Florida Legislature

Those speaking out against the bill included several pastors from around the state, as well as some local elected officials.

The new law would prevent local governments from passing any “resolution, ordinance, rule, code or policy” that promotes net-zero goals. It also prohibits requiring assessments, fees or penalties to reach those goals.

The House on Tuesday approved a special memory care license for assisted living facilities. On Wednesday, it approved a statewide Alzheimer's awareness campaign.

A Senate Democrat calls the bill ‘the next step in a years-long campaign to eliminate public sector unions in Florida.’

Lawmakers are again at a stalemate over the budget. Instead of negotiating the final details of the state spending plan for the next fiscal year, House and Senate leaders haven’t agreed to top line numbers.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act imposed Medicaid work requirements on low-income, single, childless adults who qualify for the program through the Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare. The Florida Senate wants to go even further and on Monday passed legislation (SB 1758) putting work requirements on about 1,100 of the poorest people in the state who rely on the health care safety net program for their care.

Unions representing teachers and other public sector workers – but not first responders – would be put under new rules for recertification in a bill passed by the Senate on Friday.

If enacted, officials could be removed from office for violating the bill.

On Monday, a Senate panel changed a bill (SB 1296) to lower the voting threshold for some public sector unions to be recertified in a bill. On Wednesday, the full Senate reversed that move, raising the threshold again to require 50 percent of the represented members of a public sector union to vote for it to be valid.

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.

However, the bill would allow farming on conservation land.

Legislation putting new rules on some public sector unions’ certification votes is headed to the Senate floor after passing through committee Monday, but only after some GOP members expressed concern over the measure.