Ana Goñi-Lessan - News Service of Florida

The new law will require judges to immediately remand someone found guilty of a dangerous crime into custody pending sentencing or further proceedings without the possibility of release on bond.

Months after the state’s auditor general found a "myriad of accountability challenges" with Florida’s K-12 school voucher system, the Legislature failed to pass a bill providing better oversight of the $4 billion program.

Participants in the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program will be able to access funds to cover their HIV medication after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Tuesday providing stopgap funding mitigating cuts imposed earlier this month.

In this year's legislative session, a measure that would have made a byproduct of kratom called 7-OH illegal was removed from the bill and replaced with an entirely different drug, nitrous oxide.

This comes after Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, chair of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, said immigrants who aren't criminals should be able to stay in the country under certain conditions.

Florida lawmakers put forward just under 2,000 bills and resolutions as they entered the 2026 legislative session.

While the State Immigration Enforcement Council's priority continues to be to remove undocumented immigrants who are violating the law, members have significantly softened their stance for immigrants who do not have criminal records.

A plan to prevent cuts to a program that provides drugs to AIDS patients passed through the Senate on Tuesday, but it’s unclear whether the House will agree to it.

The House version of the bill (HB 917), which would require doctors to accept all patients regardless of vaccination status, hasn't been considered in that chamber this year.

A bill critics say would disrupt the ability of American citizens to adopt children or use a surrogate from China passed through the House on Tuesday.