Jim Saunders/News Service of Florida

Florida is asking a federal judge to speed up a final ruling in a high-stakes case about permitting authority for projects that affect wetlands, as the state sets the stage for a likely appeal.U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss on Feb. 15 ruled that federal officials did not follow required steps in 2020 before transferring wetlands-related permitting authority from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the state. Moss vacated the shift but said the state and the federal government could seek a stay of his ruling. He also did not decide certain legal issues in the case.

Pointing to lower-than-expected costs of natural gas, Florida Power & Light on Wednesday asked state regulators to approve a proposal that would reduce customer bills in May.If approved by the Florida Public Service Commission, the reduction would come after FPL customers also will see bills trimmed in April because of the end of charges stemming from storm-related costs.

When Florida lawmakers went home after ending the 2024 legislative session Friday, they left behind hundreds of bills that did not pass.

A federal appeals court Monday rejected restrictions that Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican lawmakers placed on addressing race-related issues in workplace training — part of a controversial 2022 law that DeSantis dubbed the “Stop WOKE Act.”A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the restrictions violated First Amendment rights.

The Senate voted 30-5 to approve the plan (HB 3), three days after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed an earlier version (HB 1). DeSantis and House Speaker Paul Renner, who has made a priority of the social-media issue, negotiated the revamped plan.Renner, R-Palm Coast, and other supporters of restrictions contend that social media harms children’s mental health and can lead to sexual predators communicating with minors. The bill seeks to prevent children under age 16 from opening social-media accounts — though a key change in the revised version would allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year-olds to have accounts.

Pointing to permits in “regulatory limbo,” the Florida Department of Environmental Protection on Monday asked a judge for a partial stay of a ruling in a legal battle about a 2020 decision that shifted permitting authority from the federal government to the state for projects that affect wetlands.U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss on Feb. 15 ruled that federal officials did not follow required steps before transferring the authority to the state. Moss issued an order vacating the approval of the shift.

After dozens of resignations and two lawsuits, a Florida House panel Wednesday supported providing reprieves from a 2023 law that requires local elected officials to disclose detailed information about their personal finances.The House State Affairs Committee approved revamping a bill to push back the effective date of the requirements to 2025 and to exempt mayors and members of local governing boards in communities with 500 people or fewer.

Municipalities and dozens of local elected officials from across Florida filed state and federal lawsuits Thursday challenging the constitutionality of a new law that requires the officials to disclose detailed information about their personal finances.

Controversial bills aimed at preventing local governments from removing historical monuments and restricting the types of flags flown at schools and other public buildings appear to be dead in the Florida Senate.Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, said she doesn’t expect the Senate to move forward on the monuments bill and that the flags bill is stuck in a committee that will not meet again.