Gov. Ron DeSantis traveled to Miami Tuesday to unveil his new occupational licensing reform agenda intended to increase professional opportunity for Floridians. The governor also highlighted the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s (DBPR) progress toward eliminating barriers to employment since the Governor’s “Deregathon” event in January.
 
Vatrice Clorie, Eva Locke and Pat Levenson, three individuals unnecessarily harmed by Florida’s occupational licensing requirements, joined the governor in making the announcement.

President Donald Trump’s decision to pull American forces out of Syria drew fire this week from members of the Florida congressional delegation on both sides of the aisle. 

After Trump spoke with Turkish President Recept Stay Grogan, the White House made the announcement Sunday. 

"Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation into Northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in the operation,” the White House announced. 

Trump took to Twitter Monday to explain the decision. 

A federal judge Monday said “it’s a no brainer” that the Florida Legislature’s requirement that ex-felons pay all financial obligations to be eligible to vote “harms the franchise” voters thought they’d restored when they approved Amendment 4 by more than 64 percent in November 2018.

A document discussed Monday by the state’s Blue-Green Algae Task Force should be viewed, members said, as a broad roadmap for lawmakers with the 2020 legislative session less than 100 days away.

And task force members, meeting in Gainesville to further edit the document, said they will look in future meetings beyond Lake Okeechobee and nearby waterways that have been plagued by toxic algae.

Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed Monday increasing the minimum salary to $47,500 for teachers across the state -- a move that would affect more than 101,000 Florida teachers. The measure will be included in the governor's 2020 budget proposal.

According to the National Education Association, Florida ranks 26th in the nation for starting teacher pay at $37,636. With this investment of more than $600 million, Florida will jump to No. 2 in the nation in starting teacher pay.

On Monday, congressmen from the First Coast showcased a proposal preserving historical landmarks in the region as part of a National Heritage Area (NHA). 

The “Nation’s Oldest Port National Heritage Area Act” would cover parts of  Duval, St. Johns and Flagler Counties as NHAs. 

The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., at the end of last month. U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, D-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., are cosponsoring it. 

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is calling out the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the aftermath of a Tweet about China. 

At the end of last week,  Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets, one of the most popular NBA teams in China thanks to the franchise drafting Yao Ming with the first pick of the 2002 draft, posted on Twitter, praising the protesters in Hong Kong who are opposed to the Chinese regime.  Under fire from China, Morey deleted the Tweet.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing a showdown about one of his highest-profile decisions: the ouster of Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, whose fate now rests in the hands of the Florida Senate.

The Republican governor’s legal team failed to persuade a Senate special master that Israel’s suspension was warranted, but DeSantis has a cadre of allies who might have the power to do what his lawyers could not.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has filed her fourth legal challenge of a citizen initiative vying for the November 2020 ballot.

Moody this week -- joined by the Republican Party of Florida and the Florida Democratic Party -- filed a motion with the state Supreme Court to block a prospective “open” primary proposal from being presented to voters.

U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., is championing U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., proposal to ensure more small businesses are consulted when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) come up with new regulations. 

Steube announced on Friday that he would introduce Rubio’s “Hearing Small Businesses Act” which the senator brought out back in February.