Jim Saunders/News Service of Florida

A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday refused to put on hold a lawsuit filed by Florida State University against the Atlantic Coast Conference, as a big-money battle between the university and its longtime conference continues to play out in two states.

With the state Supreme Court this week signing off on ballot initiatives about abortion rights and recreational use of marijuana, Floridians in November will vote on six proposed constitutional amendments.

State regulators Tuesday approved a plan that will trim Florida Power & Light customers’ monthly bills because of lower-than-expected natural gas costs, while Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric Co. said they will seek similar reductions.Meanwhile, Duke and Tampa Electric separately filed proposals that would increase base electric rates from 2025 to 2027. The proposals will kickstart complicated months-long processes that will include the Florida Public Service Commission and representatives of consumers and business customers examining the details.

A federal judge has rejected a request by Florida and other states for a preliminary injunction to block changes to the National Flood Insurance Program that have led to higher premiums for many property owners — though he ruled that a broader legal battle can continue.U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion, who is based in New Orleans, issued a 56-page ruling last week that pointed to potential problems if he issued an injunction against a risk-rating system that began taking effect in 2021 and was fully in place in April 2023.

A federal judge Friday will hear arguments in an attempt by a transgender teacher and a nonbinary teacher to block part of a 2023 law that restricts pronouns and titles that educators can use in Florida public schools.Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker will consider motions for a preliminary injunction as part of a lawsuit that contends the restrictions violate a federal civil-rights law and the First Amendment.

With the state preparing for a legal challenge from the tech industry, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a high-profile bill aimed at keeping children off social-media platforms.Lawmakers this month overwhelmingly passed the bill (HB 3), which House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, made a priority of the annual legislative session.

As court battles continue, supporters of Florida keeping permitting authority for projects that affect wetlands are trying a different tack: Put it in federal law.U.S. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., this week added an amendment to a bill to try to codify a 2020 decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that shifted permitting authority from the federal government to Florida.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a package of bills at a special signing ceremony in Bonita Springs that supporters say will help improve access to health care, boost the number of doctors in Florida and address issues such as mental-health treatment.The ceremony highlighted area Republican legislators who had a hand in the legislation including Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, a Naples Republican.

The chief executive of Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Wednesday pushed back against financial questions raised by the chairman of the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, saying the insurer “will always be able” to pay claims.Citizens President and CEO Tim Cerio released a statement after Senate Budget Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., sent a letter Monday that cited a recent comment by Gov. Ron DeSantis that Citizens is “not solvent.” That came after Whitehouse in November requested financial information from Citizens and raised the possibility that the insurer could seek a federal bailout if Florida gets hit by a major hurricane.

Amid battles in two courts about a 2020 decision by the federal government to shift wetlands-permitting authority to the state, a judge Monday put on hold a lawsuit filed by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore approved a request from U.S. Department of Justice attorneys for a stay of the Miccosukee Tribe lawsuit after another federal judge last month ruled that the permitting authority had been improperly transferred to the state and should be vacated.