Florida House

She is the first Black woman to hold the position.

The Florida Hospital Association said the House budget is harsher on hospitals, but said both chambers are proposing to eliminate funds for facilities that treat large numbers of Medicaid patients.

Lawmakers in the House dug into the details of the chamber’s spending plan Tuesday. Measure is scheduled for a floor vote Wednesday.

The proposal would redirect $200 million from 12 school districts — including Hillsborough and Sarasota — to districts that did not require students to wear masks.

After the Senate passed measures last month, the House approved two companion proposals Thursday to create a $500 million pot of money the governor can quickly access during a declared state of emergency.

A Florida lawmaker wants to cut $200 million from school districts that enforced student mask mandates, including Hillsborough and Sarasota counties.

The state, which continues to wait for FDA approval, expects to import drugs to treat asthma, COPD, diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV and AIDS, and mental health conditions.

The Florida House's new plan includes going along with Senate on spending $100 million to clean up Piney Point in Manatee County; $300 million on a statewide wildlife corridor; and $2 billion to offset losses to the state transportation trust fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Republicans expressed a need to safeguard against restraints on civil liberties, Rep. Bob Rommel, the bill's sponsor, maintained it is “not about masks.”

The bill, which places limits on THC in medical marijuana, passed through the House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee by a party-line vote.

The legislation calls for felony charges against people who use authentic-looking websites to run scams that purportedly offer access to vaccines or personal protective equipment.

Neither chamber's measure contains lawsuit protections for health care providers, but Sen. Jeff Brandes, who sponsored the Senate version, says they will addressed in separate legislation.