Florida's Latest News

Here are the constitutional amendments going before Florida voters in November

There will be three Constitutional amendments on the statewide ballot this November: Abolishing the Constitution Revision Commission. This would abolish the Constitution Revision Commission, which meets at 20-year intervals and is scheduled to next convene in 2037, as a way to submit proposed amendments or revisions to the State Constitution.

The commission is made up of 37 people and is the only one of its kind in the nation. Through a series of public meetings, the Commission drafts proposed changes to the Constitution that would be voted on Florida’s general election ballot. It was created by the Florida legislature in 1968.

It order to be abolished, at least 60% of state voters would have to approve the amendment in November.

The amendment was introduced by state Sen. Jeff Brandes of Pinellas County in 2020. It passed the state Senate the following year by a vote of 27-12. The measure was passed in the House in 2021, by a vote of 86-11.

UF announces faculty expansion as it prepares for new nursing students

The University of Florida announced it will recruit about 20 new faculty members as it prepares to train and educate baccalaureate-prepared nurses, nurse practitioners and nurse scientists in the coming year to help abate a looming nursing shortage in the state.

The UF College of Nursing estimates enrollment in its B.S.N program at UF Health Jacksonville will increase by 50% over current enrollment in 2023, and will double by 2025. Enrollment in the nursing program in Gainesville is also expected to increase in the coming year by about 15%.

The $3.6 million is from a state grant called “Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education,” or PIPELINE. Included in the state budget passed earlier this year by the Florida Legislature, the PIPELINE funds are recurring.

Florida Homebuilders back Ashley Moody for Attorney General

The Florida Home Builders PAC is stamping its seal of approval on Attorney General Ashley Moody‘s re-election campaign.

“Attorney General Moody has been a driving force behind creating a safer, more prosperous, business environment in the State of Florida,” said Rusty Payton, CEO of the Florida Home Builders Association. “The Florida Home Builders PAC is proud to endorse Attorney General Ashley Moody, and we remain confident that she will continue to prevent and combat unlicensed activity and unscrupulous contractors in her effort to protect Floridians’ ability to achieve the American Dream of homeownership.”

Florida Homebuilders Association (FHBA) was founded in 1947 and currently represents more than 8,000 members statewide. The group is also affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders and works with 23 branches across Florida.

Congress leans on NOAA to avoid major Florida fishery closures

It’s not just the usual push-pull of red snapper gripes this time around — there’s the real possibility of massive federal snapper-grouper fishery closures off Florida’s coasts, especially Northeast Florida.

A bipartisan group of Representatives and Senators sent a letter to the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asking for time to collect better data to avoid closures that could be catastrophic to the local fishing industry.

“While the two-day season this year was unacceptably short, full closures would destroy the livelihoods of many and decimate our local fishing economy,” U.S. Rep. John Rutherford said in a statement. “To make these sweeping management decisions without considering the independent data that is on the way would be irresponsible.”