Florida Legislature

The Florida House and Senate have started moving forward with measures that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns on the grounds of churches and other religious institutions that include schools.

A key Senate education panel released a budget proposal Wednesday that would increase public-school funding by $110 per student in 2018-2019.

Students who are victims of bullying or sexual harassment would be eligible for voucher-like scholarships to attend private schools under a bill approved Monday by the Senate Education Committee.

The Florida House wants to target $50 million toward opioid treatment and prevention in the upcoming year and spend about $1 million on a statewide prescription-drug database, the top House health-care budget writer said Tuesday.

Florida lawmakers have started moving forward with a proposal to revamp rules for the payday-loan industry, allowing customers to borrow larger amounts of money over longer periods of time.

A Senate panel has given the nod to a bill that would help first responders receive workers’ compensation insurance benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder without accompanying physical injuries.

In his last State of the State speech, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday asked lawmakers to make it harder to pass future tax increases by requiring a “supermajority” vote by the Legislature.

Gov. Rick Scott helped launch the 2018 legislative session Tuesday with a State of the State address that focused on issues such as holding down taxes, supporting law enforcement and addressing sexual harassment.

Health-insurance policies would be required to provide coverage for FDA-approved contraceptive drugs without imposing deductibles, coinsurance or co-payment requirements under a bill filed Friday by state Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation.

Six bills from the 2017 legislative session became effective with the arrival of the New Year.

UPDATE: Sen. Jack Latvala has announced he is resigning.

EARLIER STORY: Sen. Jack Latvala not only violated rules regarding sexual harassment but should also be investigated for possible public corruption, according to recommendations by a special master.

A House Republican who previously served on the Duval County School Board proposed a constitutional amendment Monday that would place term limits on school board members across the state.

Updated Monday 12/18/17 at 11 a.m.

State Rep. Clay Yarborough, R-Jacksonville, is co-sponsoring a bill recognizing pornography as the cause of a public health crisis. The bill’s primary sponsor is Ross Spano, R-Dover.

With the measure dubbed the “Sunshine Protection Act,” a House Republican on Friday proposed a bill that calls for Florida to observe daylight-saving time throughout the year.

House and Senate Republicans are proposing the creation of a “Statewide Alternative Transportation Authority” that would oversee developing transportation systems for such things as autonomous vehicles.

Education Commissioner Pam Stewart told a Senate budget panel Thursday that funding would be “woefully short” next year if lawmakers do not use an increase in property tax collections to support schools.

Measures that would double Gov. Rick Scott's spending request for the Florida Forever conservation program and earmark money to improve the St. Johns River continued to move easily through the Senate on Thursday.

Texting while driving would become a “primary” traffic offense under legislation backed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran.

An increasingly toxic battle over a Senate staffer's allegations of sexual harassment by Sen. Jack Latvala is intensifying, with lawyers on both sides hurling accusations of intimidation, the staffer hiring a security guard to protect her in the Capitol and her attorney asking for a special prosecutor.

A bill that would lead to the creation of a slavery memorial at the Florida Capitol began moving Tuesday in the state Senate.  

Vaping could be banned in workplaces, and nursing-home and assisted-living facility residents could be guaranteed certain rights --- including the ability to sue without limitations --- as part of a series of health-care related proposals being considered by a Florida panel that has the power to place proposed constitutional amendments on the 2018 ballot.

A statue of civil-rights leader and educator Mary McLeod Bethune is getting support in both chambers of the Legislature as a replacement for a Confederate general who has long represented Florida in the U.S. Capitol.

A plan to create a statewide board to oversee Florida's state and community colleges advanced Monday, while college presidents raised objections to a proposed cap on four-year degrees and a stricter performance measure for graduation that are part of the legislation.

Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville and Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, has filed legislation to provide incentives to local governments to advance technology linked to driverless cars.

Senate Democrats elected Audrey Gibson to replace Jeff Clemens as the next leader of the caucus in a secret ballot Monday evening.

The Florida Constitution Revision Commission will consider a proposal that would make it easier for schools to comply with class-size limits, with any financial savings required to go toward higher teacher pay.

Driver's license fees would be cut and a series of sales-tax “holidays” would be offered as part of nearly $180 million package proposed Monday by Gov. Rick Scott as part of his final budget recommendations.

Senate President Joe Negron late Friday ordered a probe into allegations that powerful Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala sexually assaulted or harassed legislative staff and lobbyists.