After hearing a litany of complaints from lawmakers, state health officials are moving forward with a contested contract to process medical-marijuana patient identification cards.

The Florida Senate has hired a prominent Tallahassee lawyer amid a probe into sexual-harassment allegations against Sen. Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican.

Throughout the nation, lawmakers are being forced to confront revelations about dirty little secrets once kept hidden behind the statehouse doors.

The toppling of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, accused of sexually assaulting or harassing dozens of women, and the ensuing #MeToo social media campaign have emboldened women to tell stories of abuse or inappropriate treatment that remained under wraps in state capitols --- among other work environs populated by powerful men --- in some cases for decades.

Kentucky's speaker of the House resigned from his leadership post amid reports he had secretly settled a staff member's sexual-harassment claims.

A state senator from Illinois stepped down from his spot as the leader of the Democratic caucus after a victim rights advocate accused him of sexually harassing her.

In Massachusetts, legislative leaders created a task force to probe sexual misconduct following an explosive Boston Globe column detailing a decades-old climate of sexual harassment and intimidation.

Two months away from home in a highly competitive environment that is fueled by money, power and booze and in which careers are made or broken based on relationships built mainly after hours.

Arguments before the Florida Supreme Court are often lively, with the black-robed justices peppering highly prepped attorneys on matters of law ranging from the esoteric to the mighty.

Florida Senate Democrats will vote next week on a replacement for former Sen. Jeff Clemens, who was slated to take over as caucus leader after the 2018 elections but who resigned Friday after admitting an extramarital affair with a lobbyist.

As states like Florida struggle to combat a drug-addiction blight, President Donald Trump this week said he was doing his part by declaring a long-awaited public health emergency.

A combination of short-term intensive treatment beds, long-term outpatient services and medically assisted treatment could be the blueprint for a solution to the opioid epidemic gripping the state, a powerful Senate chairwoman said Wednesday.

Frustrated senators grilled Florida's pot czar Tuesday, demanding explanations for why his office missed a legislatively mandated deadline to issue new medical-marijuana licenses and why ailing patients are stuck waiting for state-issued ID cards.

Christian Bax, executive director of the state Office of Medical Marijuana Use, blamed one of the delays on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of part of a new law that required health officials to issue 10 new marijuana licenses by Oct. 3.