Florida Legislature

Lawmakers in Florida's Republican-dominated state capitol advanced their respective plans for the state's budget on Wednesday, but the proposals remain billions of dollars apart from each other — and from Gov. Ron DeSantis' proposed spending plan for the upcoming year.

The bill would rollback years of legal protections surrounding doctor-patient confidentiality, and take away behavioral risk-screening questionnaires as a valuable tool for medical professionals.

A year after lawmakers relaxed the state’s child labor laws, a divided Florida Senate panel on Tuesday gave initial approval to a measure that would further roll back work restrictions for kids as young as 14.

A legislative effort is underway that aims to curb heat-related illnesses and deaths at worksites as number of incidents on the rise.

On "The Florida Roundup," host Tom Hudson spoke with Democratic state Sen. Shev Jones about his view on eliminating property taxes in Florida.

The influence of political parties, powerful politicians and lobbying impacts a bill’s future long before it sees its first committee.

"The residents of Florida must be better educated on the importance of brain health and on reducing the risk of dementia"

The measure, approved by the Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Committee, would change a law to make it easier for someone exonerated with previous convictions to receive state compensation.

Before any votes occur, legislators are expected to seek feedback from local governments on the economic effects of cutting proprty taxes.

A $117.46 billion budget that state lawmakers approved last week includes big-ticket items such as a 3 percent pay raise for state employees, a $240 bump in per-student school funding, $13.99 billion for transportation projects, and $702 million for Everglades restoration.