State lawmakers are looking at overhauling the Florida Retirement System, ahead of a study that could show whether exempting a certain group of state employees from the pension change is financially sound. But, as Sascha Cordner, the so-called special-risk employee “carve-out” is not swaying the opinion of thousands of police officers, who spoke out against the proposal for the first time Thursday.
Baccalaureate degree programs at Florida’s community colleges are under the legislative microscope this year. The schools have been allowed to create advanced programs they say are aimed at meeting local workforce needs. But, as Lynn Hatter reports, some lawmakers believe the schools have gone overboard.
Despite Florida’s continuing effort to fight human trafficking, the state still ranks third in reported cases of what’s often referred to as modern-day slavery. As Ryan Benk reports, that fact is leading some lawmakers to file bills reforming the newly-minted Safe Harbor Act. But some experts worry the proposed reforms could do more harm than good.
An otherwise popular piece of legislation saw one of its amendments defeated this week when environmentalists balked at changing rules concerning the release of balloons. As Stan Jastrzebski reports, it’s a battle over how many balloons are released at one time and what happens to them after they fly away.