News Service of Florida

An organization that advocates for LGBTQ Floridians on Tuesday decried what it calls “an alarming slate” of bills filed for the 2024 legislative session. Joe Saunders, senior political director for Equality Florida, said the organization is opposing 22 bills “that attack the freedoms, the rights and dignity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Floridians.”

In another round in long-running debates about illegal immigration, a Senate committee Tuesday approved a bill that would prevent cities and counties from accepting identification cards issued to undocumented immigrants.

A bill that would require people to verify their age before accessing online content that would be “harmful to minors” began advancing in the Florida House on Thursday, as Speaker Paul Renner has made the proposal a legislative priority. The bill (HB 3) would require any company that “knowingly and intentionally publishes or distributes material harmful to minors on a website or application” to use “reasonable age verification methods” to prove that people accessing the site are at least 18 years old.

The Florida House on Friday began moving forward with its version of a plan aimed at boosting the number of physicians in the state and taking other steps to expand access to health care. The House Select Committee on Health Innovation unanimously approved a 315-page bill (HB 1549), sponsored by Majority Leader Michael Grant, R-Port Charlotte. The vote came a day after the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee approved the Senate version of the plan, a top priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples.

While House members have proposed spending more than $7 billion on projects and programs, Speaker Paul Renner is pushing “conservative” spending as the budget is put together over the next two months.It remains to be seen what that means for more than 2,800 projects and programs, from assisting cultural organizations to building educational facilities and railroad right-of-way, that House members are seeking to fund — at a total cost of $7.1 billion.

A Senate Republican has filed a bill that could lead to potentially far-reaching changes in voting by mail. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican who is a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, filed the bill (SB 1752) for consideration during the legislative session that will start Tuesday.

Mirroring a House bill filed in November, a Senate Republican on Thursday proposed a measure that would place restrictions on government agencies in the use of personal pronouns. Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, filed the proposal (SB 1382) for consideration during the 2024 legislative session, which will start Tuesday.

The Florida Gulf Coast University Board of Trustees next week is slated to consider adding a bachelor’s degree program in computer science. The new program, which would have an anticipated launch in the fall 2024 semester, would allow students to choose a concentration in cybersecurity, data science or software engineering.

As Florida homeowners grapple with increased property-insurance rates, two Republican lawmakers have filed a proposal that would allow people to buy policies covering only unpaid mortgage-loan amounts.

People would be allowed to kill bears on their property without permits if they feel threatened or think it is necessary for protection, under a bill that moved forward Tuesday in the Florida House.