Dara Kam/News Service of Florida

Out-of-state students attending Florida universities could see a 10 percent increase in tuition this fall and an additional hike the following school year, under a rule unanimously adopted by the state university system’s Board of Governors on Wednesday.Tuition hikes for out-of-state students would have to be approved by university boards of trustees, and schools would have to maintain their current ratio of in-state students to out-of-state students.

Records related to a state House probe of a nonprofit linked to First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature Hope Florida assistance program are part of an “open” investigation, Leon County State Attorney Jack Campbell’s office said Tuesday.House Health Care Budget Chairman Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, submitted records to Campbell’s office late last month after concluding a House inquiry into the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit linked to the Hope Florida program.

State budget talks won’t resume until after the Memorial Day holiday weekend, legislative leaders announced Thursday.In a memo to senators, Senate President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, said that he and Senate Appropriations Chairman Ed Hooper, R-Trinity, “have continued to have productive discussions with our partners in the House on joint budget allocations.”Allocations are overall amounts of money that would be divided in different areas of the budget, such as education, health and transportation, and need to be set before conference committees can begin formally negotiating details of the state spending plan.

Seeking to “restore confidence” in its mission, directors of an embattled foundation affiliated with First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature Hope Florida welfare-assistance program on Thursday agreed to strengthen the nonprofit’s structure amid widening scrutiny by the Florida House.

Amid an escalating feud between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled House, the chamber’s budget chairman on Friday sent letters to six state agencies seeking a broad array of documents as part of a probe into government spending.The inquiry into DeSantis-administration spending, ordered by House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, has raised questions about potentially missing state-owned vehicles, agency leaders earning six-figure salaries while living in other states and millions of dollars of interest paid on a prison facility that has not been built.

A 2024 Florida law aimed at keeping children off of social-media platforms came under scrutiny Friday, as lawyers for the state told a federal judge the measure is addressing a “mental-health crisis” and attorneys for industry groups argued the restrictions violate First Amendment rights.The law, in part, seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts on certain platforms — though it would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts. Children under 14 would be prohibited from having accounts.

President Donald Trump emerged as the biggest winner Thursday as the Republican-controlled Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a suite of measures aimed at strengthening enforcement of illegal immigration.Quickly signed into law by the governor, the wide-ranging plan toughens penalties for crimes committed by undocumented immigrants; creates a statewide immigration enforcement panel; imposes the death penalty for undocumented immigrants who commit first-degree murder or rape children; and makes it a state crime for undocumented immigrants to enter the state.

Upping the ante in an increasingly acrimonious feud with House and Senate Republican leaders over immigration issues, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday vowed to channel “huge sums” of money to candidates he backs in next year’s GOP gubernatorial and legislative primary elections.The governor’s message drew condemnation from House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, as bitterness continued to fester about a bill passed by the Legislature this week amid a dispute over plans aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Former Florida Gov. Kenneth “Buddy” MacKay, 91, died peacefully during an afternoon nap at his home in Ocala surrounded by his wife and sons on New Year’s Eve, a family spokesman said Thursday.MacKay’s decades-long public-service career included stints as a state legislator, U.S. representative, lieutenant governor and — briefly — governor.