Florida's Latest News

State Sen. Randolph Bracy announces bid for Val Demings’ seat in Congress

State Sen. Randolph Bracy is running for Congress, kicking off what could be a busy field of contenders for U.S. Rep. Val Demings’ seat.

Demings, D-Orlando, is expected to announce a run for U.S. Senate in the coming weeks. Former state attorney Aramis Ayala and Orlando City Council member Bakari Burns are also considering runs in the Democratic primary for the heavily African American district in western Orange County.

Bracy’s bid for Congress was first reported by Politico.

DeSantis signs gambling bills, overhauling Florida’s betting landscape

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed into law a series of gambling-related measures approved by state legislators during a special session held earlier this month. One of the bills (SB 2-A) authorized a 30-year gambling deal, known as a “compact,” inked by the governor and Seminole Tribe of Florida Chairman Marcellus Osceola Jr. in April.

Under the agreement, the tribe promised to pay the state $2.5 billion over the first five years of the deal. The compact also opens the door for sports betting in Florida by having the Seminoles serve as the state’s hub for sports betting, with pari-mutuel operators contracting with the tribe.

The deal requires the Seminoles to contract with at least three pari-mutuels within three months after sports betting goes live and does not allow the tribe to launch sports betting until Oct. 15. Sports betting proponents have been eager for Florida to join other states that have legalized the popular online gambling activity.

State Board of Education weighs rule to keep teachers from 'indoctrinating' students 

The Florida Board of Education will consider a rule to prevent public school teachers from “indoctrinating” students, a move teachers’ unions have opposed.  

The proposed rule states that “instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective and may not suppress or distort significant historical events, such as the Holocaust, and may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence.”

The proposal will be considered at a June 10 Florida Board of Education meeting. It would also require classroom discussions to be “age appropriate.”

Proposed ballot initiatives emerge

While Florida lawmakers approved a plan this spring to make it harder to place constitutional amendments on the ballot, at least seven proposed citizens’ initiatives have emerged in recent weeks.

The seven proposals have been posted on the Florida Division of Elections website since April 8, with five posted last week. The initiatives include a proposal, backed by a political committee known as Let Florida Vote, that would lead to an elected education commissioner serving on the state Cabinet.

A political committee known as FL5.org has filed five initiatives, including proposals to block construction or expansion of toll roads on conservation and rural lands and a proposal to ban captive wildlife hunting.