Youth climate activists gathered on the steps of the Old Capitol building in Tallahassee Wednesday morning with a direct message for state lawmakers: Start taking “immediate and bold action on climate change.” But there’s a quantum distance between what the activists desire and what the GOP-controlled Legislature is actually doing in the 2024 session regarding the issue.
Florida Legislature
Proposal to Limit County Commission Terms to 12 Years Advances in Florida House
A House panel Friday approved a proposal that would impose 12-year term limits on county commissioners in most of the state, after changing an earlier version of the bill that would have led to eight-year limits.
In Free Florida, the Dictionary Is Dangerous to Your Children
A few people who call themselves parents but are really frustrated bullies who want everyone else to lead the miserable lives they do, at least when they’re not engaging in threesomes, have successfully made black holes of Florida’s school and classroom libraries and further marginalized slews of children whose one solace might have been that one book.
Palm Coast’s Sen. Hutson Votes with Majority in Latest Bid to Scale Back Local Vacation-Rental Regulations
Almost every year since 2014, Florida lawmakers have been trying to reduce local regulatory control on the booming vacation-rental industry or shift it to the state–what’s called “pre-emption.” The state would then bar local governments from enacting many of their own regulations. A Senate panel today cleared the way for the latest such attempt, with Sen. Travis Hutson in the majority. The bill goes to the Senate floor next.
Stop the LGBTQ Cheap Shots
There are some feel-good bills and cheap shots that require no courage to vote for and bring the political bonus of being difficult for an opponent to argue against this summer, when most legislators will be back home running for re-election. And no topic makes for easier demagoguery than sex, specifically any activity that makes strait-laced Republicans a little squeamish.
Welcome to the Old South, The Myth that Refuses to Die
In Florida, we prefer not to discuss ‘slavery’ unless we are enlightening the ignorant about how it was Not That Bad. You have only to read Miss Margaret Mitchell’s brilliant and perfectly accurate novel to see the Truth of this.
Bill That Would Allow Kids 16 and 17 to Work Over 30 Hours a Week During School Year Advances
The proposal by Tampa Bay area Republican Rep. Linda Chaney (HB 49) would allow 16 and 17-year olds to work more than 30 hours a week during the school year and allow for fewer mandatory work breaks. The proposal was approved on a party-line vote in a House committee and is one committee stop away from making it to the House floor for final approval.
‘Call It a Culture War If You Want’: Paul Renner’s Opening-Day Speech Cites Reagan, Churchill and Children
In his opening-day speech before the Florida Legislature, House Speaker Paul Renner spoke of what he termed the “devastating effects” of social media on children, invoked culture war rhetoric and made a reference to Churchill saving Britain from Nazis, and pledged to punish “flash mobs that target retailers.” Here’s the full text of his speech.
Lawmakers File Bills to Prohibit Youths Under 16 From Having Social Media Accounts, and End Existing Ones
The bills would require social-media platforms to bar minors under 16 from creating social-media accounts and use “reasonable age verification” methods to check the ages of people when accounts are created. The bills also would require social-media platforms to terminate existing accounts that are “reasonably known” by the platforms to be held by minors younger than 16 and would allow parents to request that minors’ accounts be terminated.
GOP Measure Would Forbid Government Agencies from Using Individuals’ Preferred Pronouns
Mirroring a House bill filed in November, a Senate Republican on Thursday proposed a measure that would place restrictions on government agencies in the use of personal pronouns.
Lawmakers, in Longshot Over Feud with DeSantis, Seek to Return Disney District to the Company
Orange County lawmakers backed a longshot proposal that could essentially return to the Walt Disney Co. control of a special taxing district that was revamped after Gov. Ron DeSantis got into a feud with the entertainment giant.
Social Media Regulation, AI, ‘Deregulation’ of Public Schools and Child Labor: 10 Top Issues of Legislative Session
Florida lawmakers will start the annual 60-day legislative session on Jan. 9, with Gov. Ron DeSantis giving his State of the State address before shuttling back to Iowa ahead of the caucus there on Jan. 15, with a slate of proposals–on artificial intelligence, the elimination of numerous regulations in public schools, allowances for 16 and 17 year olds to work longer hours–crowding the legislative agenda.
Students Are Not Showing Up for Class. Lawmakers Want To Do Something About It. But What?
In measuring student attendance, the department looks at students who miss 21 or more days and students absent for 10 percent or more of the academic year. The 2021-2022 data showed that 32.3 percent of students, or more than 1 million students, were absent for 10 percent or more of the year.
Taking On Artificial Intelligence, Florida Legislature Will Contend Unpredictable Scenarios in Coming Session
As access to artificial intelligence, or AI, continues to spread, state lawmakers are poised to consider ways to set up guardrails around a technology that one senator said has “outpaced government regulation.” Measures filed by Senate and House Republicans target issues such as potential defamation of people using AI in media, use of the technology in political advertising and the creation of a state council that would look at potential legislative reforms.
Florida Senate Targets AI’s ‘Deepfakes’ in Political Ads
Concerns about materially deceptive media — so-called “deepfakes” — have accelerated as the use of artificial intelligence has become more sophisticated in recent years, prompting a member of the Florida Senate to propose civil penalties for using them in political ads.
Brightline Rail from Orlando to Tampa ‘Making Tremendous Strides,’ With SunRail Spurs to Airport and Disney Ahead
What is known as the Sunshine Corridor Partnership seeks to connect the SunRail commuter-rail service in Central Florida to Brightline at Orlando International Airport, while linking the Orange County Convention Center, south International Drive and the Disney Springs areas. While Florida in 2011 turned down $2.4 billion in federal money for high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando, the right-of-way along the I-4 corridor is reserved for passenger rail.
Florida Senate Panel Backs $200-a-Year Tax on Electric Vehicle Owners to Offset Gas Tax Revenue Loss
The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday backed a proposal (SB 28) that would require electric-vehicle owners to pay annual an annual $200 registration fee (or license tax) to try to offset anticipated losses in gas-tax dollars as more people convert to electric and hybrid vehicles. Annual fees of $50 a year would be imposed on plug-in hybrids that use a combination of electricity and gas and $25 fees would be imposed on electric motorcycles.
Paul Renner Rails at ‘Climate Activists’ and Pledges New Controls on Kids’ Social Media Access
House Speaker Paul Renner said Tuesday that lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session will take steps to support energy companies and place limits on children’s access to social-media sites. He provided little detail.
Citing ‘Broken and Arbitrary System,’ Plaintiffs Argue Against Ending Felon Voting Rights Case
Plaintiffs allege that the way state and local officials have carried out Amendment 4, designed to restore voting rights for felons who have completed their sentences, violated the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act. Attorneys for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition and four individual plaintiffs filed a 61-page court document opposing a request by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, county clerks of court and elections supervisors to dismiss the lawsuit.
Proposed Florida Law Would Ban Local Governments and Contractors from Recognizing Preferred Pronouns
A legislative proposal to bar state and local governments and contractors or nonprofits drawing state money from recognizing employees’ preferred gender pronouns if they differ from their biological sex has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ Democrats as “a disturbing escalation of right-wing extremism in Florida.”
Florida Lawmakers Put Developers’ Interests Ahead of Residents’ Hurricane Safety
In a bill to supply aid to the victims of Hurricane Ian and Idalia, lawmakers told local governments in counties hammered by the storm that they were not allowed to make “burdensome” changes to their land-use or growth plan regulations for three years. No learning from their mistakes and trying to avoid repeating them.
Proposal Would Reduce Testing But Lower Standards and Shift Academic Decisions From Teachers to Parents
A trio of education bills passed by the Senate K-12 education committee ease the burden of standardized tests, eliminate the requirement for Algebra 1 end-of-course exam and 10th-grade English Language Arts tests to graduate from high school, and allow parents more power to determine whether their third-graders should move to the next grade.
Florida Lawmakers Want to Reduce Regulations in Public Schools
Florida lawmakers are looking at ways to take some regulations off the books for public schools. A new law law directed the State Board of Education to identify potential repeals and revisions in the state’s education code. The law also required the board to solicit input from people such as teachers, superintendents, administrators and school boards.
A Sociology Course That Deals with Gender, Sexuality and Race May be Demoted at Florida Colleges
The Principles of Sociology class, which still would be available to students, would no longer count toward fulfilling required social-science coursework. The class involves lessons on gender, sex and sexuality and race and ethnicity, according to a syllabus from one university. State Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. wants it removed from the social sciences category.
ACLU Calls Out Florida’s Suppression of Palestinian Students’ Voices
Top leaders at the American Civil Liberties Union criticized Florida in a letter Wednesday for demanding the deactivation of chapters of a pro-Palestine student organization. More than 600 college and university leaders received the letter, urging them to reject political calls to investigate and punish student groups for exercising free speech.
Lawmakers’ Special Session Seeks to Expand Public Funding for Private Schools’ Special Education Students
Florida lawmakers are gearing up to provide additional funding to a part of the state’s school-voucher program that serves students with special needs, as some proponents of the scholarships say demand has outpaced supply.
Don Gaetz Wants Back in Florida Senate as His Son Disrupts U.S. House
Former state Senate President Don Gaetz is seeking a return to the Legislature as his son makes waves in Washington, D.C. Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who served in the Senate from 2006 to 2016, including as president during the 2013 and 2014 legislative sessions, said Monday he was filing paperwork to run next year in the Panhandle’s Senate District 1.
U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Florida Law Forcing Social Media to Carry Objectionable Content
The Texas and Florida legislatures passed the laws at the center of the disputes in 2021. The Florida law, known as S.B. 7072 or the Stop Social Media Censorship Act, prohibits social-media companies from banning political candidates and “journalistic enterprises.” The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to weigh in on the constitutionality of the controversial laws.
Remembering Lucy Morgan, Florida’s Most Feared Journalist
When Lucy Morgan started out, female reporters were usually confined to the food and style pages. She was the machete clearing the trail for many women in Florida, not the first pioneering newspaperwoman but surely the most significant. Causing trouble — for the powerful, at least — was her job, and she mentored generations of journalists.
Paul Renner Signals Focus on Health Care with Creation of New House Committee
Signaling that health care could be a key issue during the 2024 legislative session, House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, announced Friday that he has created the House Select Committee on Health Innovation. The committee, which will be chaired by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Lake Placid, will “review issues relating to access and affordability in health care,” Renner said in a memo to House members.
Dead White Males Return: Behind Florida GOP’s Push for Christian-Leaning Classic Learning Test Instead of SAT
The new Classic Learning Test has been pushed by conservative politicians and religious activists as an alternative to the SAT and ACT, and will now be accepted as a measure of admission in Florida colleges and universities. Of the 12 private institutions in Florida that now accept the CLT, 11 are religiously affiliated.
With K-12 Health Standards Mum on Abortion, Younger Floridians Seek More Influence Ahead of Court Case
The Florida Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Sept. 8 on the abortion issues and could reverse the course the court set more than 30 years ago. Some young Floridians are turning to the future of reproductive freedom in Florida, as through Floridians Protecting Freedom, the group that launched a pro-abortion initiative to add a constitutional referendum on reproductive freedom to the November 2024 ballot.
Judge Rules Unconstitutional DeSantis Plan That Eliminated Black Representation
Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled that a congressional redistricting plan pushed through the Legislature by Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the Florida Constitution and needs to be redrawn. The judge sided with voting-rights groups in a lawsuit focused on a North Florida district that in the past elected Black Democrat Al Lawson but was dramatically revamped during the 2022 redistricting process. White Republicans won all North Florida congressional districts in the November elections.
Federal Judge Refuses to Block Florida Law Targeting Adult Transgender Care, But Individuals May Sue
A federal judge on Friday refused to block a new Florida law making it more difficult for transgender adults to access hormone therapy and surgeries. But U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said he could issue a narrowly tailored injunction to ensure care for individual plaintiffs if they provide detailed medical records.
Ohio’s Message to Florida: There’s Still Hope for Democracy
Terrified that an amendment giving women — not Gilead Republicans — control over their reproductive health would pass in November, Ohio’s right-wingers figured they’d change the rules in the middle of the game. But on Aug. 8, voters in this allegedly red state rejected a Republican-backed measure to make it harder for citizens to amend their constitution.
Judge Hears Arguments About Florida’s New Discriminatory Land Ownership Law Targeting Chinese
A federal judge listened to more than two hours of arguments Tuesday about whether he should block a new Florida law that restricts people from China from owning property in the state.
Judge Refuses to Block Two Parts of Florida’s Newly Restrictive Election Law
One of those parts requires representatives of voter-registration groups to provide receipts to people who sign up to vote. The other part prevents people with certain felony convictions from “collecting or handling” voter-registration applications.
Paul Renner Pushing for Consolidation of Circuit Courts, Citing ‘Cost Savings’
Rep. Paul Renner, the House Speaker, believes “the consolidation of circuits would result in improved economies of scale in the judiciary’s back-office operations, leading to substantial cost savings for Florida’s taxpayers.”
Families Flee Florida and Other States Thwarting Transgender Care
Missouri, Florida, and Texas are among at least 20 states that have limited components of gender-affirming health care for trans youth. Those three states are also among the states that prevent Medicaid — the public health insurance for people with low incomes — from paying for key aspects of such care for patients of all ages.
Citing Florida’s ‘Latest Assault on the Right to Vote,’ Judge Blocks Parts of Election Law
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a 58-page decision, issued a preliminary injunction against parts of the law that would prevent non-U.S. citizens from “collecting or handling” voter-registration applications and make it a felony for voter-registration group workers to keep personal information of voters.
School Vouchers, Teaching Muzzles, Diversity Bans, Looser Guns: 200 New Laws Take Effect Saturday
More than 200 laws passed during the 2023 legislative session, including a record $116.5 billion budget, will take effect Saturday, including a massive expansion of public money available for private schooling, permitless gun-carrying, and more restrictions or bans on what teachers may say or teach.
$5 Million for Fire Station 22 Vetoed, But Palm Coast Still Nets Historic $55 Million Haul from Legislature
Palm Coast is focusing on the positive: scoring $54.6 million out of $59.6 million in legislative requests, not including more than $1 million to be earmarked for a new YMCA in the city.
Florida Will Publish Annual Index of Books Banned or Challenged in Schools
The State Board of Education on Wednesday approved a new rule that will lead to Florida officials publishing an annual list of library books and instructional materials that have drawn public objections, in a move that the board’s chairman said will “provide transparency for our families.”
Law Requiring Later School Start Times Is Causing Significant Push-Back from Local Boards
Several members of the Flagler County school board as elsewhere in Florida districts are not thrilled by the late start time for middle schools, or the earlier start for elementary schools. Opposition is focused on expected additional costs.
DeSantis Signs Most Restrictive Bill Against Undocumented Migrants in the Country
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed what both he and his critics agree is the strongest anti-illegal immigration bill passed by any state legislature in the country on Wednesday. Speaking in Jacksonville behind a podium with a sign reading, “Biden’s Border Crisis,” the governor blasted the president for the large influx of undocumented immigrants that has occurred across the U.S.-Mexican border over the past couple of years.
At Charter School, DeSantis Signs Bills Against Teacher Unions and For School Board Term Limits
The bill (SB 256) bars public sector unions, including those for teachers but not for police or firefighters that tend to support the governor, from deducting dues from members’ paychecks, requiring employees to write checks instead. Furthermore, unions’ membership would have to constitute 60% of a bargaining unit, an increase from the old threshold of 50%.
Later Start Time for Middle and High School Students in Flagler Means Earlier Start for Younger Ones
A bill awaiting the governor’s signature would ban school start times before 8:30 a.m. for high schools and 8 a.m. for middle schools, starting in the 2026-27 school year. The Flagler County School Board had been reconsidering its own start times–but in the other direction. Now, it may be faced with making tough choices regarding elementary-school start times, which would go from latest to earliest starting times in the county.
Bill Banning Books During Challenges and Banning Preferred Pronouns Ready for DeSantis Signature
The bill restricts the way teachers and students can use their preferred pronouns in schools, expands last year’s “don’t say gay” prohibitions to eighth grade, and makes banning books and instructional materials easier, with simpler forms and a requirement that challenged materials to be removed from schools within five days of the objection, until the challenge is resolved.
Bill Prohibiting College and University Decisions Based on Diversity Criteria Heads to DeSantis
Colleges and universities could soon be prohibited from requiring “political loyalty” tests for students and employees as a condition of admission or employment, under a measure passed Tuesday by the Senate.
Florida House Approves Lowering Age to Buy Assault Rifles to 18, Reversing Ban Passed After Parkland Massacre
The Florida House passed a measure that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other “long” guns, voting to scrap a high-profile change passed after a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. House bill sponsor Bobby Payne, R-Palatka, said the measure “corrects the wrong we did in 2018.”
