Florida House

Florida House Democrats chose Rep. Fentrice Driskell, of Tampa, as the caucus’s next leader. She is the first Black woman to hold the position.

Florida lawmakers on Wednesday passed a voting law package that would create a police force dedicated to pursuing election crimes, a proposal pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

On Tuesday, Rosalind Osgood won a state Senate seat in Broward, while Jervonte ‘Tae’ Edmonds won a state House seat in Palm Beach County.

Florida House and Senate Republicans could be ready to pass an elections plan that includes creating a new state office to investigate voting irregularities, boosting penalties for wrongdoing, and looking at changes in the vote-by-mail system.

Opponents of the measure say it will hurt LGBTQ youth, who already face higher rates of bullying, but the Republican sponsor says it's meant to protect children and keep parents informed.

The Florida Hospital Association said the House budget is harsher on hospitals, but said both chambers are proposing to eliminate funds for facilities that treat large numbers of Medicaid patients.

One in four children grow up without a father in their home. Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls says that leaves a gap in the lives of those children that can have far reaching negative impacts.

Lawmakers in the House dug into the details of the chamber’s spending plan Tuesday. Measure is scheduled for a floor vote Wednesday.

The proposal came as Florida will get federal money to expand vehicle charging stations. Last week, The U.S. Department of Energy announced Florida’s initial share was just over $29 million.

A bill that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks passed its final House committee Thursday with no questions and no debate. Democrats on the committee chose to give up their speaking time to give more time to members of the public and when asked by the chair, Republican members of the committee agreed to follow suit.

Health care CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was elected to fill the seat of late Democratic Florida U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings on Tuesday, boosting the Democrats’ slim majority in the House.

Who will hold the balance of power? Florida’s redistricting process gets messy and partisan.