(This is the third in a series of stories previewing issues for the 2018 legislative session)
When state lawmakers met during the 2017 legislative session, one of the biggest issues was a bill backed by Senate President Joe Negron to revamp how water flows in parts of South Florida.
Lawmakers aren't considering such a major piece of environmental legislation as they prepare for the 2018 session.
(This is the first in a series of News Service of Florida stories previewing issues for the 2018 legislative session)
U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Palm Coast Republican who continues to mull a bid for governor, drew Twitter praise Friday from President Donald Trump, who flew to Palm Beach for the Christmas holiday.
An increase in imported orange juice is anticipated by the Florida Citrus Commission to offset a decline in tax revenue from the state's hurricane-battered growers, who await congressional action on disaster relief.
The commission --- during a brief conference call Wednesday --- agreed to shift $556,147 from reserves to help cover the Department of Citrus' budget for the current fiscal year, with the transfer leaving a $682 negative balance. Taxes on citrus pay for the department's operations.
Estimated insured losses from Hurricane Irma have topped $6.55 billion, with the number of claims approaching 866,000, according to information released Monday by the state Office of Insurance Regulation.
The latest report showed that 865,974 claims from the September storm had been filed with insurance companies as of Friday, with 719,512 involving residential properties.
Senate President Joe Negron backs a still-untapped $85 million “job growth” fund created this year, as Democrats continue to question the need to replenish what critics have called a “slush fund” for the governor.
Heading into the 2018 legislative session, Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley says the House and Senate are not as far apart as casual observers, lobbyists and the media might believe.
A key Senate committee next month will take up a proposal that would replace the state's no-fault auto insurance system, while a similar bill has already sped to the House floor.
Senate Banking and Insurance Chairwoman Anitere Flores said the proposal (SB 150) by Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, will be among the first discussed by her committee when the annual legislative session begins Jan. 9. The committee had been slated to take up the issue Tuesday, but time ran out in a scheduled two-hour meeting.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be on the hunt for a new executive director as the year comes to an end.
Florida continues to spend about $2.4 million a week to clean up debris strewn across state waters during Hurricane Irma two months ago.
The state money could soon run dry, even as the weekly costs grow with the cleanup moving deeper into counties more heavily damaged by the storm.
Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary David Clark told members of the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness on Monday that by early next year the state may use up the $36 million allocated to the agency for storm-debris cleanup.
