This year, Florida’s Republican lawmakers have a number of bills aimed at showing support to President Donald Trump and his administration. Regan McCarthy takes us to the Florida Capital where some of those measures are moving quickly through the process.
When the founders of the United States crafted the U.S. Constitution, they created a new form of government designed to strike a power balance between three fundamental branches. The goal was to prevent absolute power from falling into the hands of one person, or one group. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry talks with Florida State University political scientist, Dr. Andrew Ballard, about his new book that explores how minority parties in Congress can exert political power – and how historic norms are being challenged by the Trump Administration.
Typically, it seems to take Florida lawmakers a while to start tackling the big issues during their lawmaking session. But Capital Reporter Tristan Wood says that’s certainly not the case this year.
This week the Florida Senate unanimously passed a measure aimed at improving the lives of children with autism and their families. The bill works to increase early detection and intervention, while filling in the gaps in educational opportunities. As Margie Menzel reports, one part of the bill is directed at research to learn why autism is increasing.
Florida lawmakers are at a standstill after three days of meetings about N-I-L deals. That’s the rule that lets collegiate athletes profit when their name, image or likeness is used to help a school or business make money. Adrian Andrews reports, a federal court case involving the N-C-A-A and players who want to apply N-I-L retroactively, is raising alarms for some in the state about how much that could cost.