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Gov. DeSantis signs bill to ban adding fluoride to water supplies

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed a bill that includes preventing local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies. The bill (SB 700), dubbed the “Florida Farm Bill.” makes a series of changes related to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. “Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that’s fine, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people,” DeSantis said during a bill-signing event in Dade City. “They don’t have a choice. You’re taking that away from them.”

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 2010, file photo, the Development Driller III, which drilled the relief well and pumped the cement to seal the Macondo well, the source of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill, is seen in the Gulf Of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana.

Will Biden's 'drilling ban' decision out-trump 'drill, baby, drill'?

President-elect Donald Trump vowed to undo a directive Monday by President Joe Biden that would ban oil and natural gas drilling off Florida’s coasts. During an appearance with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump called Biden’s directive “ridiculous” and said he had the right to “unban” drilling immediately.

Seminole Tribe Stops $350 Million Gambling Payments To State

The Seminole Tribe of Florida made good on threats Tuesday by telling Gov. Ron DeSantis it is quitting a long-standing revenue-sharing agreement with the…

Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed SB 1388, which will take effect July 1, will require Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers to have probable cause to halt boaters.

Bill stops FWC officers from random boat inspections

Haven, a thirty-five-pound green sea turtle, took her time at her release on Friday, August 1, 2025, at a crowded Sombrero Beach in Marathon while marking her entry as the only rehabilitated and only juvenile in this year’s Sea Turtle Conservancy Tour de Turtles event.

Green sea turtle rescued from fishing line and cancer returns to sea to provide helpful data

A thirty-five-pound green sea turtle named Haven that spent the last six months in rehab at The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida, finally got her chance to go home Friday.The 8-year-old endangered green sea turtle spent the last six months rehabilitating at The Turtle Hospital after being rescued, wrapped in fishing line and covered in fibropapilloma tumors. Following months of rehab, laser treatment, and cancer-fighting eye drops, Haven was declared healthy and ready to return to the sea.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his State of the State address during a joint session of the Senate and House of Representatives in Tallahassee, Fla., Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

Legislative agreement remains unresolved on key budget details

Legislative leaders have not reached agreement on key initial budget details, as lawmakers prepare to return to the Capitol to hammer out a spending plan for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, which will begin July 1. The House and Senate did not pass a budget before Friday’s scheduled end of the annual legislative session, requiring an extension.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 1622 to protect public beach access and streamlines beach restoration in Gulf Coast counties.

DeSantis signs beach access bill; reverses controversial measure

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill reversing a controversial 2018 law that led to limited public beach access in some areas. Lawmakers in April passed the bill (SB 1622) after widespread complaints about waterfront property owners in Walton County preventing people from using beaches.

Work progresses on a new migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility in the Florida Everglades, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla.

Supreme court sends suit on detention center to lower court

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday sent to a lower court a case filed by Democratic state lawmakers after they were denied entry to a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”

This aerial photo shows damaged homes and debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Fort Myers, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Three property insurers face fines over hurricane claims handling

State regulators last week finalized agreements that will lead to three property insurers paying fines for violating claims-handling laws after hurricanes.

Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, walks in the Everglades a few yards from the front entrance to the Everglades Detention Center, which the state calls "Alligator Alcatraz," at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on July 10 in Ochopee.

State objects to Miccosukee Tribe in ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ lawsuit

Attorneys for the state Friday opposed an effort by the Miccosukee Tribe to join a lawsuit challenging an immigrant-detention center in the Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The tribe on July 14 filed a motion seeking to intervene in the lawsuit filed by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity, which allege that state and federal officials did not comply with a law requiring that an environmental impact study be performed before developing the detention center.

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