Florida Legislature

A key senator said Tuesday he does not expect lawmakers to make major property-insurance changes during the 2024 legislative session, as they continue to watch the results of an overhaul passed last year.

The new law restricts certain people from "countries of concern" from owning property in Florida. A court brief says the law is unconstitutional and violates the federal Fair Housing Act.

Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who served in the Senate from 2006 to 2016, is seeking a return to the Legislature as his son, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, makes waves in Washington, D.C.

The Florida House held a ceremony to formally designate Miami Republican Rep. Daniel Perez as the next House Speaker. He will succeed Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, after the 2024 elections.

Amid multiple excessive heat warnings, the Miami-Dade County Public Schools district is emphasizing heat protocols for athletes and students who do activities outside as the new year begins.

A man shot in the neck by a Lakeland police officer more than two decades ago and a woman who was critically injured and later died after a Florida Highway Patrol officer used a stun gun on her are among the subjects of 10 newly filed “claim” bills in the state Senate.

“Florida is always in the political spotlight ... so, I think we also see some political experiments being tried here, in terms of what campaigns are catching fire, and what words are really buzzworthy and that voters are responding to," said Alissa Schafer with the Energy and Policy Institute.

The bill, HB 1305, includes requiring the Department of Transportation to inspect Disney’s monorail system.

The Florida House gave the proposal final passage on a party-line vote on Tuesday, with Republicans in support. It now moves to the governor’s office to be signed into law.

A new investigation of a law that allows Florida law enforcement to ticket drivers for loud music found that Black drivers received almost 37% of the tickets, despite making up about 16% of the state's driving-eligible population.

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the the bill Monday along with two other components of his criminal justice legislative package.

The plan for the fiscal year that will start July 1 would be more than $6 billion larger than the budget for the current year.