U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is championing a proposal to expand Fry Scholarships to survivors of National Guard and Reserve members who served in recent operations and died of service-related causes while not on active duty. 

“The Fry Scholarship provides Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to the children and surviving spouses of servicemembers who died in the line of duty while on active duty after September 10, 2001,” Bilirakis’ office noted. 

With the House vote Friday, the Florida Legislature has passed its most expansive justice reform bill in 20 years, an initiative led by the state's crime surivors, many of whom rallied in Tallahassee this session to call for change.  

Robert Rooks, vice president of the Alliance for Safety and Justice, said of HB 7125,  what makes the legislation so "exciting" is that "major provisions of the package were championed by Florida crime survivors from across the state in their #SurvivorsSpeak Justice Reform Agenda.”

Seeking to carry out a November constitutional amendment, the Florida Senate on Thursday passed a measure that would require repayment of financial obligations before felons’ voting rights could be restored, an issue that’s been a sticking point as lawmakers grappled with one of this year’s most controversial pieces of legislation.

The Senate spent about two hours in emotional debate on the measure before voting strictly along party lines and sending the proposal to the House for consideration Friday, the final day it can pass before the legislative session ends.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has teamed up fellow Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb. to champion the  “Transporting Livestock Across America Safely (TLAAS) Act,” which reforms federal regulation on how haulers transport livestock across the country by changing the Hours of Service (HOS) regulations for livestock haulers. 

Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Florida, along with Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., are taking the lead on the proposal in the House. 

Rubio weighed in on the bill this week. 

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., continued his efforts against slumlords last week, bringing back the “Housing Accountability Act.”

On Wednesday, Rubio and U.S. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., reintroduced the proposal which, they insisted, “would hold property owners of low-income housing accountable for poor living conditions.”

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott has become a big booster of putting U.S. military might behind efforts to topple embattled President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela.

But as Scott says President Donald Trump needs to “pre-position” military assets around the South American nation, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Scott’s successor in the Florida governor’s mansion, appears to be taking a more-measured approach in his support for replacing Maduro with opposition leader Juan Guaido.

U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., both members of the Congressional Action Protection Caucus., brought back a bill reforming the Animal Welfare Act and another on how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) handles commercial breeding licenses. Also on board are U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., and U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Penn. 

The Florida Senate could eliminate controversial proposals about charter schools and hospitals from a tax package that was approved last week by the House.

Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who is overseeing tax negotiations for the Senate, said Wednesday the Senate’s goal is to keep the package “to the ideas of what a tax package has historically been.”

Booze and beer don’t carry similar cautions, but some Republican lawmakers want people playing the state lottery to be warned that the games may be addictive.

With the 2019 legislative session in its final days, the Senate is considering a proposal that would require all lottery tickets to include a warning, which also would be part of any advertisements for the state-sponsored games.

The bill would require the tickets and promotions to include the words: “Warning: Lottery games may be addictive,” or “Play responsibly,” under an amendment approved Wednesday by the Senate.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is giving an area of low pressure currently producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the Bahamas and moving toward Florida a 20 percent chance of developing into the first tropical storm of the year.

It's likely to take at least five days for that to happen, according to the NHC. The forecast, first hurricane season outlook of the year, is coming a full month before June 1, when daily tropical storm advisories begin.