Ana Goñi-Lessan | News Service of Florida

Months after the state’s auditor general found a "myriad of accountability challenges" with Florida’s K-12 school voucher system, the Legislature failed to pass a bill providing better oversight of the $4 billion program.

A group of sheriffs on a state immigration enforcement board sharply criticized the federal government’s mass deportation efforts Monday, a stark departure from hardline policies in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has spearheaded collaboration with federal officials to remove all undocumented immigrants.

The House on Thursday passed a bill (HB 991) on a 77-28 vote along party lines, imposing new identification requirements on voters, but it doesn’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2027.

The House on Thursday passed bill (HB 697) that includes a stopgap measure to restore cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program through June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

A bill that would expand vaccine exemptions for public K-12 schools is headed to the Senate floor. The bill (SB 1756) would create a new “conscience” category for parents to opt their children out of immunizations typically required for students to attend public K-12 schools.

The legislation passed through the House on Tuesday. State law lists China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria as foreign countries of concern.

A bill that would expand vaccine exemptions for public K-12 schools is headed to the Senate floor. The bill (SB 1756) would create a new “conscience” category for parents to opt their children out of immunizations typically required for students to attend public K-12 schools.

As the scheduled end of the legislative session nears and committees are slated to stop meeting after Tuesday, some bills that had a fighting chance in January are now on life support.

People who abuse animals would be put on a public registry under a bill passed unanimously by the Florida Senate on Friday.

The State Board of Immigration Enforcement (SBIE) is set to approve another $53 million in awards for local law enforcement agencies