Florida Legislature is down to deal-making days of session
Republican leaders are employing the politics of leverage, trading one leadership priority for another to get their pet projects across the finish line.
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The Capitol in Tallahassee is seen following Opening Day of the Florida Legislature on March 3. [ IVY CEBALLO | Times ]
Updated 3 hours ago
TALLAHASSEE For more than eight hours on April 9, the Senate Appropriations Committee met to discuss a single piece of legislation and was prepared to extend the meeting into the next day, a Saturday, if needed.
It was the Senateâs turn to take up House Bill 1, the most controversial bill of the 2021 legislative session and a top priority of both Gov. Ron DeSantis and House Speaker Chris Sprowls.
Florida Senate approves âanti-riotâ bill, heads now to DeSantis
The call to action came after nearly three hours of emotional and heated debate on the Senate floor.
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Protesters walk down Ashley dr. towards Interstate 275 before police stopped the group using pepper spray and a line of police officers on Sunday, May 31, 2020 in Tampa. [ LUIS SANTANA | Times ]
Updated Yesterday
TALLAHASSEE â In what marked one of the most emotional moments of Floridaâs 2021 legislative session, Senate Democrats on Thursday called on major Republican political donors to pressure Gov. Ron DeSantis to stop âanti-mobâ legislation they deem racist, unconstitutional and partisan.
âDonât sit on the sidelines, do something. Take a position,â Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Fort Lauderdale, said in a call to grocery store chains, theme parks and utility companies, many of whom are big contributors to Florida Republicans. Many of them also contribute to Demo
Floridaâs controversial toll road projects are on the verge of being repealed
They have just one more stop before reaching Gov. Ron DeSantisâ desk.
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Updated 49 minutes ago
TALLAHASSEE â State lawmakers appear prepared to dismantle the controversial road projects that would have built more than 300 miles of new toll roads across rural parts of Florida.
A House committee Friday advanced, with little discussion, a bill that would repeal the project. It sets up a floor vote, the last stop before making it to Gov. Ron DeSantisâ desk. The bill has already passed the Senate.
Senate Bill 100 would repeal the unusual, and controversial, road plan passed by lawmakers just two years ago â but keep some parts alive.
Increase unemployment benefits? ‘No,’ DeSantis says Lawrence Mower, Tampa Bay Times
TALLAHASSEE Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday he opposed increasing Florida’s weekly unemployment benefits, which are among the lowest in the nation.
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“Increase benefits?” he said. “Look, no, I think we’re getting people back to work.”
When asked again about the bill, DeSantis rebuffed the idea.
“Our unemployment is what it is. It’s fine,” he said. “The federal government obviously is putting in a lot of money.”
Requests for clarification sent to the governor’s spokespeople were not returned.
The governor’s opposition jeopardizes the most meaningful set of reforms to Florida’s unemployment system being considered in the Legislature this session, a year after the unemployment system melted down from a crush of pandemic-related claims.
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