Florida's Latest News

Business Groups Eye Rules For Next Crisis

Lobbying groups for small businesses, restaurants, hotels and retailers expressed a need to senators Monday for statewide rules for the next health crisis, with a focus on mask mandates.

Officials with the National Federation of Independent Business-Florida, the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association and the Florida Retail Federation told members of the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Response that a wide range of city and county regulations has been among the biggest issues they have faced since the pandemic began slightly more than a year ago.

Florida Retail Federation President & CEO Scott Shalley said his group was monitoring 164 different county and city mask ordinances, of which a number, specifically one imposed in St. Petersburg, were “fairly draconian.”

DeSantis proposes $75 million in initiatives to boost Florida workforce

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, at a news conference Monday in Eau Gallie, announced a proposal for $75 million in career training initiatives to boost vocational education throughout the state.

The programs would help fast-track high school students and adults with or without a high school degree into high-paying skilled-labor jobs in growth industries like technology and manufacturing, DeSantis said.

Funding would come from pots of money allocated over the last year through the various federal coronavirus relief bills, including $15 million designated for K-12 education relief and $25 million from the governor's emergency education response fund, he said.

VP Kamala Harris visits vaccination site, Feeding Northeast Florida in Jacksonville

Vice President Kamala Harris, returning to Jacksonville for the first time since she was on the campaign trail last October, toured a COVID-19 vaccination site to see U.S. Navy personnel prepare shots and then sat down with local leaders at Feeding Northeast Florida to hear how the pandemic worsened long-standing hunger problems.

Harris did not announce any new programs and she largely steered clear of questions about how Florida is handling the pandemic, other than to say it was a "good thing" that Gov. Ron DeSantis lowered the eligibility age to 50 and up for getting the vaccine.

She was in Jacksonville to spread President Joe Biden's "Help is Here" message for the $1.9 trillion federal relief package that was his administration's first major legislative victory.

Florida ‘bed’ tax money pitched to combat flooding

Despite opposition from the tourism industry, a House committee Monday moved forward with a proposal that would allow counties to spend so-called “bed” tax money on efforts  to combat flooding.

The proposal (HB 1429), sponsored by Rep. Bryan Avila, R-Miami Springs, would expand the way that tourist-development tax money can be used. He pointed to projections that sea-level rise will cause major flooding problems in the future.

“Quite frankly, Florida’s facing major challenges that require bold solutions,” Avila said before the House Ways & Means Committee voted unanimously to support the bill. “That’s the reality.”