Florida's Latest News

Democrats take cautious look ahead to property insurance Special Session

Democratic lawmakers are optimistic they’ll have more input in next month’s Special Session on property insurance than in the redistricting Special Session set to end Thursday, but they also acknowledge there are no silver bullet proposals that will stabilize the insurance market while lowering rates for residents.

“The whole problem is that there’s no easy solution,” said Sen. Lori Berman, a Lantana Democrat. “(Republicans) are going to have to find a solution that addresses the problem with the roofers, the problem with the attorneys, the problem with the insurance companies, the problem with the reinsurance rates.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he’ll sign a proclamation later this week for a Special Session some time in May to address the property insurance market, which has seen three companies fold, other companies withdraw from more than 120,000 policies and rates increase as much as 60% for some homeowners.

Nearly 2,000 providers to receive $503M in Medicaid grants

Florida Medicaid officials are distributing nearly $503 million in enhanced payments to 1,945 providers that render community- and home-based services to the poor, elderly and disabled, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday.

That’s about $180 million less than what the Agency for Health Care Administration initially said would be made available last year when the agency announced the availability of the funds and encouraged home- and community-based service providers to apply for the supplemental payments. The funding was made possible by the American Rescue Plan, pushed by President Joe Biden.

The state did not offer a list of the providers that will be receiving the money. Instead, the state is sending emails to the providers notifying them of whether their requests were accepted and to “provide instructions on next steps.”

DeSantis wants Florida to end Disney’s self-governing status

Republican leaders on Tuesday expanded the Legislature’s special session on redistricting in the hope of jabbing at one of the state’s biggest and most powerful corporations: The Walt Disney Co.

“I am announcing today that we are expanding the call of what they are going to be considering this week,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a morning news conference in The Villages. “Yes, they will be considering the congressional map, but they also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968 — and that includes the Reedy Creek Improvement District.”

The Reedy Creek Improvement District is the special taxing district and governing body for the Walt Disney World Resort. It was created by state lawmakers in 1967 and comprises 39 square miles, two cities and land in Orange and Osceola counties. It allows the company to act with the same authority and responsibility as a county government.

Justice Department to appeal Tampa judge’s order voiding travel mask mandate

The Justice Department is filing an appeal seeking to overturn a judge’s order that voided the federal mask mandate on planes and trains and in travel hubs, officials said Wednesday.

The notice came minutes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision handed down by a federal judge in Florida earlier this week.

A notice of appeal was filed in federal court in Tampa.

The CDC said in a statement Wednesday that it is continuing its “assessment that at this time an order requiring masking in the indoor transportation corridor remains necessary for the public health.”