Florida News Archive

A fired Florida Department of Health data analyst who contends Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration has manipulated COVID-19 statistics filed a lawsuit Sunday alleging state law-enforcement agents violated her rights when they searched her home and hauled away computer equipment.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday backed a controversial reservoir being built in the Everglades while announcing the state will use a pool of environmental money to help Miami-Dade County protect Biscayne Bay from continued degradation.

DeSantis said his office will continue to support the $1.6 billion Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir, which was approved by the Legislature in 2017 but has recently been questioned by new Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby.

It will be a lot harder to put proposed constitutional amendments on the 2022 ballot in Florida.

Heavy turnout in this year’s election and a new law that seeks to limit ballot initiatives have driven up the number of petition signatures that groups will have to submit to get on the ballot in 2022 and to trigger crucial reviews by the Florida Supreme Court.

Florida is receiving a shipment of about 120,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses from Pfizer this week and will get another 360,000-plus doses of a vaccine from Moderna, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday.

The second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine will come days after DeSantis announced what was expected to be a week-long delay in the new supply.

It will be a lot harder to put proposed constitutional amendments on the 2022 ballot in Florida. Heavy turnout in this year’s election and a new law that seeks to limit ballot initiatives have driven up the number of petition signatures that groups will have to submit to get on the ballot in 2022 and […]

After helping craft a 2019 law that strengthened Florida’s ban on texting while driving, Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, is seeking to require motorists to go fully “hands free” while using wireless phones.

State legislative leaders Friday released contrasting COVID-19 protocols for upcoming committee meetings, with the Senate setting up an off-site area where the public can view and participate in meetings amid the pandemic. Under Senate President Wilton Simpson’s plan, members of the public will have to watch remotely and testify from a civic center a few […]

A divided appeals court Friday overturned a lifetime ban on pet ownership for a Volusia County man whose arrest for killing a dog helped lead to a new state law about animal abuse. A panel of the 5th District Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, said a circuit judge did not have legal authority to impose a lifetime ban on animal ownership for Travis Archer.

Florida’s unemployment rate held steady in November, as businesses did not boost seasonal hiring as much as usual amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

An effort to require public-school students to engage in a moment of silence at the start of each school day is back before the state Legislature. Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, refiled legislation (SB 282) on Thursday that would require principals to direct first-period teachers to set aside one to two minutes for “quiet reflection.” The bill is filed for the 2021 legislation session, which will begin March 2.