Florida's Latest News

Gov. DeSantis signs Live Local Act update with some added safeguards for historic structures

The new bill addresses some, but not all, concerns that local leaders voiced this year.

Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed an update to the Live Local Act that gives Florida developers freer rein to build residential structures without having to abide by local requirements if they meet certain affordability standards.

Lawmakers approved the most recent additions (SB 1730) to the 2023 law unanimously in May after last-minute language was added to somewhat restrain construction in and around historic buildings and districts.

Sen. Alexis Calatayud and Rep. Vicki Lopez, the bill sponsors, accepted the change, which Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones filed after local officials warned that SB 1730 could significantly alter their neighborhoods.

The version of the bill DeSantis signed Monday should put some, but not all, of their concerns to rest for now.

SB 1730 allows for developments to be built within districts on the National Register of Historic Places up to the maximum height allowable for commercial or residential buildings within three-quarters of a mile.

Gov. Desantis signs latest condo package aimed at addressing funding concerns

‘It ended up in a good spot,’ he said of the legislation.

More Surfside-inspired condo safety measures are coming to Florida, along with much-needed funding relief for owners and associations, through legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed.

At an event in Clearwater, DeSantis approved HB 913, a sweeping condo regulation and financial reform bill, marking another significant step in Florida’s ongoing response to Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 90 people in June 2021.

The legislation, which passed unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature last month, aims to strike a balance between structural safety and the financial realities unit owners face.

DeSantis previously praised the measure, sponsored by Fleming Island Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Miami Rep. Vicki Lopez, after it underwent numerous amendments in committee and on the floors of both chambers.

But he sharply criticized lawmakers for not passing the bill sooner, when he called for a Special Session on the issue and others in mid-January. He also noted that he would have vetoed the original House version had it reached his desk unchanged.

Florida seizes Everglades land to house detained migrants in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

With the blessing of the federal government, the DeSantis administration on Monday began building an immigration detention center on an air strip deep in the Everglades where people ensnared in President Donald Trump’s deportation sweeps will be housed in trailers and “heavy duty” tents during the dog days of summer.

Planning to open the 1,000-bed facility within days, state law enforcement officials commandeered the environmentally sensitive land, owned by Miami-Dade County, and began ushering in trucks carrying portable restrooms and industrial generators. A private emergency management company was also on site, helping set up what state officials are calling “Alligator Alcatraz.”

The construction of the facility — surrounded by wetlands filled with alligators, snakes and mosquitos — represents a new, expanded front in Florida’s push to increase its immigration-enforcement footprint and the harsh optics deployed to dissuade migrants from entering the United States.

Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet have been lobbying the federal government for months to give them more autonomy to detain, house and deport immigrants, positioning the state as the most aggressive in the nation when it comes to illegal immigration. Florida will run the facility, and others, at a cost of about $450 million a year, with the ability to seek reimbursement from the federal government, a senior Department of Homeland Security official told the Miami Herald in a statement on Monday.

Who’s running for Florida governor in 2026? We check in on the race.

In January, when we ran through the list of potential 2026 contenders, some major figures were still keeping quiet.

Six months later, the race has come into sharper focus. A well-known Democrat has announced a run. Another Dem dramatically left the party, then proclaimed he would run for governor as an independent. President Donald Trump endorsed a Republican. That Republican was not first lady Casey DeSantis, who remains a wild card. Former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz is an even wilder card.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is term-limited, meaning he can’t run again next November.

Here‘s an update on the major contenders to replace him — as well as who says they’re staying out of the fray.

Democrats

Former U.S. Rep. David Jolly

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A former Republican who represented Florida’s 13th Congressional District in Congress is the Democratic front-runner for governor.