Voters are likely to get a chance to weigh in next year on whether the Florida Constitution should protect access to abortion. A proposed amendment that protects abortion access up until the point of viability is moving forward, but so is a proposal to block abortion access in nearly all cases. Regan McCarthy has more….
Florida has adopted new African American History and Social Studies Standards that officials say proves recent criticism, wrong. Still, the adoption of the new language isn’t assuaging concerns that the state is watering down African American history, and as Lynn Hatter reports, disagreement over that history, and what should and shouldn’t be included, remains.
Florida is now a Republican stronghold. The GOP has super-majorities in both houses of the Legislature and controls the state Supreme Court, the Governor’s Mansion and all the Cabinet posts. Now, as Margie Menzel reports, the Florida Democratic Party is trying to become competitive again.
The Farmworker Association of Florida and major legal organizations recently sued in federal court to block the state’s strict new law targeting undocumented immigrants. Governor Ron DeSantis has used the aggressive immigration policy, SB1718, as one of the main selling points of his presidential campaign. W-L-R-N’s Wilkine Brutus says one college-bound student explains how the law forces her immigrant family to go north.
The fossil fuel industry was a big player in Florida's recent legislative session - especially in projects involving buzzwords like "renewable" natural gas and "green" hydrogen. Alissa Schafer [shay-fur] is a researcher for the utility watchdog group, Energy and Policy Institute. She discovered through public records that energy companies were behind some successful bills filed in Tallahassee this year. They include a tax break for natural gas equipment, fuel, and infrastructure. Schafer [shay-fur] tells WUSF's Jessica Meszaros (meh-ZAHR-ohs) that means less tax revenue will go to Floridians ... and fossil fuel companies will get a benefit worth millions of dollars.
This week marks the 75th anniversary of desegregation in the federal workforce and armed forces. On July 26, 1948, former U.S. President Harry S. Truman signed an executive order that removed racial restrictions from the military and created space for some of Florida’s most prolific heroes. Adrian Andrews has more on their stories.