Florida's Latest News

Lobbying restrictions inch forward in House process

The House is one step closer to further restricting public officials from lobbying in the years after they leave public service.

The House State Affairs Committee gave its unanimous OK to two bills (HB 7001 and HB 7003) to implement 2018’s Amendment 12, which places business and lobbying restrictions on former lawmakers. Penalties under the measures would include fines up to $10,000 and forfeiting money earned from illegally lobbying. Violators could also receive public censure or reprimand.

Tampa Republican Rep. Traci Koster is carrying the legislation.

The first measure would extend, from two years to six years, the time in which lawmakers and state agency heads must wait after leaving office before lobbying legislators and other statewide elected officials. The change would also prohibit public officials, while in office, from lobbying government agencies for compensation or lobbying the Legislature on such things as policies, appropriations and contracts.

Florida is poised to ban most abortions after 15 weeks. Here’s why.

After years of trying, Florida lawmakers are on the verge of significantly restricting access to abortion with Gov. Ron DeSantis signaling his support and conservatives in control of both state and federal high courts.

Abortion bans have failed in the Florida Legislature in recent years, but signs point to a different outcome this session, which convened Tuesday.

State legislators are considering a bill that would ban most abortions in Florida after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest. Abortion is presently legal through the 24th week of pregnancy in Florida.

Anti-abortion groups see 2022 as the year to act.

Supreme Court upholds health care vaccine mandate, affecting 60,000 AdventHealth, Orlando Health workers

The Supreme Court’s decision Thursday to strike down vaccine mandates for private businesses but uphold the requirement for health care workers will impact Central Florida’s two largest hospital systems: AdventHealth, which employs around 36,000 health care workers across greater Orlando, and Orlando Health, which employs over 23,000 workers.

Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, urged Florida hospitals to comply with these requirements, saying that the Supreme Court’s decision clearly acknowledged the right of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to enact and enforce this mandate.

“Florida’s hospitals are committed to ensuring access to care for millions of elderly Floridians who depend on Medicare,” Mayhew wrote. “Hospitals are obligated to remain compliant with the programs’ conditions of participation and must comply with this federal vaccine requirement now upheld by the highest court.”

U.S. homebuilders predict a booming 2022, with Orlando along for the party

The year looks bright for homebuilders, according to a new national survey, and experts agree a lot of work is coming to metro Orlando.

Out of more than 1,000 national construction firms, 74% say they have enough projects ahead that they’ll need to hire more this year, with 27% saying they’ll increase their labor force by more than 10%, according to a survey by Associated General Contractors of America released Wednesday.

“Contractors are, overall, very optimistic about the outlook for the construction industry in 2022,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer in a written statement. “While contractors face challenges this year, most of those will be centered on the need to keep pace with growing demand for construction projects.”