Florida’s Senate Rules Committee is preparing to scale down a proposal that would have done away with ballot drop boxes in the name of election reform. Lynn Hatter reports, despite the change, the plan is still under fire from Democrats and voting rights groups who say the rest of the bill still makes it harder for Floridians to vote.
Going after social media platforms for censorship has been a priority in Florida’s Republican-dominated legislature this session. Several bills addressing the issue have been introduced, with at leas a couple advancing. Governor Ron DeSantis has expressed support for the measures, which lawmakers filed after Twitter disabled President Donald Trump’s account. Valerie Crowder reports a recent survey shows Floridians mostly support the efforts to reign in the power of social media companies in the marketplace.
A measure that would make sure ambulances get reimbursed after giving non-emergency rides to people covered by both Medicaid and Medicare is expected to hear to the governor’s desk soon. More on that from Regan McCarthy.
Florida lawmakers are advancing a bill that would ban a physician from aborting a woman’s pregnancy if that physician believes the women is ending her pregnancy because of a prenatal diagnosis of a disability. Robbie Gaffeny spoke about the proposed measure with a disability rights advocate.
Manatee County is fairly far removed from Tallahassee. But what happened there in recent days has state officials concerned, as well as searching for a solution. HRK Holdings, the owner of the abandoned phosphate mine, spent months warning Manatee commissioners and state officials of impending disaster at the Piney Point site. WMNF’s Daniel Figueroa IV reports despite the pleas for help, Florida officials said HRK will be on the hook for a narrowly avoided catastrophe at the now shuttered mine’s holding pond.