Florida's Latest News

DeSantis to ask Legislature for a $1 billion gas tax cut next year

Gov. Ron DeSantis is asking lawmakers to cut Florida’s array of gas and fuel taxes by $1 billion next year, a response to the inflation felt by consumers particularly at the pumps as the economy rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Even if you start making more money, if the prices are going up faster than your wages or your salary you’re actually losing money in this inflationary economy,” DeSantis said Monday in a Daytona Beach Buc-ee’s gas station, flanked by GOP lawmakers and Buc-ee’s CEO Arch Aplin. “So that’s a cost that really gets imposed on a lot of people that are working hard.”

DeSantis said Monday the savings would be up to $200 a year per the average two-car household, according to an estimate from the Office of Policy and Budget.

Turkey time: Shevrin Jones to host two food drives ahead of Thanksgiving

Sen. Shevrin Jones is partnering with several organizations to help give away free turkeys and food ahead of Thanksgiving — starting Monday.

Jones represents Senate District 35, which stretches across Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Jones will hold two events — one in each county — beginning with a 2 p.m. turkey and food drive in Miami Gardens.

The event will be at 606 NW 183rd St. and will run from 2 to 5 p.m. Food will be given away on a first-come, first-serve basis, however. Those donations will include full meals, “including turkeys and food boxes,” according to a release from Jones’ office.

The Senator will follow up with another event from 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday in West Park at 2201 SW 42nd Ave. That giveaway will also be first-come, first-serve.

High fuel costs will cost TECO customers more in monthly bills

After Florida Power & Light made a similar request last week, Tampa Electric Co. on Friday asked state regulators for a boost in customer bills in 2022 because of higher-than-expected natural gas costs.

TECO filed a proposal at the state Public Service Commission to collect about $273 million more starting in February to cover the costs of power-plant fuel. That would translate to a $15.43 increase in the monthly electric bills of residential customers who use 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a month.

Florida utilities, which have become increasingly reliant on natural gas as they have moved away from dirtier-burning coal, are grappling with volatile gas prices. Fuel costs are generally passed through to customers.

“The drivers of this change are low natural storage levels, high demand for liquefied natural gas exports and static production,” Tampa Electric said in its filing, as it detailed projected costs that have increased for 2021 and 2022.

Federal judge declines to block federal vaccination rule for Florida healthcare workers

A federal judge in Pensacola rejected Florida’s request to block a Biden administration requirement that workers at hospitals, nursing homes and other health-care providers be vaccinated against COVID-19.

U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers issued an 11-page order Saturday denying a motion by Attorney General Ashley Moody for a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order against the federal rule. Moody’s office filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging the rule and sought an injunction or temporary restraining order before the vaccination requirement takes effect Dec. 6.

Rodgers, however, wrote that Florida had not shown “irreparable harm” to justify an injunction or temporary restraining order. In part, the state contended that rule would affect state-run facilities, such as veterans’ nursing homes, and exacerbate healthcare staffing shortages.