At long last, Florida’s budget bill has made it to Governor Ron DeSantis’s desk, just two weeks before the start of the new fiscal year And as Lynn Hatter reports, when DeSantis is done with vetoes, the spending plan is likely to look a lot slimmer as the state grapples with hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters this week Florida is seeing more positive cases of COVID-19 due to more widespread testing. The same reason has been offered by President Donald Trump as cases spike in other states as well. That got Gina Jordan thinking about statistics.
Communities around the state are looking for ways to increase the accountability and oversight of police. For many that means a new push to create or strengthen law enforcement review boards. But as Regan McCarthy reports, those boards will have to either work within - or work around - a state law referred to as the “Law Enforcement Officer Bill of Rights.”
Florida DREAMers are celebrating this week’s U-S Supreme Court ruling blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to end DACA. The five-to-four decision protects some 650-thousand DACA recipients from deportation, at least for now. More on that story from Matthew Peddie with Orlando’s WMFE.
Also at the nation’s high court this week, justices ruled that the 1964 Civil Rights Act banning sex discrimination in the workplace applies to LGBTQ employees. The move bans discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Robbie Gaffney reports Florida LGBTQ advocates say despite the court’s landmark decision, state lawmakers still need to pass laws protecting LGBTQ people in areas like housing and health care.
There’s a renewed push for Florida’s leaders to remove the confederate monument from the lawn of the Historic Capitol in Tallahassee. Ryan Dailey reports it comes as other such monuments are toppling across the state and the nation.