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A group of minimum wage workers called on state lawmakers to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour this morning at the state Capitol.

The group estimates more than 3 million Floridians would be impacted by the wage increase.

State Senator Victor Torres says that translates to increased economic activity.

“We know if we workers earn a fair wage they rely on less government funded programs and can afford to spend more money on local business,” said Torres.

Opponents of raising the minimum wage argue it could would result in companies offering fewer positions to cut costs.

Florida is the deadliest state for motorcycle riders.

In 2017 alone, 515 bikers were killed in accidents across the state.

The motorcycle community was at the state Capitol Monday, calling for more safety programs and stiffer penalties for those who hit bikers.

As more than 100 bikers approached the Capitol, the silence in the court yard was replaced by screaming engines.

Then the tolling of bells, as the names of bikers killed in the last year were read aloud.

Yvonne Waldron’s son was among the names called.

“The man who killed him only got a $70 ticket,” said Waldron.

Bikers with ABATE Florida, come each year for the ceremony and to bring their message to lawmakers.

Stiffer penalties for those who hit and kill bikers has been a Legislative ask for years, but the bill has never gotten a hearing.

“They need to lose their license,” said Waldron. “It needs to be more punishment than just take your ticket and go on your happy way.”

In addition to stiffer penalties, also bikers want more money for motorcycle safety campaigns.

A tax collected on motorcycle registrations is supposed to be spent on safety programs, but ABATE President Doc Reichenbach says last year, the state spent only $400,000 out of the $1.5 million in the trust fund on safety.

“The money that’s ours, that went into the trust fund designated only for motorcycles is now being used for anything they want. If they want to have a donut party, they can use our money,” said Reichenbach.

ABATE Florida says a lawsuit could be on the horizon if lawmakers don’t fully fund motorcycle safety programs for 2019.

Some bikers at the rally also expressed support for Legislation making its way through the House and Senate this year, that would make distracted driving a primary offense.

Florida Democrats continue to push for tax breaks for working people, arguing the poor need a break more than rich Floridians.

Their idea to give a tax rebate based on the amount people receive in the Federal Earned Income Credit has fallen on deaf ears from the Republican leadership.

Sarah Harness grew up poor and says the income tax return her family go fed them for the summer.

“Whenever we got a tax rebate, that would be how we paid for the things we needed. There was times when we would not have any food in the house until the taxes came around. And we would spend six or seven hundred dollars on the cheapest, most unhealthy food so we could make it through summer. This is the reality for many Americans, and its absolutely upsetting,” said Harness.

29 other states have some form of tax rebates for the poor.

Under Flordia Democrats’ plan, individuals would receive an amount equal to ten percent of their federal tax credit.

Six months after Hurricane Michael, hospitals in rural parts of the panhandle are still struggling to stay open, but a proposed one point two million dollar cut to the rural panhandle hospitals budgets are adding insult to injury.

Hurricane Michael closed all but the emergency room at this 25 bed hospital in rural Calhoun county. Ester Stoltzfus is the hospital’s Quality risk manager. She pointed to a closed off portion of the hospital.

“So much damage, that is permanently closed off she told us.”

Electricians were at work here Friday, and sandbags still hold down the buildings temporary roof. Instead of 25 beds right now, only ten are usable.

“We feel like we’ve been forgotten” says Mark Plummer, the Hospital’s Board Chairman.

“We’ve been lost in the shuffle” says board member Tim Revell. 

Now, this and other hospitals are facing a double whammy, a proposed three percent cut in Medicaid reimbursements. 

Monica Corbett of the Florida Hospital Association says the cuts will hurt those who need help the most. “Those are funds that are used to care for people who are low income, disabled, the elderly, children” Corbett told us. 

The cuts could be the difference of this and other rural hospitals staying open or closing their doors.

“You know, our income has been reduced. We’re having to borrow money to keep operations going. And if they cut us even more, it’s just going to cripple us more than we are even now” Board Chair Plummer told us.

Unable to accept more than 10 patients, the overflow is being forced into bigger city hospitals, which face the same cuts.

“We’re sending them to Marianna, Tallahassee, Panama City” says Board member Revell.

The Hospital association is pushing back, running television and digital ads with the theme “cuts don’t heal” and using sound bites from the states political leaders, including the Speaker of the House. 

“I’ve seen the devastation. It’s obviously very important to all members in the chamber” says House Speaker Jose Oliva in the spot. 

And despite promises that the hurricane torn part of the state won’t be forgotten, that’s what many people here believe has happened.

A new discovery at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna has found evidence of 27 previously unknown graves, that may belong to former students.

The Governor has been made aware of the find and has offered to work with local officials going forward.

The Dozier School for Boys in Mariana Florida has a dark, hundred year history of suspected physical and sexual abuse of students.

Art Kimbrough has been intimately involved in the Dozier story.

“I was around both sides. I call it the entire spectrum of emotions as it related to it,” said Kimbrough, who formerly served as the CEO of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

The remains of more than 50 young boys who attended the school were unearthed in 2015, prompting the Legislature to issue a formal apology, but new findings suggest the Dozier grounds may still contain secrets.

“Wow, I think was my first comment,” said Kimbrough. “This is heavy.”

A recent ground penetrating radar scan of the school grounds has identified as many as 27 potential grave sites that have yet to be exhumed.

“We thought that all the graves had been identified,” said Senator Darryl Rouson, who sponsored the Senate’s apology in 2017. “Obviously they haven’t.”

The 27 suspected graves were discovered during a pollution clean up on the Dozier property in late March.

They’re located less than 200 years away from an area known as Boot Hill, where seven former students and staff members were reburied earlier this year.

The Governor has acknowledged the findings and offered support to county officials moving forward.

“I don’t know if we’ll ever quite put this behind us, but I do know the state is in a posture to do what we need to do in order to rectify or try to clean up this situation,” said Representative Tracie Davis, who sponsored the House’s Dozier apology.

It was only three weeks ago the final remains from the 2015 excavation were reinterred in a Tallahassee cemetery.

This report is the first evidence that supports former Dozier students’ assertions that more bodies are yet to be discovered.

However, Kimbrough says there’s still research that needs to be conducted to confirm the suspected graves.

“They’re going to have to exhume them. They’re going to have to anthropologically examine everything that’s happened,” said Kimbrough.

It’s not clear what the path forward will look like, former students of Dozier hope the discovery will result in a full excavation of the school grounds.

Florida lawmakers and representatives from Water management Districts throughout the state gathered at the state capitol this morning to designate April as Springs Protection Month.

Speakers highlighted the importance of Florida’s spring system, which provides drinking water for about 90% of the state’s population.

Rep. Charles Clemons says continued efforts to protect the springs are imperative.

“We have had an evolution of the degradation of the springs and through the leadership of previous Legislators and the funding previous appropriators we have brought hundreds of millions of dollars to help identify and rectify some of these things,” said Clemons.

This year Governor Ron DeSantis requested $50 million for springs restoration in his proposed budget.

17 people die each day in the state of Florida as a result of the opioid crisis, but a new bill aims to save lives by incentivizing people to report overdoses when they occur.

In Florida a person who reports a drug overdose can be shielded from prosecution for drug possession, but Senator Jeff Brandes says those protections don’t go far enough and aren’t extended to people who self report overdoses.

“Everyone hears these horror stories and it’s you know one of the things you constantly hear when you talk to these groups after the fact, is I was afraid of getting prosecuted,” said Brandes.

Without debate, legislation sponsored by Brandes that would expand the list of immunities to include drug trafficking, possession with intent to sell and first degree murder for those who report cleared its final Senate committee.

“If you’re ever in doubt you should call, and that’s what we think this bill will do, is incentivize people to make the right decision,” said Brandes.

The bill also creates protections for underaged drinkers who report suspected alcohol poisoning.

It comes as a response to the death of an FSU Fraternity pledge who died died from alcohol poisoning after his friends hesitated to call for help.

“They’re afraid that they’re going to get in trouble,” said Brandes. “You’re not going to get in trouble if you do the right thing and you act in good faith.”

Attorney General Ashley Moody, says she supports efforts to increase reporting.

“Any legislation that is designed to help save lives I am a proponent for,” said Moody.

However, she hasn’t taken a formal stance on the bill.

“As you know, laws during the Legislative session change at a moments notice, so we’re keeping tabs on it,” said Moody.

While the bill is ready for a floor vote in both chambers, the House bill doesn’t go nearly as far as the Senate’s.

It only includes protections for self reporting and underaged drinkers.

Senator Brandes has pushed similar legislation in year’s past, but he says this year he’s confident at least some expansion of the Good Samaritan law will pass.

A group representing more than 7 million Florida homeowners is fighting against the Legislature’s effort to preempt local governments from regulating short term vacation rentals.

Concerned homeowners shared stories of negative experiences they’ve had living near short term rental homes.

The message they’re sending to lawmakers: let local governments decide what works best for their communities.

“A recent poll of voters shows that more than seven out of ten voters think local governments and communities should set up their own rules for vacation rentals. This legislation does not reflect the voice of those voters, the voice of Florida’s citizens,” said Ernie Bach with the group, Florida Silver Haired Legislature.

The bill cleared its final House committee Wednesday morning, but was temporarily postponed in what was supposed to be its first Senate committee stop.

Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson is responding to accusations of anti-semitism after she voted against a bill that aimed to increase discrimination protections against jewish students in the state.

Gibson called the legislation decisive in its last committee hearing, but after facing criticism from some in her own party has walked back those statements, saying she misunderstood the bill initially.

“It was never my intent to insult in any way the Jewish community or my Jewish colleagues, and I am making sure that message gets out today. I am not that person that insults anyone, I am a champion for all people, all races, and all religions,” said Gibson.

Gibson says she intends to vote up on the bill as it moves forward.

Florida voters will likely have the opportunity to abolish the Constitution Revision Commission in 2020.

After clearing its final Senate committee Wednesday morning, a joint resolution that would put the question on the 2020 ballot is now slated for a final vote in both chambers.

Lawmakers say the last CRC abused its power by putting constitutional amendments on the ballot that should have been dealt with by the Legislature.

Senator Tom Lee served on the commission.

He was the only no vote on the proposal, arguing the CRC could still be fixed.
“Reduce the scope and roll the CRC to only deal with structural elements of government that are core functions already imbedded in the constitution, instead of trying to draft statutes and tighten up its role. But I think abandoning and abolishing the CRC is kind of knee-jerk and an overreaction,” said Lee.

A competing resolution moving this year would give voters the option of limiting the CRC to a single subject rule, the same as citizen’s initiatives and amendment put on the ballot by the Legislature.

As part of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody honored 9 for their efforts to help crime victims at the state Capitol Wednesday morning.

Those honored included victims rights advocates and law enforcement who have gone above and beyond to help survivors of sexual assaults, human trafficking and senior fraud.

“As we honor those men and women that selflessly do this job and often don’t get paid a lot of money to do it, but their work is nonetheless important. And in this day and age we must continuously remind them that victims need them,” said Moody.

The State Capitol will be lit purple starting Thursday night for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.

Medical Marijuana patients in the state can now smoke their medicine, but a new bill would put restrictions on the strength of the medicine.

Representative Ray Rodrigues is sponsoring legislation that would limit the THC concentration for whole flower medical marijuana to 10%.

He points to research that has linked high potency flower to an increased risk of psychosis.

“Daily smoking of high THC cannabis made the user five times more likely to experience psychosis for the first time than a non user,” said Rodriguez, citing a study published by the Lancet in March.

But Rep Carlos Guillermo Smith says the study Rodrigues cites, is misleading.

“Many of those participants already had incidents of psychosis,” said Smith.

For nearly 2 hours, patients and advocates testified in opposition in the bill’s final committee meeting in the House.

Advocates say limiting THC in smokable cannabis will force patients back on to the black market, where higher potency product is readily available.

“The high THC products that are on the market currently are working well for me,” said Tanya Bailey with Vets for Buds.

At times emotions boiled over

“I will not be able to work. I will not be able to live a proper day,” said medical marijuana patient William Philips.

Two speakers were nearly removed from the hearing.

Regardless, the bill passed with a vote down party lines.

Rodrigues is brushing off the criticism, arguing opponents need to bring more than emotional testimony to the debate.

“I come back to where I’ve been the entire time, bring the science and I’m going to follow the science,” said Rodrigues.

The bill has not been filed in the Senate.

Rodrigues also says he has not heard the Governor weigh in on the proposed potency caps.

In addition to the THC caps on smokable, the bill also limits doses for edibles to 10 milligrams of THC and would waive the $75 dollar medical marijuana card fee for veterans.

A bill that requests more than $300 million for hurricane Michael recovery cleared a Senate committee this morning.

Along with the funding the legislation would establish a Hurricane Michael Recovery Task Force, which would make recommendations for how to best allocate relief efforts.

Those recommendations could also inform how future recoveries could best be managed.

Sponsor Senator Bill Montford says his bill is only one piece of the puzzle, adding Congress needs to pass a relief bill as well.

“Clearly, clearly, what would help solve this problem is for Washington to make a decision. If Washington, if congress would get back in and do their job, and pass the relief bill, we can move forward and start restoring what we need to do in this area, but clearly the problem is with Washington, not the state of Florida,” said Montford.

Montford says there will likely be changes to the overall spending request as the bill moves forward, to ensure it aligns with the State Budget.

The Florida Capitol was decorated with garnet and gold today as faculty, students and alumni from Florida State University celebrated FSU Day.

FSU President John Thrasher say the annual event gives FSU an opportunity to show off its achievements to lawmakers and advocate for legislation that will help the university continue its success.

“Well academically we are the 26th best public university in America right now, we have the best 4-year graduation rate. Those are things that the Legislature has helped us with by supporting those student success initiatives and we are simply asking them to keep that foot on the pedal so that we can do some more and we continue to rise,” said Thrasher.

Thrasher says some of the universities top asks for lawmakers is more funding for construction and building maintenance.

Legislation that aims to crack down on human trafficking in the state cleared a House committee this morning.

The Legislation would mandate hospitality staff and law enforcement be trained to identify and report suspected trafficking incidents.

In 2018 there were 367 reported cases of human trafficking in Florida.

It’s the third highest in the nation.

Sponsor Representative Heather Fitzenhagen says the bill aims to make a dent in the illicit industry that is often considered modern day slavery.

“The arrest of high profile community members throughout Florida recently, allegedly engaging in sex acts with human trafficking victims just underscores the pervasiveness of this grotesque crime. Victims of this crime are someone’s daughter, someone’s sister. They could be your daughter or your sister,” said Fitzenhagen.

The Senate version of the bill has some key differences from the House, including a provision that would establish a human trafficking data base for those who solicit or facilitate human trafficking.

The House stripped registry out in an earlier committee meeting.