Florida News Archive

Lawmakers picked up the pace as the clock wound down on the 2021 legislative session, with Republicans calmly slipping in last-minute changes and Democrats frenziedly — and futilely — trying to stave them off.

Eleventh-hour amendments addressed some of this year’s most contentious issues, such as a proposal to ban transgender female athletes from competing on girls’ high-school and women’s college teams.

With time running out before the end of this year’s legislative session, Florida lawmakers signed off Thursday night on a controversial elections bill that would make it harder for voters to cast ballots by mail.

Republican lawmakers backed away from more-stringent proposals contained in earlier versions of the elections overhaul. But the bill continued to draw fierce opposition from Democrats who said it would put up barriers to voting.

A $196.3 million tax package is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, after lawmakers Friday signed off on a series of proposals, including sales-tax “holidays” for back-to-school shopping, hurricane-season preparations and encouraging people to get out for some entertainment and recreation.

With time running out before the end of this year’s legislative session, Florida lawmakers signed off Thursday night on a controversial elections bill that would make it harder for voters to cast ballots by mail.

Public and private colleges and universities could soon be protected from coronavirus-related lawsuits under a wide-ranging higher education bill that also includes tuition breaks for “non-traditional” students.

With homeowners facing increasing premiums and insurers dropping policies, the Florida House on Wednesday approved a plan aimed at shoring up the state’s property-insurance system.

With Democrats decrying the “eleventh-hour” move, the Florida House and Senate on Wednesday revived and passed a controversial plan that would ban transgender female athletes from competing on high-school girls’ and college women’s sports teams.

Some of Florida’s largest health-care systems and children’s hospitals are challenging two proposed state rules, alleging that facilities could get shut out of the market and quality of care could be harmed.

After a debate that focused on free speech and former President Donald Trump, the Florida House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a proposal that would crack down on social-media giants that block users from their platforms.

Florida lawmakers appear ready to give final approval to a restaurant industry-backed measure that would make permanent a practice of allowing alcoholic drinks to be included with take-home meals.