Tag Archives: Florida

The Daily Beast reports: About a decade before Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler championed Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, she was a Sarasota socialite who partied with a coterie of gay friends. “From the very get-go, we hit it off,” Nishit Patel said. “Of course the gay guy is going to gravitate toward the gorgeous blonde.” Patel is just …

Florida Politics reports: A plan to grant a two-month sales tax holiday on select items purchased with “virtual currency” would save consumers boatloads of cash, but it’s not because Floridians would flock to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. State economists analyzing SB 352, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican, determined the measure would cost state coffers nearly $1.4 billion. …

Florida Politics reports: Tuesday’s PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee will mull Rep. Chuck Brannan’s HB 1349, which would compel schools to start teaching the “History of Communism” in grades K-12. The lessons are intended to be “age and developmentally appropriate,” and it would indeed be interesting to see how teachers of young students deal with such heady topics as the history of …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: Christian Ziegler, the former chairperson for the Republican Party of Florida who is under criminal investigation, is citing a law that protects victims in a bid to stop the release of more information from his cellphone. But police say Ziegler is not the victim of a crime. The Sarasota Police Department opened an investigation into …

Florida Politics reports: A measure purporting to stop human trafficking by banning people under the age of 21 from working in the adult entertainment sector is slated for another Senate committee stop. The Appropriations Committee on Criminal and Civil Justice will consider on Tuesday morning Sen. Clay Yarborough’s bill (SB 1690). If the measure advances, it has one stop ahead …

Florida Politics reports: Language in legislation (SB 1084) advanced by the Senate would preempt local governments from requiring a higher number of parking lot spaces to be reserved for electric vehicles. Instead, state regulations would be the only threshold imposed. But during committee discussion, Sen. Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican carrying the bill, made clear the measure would outlaw extra …

The Hill reports: Florida’s Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical of the state’s arguments Wednesday that the language on a ballot initiative to protect abortion rights was misleading. Nathan Forrester, who argued on behalf of the state attorney general’s office, urged the court to disqualify the measure. He said voters won’t understand what the amendment will do because the language used …

Florida Politics reports: Legislation that passed the Florida House and is now moving through the Senate that would ban Floridians under the age of 16 from having social media accounts is drawing doubts from Florida’s senior Senator. Marco Rubio said he thinks courts would strike it down. His “only concern about it would be that social media is not a …

Miami’s ABC affiliate reports: February marks Black History Month, an important topic being taught at South Florida schools, but now parents at IPrep Academy are being asked to sign off on whether they want their children to participate in some of the educational events. “I was shocked,” said concerned parent Jill Peeling, who said she thought she may have misunderstood …

Florida Politics reports: Legislation barring most children in Florida from social media advanced in the Florida Senate. But it still contains no exceptions for children logging on with parental consent, something Gov. Ron DeSantis has questioned. Sen. Erin Grall, a Fort Pierce Republican, said Big Tech’s current practices pose too great a threat against children to ignore. “If we as …

Axios reports: Florida is suing the Biden administration over a new policy limiting when states can remove children from public health insurance programs. The lawsuit challenges the implementation of a law requiring states to let kids remain eligible for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program for 12 straight months before reviewing their status, regardless of life changes that mean …

Mother Jones reports: Christian Ziegler, the former chairman of the Florida Republican Party who got booted last month after being accused of raping a woman who had been sexually involved with him and his wife, is now claiming to be the victim of a crime in an effort to fend off the release of information from his cellphone. Ziegler’s lawyer, …

Florida Politics reports: Gov. Ron DeSantis apparently isn’t worried about votes from vegetarians, given comments in Bowling Green in which he wove a preemptive defense of meat during an attack on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). “I know the Legislature is doing a bill to try to protect our meat. You need meat, OK? And we’re going to have …

Florida Politics reports: Just hours after announcing that he was sending his State Guard to Texas, along with National Guard troops and state troopers, the Governor told friendly interviewer Sean Hannity that he was ready to deploy them even farther away. “But if California actually wants to stop people coming across the border, I’m happy to send to California as …

The Daily Beast reports: Former Florida GOP chair Christian Ziegler and his wife, Bridget—known for promoting “family values” and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric—first had a sexual encounter with his rape accuser in 2021 as they “hunted” for a threesome partner, new police records reveal. Detectives also found a list on Ziegler’s phone, titled “THE LIST,” with the names of multiple women including …

The Associated Press reports: Disney on Thursday appealed a judge’s dismissal of its free speech lawsuit over what it described as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ retaliatory takeover of Walt Disney World’s governing district, as the Florida governor separately called any appeal “a mistake.” “They were wrong and we were right,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Jacksonville a day after …

The Miami Herald reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday announced he is sending members of the Florida State Guard, a civilian military force under his control, and other state resources to the U.S.-Mexico border to help Texas stop what he called an “invasion.” “The goal is to help Texas fortify this border, help them strengthen the barricades, help them …

Florida Politics reports: A bill capping the level of delta-9 THC in the event voters decide to legalize adult-use marijuana moved forward by a 13-4 vote in its first House stop in the Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee. In processed substances, such as vapes, shatter and wax, the cap would be 60% delta-9 THC if this bill passes. For practical purposes, that …

The New York Times reports: In a victory for Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a federal judge on Wednesday threw out a lawsuit filed by the Walt Disney Company claiming that Mr. DeSantis and his allies violated the First Amendment by taking over a special tax district that encompasses Walt Disney World. Disney said it planned to appeal the ruling. …

Florida Politics reports: A controversial idea is again gaining ground in the Legislature: eliminating property taxes and replacing them with a new “consumption tax” tacked onto the sales of goods and services across the state. The change, said Republican Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, would put an end to what some have called “the most hated tax in America.” “I believe it’s …