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Reme Jo Lee was given what she thought was an antibiotic, but was given an abortion pill instead. Now a year after she lost her baby, state lawmakers are on the verge of making the crime a felony.

Reme Lee’s troubles began on Good Friday last year. That when her fiancee gave her an abortion pill disguised as an antibiotic. By Easter Sunday she had lost her baby. Police found they could not charge the boyfriend except for product tampering.

“Their only reason for this is to kill that child” said State Representative Larry Ahern.

Reme sat in the front row of the House Gallery with her father. She cried as lawmakers described her ordeal while debating a bill to kill an unknown child. Sponsor Larry Ahern described her as a victim. “So the child gets a death sentence, and Reme Lee and her family get a life sentence. They suffer everyday” said Ahern of Pinellas County.   Opponents, like Rep. Elaine Schwartz of Broward County,  who sympathizes with the woman say the legislation is much too broad. “ Its unenforceable and it is part of a war on women” is what Schwartz told the House.

And as the House prepared to vote, Reme’s tears turned to a smile.  “74 yeas, 42 nays Mr. Speaker. Show the bill passes.”

Afterwards, clutching the ultrasound Memphis, the child who’ll never be born,  Reme says justice is being done. “I hope this serves as a deterrent so other people don’t have to suffer like my family has and Mr. Weldon’s family has suffered as well. And that people will respect pregnancy and pregnant women.

Her father, James Lee told us the ordeal has been tough “I’m very proud of my daughter but its been a very hard road to follow” says the senior Lee. The legislation still has to be approved by the full Senate but it has been discussed there. Reme says she will be back to the Capitol  when Senators debate and send the bill to the Governor the week after next.

The legislation does not require prosecutors to prove intent, or that the offender knew the woman was pregnant.

More than a dozen young pages were absent from the House chamber as lawmakers debated a bill making it easier to ban abortions earlier in a pregnancy. The legislation says abortions are criminal anytime the child might live with the help of medical advances. Rep. Charles Van Zant says the change only makes sense.“This bill appropriately bans abortions after viability in protection of the unborn child. Yet provides clear exceptions so that this ban also protects the mother” explained Van Zant.

After the vote on party lines, the pages were brought back into the Chamber. Similar legislation cleared a Senate Committee and is ready for a floor vote in that chamber.

Legislation to allow local government to ban the use of plastic bags in supermarkets got a surprise hearing at the Capitol today. It was doomed from the beginning because of a ten cent bag fee, but the hearing itself was a message about the future.

Whole Foods stopped using plastic bags in 2008. We found Elizabeth Halverson shopping at the chain with her own reusable bag.

“Whenever you bring a bag you get to donate ten cents to the Whole Planet Foundation,” said Halverson.

Customers also have the option of taking a dime a bag off their purchase. Whole Foods says the dime adds up to about five million a year to charities  nationwide.

Legislation at the Capitol would have allowed local governments to ban plastic bags altogether. Under the legislation, only big grocery stores and pharmacies would have to offer paper bags for a dime if you didn’t bring your own bag, but half of that money would have gone to education.

The ten cent fee doomed the bag bill.

“And I cannot support the bill with that one provision in it,” said Sen. Joseph Abruzzo (D-Wellington).

Florida retailers don’t like it.

“If you want to be able to carry your bags home in a plastic bag, we don’t want to just shove your goods across the counter and say, you know, carry them yourself or pay us five or ten cents,” said Samantha Padgett of the Florida Retail Federation.

No tax Republicans on the panel also praised the intent of getting plastic out of the environment.

“I want to commend you, it is good thinking about the future of Florida, and I appreciate it,” said Sen. Charles Dean (R-Inverness).

Environmentalists say just having the bill heard was a victory for the future.

“And in Florida, only 12 percent are recycled and or reused,” said Holly Parker of the Surfrider Foundation.

So while the legislation was withdrawn before it could be voted down, the hearing sends the message that sooner or later, plastic bags will be on the endangered list.

690 thousand tons of plastic bags and plastic wrappers are manufactured annually, only 4.3% are recycled.

Hundreds of teens from around the state heard firsthand what can happen to families when t hey drive drunk or distracted. One lawmaker wants to send you away for 30 years if you kill someone while texting.

These young drivers, at the Capitol for Safe Driving Week, saw what can happen when not wearing a seatbelt.

“It was scary,” said Jacksonville Teen Driver Gretchen Bethel. “Just seeing like what not wearing one little strap can do to you.”

But the harshest message came from families who’ve lost a loved one… Gary Catronio lost his daughter Marisa when an impaired driver drove the wrong way on the Sawgrass Expressway last November.

“You knew you were in no proper state of mind or condition to drive that vehicle, but you did it,” said Gary Catronio of Marisa’s Way. “Because of that naivety that evening my daughter’s no longer with us. We only have memories.”

State Representative Irv Slosberg (D-Boca Raton) created a foundation after his daughter Dori was killed a decade ago.

“They’re punching in things on their GPS,” Slosberg said

Now Slosberg has filed a bill that would put someone behind bars for up to 30 years if they kill someone while texting and driving.”

“You shouldn’t be texting and driving,” said Slosberg, “it’s a free for all out there.”

The fraternity brothers who lost four of their own killed on I-275 in a wrong way crash, said they hope something positive comes from the deaths.”

“They’re the brothers we hang out with every day,” USF student Rah Patel. “we saw them earlier that day and then to know you’ll never see them again is just an indescribable feeling.”

Automated signs like this that flash and call 911 will go up in Miami and Orlando early this summer. A similar pilot in Texas cut wrong way crashes by a third.

Scrapping the state’s retirement system isn’t on the table, but defaulting workers into an investment plan is gaining support. Many, however, are worried change could push the current system into collapse.

Law enforcement, teachers, and other public workers came out in full force. The state workers were strongly opposed to tweaking their defined benefit retirement system.  State pension strategist Ash Williams says the 87 percent funded current system is one of the nation’s strongest because of three main reasons.

“It has to have reasonable benefits, it has to have responsible funding, and it has to have prudent investment,” said Williams.

But some lawmakers say it costs too much. They want an individual investment plan.  A Senate proposal would give new workers the option of either plan. Or default them into the investment plan after a certain amount of time. That doesn’t sit well with the AFL-CIO.

“By hook or by crook a little bit by trickery, get people into the riskier investment plan, 401k type plan as opposed to the define benefit pension plan,” said Rich Templin of Florida’s AFL-CIO.

Many workers’ main concern was that tweaking the plan would ultimately lead to the defined benefit system collapsing. Former State Senator Ron Silver and current teamsters rep Ron Silver says the math is simple.

“If you have less money coming in, that destabilizes the plan,” said Silver.

Senator Rob Bradley voted for the plan. He says that the collapse is overstated, and comparisons to a ponzi scheme are extreme.

“It’s not as dependent on new people coming in as is sometimes characterized because, as you know, the definition of a ponzi scheme is full dependent on new money that is coming in to pay the people who are already there,” said Sen. Bradley.

Supporters of the investment plan option say it could save the state $60 billion over 30 years. Last year, the Florida House passed a bill that would have closed the current plan. That proposal died in the Senate.

Florida’s minimum wage sits at $7.93 but Democrats are pushing for just over $10. Some members of the legislature are going to extremes to prove their point.

Call it the legislative version of supermarket sweep. A handful of democratic lawmakers scaled back their paychecks and tried to shop and live on a minimum wage budget.

“In a given week, someone is looking at $317 before taxes. And that’s in a 40 hour work week,” said Sen. Dwight Bullard (D-Miami).

Oscar Rivera makes minimum wage working part time for a Wendy’s in Miami. He’s trying to support his family in South Florida and in Nicaragua.

“The money I make is not enough,” he said as he joined the lawmakers for the shopping session.

Many of the minimum wage shoppers stuck to chicken, eggs, and produce.  They tried to keep their bill around $40.

“I normally get steaks. I couldn’t get that today. I normally get a gallon of milk. I couldn’t fit that in the budget today,” said Rep. Clovis Watson (D-Gainesville).

An estimated 400,000 Floridians would benefit from a pay bump, but convincing the Governor has been a tough sell. He said earlier this year, the thought of an increase made him “cringe.” His re-election campaign chair Sen. John Thrasher (R-St. Augustine) said this won’t be an issue come election time.

“We’re working on other things. We’re working on creating good jobs in the state of Florida, that semes to be working pretty well and if we create good jobs there will be good paying jobs out there,” said Thrasher.

Bill raising minimum wage have so far gone nowhere.

A plan to let Greyhound tracks offer card games and on-line betting but not dog racing hit a snag in the state legislature today. The legislation is creating a clash of cultures.

Legislation that began as a requirement to report injuries to racing greyhounds has morphed into what is being called de-coupling… Dog tracks will be able to drop racing but keep card rooms or slots.

“A racing greyhound dies in Florida every three days,” said Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Broward County). “We need better regulations.”

As State Senators announced their plan to end greyhound racing, the Senate President’s wife stroked three dogs at the event. More than four dozen unhappy dog breeders also showed up. Extra security was brought in as a precaution, but not needed. Sponsor Senator Maria Sachs (D-DelRay Beach) says racing will be optional under her plan.

“Those dog tracks that are losing money, they don’t have to continue to race,” said Sachs. “But they’ll be able to operate their business in a business-like model.”

The breeders have been fighting to stay alive for more than a decade. Florida is home to 13 tracks that still race. The breeders and trainers say it’s in their best interest to take care of their animals, they blame the tracks for injuries and deaths.

Still, racing advocates say the gaming remains popular.

“Eighty-eight million dollars was bet on live greyhound racing in this state,” said Jack Cory of the Florida Greyhound Association. “Eighty-eight million dollars.”

Track owners had hoped to offer slots and more under a major expansion of gambling that was on track for this year. but with the expansion dead, they are hoping to shed the live events which are less profitable than card rooms.

The plan to kill racing can still be voted on before lawmakers go home in early May.

The word viability could become key in when a woman can get an abortion in Florida.  Opposing groups say the legislation would create more grey area.

Florida law doesn’t allow women to get abortions after 25 weeks or the third trimester,  unless there are special medical circumstances. Now, legislation could create earlier bans.

“The reason that I feel that I’m here, the reason I feel that I was elected and the issues that I feel most excited about as we move forward and we push are issues that are pro life,” said bill sponsor Sen. Anitere Flores (R-Miami).

The bill redefines fetus viability. Supporters say medical technology can keep a fetus alive earlier on in pregnancy, but advocates opposed to the measure are wondering why the time frame needs to be scaled back at all.

Women can get a third trimester abortion if their health is being put in jeopardy by a pregnancy. But Department of Health info from 2013 shows that none of the more than 71,000 abortions last year happened after 25 weeks. That caused Senator Arthenia Joyner (D-Tampa) to vote ‘no.’

“Every year – just take away another right, just chip away to the point where women will practically not have the opportunity to have an abortion,” said Sen. Joyner.

The lack of supportive data for late term abortions doesn’t sit well with women’s groups.

“We feel very strongly on women’s choice. This is a bill that’s a solution where there isn’t a problem,” said Linda Miklowitz, a representative for the Florida National Council for Jewish Women.

The bill would require a physician to determine if a fetus is viable before any abortion. There is no set week where a fetus can become viable. It is highly unlikely it can be obtained before 20 weeks.

If the proposal passes, the majority of abortions in the state would not be affected. About 6,000 of the more than 71,000 abortions reported in 2013 occurred in the 13^th to 24^th weeks of pregnancy.

Thousands of tiny hand prints and other drawings are hanging with pride in the rotunda of the state Capitol. Today marks the first day of Kids Week in Tallahassee. The week-long event is designed to attract attention and funding for kids issues. David Lawrence of the Children’s Movement of Florida says catching problems earlier than later are most effective and less costly.

“We know the research that says a hundred children at the end of first grade are lousy readers. Eighty-eight of the 100 are still lousy readers at the end of fourth,” said David Lawrence of The Children’s Movement of Florida. “It’s a total wake-up call for you if you want to have a country that feels safe and secure and competitive you’ll get a lot better shot fixing this than you will at the fourth or the seventh or the ninth grade.”

One researcher speaking at the opening luncheon told the audience that neglected children are 80 times more likely to become problems for society when they become adults.

You can grab a beer at the grocery store but have to go elsewhere for a bottle of liquor. Some lawmakers are saying that needs to change.

It’s not on the level of Ronald Reagan and the Berlin Wall.

But a proposed repealer law looks to break down walls that the state mandates groceries to have between their stores and liquor stores.

“So if you walk into Publix, you can get wine and beer but then you gotta walk outside and go into a separate entrance for liquor,” said Rep. Greg Steube (R-Sarasota). “To me it just doesn’t make sense, it’s harder on consumers that have to go through two lines.”

Representative Greg Steube’s proposal would eliminate the separate entrance requirement currently on the books.  Former Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco Director John Harris says there’s no longer any need to separate the apple schnapps from the apple sauce.

“A law that passed immediately after prohibition, it’s been in effect for about 100 years,” said Harris now with Floridians For Fair Business Practices. “It probably was a very good law when it was made based on the model of the liquor stores. That’s changed today.”

With more than half of legislative session already gone, the bills have yet to be placed on an agenda for any committee.

Florida’s Independent Spirit Association has spoken out against the proposal. The group says that allowing liquor sales in grocery stores or Walmart increases access to minors.  Steube shrugs off the claim.

“They could walk in the liquor store right now but they still have to get carded and ID’d in order to purchase alcohol,” said Steube. “So access to minors, in my opinion, isn’t going to change at all.”

ABC Liquors has come out in opposition against the bill. Walmart is for it, saying the business model operates just fine in the other states that allow it.

Supporters say that change looks unlikely this year, but they’re hoping for a possible last minute push to get the law repealed.

Anti-smoking advocates are up in arms at the state Capitol. They are willing to let a ban on sales of e-cigarettes to minors fail because the legislation also kills 28 city and 28 county local ordinances on tobacco.

The state already regulates where you can smoke and where you can’t;  but for more than  20 years, local governments have been able to restrict where and how you buy tobacco.

Local governments have banned everything from these chocolate-flavored cigars, to the placement of e-cigarettes, to outlawing self-service vending machines.

Legislation at the state Capitol aimed at banning the sale of e-cigarettes to minors has been clearing committees, but one version also wipes out local ordinances. Anti- smoking advocates say they’d rather lose the statewide ban on e-cigarettes than the local control.

“This bill would essentially strip all the good work and ordinances that have been done by our local cities and our counties,” Brenda Olsen of the Florida Lung Association.

An amendment to kill the local ordinances, called preemption, was added by a House Committee. The advocates say it’s the work of Big Tobacco…even staging a stunt calling the move smoke and mirrors.

“E-cigarettes are not about helping people quit smoking,” FSU student Kahreem Golden. “They are a marketing tool for addicting another generation of tobacco users.”

Florida retailers, who support the statewide legislation are dumbfounded by the opposition.

“I don’t understand the concept of having the statewide ban die,” John Fleming of the Florida Retail Federation. “What we want to do is statewide, treat these the same as cigarettes are treated. Keep them from getting into the hands of underage persons”

Fourteen working days remain in the legislation session. If the standoff over a statewide preemption continues, the anti-smoking advocates are likely to get their wish… which is nothing.

The ban on e-cigarette sales to minors has already cleared the full Senate without the language stripping local governments ability to enact rules on tobacco sales.  It the preemption stays in the House version, it will be up to the Senate to decide whether to accept it.

Fallout from the sexual assault allegations into FSU’s Heisman winning quarterback is ongoing – 16 months after the alleged incident occurred.  A federal probe could land the university in some serious hot water.

In the same week Florida state’s national championship football team was honored at the Capitol.

The university is being investigated by the United State Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights. The probe stems from fallout from the Jameis Winston sexual assault investigation from last year.

The Heisman winning quarterback had no criminal charges brought against him. The feds want to know if the university violated a Title IX law. Title IX requires the institution to “promptly respond to sexual violence complaints.”

If Florida state is found to have violated the law, they could lose their federal funding.

It’s never happened before. But title IX lawyer Rick Johnson says don’t count it out.

“Oh it’s serious stuff, and the fact that federal funds have never been taken away doesn’t mean that they won’t ever be taken away, and there’s a publicity downside,” said Johnson.

FloridaState’s response was short. A spokeswoman sent an email saying “Florida state has been notified of the OCR investigation; however, due to the federal and state privacy laws the university cannot comment.”

Students on campus want the issue to be over.

“I’m just kinda tired of hearing about it for the most part. What’s done is done I feel like,” said Tyler Zimmerman.

“I thought it was over and done with. We’ll have to wait and see what happens,” added Justin Manderville.

Winston’s accuser is no longer enrolled at FSU. Title IX requires a university to investigate a sexual assault claim immediately upon firs knowledge and conclude it within 60 days. It is unclear when FSU began their investigation.

Too many home owners are taking the money and running after settling a claim for sink hole damage with the state run Citizens Insurance.  But the checks for damage may soon no longer be in the mail.

For every dollar citizens takes in for sinkhole coverage, it pays out four in damage claims. Even then, many homes are left un-repaired, sold, and sold again to unsuspecting buyers.

But not for much longer if State Representative Jake Rayburn (R-Hillsborough)

gets his way.

“We’re going to fix the sinkhole and not be left in a situation where potentially someone could get a check and then walk away from the home,” said Rayburn.

New Port Richey realtor Greg Armstrong says whole neighborhoods suffer when damage isn’t fixed.

“And today I see so many homes that are unrepaired,” said Armstrong. “It’s driving our property values down. We’re also significantly hurting people.”

The legislation allows citizens to get homeowners a list of approved contractors. They’ll have 90 days to pick one, but they won’t see a check. That’ll go right to the contractor.

Suzanne Winfield told lawmakers she didn’t know what to do when she had sinkhole damage. Friends suggested a public adjuster. By the time the fees and expenses were paid, her $160,000 settlement was down to just $70,000.

“Not enough to put anything under the ground to stabilize it barely enough to do the cosmetic repairs,” said Winfield.

Everyone agrees the legislation won’t change the four to one loss ratio for citizens, but the insurer of last resort says at least damage will get fixed.

“We tried to write checks,” said Christine Ashburn of Citizens Insurance. “It didn’t work. Homes weren’t getting repaired. We want to fix homes.”

The change would apply to claims filed after July 1.

The legislation also allows policyholders to buy lower deductible policies. Right now only a ten percent deductible is offered. If the legislation becomes law, two percent and five percent deductibles would also be offered.

Shooting at someone could land you 20 years behind bars, but legislation expanding Stand Your Ground could soon make warning shots legal.

Marissa Alexander got 20 years for firing a gun at her now ex husband. A bill waiting for the governor’s signature could change that.

“This is about self defense. This is about the right thing to do,” said Senate bill sponsor Greg Evers (R-Pensacola).

The bill allows for equal use or threatened use of force. The House sponsor says it’s not designed to allow people to take to the streets with guns blazing.

It will get some people in some serious trouble if they can’t convince a judge that they fired a shot because they felt their life was threatened,” said Rep. Neil Combee.

The bill received only 7 no votes with some of the Senators that voted ‘No’ worrying that warning shots could turn deadly.

Everybody’s going to get armed and say well I’ll have a warning shot and my feeling is that they’ll be shooting each other,” said Tampa Democratic Senator Arthenia Joyner.

The NRA says that it’s more about protecting people, and it could help Marissa Alexander, who’s currently awaiting a retrial.

“Under retrial, the prosecutor said she’s going for 60 years. That’s abuse, that’s wrong, that’s what this bill is designed to stop,” said NRA spokeswoman Marion Hammer.

Alexander wasn’t allowed to use Stand Your Ground during her trial because of current law mandating 20 years in prison if a gun is fired during a crime.

An amendment was proposed that would track successful Stand Your Ground claims, which are currently expunged if a person is found innocent. The amendment was voted down.

Local leaders and parents are sounding off on gun legislation.  They want power locally to decide gun laws, and want to put an end to some of the proposals moving through the Capitol.

School teachers could be armed, warning shots would be legal, evacuees could carry concealed weapons, and zero tolerance would be relaxed with four gun bills likely to become law this year.

“I think it prevents violence from occurring in our school campuses, ensuring that we have someone to respond to an armed intruder coming into our schools is very important,” said Rep. Greg Steube, a sponsor of the arming teachers proposal.

The bills brought Lisa Wheeler-Brown from St. Petersburg to the Capitol in memory of her son Cabretti. He was brutally gunned down.

“If we had some common sense laws or ways to prevent the felons or people who shouldn’t have weapons, yes I do, I think his life maybe would have been spared,” said Wheeler-Brown.

Wheeler-Brown joined a coalition between Moms Demand Action and Mayors Against Illegal Guns rallying at the Capitol. Arming teachers was a chief concern of the group.

“Much as you might want to believe that these young people, these children, do not know that you’re carrying a weapon, I promise you some of them will know,” said Mom Chryl Anderson.

Steube says the group can’t have it both ways.

“We shouldn’t have any other guns in our schools but we want more school resource officers, well all school resource officers carry guns. So that comment really doesn’t make any sense,” he said.

2^nd amendment supporters stood in silent protest of the Moms and Mayors. The group’s plea for gun sense are likely to fall on deaf ears with the four high profile gun bills on the fast track in both chambers.