getting vaccinated.

The letter, first reported by The New York Times, instructed employees at Centner Academy that if they have received the COVID-19 shot they must be kept “physically distant” from students. The letter made false claims that the vaccine could somehow be “passed” to others and affect their reproductive system.

Proposed Florida budget provides funding boost to local arts and culture groups

Hard-hit arts and cultural organizations in Florida, which faced drastic losses of revenue after closing their doors for long periods due to the coronavirus, are getting a boost in funding assistance from the state Legislature.

The 2021-22 budget plan — agreed to by the Florida House and Senate and sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis — includes $26.7 million in two of the four budget categories that provide allocations for arts and cultural organizations and individual artists. That marks a 24% boost over 2020, when the Legislature approved $20.2 million in three categories. In 2019, the state provided $21.2 million in grants.

The largest portion, $23.2 million, is allocated for Cultural and Museum Grants category, which provides operational funding to 517 nonprofit organizations across the state, including almost 20 from Leon County. That represents a $9.6 million increase from last year.