Capital Report: April 1, 2025

Published April 1, 2025 at 5:27 PM EDT

The Florida House of Representatives has again passed a bill that would lower the age for buying long guns. In 2018, a shooter at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 students and faculty members prompting the Legislature to raise the purchase age to buy rifles and shotguns to 21. But as Margie Menzel reports, the state Senate has not heard the bill this year.

Proposals going through the Florida legislature removing several child labor protections were just amended to allow some 13-year-olds to work. WFSU’s Tristan Wood has more.

In an effort to protect kids with disabilities, a panel of Florida lawmakers are advancing a bill letting parents of special needs students to monitor school classrooms. Adrian Andrews has more.

Capital Report

Capital Report: April 23, 2025

On tonight’s program: FSU students march to the state capitol demanding tougher gun regulations in the wake of last week’s fatal on-campus shooting; The Florida Senate strengthens its proposal to limit drilling in the Apalachicola River Basin, but it differs from the House’s version; Governor Ron DeSantis continues to defend Hope Florida amidst controversy regarding money that was funneled into the charity’s foundation; And new details are coming out surrounding Taylor County’s shuttered West Fraser sawmill, a major employer in Perry.
Capital Report: April 22, 2025

On tonight’s program: Students from Florida State University lobby for gun reform legislation in the wake of the fatal shooting on their campus last week; Although a bill loosening the regulations on child labor is quite alive in the House, it seems there’s opposition in the Senate; And Florida’s open records law always seems to get pushback from various lawmakers and the state’s number one open government advocates has some thoughts on that score.
Capital Report: April 21, 2025

On tonight’s program: In the wake of last week’s fatal shooting at Florida State University, many on the Tallahassee campus remain traumatized and reluctant to “return to normal”; Some Democrats in the Florida House are calling for tighter gun laws following last week’s FSU shooting; A Florida Senate Bill would make it harder to get citizen initiatives on the ballot to make state constitutional changes; After some committee changes, a bill exemption some kinds of workers from Florida’s minimum wage continues to move forward in the legislature; And Florida’s endangered springs are attracting more fans and advocates.
Capital Report: April 18, 2025

On tonight's program: We talk with some of the students who witnessed the deadly shooting yesterday at Florida State University; The battle ramps up between the leadership of the Florida House and Governor Ron DeSantis; We hear the story of an immigrant from Honduras who suddenly found himself in custody and possibly facing deportation; What had been a legal deal meant to spare some South Florida jail inmates from federal custody seems to have fallen off the rails; The State of Florida moves to change all official references to a well-known body of water; And an expert on the topic of artificial intelligence talks about the possible future ramifications of this exploding technology.
Capital Report: April 17, 2025

On tonight’s program: A mass shooting on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee has left two dead and six hospitalized, including the suspected shooter; A meeting to untangle some of the issues surrounding the Hope Florida Foundation and its alleged diversion of money for political purposes ended in chaos today; If lawsuits to halt the Trump administration from scrapping Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants fail, nearly 400,000 Venezuelan-born Floridians might be subject to deportation; And advocates of term limits for Florida’s county commissioners and school board members have launched a campaign to put those limits into the state constitution.
Capital Report: April 16, 2025

On tonight's program: Governor Ron DeSantis is pushing back on a move by the Florida House to re-open the process of interviewing and choosing state university and college presidents; State parks would have more protection from development under a bill approved in the full Florida House Wednesday; Cell phones and other wireless devices would be banned throughout the school day under a bill that has passed the Florida House without opposition; And time is running out for bills addressing child protection, autism and child care in the Florida Legislature.
Capital Report: April 15, 2025

On tonight’s program: The president of a foundation tied to Hope Florida — First Lady Casey DeSantis’ signature welfare-assistance program — said today that “mistakes were made” with the nonprofit’s failure to file required tax documents and other records; Florida lawmakers are considering a measure that would require hospitals to test for fentanyl when a person comes in with a suspected drug overdose; And frustrated by often destructive and unruly young people, some Florida beach towns say they’re ready to get out of the spring break business.
Capital Report: April 14, 2025

On tonight’s program: During this “Children’s Week” at the Florida Capitol, lawmakers are looking at ways to make childcare less costly and more available for more parents; A complex web of financial transactions involving an organization run by First Lady Casey DeSantis and political action committees is prompting sharp questions in Tallahassee; Federal funding cuts are hitting the Florida Humanities Council and its beneficiary art programs, museums and libraries hard; And Florida gasoline prices tumbled in the past week.
Capital Report: April 11, 2025

On tonight's program: A proposal in the legislature would change how complaints can be made about law enforcement officers, but some police are opposed to the move; Traditional public schools worry as more kids use Florida’s school choice program to attend private schools, their bottom lines could be in trouble; There’s a lot of talk lately about tariffs, but what does it all mean for Floridians and their pocketbooks? We’ll hear about a plan to protect state parks from development like golf courses and pickleball courts; It’s alligator nesting season. The animals don’t typically attack, but they can become more aggressive this time of year. Experts say the solution is simple—avoid them; And there’s a new registration system aimed at getting more Floridians to become organ donors.
Capital Report: April 10, 2025

On tonight’s program: President Trump changed the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.” The Florida Legislature has now passed a bill to make the change mandatory in all government and school references to that body of water; Governor DeSantis and the Florida House have been at odds over what form tax cuts should take and the Senate leadership is now offering a compromise solution; The Florida Senate has approved a Black History Museum in St. Johns County although the House has yet to move on the proposal; And the Senate version of the new state budget includes $50 million to funnel more produce from the state’s farmers to the food insecure.

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