Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis signs measure to shift hundreds of millions in taxes to charter schools

Charter schools are going to tap into the pot of money that has so far been dedicated to capital costs at traditional public schools, according to legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis signed.

The bill (HB 1259) was one of a slew of bills the Governor signed Thursday and represents something of a sea change in school funding. It will mean hundreds of millions more in public funding will go toward the capital costs of schools that are part of the public system yet privately owned and operated.

Another education bill signed Thursday will be more of a piecemeal shift. Democratic Rep. Patricia Williams' legislation (HB 891) will pilot year-round schooling at five school districts starting in 2024-25.

Florida AG files lawsuit against DHS for ‘unquestionably cynical’ post-Title 42 plans

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as the Title 42 immigration policy ends, calling the Biden administration’s response to a potential influx of migrants “unquestionably cynical.” 

“Today is May 10, the day before the Title 42 order expires, and the media reports that DHS plans to immediately restart the en masse parole of aliens at the Southwest Border,” Moody wrote in a Wednesday filing, asking a federal judge to postpone the policies, which she argued are “unquestionably cynical, in bad faith, and contrary to both the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and the APA.”

“It is also, unfortunately, consistent with the game of whack-a-mole DHS has been playing with Florida and this Court for almost two years,” she added.

Moody filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division. 

No “baby drivers”: Gov. DeSantis OKs requiring licenses or permits for minors driving golf carts

In the Free State of Florida, golf carts now have statewide age limits for operation.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation (HB 949) banning young drivers from operating the carts on “certain roadways” (namely public roads) unless they have driver’s licenses or learner’s permits that have not been suspended or revoked.

Sen. Erin Grall and Rep. Cyndi Stevenson sponsored the legislation to replace language in current law, which exempts golf cart drivers from license requirements altogether.

Golf carts can be seen in certain neighborhoods, usually upscale communities. The legislation would put guardrails on operation, but not particularly severe ones, treating illegal operation as a “noncriminal traffic infraction.”

Children are often injured in golf cart accidents, at rates significantly higher than adults, and these injuries often lead to head, neck or spine injuries.

EPA: New pollution limits proposed for US coal, gas power plants reflect ‘urgency’ of climate crisis

The Biden administration proposed new limits Thursday on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change.

A rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using a technology that has long been promised but is not used widely in the United States.

“This administration is committed to meeting the urgency of the climate crisis and taking the necessary actions required,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

The plan would not only “improve air quality nationwide, but it will bring substantial health benefits to communities all across the country, especially our front-line communities … that have unjustly borne the burden of pollution for decades,” Regan said in a speech at the University of Maryland.