Florida's Latest News

Senate approves 5 members of the Florida Gaming Control Commission

All five members of the Florida Gaming Control Commission (FGCC) have been formally confirmed by the Senate.

The Senate approved Julie Brown as Chair of the FGCC. The Senate’s action also reappoints John Michael D’Aquila and Tina Repp to continue their service on the panel. Gov. Ron DeSantis made two new appointments to the board: Peter Cuderman and William Spicola. Senators also approved both of those choices.

The FGCC provides regulatory oversight of the state’s gambling and horse racing interests, though not the state’s lottery. The board’s authority includes regulating parimutuel wagering, cardrooms, slot machines and other gambling facilities.

“I thank Gov. DeSantis and the Florida Senate for the opportunity to continue serving the great state of Florida as Chair of the Florida Gaming Control Commission. I am proud of the work we have done since FGCC’s inception to combat illegal gambling, which has grown to become increasingly predatory on Florida’s most vulnerable populations,” Brown said.

5 issues splitting Florida House, Senate in budget talks

Lawmakers are again at a stalemate over the budget. Instead of negotiating the final details of the state spending plan for the next fiscal year, House and Senate leaders haven’t agreed to top-line numbers.

That means the Legislature will need extra time to pass the budget, House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, confirmed Monday.

Unlike last year, when the Legislature needed 45 extra days to resolve a dispute that was primarily over tax cuts, Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, are at odds over how much to spend next year.

“We have a fundamental disagreement on what the budget should look like for the state of Florida,” Perez told reporters last week. “The House believes we should spend less money; the Senate believes we should spend more money.”

House passes autism ‘blue envelope’ bill with amendment, requiring another Senate vote

A uniformly praised proposal to improve police interactions with people on the autism spectrum has at least one more vote to go before becoming law, despite having already passed both chambers of the Legislature.

Members of the House this week voted unanimously for the measure (SB 418), which would create a statewide “blue envelope” program to help improve communication between law enforcement and drivers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during traffic stops.

The envelope would hold identification and vehicle documents and include guidance for officers. SB 418, sponsored by Miami Gardens Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones, would also require Florida’s Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission to develop lessons for officers on how to recognize autism and safely interact with people on the spectrum, with the training incorporated into recruit instruction and continuing education.

Had the Senate bill passed unchanged Tuesday, its next stop would have been Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, as it had previously cleared the Senate on a 38-0 vote last month.

Legislature approves penny-rounding bill following coin’s cancellation

The House has approved a proposal by Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Fiona McFarland outlining how retailers should round cash transactions as the penny disappears from circulation.

Representatives voted 111-1 in favor of SB 1074, sponsored by Gaetz. McFarland, who carried an identical bill (HB 951) through the House and presented SB 1074, said the bill directs retailers to round to the nearest nickel now that the penny is no longer being minted.

“We will soon get to the point, as pennies are no longer in circulation, where your customer won’t have the proper amount of pennies to pay … so this bill will codify how you should round in those circumstances,” McFarland said.

The proposal establishes that purchases ending in 1 or 2 cents would round down to zero, while those ending in 3 or 4 cents would round up to 5 cents. Transactions ending in 6 or 7 cents would round down to 5 cents, and those ending in 8 or 9 cents would round up to the next 10 cents. The change would apply only to cash purchases and would not affect electronic payments or how sales taxes are calculated.