Sprowls tells House to ‘be brave’ as 2021 session starts
Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls kicked off the start of the 2021 legislative session by criticizing the media and lobbyists and encouraging lawmakers to “be brave.”
DeSantis State of the State address
Gov. Ron DeSantis gave his State of the State address Tuesday to formally start the 2021 legislative session. Here are his remarks, as prepared for delivery:
State looks at costly fix for unemployment site
More than $73 million is needed over the next two years to revamp Florida’s much- criticized unemployment system, which was overwhelmed in the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, the head of the state’s unemployment agency said Monday.
DeSantis, GOP lawmakers take aim at foreign influence
Calling Florida’s higher-education system one of the state’s “primary targets of foreign influence,” Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Republican lawmakers Monday in releasing proposals that take aim at espionage and intellectual property theft by China and other nations.
Vaccinations expanding for police, firefighters, teachers
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will expand COVID-19 vaccinations to law-enforcement officers, firefighters and K-12 teachers who are age 50 or older.
DeSantis told reporters he would issue an executive order later Monday that will mark an additional expansion of vaccinations that have focused since late December on people age 65 or older.
DeSantis clears way for ‘extremely vulnerable’ to be vaccinated
After focusing almost exclusively since December on vaccinating seniors, Gov. Ron DeSantis has cleared the way for more people under age 65 to receive shots if they are “extremely vulnerable” to COVID-19.
Health liability bills teed up next week
Though some of the details differ, the House and Senate next week will continue moving forward with proposals that would help shield health-care providers from lawsuits related to COVID-19.
House precautions remain largely unchanged
The Florida House will largely stick with existing COVID-19 restrictions when lawmakers return to Tallahassee for the 2021 legislative session that begins Tuesday, according to protocols released Friday by Speaker Chris Sprowls’ office. Under the House pandemic procedures, lobbyists and other visitors must register online at least three hours before committee meetings, show identification and pick up passes to gain access to meeting rooms.
FSU to resume in-person instruction, graduation
In a sign that Florida’s higher-education institutions are preparing for a return to normalcy, two of the state’s largest universities are announcing changes that bring people back to campus.
By the numbers: AP exams for 2020 graduates
The College Board released a list of the 10 states with the highest percentages of 2020 public-high school graduates who scored a 3 or higher on an AP exam. Here is how Florida stacked up:
— Connecticut: 34.5 percent
— Florida: 34.2 percent