News Service of Florida

The state Agency for Health Care Administration website reports that 4.79 million people were enrolled in January, down from 4.86 million in December.

Under the measures, facilities designated as rural emergency hospitals could provide emergency services, observation care and outpatient services that do not exceed an average length of stay of 24 hours.

The measure would do away with existing review boards and prohibit counties and cities from creating panels to delve into complaints about alleged police wrongdoing.

A Senate committee Tuesday revised a proposal that could help extend a private passenger-rail system from Orlando to Tampa.

The goal of the bill is to ensure that hospitals in underserved rural areas can remain open, a lawmaker said.

Jared Smith, a judge on the 6th District Court of Appeal, will not be shielded from testifying in a disciplinary case against Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Nancy Jacobs about conduct during a 2022 election campaign.

He questioned the legality of preventing minors under 16 from having social media accounts and said the bill “likely is going to evolve” in the Legislature.

According to state data, 334 deaths have already been recorded this month. In 2023, 8,403 COVID deaths were recorded in Florida.

The Environment and Natural Resources Committee backed the measure filed by Chair Ana Maria Rodriguez that would lead to $100 for the first violation and jump to $500 for subsequent offenses.

The proposed priority list for grants and inspections would place low-income homeowners who are at least 60 years old at the head of the line, rather than keep the program essentially first-come, first-served.