Florida's Latest News

DeSantis' proposed $1B state gas-tax relief may not move dollars away from transportation projects

Gov. Ron DeSantis wants lawmakers to spend $1 billion in surplus revenue next year to give Floridians a six-month break from paying state gas taxes.

DeSantis says the proposal won’t take away funding for transportation projects.

Florida Transportation Builders Association President Ananth Prasad says the group is thankful that the proposal wouldn't cut funding to the state Department of Transportation.

“If the governor did not backfill that suspension of gas tax, which amounts to about a billion dollars, that’s going to be a huge impact to the state’s ability to deliver projects," Prasad said. "A billion-dollar impact to DOT is much more significant than just a billion dollars. A dollar results in a dollar fifty to two dollars worth of projects.”

Democrats dominating early voting in Jacksonville Special Election

Democrats are dominating turnout in Early Voting in the race to fill the unexpired term of Jacksonville City Councilmember Tommy Hazouri.

They have more than a 16% advantage in vote share, and nearly a 4,000 raw vote edge.

Going into Monday morning, Democratic ballots made up 52.09% (12,554) of the 24,099 votes cast so far, according to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections. Republicans had 35.74% (8,613) of the vote share, with the rest spread among third party and NPA voters.

Though Democrats are building a lead, overall participation thus far has been anemic, with 3.73% turnout. But the trend lines should hearten Democrats nonetheless.

In both in-person early vote and mail ballots, Democrats hold majorities, with more raw votes than the combined total of Republicans, NPA, and third-party votes.

COVID-19 liability protections for health care providers extended under Senate proposal

Weeks after the Delta variant surge raced through the state, and amid expectations of a new variant arriving in the United States, the Florida Senate is working on legislation that would extend COVID-19 liability protections for nursing homes, hospitals and physicians.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has rolled out a one-page proposed committee bill that would shield health care providers, including nursing homes, hospitals and doctors, from lawsuits related to the pandemic until June 1, 2023, or 14 months after the current legal protections are scheduled to expire.

The bill is a tacit acknowledgment that the pandemic remains an ongoing concern even as Florida legislators and Gov. Ron DeSantis have pushed laws and policies designed to keep businesses and local governments from imposing mandates and lockdowns. More than 61,000 Floridians have died due to COVID-19.

Seminoles ask appeals court to delay ruling that stopped Florida sports betting

The Seminole Tribe has asked a Washington D.C.-based appeals court for a stay of a ruling that rejected a gambling deal allowing sports betting in Florida.

Attorneys for the tribe filed the emergency motion on Thanksgiving at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia after U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the gambling deal between the state and the tribe violated federal law. Friedrich subsequently refused to delay her ruling as the tribe pursued an appeal.

The appeals court has ordered attorneys for two pari-mutuel facilities that challenged the deal to respond by noon Tuesday to the emergency motion. It also ordered a response from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which is the defendant in the lawsuit because it signed off on the gambling deal.