Florida lawmakers pass $114.5 billion budget
The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the budget and the House voted 99-6 for the plan, but the vast support for the measure belied the tense process to produce it.
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The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the budget and the House voted 99-6 for the plan, but the vast support for the measure belied the tense process to produce it.
The Senate voted 29-6 and the House 88-11 for the tax package, which is estimated to cut state and local revenue by $272.2 million, including $105 million in state general fund revenue in the next fiscal year.
The proposed Florida budget is $114.5 billion, with 64% of it being funded through the state sales tax.
DeSantis called for the Legislature to convene Monday to consider his proposal.
Judge Joshua Hawkes of the Leon Circuit Court rejected the push from two voting rights organizations and a group of voters to strike down the map drawn up by an aide for Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-led Legislature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Friday boosting pay to high school coaches and allowing them to use their own money on food and transportation for their players.
The reprimand also stated Nixon violated House rules for speaking on the floor and promoting "public confidence in the integrity and independence of the House and of the Legislature."
The gap between the Senate's budget and the House's plan is 1.2 percent of the current budget, but the House Speaker and Senate President were unable to reach a deal during the regular session.
Before DeSantis signed the bill at the Bay of Pigs Museum & Library in Miami, he took time to comment on Cuba, saying Florida needs a "good neighbor" 90 miles from its shores.
The new map makes significant changes to 21 of Florida's 28 congressional districts.
The United States Treasury minted its last penny in late 2025.
State lawmakers approved the new map, which deeply affects both Wasserman Schultz and fellow Democratic congressman Jared Moskowitz.
The Florida House and Senate approved the major mid-decade redrawing of the state's 28 congressional districts Wednesday
Currently, the price of security at all private schools is covered through parents' tuition and donations.
President Donald Trump's has called on GOP-controlled states to change their districts ahead of the midterm elections.
Two key priorities of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that failed to advance in the regular legislative session were discarded during the special session that began Tuesday.
A new congressional map will almost certainly sail through Florida's Republican controlled Legislature without any changes or substantive debate.
Sen. Clay Yarborough filed the bill again on Friday after it failed to pass during the regular session that ended March 13.
In an interview on Facing South Florida, Wasserman Schultz said the Governor's efforts to redraw the maps will almost certainly violate the Fair Districts constitutional amendment voters in Florida passed in 2010.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills barring local governments from supporting those policies and programs at an event in Jacksonville on Wednesday.
Under the proposal, each board of trustees in the Florida College System would be required to "ensure that all students admitted to the Florida College System institution are citizens of the United States or lawfully present in the United States."
The bill (SB 628) includes 16 road and facility dedications, including a coast-to-coast highway in South Florida for President Donald Trump.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the measure into law this month, and it is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
When the regular session ended March 13 without a budget deal, "mid-April" was eyed as a likely time to return for lawmakers.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register and vote in Florida, as voting rights groups swiftly filed a federal lawsuit.
