Florida's Latest News

DeSantis leaves any special session on property insurance, condos up to lawmakers

If Florida lawmakers hold a special session to deal with the troubled property insurance market or to put additional requirements on condominium buildings, it won’t come from a directive by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis, appearing Monday in Wellington, said he’d “welcome” the return of lawmakers to Tallahassee to address either of the topics if a special session is called by legislative leaders.

“If they can get an agreement, they should do it,” DeSantis replied when asked about calling a special session on either topic.

“I’m confident we’re going to see something along those lines at some point within the next year, whether it’s soon, whether it’s closer to the (election), I don’t know,” DeSantis said. “I think that they realize that that’ll be something that we can do. So, I’m ready. I’ve got a pen ready. And so, if they do it, we’ll be very receptive to that.”

Polk teachers' union applauds Gov. DeSantis for announcing $800 million boost to teacher pay

Polk County teachers’ union officials are declaring a victory for their members after Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Monday $800 million for an increase in teachers’ salaries, including half that sum for veteran teachers.

“As a collective, the Polk Education Association and our union statewide have fought for a ‘Decade of Progress’ and called on the Florida Legislature to ‘Fund Our Future,’” said PEA President Stephanie Yocum. “This year we are seeing the largest investment in public education like none we’ve witnessed in the past two decades.”

Yocum also pointed to two other wins for teachers and support staff.

Florida tops 1 million recreational boats

More than 1 million recreational boats are registered in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The agency announced Friday that the number had been surpassed, with the most vessel registrations in Miami-Dade County, with 74,622, followed by Pinellas County, with 53,867; Lee County, with 50,304; Broward County, with 47,741; and Hillsborough County, with 41,495.

Florida requires vessels to be registered with local tax collectors within 30 days of purchase. Registration is not required for non-motor-powered vessels less than 16 feet long, along with canoes, kayaks, racing shells and rowing sculls.

As the state passed the 1 million benchmark, the commission tried to highlight the importance of safety.

Highlights from Florida's proposed budget, including a possible Rays spring training site in Pasco

A $112.1 billion budget that lawmakers passed last week covers more than the state’s basics for education, health care and law enforcement.

The budget and a series of accompanying bills include spending on everything from new state planes to zoos. Gov. Ron DeSantis has line-item veto power, so it’s too early to know everything that will be in the budget when the fiscal year starts July 1.

But here is a sample of some of the items in the budget package:

AIR FLORIDA: Lawmakers approved buying and replacing several aircraft, including two new jets for state leaders. DeSantis already has at his disposal a $15.5 million Cessna Citation Latitude that lawmakers agreed to buy in 2019. Other planes and helicopters would go to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.