Florida's Latest News

2022 Legislative Session Largely Driven by DeSantis Agenda

There are two things the Legislature must tackle in the 60-day session that begins Tuesday: pass a massive state budget and redraw political maps.

But as Florida heads toward the 2022 election, the session will largely be shaped by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ agenda, which includes banning critical race theory from schools and workplaces, creating a state office to investigate voter fraud and an enormous budget with gifts for teachers, first responders and drivers.

More than 3,000 bills have been filed ahead of session, most of which won't become law. And unlike most years, the House and Senate leaders are largely quiet about their priorities.

“It’s kind of like the trifecta of crazy. You have an election year, you have a reapportionment year and ... you have a very strong governor right now," said Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes.

Omicron wave will ‘potentially’ infect most of Florida’s population, UF study finds

Most Floridians will potentially have been infected with COVID-19 by the time the omicron wave ends, according to a new report from the University of Florida.

Researchers also now predict the omicron variant wave will peak this month. The original prediction for February changed after the recent surge of cases.

“Probably 70 to 80% of the state will either get infected in this wave or have been infected in a prior wave,” Ira Longini, a University of Florida professor and one of the researchers who worked on the report, told WESH in Orlando.

Florida’s omicron wave set a new all-time daily case record with 76,887 new positive cases on Thursday, according to the CDC. Another 69,914 cases were added Friday. Positive cases are expected to grow.

Florida Legislature 2022: Teacher and police pay raises, redistricting to dominate session

Florida lawmakers return to the Capitol on Tuesday for a 60-day session likely to be dominated by redistricting, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ agenda and the COVID-19 pandemic.

DeSantis has kept lawmakers busy since the last session, calling them back for special sessions in May and November to pass a gambling compact with the Seminole Tribe and to ban vaccine requirements for workers, respectively.

His requests to the Legislature haven’t slowed down. His election-year agenda includes pay raises for teachers, law enforcement and state workers; a gas tax cut; and creating a law enforcement division to investigate election fraud.

DeSantis’ plan is largely underwritten with federal funds, mostly from Florida’s $3.4 billion portion of the American Rescue Plan, a law he slammed as reckless spending.

Florida gets 15,000 more Regeneron doses to treat COVID-19

Florida is receiving 15,000 new doses of Regeneron, the multiclonal antibody treatment used to combat COVID-19, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday.

The doses from the federal government come after DeSantis pushed President Joe Biden to allow the states to purchase the treatments on their own. That hasn’t happened, but the new doses are coming.

“Before the Biden Administration seized control of the monoclonal supply after Florida pioneered its widespread use and demonstrated its efficacy, approximately 30,000 doses per week were being administered to Floridians, saving countless lives,” DeSantis said in a released statement. “We will rapidly deploy the 15,000 doses that we have now secured, but the Biden Administration is still obstructing the state of Florida’s ability to manage our own supply of monoclonal antibodies and I will continue to seek additional doses for Floridians.”