Florida's Latest News

Ashley Moody Proposes Legislation to Bring U.S. Space Academy to Florida

Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) announced she will be filing a bill to bring the proposed U.S. Space Academy to Florida in an effort to boost the state's aerospace sector.

The pledge comes after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the United States Space Academy earlier this month.

“The newly established United States Space Academy belongs in Florida – America’s launchpad to the stars. That’s why the first thing I’ll do when I’m back in Washington is introduce legislation to bring the academy home to Florida—ensuring our nation’s next generation of space leaders is educated, trained, and prepared for a future in the final frontier right here on Florida’s Space Coast,” Moody said in a release.

According to the release, the proposed Space Academy would establish two key initiatives:

Serve as a hub for students to join the U.S. Space Force.

Serve NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] and the civilian spaceflight industry.

Poll: Jon Fay up 24 over Johnny Austin Thompson in HD 2, right about where Alex Andrade left it

Alex Andrade won his last race for House District 2 by 22 points. The first public poll of the race to replace him has the Republican trying to succeed him ahead by 24.

Jon Fay leads Democrat Johnny Austin Thompson 56% to 31% in an online survey of 545 respondents conducted Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 by 5PT Strategy, a Republican consulting firm. Another 13% are undecided. No other public polling of the race has surfaced.

The lead barely changes when the survey pushes undecideds to lean (57% to 33%) or screens for likely voters (56% to 32%). About 85% of each candidate’s supporters say they are absolutely certain of their choice.

Most of the vote is explained by party. Ninety-six percent of Fay’s support comes from Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, while Thompson gets 77% of his from Democrats and Democratic leaners, 14% from independents with no lean, and 8% from the Republican side.

Laurel Lee Introduces Companion Ballots by Election Day Act

Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) announced she will be introducing a companion bill to Sen. Ashley Moody’s (R-Fla.) recent mail-in ballot legislation.

The “Ballots by Election Day Act” – originally introduced by Sen. Moody on July 15, 2026 – seeks to amend the “Help America Vote Act of 2002.”

“This is something that we’ve done in Florida for many years, and it’s a really effective way of making sure that elections stay organized and that we have timely election results,” Rep. Lee said.

The legislation would require all federal election ballots – including absentee and mail-in ballots – to be received by the appropriate election official by the end of the day on Election Day. The bill would prohibit states from accepting any ballots after the allotted time, except for ballots cast by “absent uniformed services voter or overseas voters.”

How a proposal to ditch Duke Energy could get on St. Petersburg ballots

As the state's higher education board looks to prevent too many out-of-state students from enrolling into Florida's public universities, many of the university presidents and board chairs are on the same page against the effort. 

The Florida Board of Governors discussed undergraduate enrollment during a Sept. 3 meeting on Florida Gulf Coast University's campus as they consider regulation amendments that would allow it to withhold the approval of out-of-state fee increases for nonresidential undergraduate students. The effort comes as a directive from the Florida Legislature to align with HB 5601-E, which Gov. Ron DeSantis approved in June. 

Speaking up against the proposed amendment, Florida State University Board of Trustees Chair Peter Collins said it's "awkward" and "ham-fisted." 

"It's a solution to a problem that I'm not sure we want to solve," Collins told the governing board Thursday.