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Flagler, Florida and Beyond
FlaglerLive | June 18, 2019
A bill Gov. DeSantis is about to sign deals with a variety of elections issues, but a lawsuit is focused on a provision requiring early-voting sites to provide “nonpermitted parking,” which could exclude college campuses.
FlaglerLive | June 17, 2019
Who gets to vote should be driven by citizenship, the spirit of the United States Constitution and all America stands for, not by blowhardism and dirty tricks, argues Nancy Smith.
FlaglerLive | June 6, 2019
Florida since 1987 has barred cities and counties from passing regulations that are stricter than state firearms laws. But in 2011, lawmakers went further by approving a series of penalties that local governments and officials can face if they violate the prohibition.
FlaglerLive | June 6, 2019
As of Wednesday afternoon, DeSantis had received 123 of the 174 bills approved by the Legislature during this year’s session. He’d signed 80 and vetoed two.
FlaglerLive | May 22, 2019
States like Florida that refuse to expand Medicaid are missing an opportunity to address racial disparities in maternal health and improve child health care, according to a report released Wednesday.
FlaglerLive | May 21, 2019
Amid the likely changes, petition signatures have continued pouring into the state Division of Elections in recent weeks, with two initiatives ready for Supreme Court review and others nearing that initial threshold.
FlaglerLive | May 12, 2019
In his first veto, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday rejected a bill that would have blocked local governments from banning plastic straws.
FlaglerLive | May 9, 2019
The Florida League of Cities and three cities contend the 2017 law infringes on home-rule powers and leads to an unconstitutional “taking” of city property to benefit wireless companies.
FlaglerLive | May 7, 2019
Earlier in the day, the League of Women Voters of Florida held a conference call with reporters urging DeSantis to veto the Amendment 4 implementation bill.
FlaglerLive | May 6, 2019
When lawmakers hit the road Saturday after ending the 2019 legislative session, they left behind hundreds of bills and issues that did not pass. But there’s always the 2020 session, which will start in eight short months.
FlaglerLive | May 5, 2019
The budget includes high-profile spending issues such as $680 million for the Everglades and other water projects; a $242-per-student increase in school funding; and $50 million to maintain for at least another year the state’s embattled tourism-marketing agency Visit Florida.
FlaglerLive | May 3, 2019
Florida lawmakers on Friday overwhelmingly approved a criminal-justice package that includes the first change in 35 years to the legal threshold for felony theft and reducing punishment for some non-violent offenders.
FlaglerLive | May 2, 2019
A key part of the bill would change the way underground power-line projects are financed, a change that could lead to more projects — but also higher bills for utility customers.
FlaglerLive | April 30, 2019
On a 24-15 vote, the Senate imposed a moratorium on plastic-straw bans, the latest example of the constant tug-of-war between the Legislature and cities and counties over local regulations.
FlaglerLive | April 29, 2019
Under longstanding law, hospitals have needed to seek certificates of need from the state Agency for Health Care Administration to build facilities or to add certain services.THat would be eliminated.
FlaglerLive | April 26, 2019
Florida senators on Thursday passed legislation that would allow more students to use taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay for private-school tuition, a major step toward expanding school choice in the state.
FlaglerLive | April 25, 2019
The House’s party-line, 71-45 vote drew a rebuke from backers of the amendment, who called the bill “a failure to live up to the bipartisan commitment” demonstrated by the 61 percent of voters who approved Amendment 4.
FlaglerLive | April 24, 2019
Police could pull over motorists texting and driving, under a House measure, but the House opposes a Senate proposal that would allow only hands-free use of cell phones while driving.
FlaglerLive | April 21, 2019
Petition-gatherers to be registered with the state, ballots would have to include information about contributions raised by amendment sponsors, whether out-of-state petition circulators were used and whether amendments could lead to tax increases.
FlaglerLive | April 18, 2019
The House measure matches the Senate proposal in shifting texting while driving from a “secondary” offense to a “primary” offense, but it doesn’t impose a hands-free requirement.
FlaglerLive | April 17, 2019
Teacher and service employee unions organized the walk-ins at the schools to pressure lawmakers to improve per-student allocations and lessen the favored financial and other terms granted charter and voucher programs.
FlaglerLive | April 15, 2019
The St. Augustine Republican, who also represents all of Flagler, is the Senate’s top economic development budget writer and sits on other major committees, including the Appropriations Committee, the Judiciary Committee and the Rules Committee.
FlaglerLive | April 11, 2019
The so-called “Parents Bill of Rights” would allow parents to access and review all of their children’s school records and change the way students can seek mental-health and reproductive-health services, including counseling and birth control prescriptions.
FlaglerLive | April 10, 2019
Gov. DeSantis has championed the legislation as a way to curb prescription drug costs. But his effort continues to draw opposition from representatives of the pharmaceutical industry who say importing drugs could increase the amount of unsafe and counterfeit drugs.
FlaglerLive | April 9, 2019
The House Judiciary Committee Palm Coast’s Paul Renner chairs on Tuesday passed a crime bill that eases some punishments and makes it easier for felons to reintegrate society but also passed a restrictive interpretation of Amendment 4 and felons’ right to vote.
FlaglerLive | April 8, 2019
The 3-2 party-line vote followed a hurried 27-minute hearing on the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, the Pinellas County Republican. Opponents of the bill are pleading to make financial burdens a roadblock to voting.
FlaglerLive | April 8, 2019
After rallying and testimony from numerous activists on both sides of the issue, a Senate panel Monday approved a proposal that would require minors to receive parental consent before having abortions.
FlaglerLive | April 7, 2019
The Florida House on Thursday unanimously approved a plan to add two new county judges, one of them in Flagler, where County Judge Melissa Distler’s workload has long been among the heaviest in the state.
FlaglerLive | April 6, 2019
Paul Renner, Flagler’s GOP representative and future Speaker of the House, is being dishonest and disingenuous in his defense of a bill that would make felons’ right to vote dependent on paying back all financial obligations.
FlaglerLive | April 3, 2019
Efforts to raise the threshold amount for the first time since 1986 have stalled in the Legislature in the past. This year’s proposal (HB 589) has steadily moved forward in the House, as criminal-justice reform advocates say there is momentum to pass such measures.
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