Florida's Latest News

Florida GOP leaders unveil new bill with election law changes sought by DeSantis

A Republican state senator unveiled legislation Monday with a slew of changes to Florida's voting laws, including a proposal sought by Gov. Ron DeSantis to establish a new office investigating election fraud and a mandate to purge voter rolls more frequently.

The bill comes as former President Donald Trump continues to spread unfounded claims about fraud in the 2020 election, an issue that has enflamed the GOP base and put pressure on the state's Republican leaders to take action.

"Confidence in the integrity of our elections is essential to maintaining a democratic form of government," Sen. Travis Hutson, R-St. Augustine, said in filing the legislation, which is being proposed as an amendment to a bill (SB 524). 

For some, Florida's abortion bill is a 'fight for life'; for others, it's a 'fight for freedom'

Florida senators this week will start considering a proposal that would prevent physicians from performing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, one of the most-controversial issues of the 2022 legislative session.

The proposal has companion legislation in the House. It was approved Thursday in a 10-5 vote in the House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee. It also earlier cleared the House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee. It needs approval from the House Health & Human Services Committee before it can go to the full House.

The Senate Health Policy Committee is scheduled Wednesday to take up the proposal (SB 146), filed by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland.

Stargel released a statement saying that “women and children deserve better than abortion.” Stargel also talked about her personal experience as a “scared teenage mother” who understands the turmoil of facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Florida House trying to boost law officer recruitment

Bonuses of up to $5,000 that Gov. Ron DeSantis has sought to entice law-enforcement officers to Florida are moving through the House as part of a broader package focused on people who don badges.

The House Appropriations Committee voted unanimously Monday to approve the measure (HB 3), which supporters say could help understaffed law-enforcement agencies and improve the morale of current officers through recruitment and retention.

The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, would establish a bonus program to provide one-time payments of up to $5,000 to newly employed law-enforcement officers in the state, along with bonuses for officers who adopt children. It also would set up a Florida Law Enforcement Academy Scholarship Program to cover basic training tuition and fees.

Hurricane fund reform could save Floridians $1 billion yearly, opponents claim otherwise

Property insurance reforms proposed by Senator Jeff Brandes (Pinellas County) could save Floridians up to $1 billion annually through lowered insurance coverage rates, though opponents claim that the reforms would deplete state disaster relief resources.

Initially filed in Oct. of 2021, Senate Bill 578 (SB 578) seeks to bring two reforms to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF). The FHCF primarily sells reinsurance to major insurance firms. Reinsurance is the policy insurers must buy and actively hold in order to pay claims following a major catastrophic storm or likewise natural disaster.

In the first reform, Brandes is attempting to enforce that the state disperses some of the $11.3 billion in FHCF cash reserves to help policyholders in the present day rather than stockpiling the money indefinitely while waiting for a once-in-a-century storm that may materialize. In the situation a catastrophically powerful hurricane does hit Florida, the FHCF can be usurped through the borrowing of money and levying surcharges on all Florida policyholders in order to repay loans, Brandes argued.