Florida

The Florida House on Wednesday is expected to pass three fiercely debated bills about transgender people, targeting drag shows, treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers and bathroom use.

During a forum moderated by the Florida Gulf Coast faculty senate, Mack described himself as an “innovator, a disruptor and a relationship builder.” Mack also pointed to his knowledge of the Legislature as a factor that would separate him from three other finalists.

A Senate committee Tuesday moved forward with a package that would provide $973 million in tax breaks next fiscal year, with proposals ranging from holding tax “holidays” to boosting the thoroughbred horse-racing industry.The Finance and Tax Committee unanimously backed the package (SPB 7062), which is ready to go to the full Senate. The House has proposed a $1.38 billion package, and legislative leaders will negotiate a final tax plan as part of upcoming budget talks.

State insurance regulators last week signed off on a plan that will lead to policyholders throughout Florida paying extra on their bills because of property-insurer insolvencies.Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky issued an order that approved a request by the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association to collect a 1 percent emergency “assessment” to cover costs of claims.

A proposal that would require school districts to share local property-tax revenue with charter schools is teed up for consideration by the full House, after a committee debate Monday about whether it could bring “parity.”Property taxes collected through discretionary 1.5-mill local levies go toward such things as constructing and renovating traditional public schools and buying land. Meanwhile, charter schools largely receive such money through the state budget.

Somewhat tongue-in-cheek, DeSantis suggested Monday that the new board or lawmakers could take other actions with the Disney’s 27,000 acres (10,926 hectares) in central Florida, such as building a state park, a competing theme park or a prison.

Moving quickly on what supporters call the “Heartbeat Protection Act,” Gov. Ron DeSantis late Thursday signed a bill that would prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.DeSantis’ office announced the signing about 11 p.m., several hours after the House gave final approval to the bill (SB 300), one of the most-controversial issues of this year’s legislative session.

The Florida House on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would eliminate a requirement for unanimous jury recommendations before judges can impose death sentences, sending the issue to Gov. Ron DeSantis.The bill (SB 450) emerged after Nikolas Cruz was sentenced to life in prison last year in the 2018 shooting deaths of 17 students and faculty members at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. A jury did not unanimously recommend the death penalty, requiring Cruz to be sentenced to life.

The Florida House on Thursday gave final approval to a bill that would prevent abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, setting up a showdown at the state Supreme Court that could determine the future of abortion rights in Florida.The Republican-controlled House voted 70-40 to pass the six-week limit (SB 300), which also was approved April 3 by the Senate. The bill is ready to go to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to sign it.

A measure that would expand 2022’s controversial “Parental Rights in Education” law — known to critics as “don’t say gay” — is primed for consideration by the full Florida Senate.The proposal (SB 1320) would broaden the 2022 law’s prohibition on instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through third grade to pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.