Today’s (Wednesday’s) Florida House Session was a marathon. Tom Flanigan reports members kicked things off promptly at a quarter-til-eleven in the morning and were scheduled to plow through the budget process until seven in the evening….
House lawmakers spent more time on some issues than others…
Florida Democrats are voicing their displeasure with several budget cutting proposals under consideration before the full chamber. Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the Legislature, but as Lynn Hatter reports, that didn’t stop the minority party from launching a series of criticisms --thinly disguised as questions— to try and poke holes in the Houses healthcare budget plans.
Lawmakers say requiring hospitals to perform a simple test could save the lives of hundreds of newborns in the state. Regan McCarthy reports legislators are considering a bill to require hospitals to test all new babies for congenital heart disease.
Opponents of a bill to change Florida’s standard for evaluating expert witness testimony are doing everything they can to stop the legislation from moving forward. As Sascha Cordner reports, just after the bill was about to pass out of a House panel Wednesday, one lawmaker managed to halt the measure.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi Wednesday renewed a push for legislation to end slavery. James Call reports, Bondi says she wants to make Florida a zero-tolerance state for human trafficking