Florida Legislature

Questioning if weather modification created deadly floods in Texas, Florida's attorney general reminded state airports Monday to report any flights planning to alter the Sunshine State's atmosphere. James Uthmeier, appointed to the chief legal role earlier this year, sent letters to all public-use airports demanding monthly reports to the Florida Department of Transportation on aircraft […]

MIAMI—Five Florida lawmakers are suing in the state Supreme Court to force Gov. Ron DeSantis to let them access the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility at any time. In the Thursday afternoon filing, the Democratic legislators who were denied entry at the Everglades migrant detention center last week asked the Florida Supreme Court to demand DeSantis […]

In a one-sentence order, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to consider the Florida attorney general's request to reinstate parts of a controversial new immigration law that a lower court had blocked. This means certain Florida police and prosecutors still won't be able to arrest and charge undocumented immigrants with state-level crimes, as the new […]

Some petitioners pushing to legalize recreational marijuana, expand Medicaid, or ensure clean water access in the state constitution don't have to be Florida residents or U.S. citizens, a federal judge ruled late Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker temporarily blocked parts of a sweeping new petition fraud law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that banned […]

Gov. Ron DeSantis amplified a podcast Tuesday criticizing President Donald Trump's new plan to shield undocumented farm workers from deportation, insisting that "amnesty" shouldn't be granted to any non-citizen. While DeSantis has tightly aligned with Trump's anti-illegal immigration agenda through harsh state crimes and an "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility, the governor's indirect criticism on Tuesday […]

Florida Democratic lawmakers will conduct an "official legislative visit" at Alligator Alcatraz, the state's controversial migrant detention facility, amid safety concerns. State Senators Shevrin Jones and Carlos Guillermo Smith, together with state Reps. Anna Eskamani, Angie Nixon, and Michele Rayner, plan to inspect the Ochopee center Thursday afternoon. The safety visit comes a day after […]

OCHOPEE—Despite the rocky, "work-in-progress" relationship between Gov. Ron DeSantis and his potential successor, Rep. Byron Donalds, the top Republicans are both demanding the Key West City Commission bend the knee. Their comments to The Floridian came at the grand opening of Alligator Alcatraz, the state's new migrant detention facility, a day after Key West commissioners voted to […]

OCHOPEE—Florida Sen. Joe Gruters knows that Gov. Ron DeSantis won't pick him to be the state's next chief financial officer, but he says that doesn't matter. Gruters, 48, believes that President Donald Trump's support is his "golden ticket" to the cabinet position in 2026, even though DeSantis plans to fill the vacant role with somebody […]

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, (D-FL) released a statement, urging the Trump administration to find a permanent solution for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), holders fleeing political collapse in Haiti.  The U.S. initially offered TPS to Haitians in January 2010 following a devastating earthquake and has since extended it to those fleeing the collapse of the Haitian government, […]

Florida's new Senate Democratic Leader, Lori Berman, sent a Friday letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis comparing the "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center to a "makeship prison camp" that may violate the U.S. Constitution. Berman, hastily elected to lead Senate Democrats in the hours after Sen. Jason Pizzo suddenly abandoned the role and quit the party, referred […]

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that Florida will partner with five out-of-state university systems to create a new college accreditation board, challenging higher education’s “woke cartels.” DeSantis’s comments came at a Florida Atlantic University press conference, where he revealed his plans for the new Commission for Public Higher Education.  He claimed that this new accreditor […]

TAMPA – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, (R-FL), signed SB 1620 and SB 168, two bills designed to bolster Florida’s Mental Healthcare capabilities. Gov. DeSantis said in a statement these pieces of legislation aim to “support Floridians overcoming mental health challenges and substance use disorders” and to turn Florida into the leading nation in “delivering meaningful […]

TALLAHASSEE—Days after Gov. Ron DeSantis approved a new law allowing the death penalty for child sex traffickers, Attorney General James Uthmeier coordinated a historic effort to rescue 60 missing kids from abuse. Uthmeier spoke to The Floridian in a phone interview about the two-week-long “Operation Dragon Eye,” the largest child recovery mission in the history […]

Gov. Ron DeSantis drew a new line in the sand on which beach areas Floridians can enjoy, repealing a controversial law with a new bill signed on Tuesday. At a press conference in Santa Rosa Beach, DeSantis publicly signed a repeal of a 2018 law limiting public access on beaches in Walton County, a small […]

TALLAHASSEE—Despite Florida lawmakers asking for a record $70 million in compensation for families "neglected" by the state's embattled child welfare agency, all restitution bills related to the department died without committee hearings. The 2025 session was the first time ever that the Department of Children and Families was the subject of more than three claim […]

Gov. Ron DeSantis greeted roughly 160 Americans evacuated from Israel on Friday, revealing that the rescue efforts were likely the "most challenging" the state's emergency response team has ever dealt with. DeSantis spoke at an early morning press conference at the Tampa airport Friday morning, just hours after the second evacuation flight out of Cyprus […]

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier hopes to convert an old Everglades airport into the "Alligator Alcatraz,” a new detention facility for captured migrants in the state illegally. Uthmeier posted a one-minute video to his social media account on Thursday, pitching "Alligator Alcatraz" as the state's sixth migrant detention facility in partnership with the federal Immigration […]

TALLAHASSEE—The Florida Legislature sent Gov. Ron DeSantis a severe new bill on Wednesday allowing Florida prosecutors to sentence human traffickers to death if they've exploited a young child or someone with mental disabilities. DeSantis already pledged at a press conference last week to sign the bill, SB 1804, into law. The measure, which takes effect […]