News

By John Kennedy, Capital Bureau, USA TODAY NETWORK – FLORIDA, Sep 10, 2021 TALLAHASSEE – Another of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ policy priorities has been blocked, with a federal court Thursday stopping enforcement of his so-called anti-riot law that opponents said was riddled with constitutional defects. Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker agreed with arguments made by several civil rights

The tribe, already a financial powerhouse, has signed a ‘historic compact’ with the state that will generate billions of dollars By Craig Pittman, Washington Post, July 11, 2021 TAMPA — The cavernous Seminole Hard Rock Casino rocks around-the-clock with 5,000 noisy slot machines; a couple hundred poker, blackjack and baccarat tables; and superstar artifacts such as

TALLAHASSEE, FL – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), and Community Justice Project (CJP), with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP serving as counsel, filed a motion for preliminary injunction today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida to block key

Universities may lose funding if staff and students’ beliefs do not satisfy Florida’s GOP-run legislature By BRETT BACHMAN, Salon,  June 23, 2021 Public universities in Florida will be required to survey both faculty and students on their political beliefs and viewpoints, with the institutions at risk of losing their funding if the responses are not satisfactory to the state’s

By Jim Turner – News Service of Florida,  WUSF Public Media – WUSF 89.7, June 28, 2021 More than 100 new laws passed during the 2021 legislative session will hit the books this week, ranging from a record $100 billion state budget, a requirement for out-of-state online retailers to collect sales taxes on purchases made by

The state’s elections supervisors called it poorly thought out legislation for a problem that didn’t exist.

NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA, Apr 20, 2021 TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signed into law late Monday a bill that will cost Florida consumers who shop online an estimated $1 billion a year in sales taxes, with the money used to cut business taxes. The governor’s office announced the decision at 11:23 p.m. Monday in

By Lenny Guckenheimer, Charlotte Dems contributing writer When I attended the May 11th Charlotte County Board of Commissioners meeting, I discovered two agenda items that had nothing to do with local government but are certainly part of the Republican agenda sweeping the nation. The commissioners found it necessary to pass resolutions declaring that Charlotte County

By Laura Cassels, Florida Phoenix,  May 11, 2021 Florida’s new anti-riot/protest law targets people of color protesting racial injustice in the United States and subjects them to harsh treatment at the hands of the police they are criticizing, asserts a major lawsuit filed in federal court on Tuesday. It is the second lawsuit filed against the “Combating

  On May 6, 2021, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) filed a federal lawsuit against Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee challenging Florida’s new law that greatly obstructs voting access. The lawsuit argues that S.B. 90 creates barriers and burdens that impact all Florida voters and disproportionately impacts the ability of Black voters, Latino

The bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign, is the latest Republican effort to restrict voting after the 2020 election. It will make Florida the first major swing state won by Donald Trump to pass such a law. By Patricia Mazzei and Nick Corasaniti, New York Times, April 29, 2021 MIAMI — Republicans in the Florida