Florida Senate

In 2026, middle schools won't be able to start before 8 a.m. and high schools before 8:30 a.m. But there's momentum in the Florida Legislature to repeal that mandate.

The House and Senate websites offer tracking tools to help people follow proposed bills and state lawmakers.

GOP legislators say the bill would protect children from harmful content. Critics argue it would escalate challenges of books in schools.

The Florida legislature offers people a way to find and contact their elected officials online. Here's a step-by-step guide to getting in touch and making your voice heard.

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.

At a state Senate Banking and Insurance Committee meeting, the Office of Insurance Regulation director said regulators are still making a decision.

Republicans maintained supermajorities in both legislative chambers. Democrats failed to topple Republicans’ supermajority in the Florida House, an effort that would have required picking up a net of five seats.

There were several closely watched races across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Hernando, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

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.

Naples attorney John Passidomo was with his wife, Senate President Kathleen Passadomo, when he fell on a trail and sustained "massive trauma to his head." He was 72 when he died "peacefully" at a Utah hospital.

In a unanimous vote the Florida Senate’s Republican caucus has elected Ben Albritton as its President-designate for the 2024-2026 cycle. The move made it official for the 5th generation Florida citrus farmer from Hardee County.