Capital Report: February 29, 2024

Published February 29, 2024 at 5:21 PM EST

Governor Ron DeSantis still hasn’t signed a controversial social media bill aimed at keeping minors off online platforms. Tristan Wood reports that legislative leaders are remaining tight-lipped about negotiations going on behind the scenes.

Legislation seeking to prevent unhoused people from sleeping in public places is poised for a final vote tomorrow (Friday) in the Florida House. A similar Senate bill is also ready for consideration by its full chamber.

High school dropouts in Florida could get a second chance at a higher education. There’s a plan that lawmakers in the Senate are getting behind and as Adrian Andrews reports, it provides free rides to college.

The Florida House today unanimously passed a bill to provide $20 million to compensate victims of abuse at the now-closed Dozier School for Boys in Marianna.

Capital Report

Capital Report: May 3, 2024

On tonight's program: What lies ahead for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis? Another plan to search for fossil fuels in the delicate Apalachicola River basin has opponents rushing to the barricades; It’s not yet a law, but a bill allowing people who feel threatened to shoot black bears has advocates and opponents locked in verbal combat; Jobs are going begging for workers in South Florida. One of the reasons? High housing prices; And we’ll find the secret to making the so-called “Golden Years” healthier and happier is to stay involved, connected and active!
Capital Report: April 26, 2024

On tonight’s program: Florida colleges and universities are – so far – experiencing only modest protests in support of Gaza as the war with Israel goes on; Florida’s six-week abortion ban takes effect in days. We’ll see how it will impact those on both sides; On this Confederate Memorial Day – and yes, it’s still an official observance in Florida – we’ll talk about other monuments to the “lost cause”; Florida’s unhoused population keeps growing and there are those who are using this fact to political advantage; President Biden still has a lead over former President Trump among young people. Florida Democrats hope those young people will give the incumbent the winning edge in November; And Florida expands its DNA sampling to include everybody who’s arrested
Capital Report: April 19, 2024

On tonight's program: A looming six-week abortion ban in Florida has advocates scrambling to ensure some kind of care will remain accessible; Florida dives into a voucher program that advocates hope will drown-proof more kids; With a voter referendum on recreational marijuana coming in November, some people are still sounding bells of alarm; While pot opponents – like Governor DeSantis – believe loosening the state’s marijuana laws would be catastrophic, not everyone is so sure; A young Florida mom struggles to keep her opioid addiction at bay; And Florida bids goodbye to a statesman. Perhaps one of the last in our modern era.
Capital Report: April 12, 2024

On tonight’s program: An organization supporting transgender people in Tallahassee has gotten national attention; Governor DeSantis signs a bill into law ramping up penalties for interfering with law officers; Florida has a new law imposing harsher penalties on those convicted of retail theft; More and more Florida seniors are finding a place to live less and less affordable; The opioid crisis remains a crisis, although a Medicaid expansion in places like Florida is being touted as a powerful tool to help the fight; And some ancient Native American wisdom may be the best way to deal with some very modern problems.
Capital Report: April 5, 2024

On tonight’s program: Florida voters will decide the legality of abortion during the upcoming election; A recreational marijuana initiative likewise makes it to this November’s ballot, much to the delight of proponents; We talk with a third-party candidate for president who isn’t happy with the difficulty of qualifying to get on the Florida ballot; Florida’s new education commissioner is making sure that charter schools in one county are getting their share of funding. Even if that share was originally intended for traditional public schools; And while Florida is trying to lure more new manufacturing jobs to the state, some long-time production jobs in a rural North Florida county are disappearing forever.
National News

Florida's abortion fight is headed to voters after court allows for a 6-week ban

Regan McCarthy

Florida is at the center of the fight over abortion. As the state faces new restrictions and a November ballot question on abortion rights, Democrats see potential where they haven't in years.
Capital Report: March 29, 2024

On tonight’s program: A federal court says Florida’s redrawn North Florida congressional district is okay. But that doesn’t mean the matter is closed; Governor DeSantis signs the bill banning younger teens from accessing social media. And it looks like that’s not a done deal either; Disney and the State of Florida resolve at least one issue in their ongoing battle; Florida acts to ban synthesized meat. That battle is continuing; One of Florida’s U.S. Senators returns from Israel with strong criticism for the Biden administration; The state is helping businesses recruit employees amid an ongoing worker shortage; And some advocacy groups are pushing Florida to rejoin a system that is supposed to ensure no voters cast ballots in more than one state.
Capital Report: March 22, 2024

On tonight’s program: Governor DeSantis signs into law a bill forcing local governments to make sure the unhoused don’t wind up sleeping in public places; Floridians stuck in a health insurance coverage gap are turning to voters for help; A new Florida law pulls the plug on local bodies that deal with ethics violations by government officials; As debate continues about a ban on the social media site TikTok, it seems not everyone – even among young people – is necessarily a big fan; Is synthetic meat a powerful tool in the fight against hunger, or is it a threat to our traditional way of life?; And Certain Florida destinations love tourists EXCEPT for the ones who come during spring break.
National News

A push is underway for voters to make Florida the next state to expand Medicaid

Regan McCarthy

For a decade, Florida lawmakers have debated whether to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Advocates are trying to circumvent the legislature and take the issue directly to voters.
Capital Report: March 15, 2024

On tonight's program: As the judicial system puts the brakes on Florida’s “Stop Woke Act,” Governor DeSantis insists the whole thing was taken out of context; Some institutions, however, including the state’s flagship university, are keeping at least some of the “anti-woke agenda” in place; During recent arguments on abortion before the state supreme court the chief justice has brought up the idea of fetal personhood; Governor DeSantis signs into law a bill to prevent undocumented immigrants from using local IDs to misrepresent their immigration status; State lawmakers kept up their drive to take more and more authority from local governments during the session that just ended; Florida's money managers are making plans to drop China-owned investments; And a proposed state land purchase has some residents of a rural North Florida county upset.

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