Legislation

During an October meeting of Sarasota MAGA Patriots — a rightwing coalition pursuing a range of issues, from anti-vaccine activism to emergency preparedness — attendees railed against a new state law curbing local oversight of development and the Republican lawmakers who backed it.Their ire reflects tensions inside Florida’s dominant party, between Tallahassee’s power brokers and the populist base that helped put them there.

Jim Boyd, a veteran lawmaker who heads an insurance and investment firm in Bradenton, was formally selected Tuesday by Senate Republicans to become the next Senate president.Boyd, who is the Senate majority leader, will succeed President Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, after the November 2026 elections. House Republicans last week formally selected Rep. Sam Garrison, R-Fleming Island, to succeed House Speaker Daniel Perez, R-Miami, after next year’s elections.

Millions of Americans could be losing their lone source of medical coverage as part of President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

the Florida House and Senate celebrated their version of the state’s budget. The proposal is a reduction from last year’s and is missing some elements that were proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis.

In Collier County this week, federal workers demonstrated against the GOP’s Budget Reconciliation Act.

On the eve of a special legislative session called by Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican lawmakers Sunday filed a flurry of bills to crack down on undocumented immigrants and place additional restrictions on the ballot initiative process.The bills, in part, would end in-state tuition at colleges and universities for undocumented-immigrant students known as dreamers; place new requirements on police to help with immigration-enforcement efforts; and dramatically change the petition process for proposed constitutional amendments.

Florida lawmakers have started filing what are expected to be hundreds of proposals seeking money for local projects and programs — but legislative leaders are cautioning not to expect as much spending as in the past few years.As of Tuesday morning, House members had filed 40 funding proposals, while one had been filed in the Senate, according to legislative websites. Lawmakers will consider the proposals as they negotiate a budget for the 2025-2026 fiscal year during the legislative session that will start March 4.

Florida lawmakers ended the 2024 state legislative session, March 8, with a $117.5 billion dollar budget. We explore what passed, what didn’t and what it all means for Florida going forward in a conversation with UCF Political Scientist Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D., and Sun Sentinel Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet.

A Senate Republican has filed a bill that could lead to potentially far-reaching changes in voting by mail. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican who is a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, filed the bill (SB 1752) for consideration during the legislative session that will start Tuesday.

In a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, House and Senate Republicans have filed bills designed to prevent minors under age 16 from having social-media accounts.The House version of the bill (HB 1), filed by Rep. Tyler Sirois, R-Merritt Island, and Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, was released Friday night, while the Senate version (SB 1788) was filed Monday by Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach. They came as the 2024 legislative session prepares to start Tuesday.