Senate President Bill Galvano’s vision of new and expanded toll roads in the western side of the state will get an introduction Tuesday when task forces looking at the three proposed routes take part in a “kickoff” event.

The Florida Department of Transportation’s “Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance,” or M-CORES, task forces will ultimately make recommendations about the toll-road proposals, which were a top priority of Galvano, R-Bradenton, during this year’s legislative session.

With very few Florida Senate seats up for grabs next year, political insiders are eyeing a South Florida district Democrats are eager to flip to make gains in the upper chamber.

But late this week, the Dems were left without an official candidate in the battle for what is viewed as the state’s most competitive Senate seat in 2020.

Florida’s top gun lobbyist took a second shot Thursday at a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to prevent the possession and sale of assault weapons.

Marion Hammer, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida, appeared before state economists for the second time in a week to clarify her opposition to the proposal she claims would result in all rifles and shotguns being outlawed in the state.

At the end of the week, state Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady, hosted the latest in a series of roundtable events tackling mental health challenges in the Florida legal and law enforcement systems. 

Moody and Canady were joined at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee by judges and experts from across the state to weigh in on mental health and strategies to lower recidivism, increase public safety and cut down on taxpayer expenses.

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida Defense Support Task Force (FDSTF) grants headed to military bases across the Sunshine State. 

DeSantis said $725,000 in funds from the FDSTF Grant Program were given to the Clay County Development Authority, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast in Brevard County and the Military Child Education Coalition in Duval, Hillsborough, and Okaloosa Counties. 

The military and defense industry adds almost $85 billion to the Sunshine State, employing almost 891,750 Floridians. 

For more than two decades the elite Miami Appellate Department of Greenberg Traurig was the most sought-after dream team for high-stakes court battles in Florida. Along with its Tallahassee partner Barry Richard of 2000 election recount fame, Greenberg Traurig was the go-to law firm for Fortune 500 companies with the resources to hire the very best.

Two members of the Florida congressional delegation are asking U.S. Attorney General William Barr to implement a law intended to help solve the opioid crisis. 

This week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., signed onto a letter regarding "brokers" treating patients with addiction. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis views his office as a stable work environment, even after several staffers, including one of his top lieutenants, announced exit plans a little more than seven months after the chief executive was sworn in.

Members of the Florida delegation on Capitol Hill are backing a new agreement with Mexican tomato growers which, they say, will help farmers in the Sunshine State. 

Gov. Ron DeSantis has agreed to allow Florida to join a national electronic center to exchange voter registration data with other states, an effort long-sought by county supervisors of elections.

DeSantis said Wednesday Florida will become the 29th state to participate in the Electronic Voter Registration Information Center, known as "ERIC," a consortium of states known that share voter registration information.