A program to distribute federal disaster aid to Florida farmers hit by Hurricane Irma will be set up within the next 100 days, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced Friday.

“USDA (the U.S. Department of Agriculture) is working as quickly as possible to develop procedures and a system by which affected producers can access disaster assistance,” Perdue said in a prepared statement.

The announcement added that “sign-up for the new program, authorized by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, will begin no later than July 16,” about 100 days from now.

Gov. Rick Scott overlooked $109.2 million when making budget vetoes, according to Florida TaxWatch, which, for the second time in three years, was beaten to the punch by the governor in releasing its annual “Budget Turkey” list.

TaxWatch this week released a list of 87 projects --- collectively worth $147.5 million --- that were pushed by individual lawmakers and that the non-profit group argued should not have been included in the $88.7 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical marijuana business, is asking a Tallahassee judge to strike down a state law that limits the number of dispensaries marijuana companies can operate, saying the restriction “arbitrarily impairs product availability and safety” and “unfairly penalizes” pot providers.

Gadsden County-based Trulieve is challenging the 25-dispensary limit established by state lawmakers last year, arguing the cap is two fewer than the company had applied for before the limit went into effect.

Florida’s push for year-round daylight-saving time may have a difficult time in Congress, as U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio says federal lawmakers haven’t lined up in any typical partisan fashion.

Rubio, who is sponsoring the proposal in the Senate, said he’s gotten positive and negative reaction, but the split does not fall along “ideological lines.”

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio warned Tuesday of a “level of overconfidence” about the security of the nation’s election system heading into the 2018 midterm elections.

Frustration is growing among Florida citrus farmers awaiting the distribution of $2.36 billion in federal disaster-relief money for agriculture losses sustained in Hurricane Irma.

The clock is now ticking on Gov. Rick Scott to act on his final state budget.

When legislative budget chiefs agreed during negotiations to spend $1.5 million on a study about extending a toll road north to Georgia, they started to lock into Florida’s new budget some of the 78 recommendations a House select committee created in the wake of last year’s deadly hurricane season.

Banning “sanctuary” cities, revamping gambling laws, approving new sexual-harassment rules and even creating a license plate to commemorate the University of Central Florida’s undefeated football season were among numerous issues that died when the 2018 legislative session ended Sunday.

A tax package that provides relief for farmers and property owners impacted by Hurricane Irma, while offering sales-tax breaks at the start of the school year and hurricane season, was approved by the House and Senate in a rare Sunday conclusion to the legislative session.