Florida's Latest News

DeSantis signs bill streamlining correction of corporate missteps

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Tuesday that introduces a new procedure for businesses to correct past corporate missteps, such as improperly issued shares or incorrectly appointed directors.

Sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Martin, the legislation, Senate Bill 1198, provides companies with a statutory method to ratify actions that were intended to be valid but were flawed due to procedural errors.

The measures introduces a formal procedure for the ratification of corporate actions that were not properly authorized at the time they were taken but would have been within the power of the corporation to authorize. The process is applicable to limited liability companies (LLCs), for-profit corporations, and not-for-profit corporations registered in Florida.

Ratified corporate actions are also subject to equitable review by courts, under the bill’s purview, ensuring that the ratification process cannot be abused to cover up or legitimize fundamentally improper corporate conduct. The legislative changes are underpinned by the Florida Business Corporation Act and are informed by the Model Business Corporation Act from the American Bar Association.

Gov. DeSantis vetoes lawsuit protections for cybersecurity breaches, three other bills

Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed another four bills from the 2024 session, including a contentious bill that would have curtailed lawsuits involving cybersecurity breaches.

He also nixed a measure designed to help former convicts get barber or cosmetologist licenses and another that would require the Department of Health (DOH) to warn people within 24 hours of high bacteria levels in the water and even close beaches if needed.

Fifty-nine lobbyists were registered to lobby HB 473, the measure dealing with cybersecurity breaches. It passed the House by an 81-28 vote and the Senate by a 32-8 vote.

Sponsored by Reps. Mike Giallombardo and Kevin Steele, the bill would have provided that a county or municipality that substantially complies with the cybersecurity training, standards, and notification protocols under current law or any other political subdivision of the state that complies with these standards and protocols voluntarily, is not liable in connection with a cybersecurity incident.

DeSantis scathes SCOTUS social media censorship ruling

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that favored the Biden administration in a significant social media dispute, arguing that it paves the way for indirect censorship methods that, he claims, skirt constitutional safeguards.

Reacting to the decision, DeSantis voiced concerns that the ruling ostensibly endorsed a model where the federal government could engage in what he termed as “sophisticated” censorship.

“The Court majority has rubber-stamped a way for the federal government to censor speech that it doesn’t like,” DeSantis said in a post on X. “The Court is telling would-be censors: you can’t directly censor speech but if you pursue a sophisticated plan with enough subtlety you can get away with doing indirectly what the Constitution clearly forbids you from doing directly.”

The case, Murthy v. Missouri, centered on allegations by Republican-led states that federal officials, including those from the White House and various health and security agencies, improperly pressured social media platforms to suppress conservative viewpoints under the guise of curbing misinformation, with the states contended this pressure violated the First Amendment rights.

What role will housing affordability play in 2024 election?

Law student Aundria Towns and her partner, health care worker Hayden Herrick, have a household income of more than $100,000. Pre-pandemic, those earnings might have given the Douglas County, Georgia, couple a pick of houses. Not in 2024.

Weighed down by student loans, $2,000-a-month rent, stubbornly high interest rates and soaring house prices, the couple has put their plans to buy a house in Cobb County on hold. At least for the time being.

“It seems so out of reach. It seems almost impossible,” Towns told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

That is a sentiment shared by millions of Americans struggling to get into starter homes, make rent, or upscale or downsize as the country prepares for the 2024 general election. Although concerns about inflation, food and gas prices are top of voters’ minds, housing is another pain point contributing to unease about the economy.