Florida's Latest News

Florida House and Senate set to clash over unresolved issues in last week of session

The Legislature is on the cusp of passing a long-sought gaming deal once considered unachievable. Lawmakers won’t make cuts to Medicaid spending next year. The education budget, the largest funding pot in the entire spending plan, is in the books. And thanks to a post-pandemic bounce back and billions from the Biden administration, the state has more money than it knows how to spend.

The House and Senate have major priorities hammered out headed into the final week of the legislative session, which overall featured few major public policy clashes or cross-chamber feuds.

But it’s not finished yet. The Senate and House haven’t resolved data privacy measures, how to dole out billions in federal stimulus funds, and both chambers have unfinished business in education and insurance, among other areas. With just five days left, the outstanding issues could test what has been a relatively stress-free relationship between Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls.

Proposal To Expand Law Enforcement Use Of Drones Heads To House Floor Vote

Law enforcement agencies could use drones to survey crowds, assist in traffic management, and collect evidence at a crime scene or traffic crash. That's under a proposal that passed a Senate vote and is heading for a House vote.

But some lawmakers have raised concerns over how the bill could impact someone's privacy.

The bill allows officers to use drones to get an aerial perspective of a crowd of 50 or more people. Its sponsor, Sen. Tom Wright (R-Port Orange), says the measure could help protect protestors.

"And it allows law enforcement agencies additional time to be able to respond if they see from the drone height that something's coming at those people and they're not being allowed to protest publicly, privately, and safely," Wright says.

DeSantis signs sweeping gambling deal that may bring sports betting to Florida 

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping gambling deal Friday with the Seminole Tribe of Florida that could bring legalized sports betting to Florida and generate billions of dollars in new revenue for the state, drawing to a close months of negotiations over the contentious issue.

The deal now heads to the Florida Legislature, which must approve the agreement. The Legislature will take up the issue in a special session that starts on May 17.

The agreement allows the Seminole Tribe to offer statewide online sports betting in partnership with the state’s pari-mutuel facilities, which include poker cardrooms, horse racing tracks and jai-alai arenas, according to a memo released by Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson.

Florida resumes Johnson & Johnson vaccination shots

Shots using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine resumed Sunday at federally supported mass vaccination sites throughout Florida, state emergency officials said.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management tweeted that it was resuming the Johnson & Johnson shots at the vaccination sites in Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville and Miami after reviewing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration.

The federal agencies on Friday called for the 11-day pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be lifted after federal regulators reviewed data on blood clots and assessed risks associated with the vaccine.