Florida News Archive

Breaking with longstanding tradition because of the COVID-19 pandemic, members of the Florida Senate and House will not gather in one place to kick off the 2021 legislative session and hear Gov. Ron DeSantis’ State of the State address.

Through Wednesday, 2,551,882 people had received COVID-19 vaccinations in Florida. Here is a breakdown of the number of people vaccinated by age group:

— 16 to 24 years old: 30,908

— 25 to 34 years old: 100,169

Three years after a mass shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School led lawmakers to pass a major school-safety bill, an appeals court Thursday rejected a challenge to allowing armed “guardians” on campuses.

After COVID-19 cut Florida visitor numbers last year by about a third, tourism-marketing leaders have set a goal of beating a projection that the vital leisure and hospitality industries won’t return to normal until 2024.

After months of legal wrangling across Florida about mask requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, a challenge to a Palm Beach County mask mandate has gone to the state Supreme Court.

Lawmakers shifted $4.34 million on Thursday to cover a projected deficit caused by an uptick in people applying for concealed-weapons licenses. Without comment, the Joint Legislative Budget Commission, made up of House and Senate members, approved the funding request from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Licensing, which oversees permitting for concealed weapons.

Florida lawmakers moved ahead Wednesday with tweaking a law that can lead to people receiving citations for riding bicycles without seats.

A rush by Florida Republicans to shield businesses from lawsuits linked to COVID-19 is sparking growing rancor with Democrats, as House leaders used procedural moves to cut off debate and sideline attempts to change the high-profile legislation.

As state lawmakers face a revenue shortfall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration says a request for $50 million for business incentives wouldn’t have that large of an impact on the upcoming budget.

After Florida has received widespread praise for its handling of the 2020 election, Republicans and Democrats clashed Tuesday as a Senate committee approved a bill that would require voters to more frequently request vote-by-mail ballots.