Tag Archives: Alex Andrade

Florida Politics reports: The Senate will not consider a controversial defamation bill. For the second year in a row, the bill effectively hit a wall in the upper chamber despite signs of life in the House. With fewer than two weeks left in the Legislative Session, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s Office signaled there is no appetite for the bill. “No. …

Florida Politics reports: A third and final House committee has advanced a contentious defamation bill. But one critic testified the legislation will help its sponsor bring forward lawsuits against anyone criticizing his political allies. At a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Milton gun shop owner Chris Smith discussed a lawsuit filed against his business. Santa Rosa County Commissioner Sam Parker filed …

Florida Politics reports: Members of the House Civil Justice Subcommittee voted 12-4 for a measure (HB 757) that would lower the legal bar in defamation lawsuits by shifting the burden of proof from the plaintiff to the defendant. That’s appropriate given how little faith there is today in media to get the story right, argued Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade, …

Miami’s NBC affiliate reports: The controversial HB 999 bill aims to restrict the programs and activities that Florida universities and colleges can promote or support. It calls into question student organizations, groups or activities centered on diversity, equity and inclusion. Line 341 of the bill aims to prohibit universities or colleges from using any funds to promote, support, maintain, any …

NBC News reports: House Bill 999, introduced this week by Rep. Alex Andrade, a Republican representing Pensacola, would allow the state Board of Governors to give direction to universities on removing majors and minors in such subjects as critical race theory and gender studies and bar spending on programs or activities that support such curricula. The Board of Governors oversees …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: State lawmakers are moving forward with a Gov. Ron DeSantis-inspired push to make it easier for prominent people to sue media outlets for defamation, setting the stage for a potential First Amendment clash in the courts. The Legislature is set to take up the measure that challenges longstanding protections for the press established by the U.S …