Once again, certain legislators want to exert more control — not less — over the thoughts, actions and beliefs of local Floridians who are seeking higher education to improve their lives and the lives of their families.
Florida Legislature
In Latest Union-Busting Move, Lawmakers Would Bar Payroll Deductions for Dues
A House panel began moving forward Thursday with a controversial proposal that would make changes for public-employee unions, including preventing workers from having dues deducted from their paychecks.
Dismissing ‘Slippery Slope of Censorship,’ GOP Senators Back Stricter Scrutiny of School and Library Books
The proposal (SB 1300) would change the review process for books and other learning materials, adding requirements and making it more open to the public but also enabling regular purges of book lists to align them with standards or if the books are considered out of date.
House GOP Wants Lower School Board Salaries and Higher Scrutiny of Library Books
The proposal (HB 1467) approved by the House Education & Employment Committee in a 13-7 vote Thursday would require schools to post information about the selection of books and instructional materials on their websites.
GOP Lawmakers Back Prohibition on Innumerable Ballot Initiatives
Florida voters in recent years have approved high-profile initiatives about issues such as raising the minimum wage and broadly legalizing medical marijuana. Such initiatives would be barred in the future if the House proposal is ultimately approved.
After Emotional Testimony in 1st Hearing, GOP Lawmakers Back 15-Week Abortion Ban, 12-6
The vote on the abortion-ban bill proposed by Florida Republicans came following emotional, angry and passionate words in the audience and at the subcommittee meeting table, where lawmakers had to make decisions based on dramatically opposite views.
Land of the Free: Sing the National Anthem or Else, Florida Legislators Tell Sports Teams
Florida’s measure would prohibit government agencies from entering agreements with professional teams without written verification that the anthem would be played. Failure to play the anthem could lead to teams or venues being required to repay government money they received.
Actually, Y’All, Some of Us Would Prefer Facts with Our Politics
In the first speech of his 2024 presidential campaign, not-so-cunningly disguised as the “State of the State” address, Ron DeSantis declared, We have made Florida the freest state in these United States. He just hopes you don;t look behind the syrup.
Florida Legislators Are Stealing Money from Environmentally-Sensitive Lands Pot, Without Consequences
In 2014, 75 percent of Florida voters approved an amendment to the state Constitution that said the Legislature had to spend a certain amount of money buying environmentally sensitive land. Legislators have been illegally appropriating hundreds of millions of dollars away from the intended purpose of the amendment.
Sen. Travis Hutson’s Bill Giving Business Power to Suspend Ordinances Through Suits Worries Local Officials
The Republican-controlled Senate Community Affairs Committee voted 7-2 along party lines to approve the proposal (SB 280), which would require counties and cities to produce a “business impact statement” before passing ordinances and to suspend enforcement of the ordinances amid legal challenges.