Florida Legislature

Tuesday’s election marks an historic red wave here in Florida from the Presidential race to constitutional amendment proposals, down to local political contests. WGCU Southwest Florida in Focus host Sandra Viktorova provides some post-election analysis in a conversation with FGCU political scientist Dr. Sandra Pavekla and WGCU host/reporter John Davis.

At Sunday Masses across Florida, Catholic priests have taken some time this election season to diverge from their typical homilies to try to convince parishioners to vote no on Amendment 4.

In at least eight House races and two Senate races statewide those Democratic candidates don't live in the legislative districts where they are running, according to recent voter registrations, candidate filings and other government records. In some cases, they live hundreds of miles away from the voters they are courting, and many have struggled to raise enough money to compete credibly against Republicans.

In an unexpected and unprecedented move, Governor Ron DeSantis, in June, vetoed $32 million dollars in state grants for more than 600 arts and culture organizations throughout Florida. We hear an encore of our conversation with Molly Rowan-Deckart from the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, Elysia Dawn with United Arts Collier, and arts reporter Tom Hall about how local arts and culture organizations are coping with the lost funds and about the economic impact of the region’s arts and culture industry.

Environmentalists remain perplexed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' recent veto of a wildly popular bipartisan bill to safeguard the state’s coastlines and protect the health of beachgoers because he believed it gave the Florida Department of Health too much power

In an unexpected and unprecedented move, last month, Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million dollars in state grants for more than 600 arts and culture organizations throughout Florida. We hear from Molly Rowan-Deckart with the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, Elysia Dawn with United Arts Collier, and arts reporter Tom Hall about how local arts and culture organizations are coping with the lost funds and about the economic impact of the region’s arts and culture industry.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have required the Florida Department of Health to take steps — including possibly preventing people from swimming in water off beaches — if water quality did not meet standards.

New legislation passed during the 2024 session modifies the rules by which the state commission, and local ethics boards, can operate. Critics say these changes will gut the effectiveness of the state commission and local boards. Supporters say the changes will prevent the state and local ethics boards from having to spend their time investigating politically motivated accusations. We dig into the details on Senate Bill 7014, which has yet to be signed by the governor, with two people who have spent their lives focusing on politics in Florida and its ethics system.

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.

Florida lawmakers ended the 2024 state legislative session, March 8, with a $117.5 billion dollar budget. We explore what passed, what didn’t and what it all means for Florida going forward in a conversation with UCF Political Scientist Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D., and Sun Sentinel Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet.