News Clips, June 5, 2020

A week after the state university system’s Board of Governors laid out a blueprint for how to reopen campuses in the fall, school officials are offering more details about what will change when students and faculty members come back.

The 12 state universities continue to work on plans, which they are supposed to present June 23 to the Board of Governors. The plans will flesh out details about issues such as student housing, academics, health protocols and athletics.

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On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida would be moving to “Phase 2”of its reopening plans, the second of a three-step process, this week. With the reopening of bars, movie theaters and other venues, Phase 2 is a significant step toward normal life. Here are some common questions about it:

When does it take effect?

Friday, June 5.

Which counties are allowed to move to Phase 2?

All counties in Florida except for Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

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A proposal to ban assault weapons in Florida was rejected by the state Supreme Court on Thursday, with a majority of justices ruling that the proposal was misleading.

The proposal, spun out of the 2018 Parkland massacre, would have changed Florida’s Constitution to make it illegal for people to buy assault weapons or transfer those weapons to others.

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Florida counties are pushing Gov. Ron DeSantis to release nearly $1.3 billion in federal money that has been sitting in state coffers for more than two months, as local officials struggle to keep their communities afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twelve Florida counties with populations greater than 500,000 — Brevard, Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Lee, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Orange and Volusia — received $2.47 billion in direct payments from the U.S. Department of the Treasury through  CARES Act, in March.

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