Tallahassee – Senate President Ben Albritton calls it the “fight for a rural renaissance in Florida.”

And Feb. 19, the Senate released a 129-page bill that would take steps to try to bolster health care, education, roads and economic development in 31 counties that, in many cases, have not experienced the same booming growth as other parts of Florida.

Tallahassee – Florida House members Feb. 19 began moving forward with a proposal that would raise limits on payments by state agencies, local governments, school districts and public hospitals in lawsuits over people getting injured.

Tallahassee – A proposal that would block local government oversight of the construction and management of an anticipated presidential library in Florida for President Donald Trump cleared its first Senate committee Feb. 18.

Tallahassee – With Gov. Ron DeSantis describing him as a “bulldog,” James Uthmeier was elevated Monday to become Florida attorney general after serving as the governor’s chief of staff.

Tallahassee – After Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton pounded Florida’s Gulf Coast last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is borrowing $2 billion to pay National Flood Insurance Program claims.

Tallahassee – Undocumented immigrants convicted of first-degree murder or raping children would face mandatory death sentences, under bills advanced Feb. 12 by key House and Senate committees.

Tallahassee – After a bipartisan uproar last year about a proposal dubbed the “Great Outdoors Initiative,” the Florida Senate on Feb. 11 began moving forward with a bill that would prevent building such things as golf courses, pickleball courts and hotel-style lodges in state parks.

Tallahassee – A Senate Republican on Feb. 11 filed a bill that combs through state laws and would replace references to the “Gulf of Mexico” with the “Gulf of America” after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to rename the gulf.

Tallahassee – After losing at the Florida Supreme Court, attorneys for convicted murderer James Ford this weekend quickly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his scheduled execution Feb. 6.

Tallahassee – The Florida International University Board of Trustees on Friday approved appointing Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez as the school’s interim president, setting the stage for Gov. Ron DeSantis to choose a new lieutenant governor.