government

More dollars are gradually becoming available to aid communities recovering from Hurricane Michael.

Florida lawmakers trying to piece together a roughly $100 billion state budget for the coming year spent the weekend trading offers on everything from teacher pay raises to more money to help mothers with newborn children.

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. Lawmakers will continue to discuss the bill Friday or next week, after time ran out in the committee before a vote could be taken. The plan is still under fire from Democrats and voting rights groups who say the rest of the bill makes it harder for Floridians to vote.

Despite opposition from Democrats, the Republican-controlled Florida House on Tuesday adopted a resolution denouncing democratic socialism.

The Florida Legislature has passed a measure meant to permanently reallocate funds from the state's affordable housing programs to help pay for the governor's environmental initiatives. But a compromise will cap future sweeps of the affordable housing fund.

A controversial elections bill focused largely on the state’s vote-by-mail process underwent an overhaul Thursday, but critics say it still poses unnecessary barriers to voters. The revamped proposal, which addresses issues such as the use of mail-in ballot drop boxes and signature verification, relaxes some restrictions included in an earlier version.

A proposal to keep many of the state’s pandemic-era telehealth practices in place is moving forward, but some say a few important provisions aren't including in the legislation.

The Florida Legislature has passed a measure meant to permanently reallocate funds from the state's affordable housing programs to help pay for the governor's environmental initiatives. But a compromise will cap future sweeps of the affordable housing fund.

Lawmakers are again considering a proposal to change how alimony and child sharing is handled in divorce cases. Of the many changes included in the measure, one would eliminate permanent alimony unless both parties agree to it. A group of family law attorneys are against the proposal.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Kaylee Tuck, R-Sebring, who is seeking to prevent biological males who transition into transgender women from playing on women’s sports teams. Tuck believes transgender women pose an unfair physical advantage in athletic competition.