A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that a 2023 Florida law and regulations prohibiting the use of puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat children for gender dysphoria and making it harder for trans adults to access care are unconstitutionally discriminatory and were motivated by “animus” toward transgender people.
Florida
DeSantis Is Right: Even As a Convicted Felon, Trump Would Be Eligible to Vote in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 7 suggested on X that former President Donald Trump is still eligible to vote in Florida, his home state, even though he is now a convicted felon 34 times over. DeSantis is correct, though not necessarily for all the reason he stated on X.
Judge Blocks Florida Law Requiring Cities’ Elected to Disclose Same Financial Details as County and State Officials
A federal judge has blocked a 2023 Florida law that required municipal elected officials to disclose detailed information about their personal finances, ruling that the law likely violated First Amendment rights. U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian on Monday issued a preliminary injunction, siding with municipal officials throughout the state who challenged the law. The decision came three weeks before a July 1 deadline for filing the information.
In Florida and Elsewhere, New GOP Rules Hostile to Voter Registration Threaten Fines and Criminal Penalties
Republican lawmakers in Florida , Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and Texas have enacted a variety of voter registration laws over the past four years. The measures add new requirements around registering and communicating with voters and threaten hefty penalties for violations. The stated goal of the new laws is to prevent fraud, but in the absence of any evidence of more than very rare fraud some voting rights groups contend their real purpose is to dampen participation by likely Democratic voters.
Parents Sue Florida Board of Education Over Policy Denying Them Right to Challenge Book Bans
Three parents of children attending Florida public schools filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Florida Board of Education on Thursday, claiming that a 2023 education law discriminates against parents who oppose book bans and censorship.
Sprawling Vacation Rentals Becoming a Nuisance to Palm Coast Residents. City’s Answer: ‘Our Hands Are Tied.’
As resident after resident complained about short-term renters next door–the noise, the partying, the traffic, the garbage, the unexpected–the Palm Coast City Council chambers Tuesday evening sounded more like a scene transplanted from the County Commission a decade ago, or legislative committees in Tallahassee every year since. But the legislature just passed a new law that forbids cities like Palm Coast from imposing stricter regulations on vacation rentals than they would on permanent residents.
Florida’s High School Athletes Cleared to Get Paid by Sponsors Starting in Fall
The FHSAA’s Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve a seismic change in the organization’s bylaws to allow athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness, or NIL. The changes will be in effect for the upcoming school year.
Scott DuPont Appeals Decision Booting Him Off August Ballot for Judge in Local Circuit
n attorney for Scott DuPont filed a notice of appeal last week after Leon County Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh ruled that DuPont was ineligible to run for judge in the 7th Judicial Circuit, which is made up of St. Johns, Putnam, Flagler and Volusia counties.
Down-Ballot Effect in Florida of Trump Conviction Is Unlikely, But It’s a Fund-Raising Boon to Ex-President
Political experts don’t anticipate last week’s conviction of former President Donald Trump in New York will create significant down-ballot momentum — either way — for candidates in Florida. Fundraising has ratcheted up after Trump’s conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records, but experts in Florida pointed to issues such as voters already having their minds made up.
DeSantis Says New College Is Now Like When ‘Founding Fathers’ Went to School
Speaking Saturday at New College in Sarasota, DeSantis boasted that the school has been wrested away from “the Left,” and is now akin to places that the property-owning white men who established the United States learned.