Florida House

House Speaker Daniel Perez has ordered an inquiry into agencies' finances. This is part of a broader effort to cut spending as they look to create a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Lawmakers face other differences, including issues related to state employees, tax cuts and whether to back away from spending decisions made in recent years.

The Republican-controlled Industries & Professional Activities Subcommittee voted 12-4 along party lines to support the proposal (HB 955).

Last year, the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis created a law banning minors under 16 from social media platforms, except for 14- and 15-year-olds with parental permission. Now, lawmakers want to allow parents to view messages and are targeting apps like Snapchat.

At a Friday hearing, Florida lawmakers demanded answers from the former and current state insurance commissioners. They wanted to now why a worrisome report about insurance companies was kept confidential for years.

A Florida House panel voted to lower the age to buy rifles to 18 years old. Lawmakers previously raised the minimum age to 21 following a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. The shooter was 19.

There are bills to further restrict kids' cell phone use in schools and to require cursive instruction for younger students. Another piece of legislation would nix an upcoming mandate for some schools to start later.

House meetings that had been scheduled Wednesday and Thursday will be shifted to Jan. 28 and Jan. 29 “with some slight adjustments.”

If Ashley Brundage beats GOP incumbent Karen Pittman in the general election for District 65, she will become Florida's first transgender elected official. Here are the local House and Senate results.

Attorneys for both sides filed a court document dismissing the case, which the pediatricians group filed last year after House Health & Human Services Chair Randy Fine subpoenaed documents.

The dispute centers on the Health & Human Services panel's demand for internal info on standards of care for kids with gender dysphoria from the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Republican organizations and lawmakers have been pouring campaign money into a special election next week for a state House representative in a central Florida district considered competitive for both parties.