Florida's Latest News

Wilton Simpson outlines two-step plan for allocating federal stimulus

Senate President Wilton Simpson wants to use the federal relief package to supplement the state’s unemployment trust fund and to stimulate the economy with local projects.

Of the more than $17 billion in federal relief coming to Florida from the American Rescue Plan Act, upward of $10 billion will go directly to the state’s coffers. Unlike the CARES Act, which came when the Legislature was not in Session, Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he will defer to lawmakers to allocate spending.

The Governor has railed against the federal plan for tying funding to the number of unemployed residents rather than a state’s population. DeSantis says Florida could lose $2 billion because of that plan. But Simpson didn’t repeat those complaints in discussions with reporters on Thursday.

Gov. DeSantis blasts local COVID-19 fines as ‘heavy hand of government’

Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Lake City Thursday morning, where he defended rescinding local COVID-19 enforcement fines as a move to protect people from the “heavy hand of government” and “out of control” fines.

“I don’t think it’s conservative or liberal. I just think that those fines are out of control and we want to make sure that folks are protected,” DeSantis said.

“Most of those restrictions have not been effective. That’s just the reality,” DeSantis added. “The evidence is in on that.”

“So we want to go forward fresh and we want people to make decisions, but we don’t want it under the heavy hand of government,” the Governor wrapped.

Florida’s COVID variants soar as spring breakers arrive

As travelers flock to the Sunshine State for spring break, Florida is reporting a soaring number of COVID-19 mutations, far higher than anywhere else in the nation, raising concern that college students and Daytona Bike Week crowds will bring home the more contagious strains to their communities.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the state has reported 696 cases of variants as of Thursday night. The next highest state — Michigan — has reported 563 and Colorado, with the third highest total, had 267.

And health experts say it’s likely that Florida’s total is much higher, since fewer than 1% of COVID cases are tested to detect the mutations, and Florida tests at a far lower rate than many states — roughly half that of California or Texas, for instance.

Amendment to vacation rental bill gives some control back to local governments

An amendment to a controversial bill took a lot of steam out of its opponents today.

Senate Bill 522, or the vacation rental bill, preempts local regulation of vacation rentals by shifting licensing, tax collection and inspection of vacation rentals from local control to state control under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. It strives to protect vacation rentals on internet platforms like Airbnb and Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO) from local laws that vary widely from one community to the next which currently regulate Florida’s vacation communities.

However, the bill was facing heavy opposition from those who believe that local governments are more closely attuned to the needs of its own community and that the State should not be dictating a community’s handling of vacation property.