Welcome to

If the Governor agrees with lawmakers, hemp will soon be legal in Florida.

It has been in a gray area of the law since hemp was legalized at the Federal level, and the legalization could bring billions to the state economy.

So strong is hemp’s promise, it passed both the House and Senate unanimously.

“This is a lifeline. This an emerging agricultural product that can make all the difference,” said Senate Sponsor Rob Bradley.

Hemp is a cousin to marijuana and was banned 70 years ago, despite having no psychoactive effect.

House Sponsor Dr. Ralph Massullo calls legislation legalizing hemp, ‘A game changer’.

“For CBD and the industrial applications for our state. It will help our farmers, our children get more jobs,” said Massullo.

“I believe CBD alone is a $22 billion industry and the hemp plant is probably a $100 to $200 billion industry,” said Jeff Greene with the Florida Hemp and Retail Trade Association.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried calls hemp’s potential nearly limitless.

“I think this is historic for the state of Florida. And I absolutely believe is is something that will revolutionize agriculture,” said Fried. “We’ve never seen an excitement for a new kind of profit commodity that we have for hemp.”

Without this legislation, products using hemp or CBD likely would have been pulled from the market.

The legislation removes hemp from what has been a legally grey area, and opens the door for standardized inspection of products on the shelf.

“My biggest priority is making sure the consumer is protected, and a lot of the products on the shelf, I mean, none of them are regulated,” said Fried. “And a lot of them have other things in there that are harmful to consumers. One, there is no CBD in it, two, some have TCH.”

Now, hemp’s future is in the Governor’s hands.

Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the legislation.

Felons will have to pay fines, fees and restitution ordered by a judge before they can have their voting rights restored under legislation now headed to the Governor’s desk.

The bill is less restrictive than originally proposed, but Amendment 4 supporters say it still has too many pitfalls for failure.

The bill provides that felons can petition a court to waive fines and fees, or convert them to community service hours.

“We do believe in restoration, we do believe in second chances. We also believe in debts being paid,” said House Sponsor Rep. James Grant. “I think the product that you’re seeing has been an effort to reconcile those two things and make sure that when somebody has paid their debt to society they are able to return to vote.”

But democrats like Senator Oscar Braynon say putting a financial obligation on voting rights restoration wasn’t the intent of voters and creates an unequal system.

“People who have money will get the right to vote and people who don’t will not get the right to vote,” said Braynon. “You end up getting I’m going to say unintended consequences. “

Under a criminal justice reform bill also sent to the Governor’s desk Friday, all those released from prison going forward will be given a checklist outlining everything they need to do in order to fully complete their sentence.

Sponsor Rep. Paul Renner says it will help felons understand where they stand with regard to Amendment 4.

“Someone that finishes a 20-year sentence literally does not have anything on their iPhone or on a piece of paper that says my debt is paid to society. We want to get to that point,” said Renner.

As part of the Amendment 4 bill, any felon who improperly registered to vote between January 8th and the effective date of the bill on July 1st would be immune from prosecution.

Even with attempts to find middle ground, lawsuits are almost guaranteed.

Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody is playing it safe, choosing not to answer any questions regarding Amendment 4.

“Our office will likely be involved in spearheading defense of whatever litigation ends up coming out,” said Moody.

Lawmakers say they don’t anticipate this legislation will be the end of the Amendment 4 debate.

They say streamlining the registration and notification process are issues likely to be revisited next year.

Legislation designed to crack down on massage parlors offering sex bounced back and forth between the House and Senate Friday.

Both chambers agree on measures revoking a massage parlors license if they are caught engaging in prostitution.

It requires posters urging people to call if they suspect human trafficking.

The Senate version also includes a public prostitution database, which sponsor Lauren Book calls important.

“It is the fastest growing crime in the world, and it will outpace drug trafficking soon. Its reported to be a 32 billion dollar industry. And I just want to cover one other point. A 2011 study that interviewed hundreds of sex buyers,” said Book. “I was asked, what would deter you from buying sex, and the highest deterrent, an 89 percent was a public database.”

The House removed the database early on in the committee process, citing privacy concerns.

Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody scored a major victory Friday in the state’s lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.

The Legislature has sent a bill to the Governor that would allow her office access to information in the prescription drug monitoring data base as tool to show that the drugs have been overprescribed in the state.

Privacy concerns threatened the legislation early on, but Moody says the proper safeguards are in place.

“I believe one of the experts said we have a greater likelihood of being struck by a meteor than we did being able to identify a patient,” said Moody. “We’ve also build in safeguards in terms of seeking protective orders and orders by the court and then destroying the information after we’ve used it.”

Under the bill the Attorney General will be able to access the age and zip code of patients along with the amount of medication the were prescribed.

The authority to access the database will also sunset after two years.

The first criminal justice reform in more than two decades is on its way to the Governor.

It raises the felony theft threshold to $750 over a thirty day period, from $300.

“At least when it comes to the felony theft threshold, that has not been updated since 1984. We think that’s a meaningful piece, the other meaningful piece is that the third suspended drivers license offense, moving that from a felony to a misdemeanor. It’s incredible important,” said Senate Sponsor Jeff Brandes. “Probably one of the most common felonies a poor person gets. They don’t have the means to pay for fines and fees, and they’ll get caught driving to work on suspended drivers licenses, and that generally wraps them into the system and things snowball from there.”

In lieu of reducing mandatory prison terms, the legislation creates a task force to study sentencing and best practices with a report due before the next legislative session.

Both Democrats and Republicans are celebrating the Florida Legislature’s proposed 2019 budget.

Highlights of the $91.1 billion budget include a $243 bump in per student funding for schools, $680 million for the environment, and $220 million for hurricane recovery.

Republicans touted the ability for the state to increase spending, while still cutting taxes.

”With this organically growing budget we’ve been able to put more money into infrastructure, education, healthcare. The needs of our constituents,” said Rep. Dane Eagle.

Democrats, while unhappy with some aspects of the budget, were positive overall during debate in the House Friday.

“I stand in good faith and I choose to look at this particular budget not as half empty, but as half full,” said Rep. Ramon Alexander.

Lawmakers will return to the Capitol Saturday to take a final vote on the 2019 budget, bringing this year’s legislative session to an end.

With firefighters by his side, Governor Rob DeSantis has signed legislation providing greater benefits for firefighters who get cancer on the job.

The legislation provides a one time $25,000 cash payment to cover out of pocket expenses and provides options to use less leave time while being treated.

Sponsor Senator Anitere Flores calls it long overdue.

“There’s a series of protections in there just to really make sure that when a firefighter and his or her family are in this terrible time of need, they know that their employers are going to be there for them,” said Flores. “That they don’t have to be worried about missing work, or missing a paycheck, or not having the cash to meet their financial obligations.

The Florida League of Cities opposed the legislation fo more than a decade.

They had urged the Governor to veto the bill.

Legislation to require financial literacy be taught in all high schools is on it’s way to the Governor.

It ends a six year struggle for a a State Senator who didn’t live to see the bills passage.

The fight to require financial literacy education in Florida schools championed by Senator Dorothy Hukill.

“They’re going to be faced with these issues immediately,” said Hukill in 2014. “You know, how do I sign a lease? What does it mean?”

Senator Hukill passed away in 2018.

She never got to see her legislation, which would have would mandated the courses be taught in high schools become a reality.

But her colleague Senator Travis Hutson didn’t give up.

“We have one angel looking over us, who would like us to vote for this bill. So lets do it for Dorothy,” said Hutson addressing the Senate Chamber Thursday.

The bill carrying the language Hukill pushed for year’s passed in a 40-0 vote.

“Senator Hukill is looking down smiling, and she loves that 40-0,” said Senate President Bill Galvano.

Only a few hors later the Florida House also voted unanimously to approve the bill.

The legislation will require every high school offer a half credit financial literacy course starting in the 2019 school year.

“People are getting some serious life lessons as they take on debt,” said Hutson. “This is going to put that in their hands at an early age and hopefully they’ll make some better long term decisions.”

The bill goes beyond financial literacy.

It also sets a goal for the state to get 60% of working age adults educated beyond a high school level by 2030.

Part of that initiative creates an alternative 18 credit hour pathway to high school graduation focusing on vocational and technical training.

Hutson says it’s a win win.

“There’s a lot of things in there that’s just a big win for the curriculum,” said Hutson. “She was a dear friend and happy to get it done for her in her honor.”

The Legislation now heads to the Governor, to sign the bill into law.

The Florida Commissioner of Education and Florida Chief Financial Officer will work hand in hand to develop the curriculum for the financial literacy course.

Controversy continues to surround attempts to pass a bill banning sanctuary cities in Florida.

It has resulted in at one protester being arrested, and another given a trespass warning.

During the Sanctuary Cities debate late Wednesday, at least one protester was arrested and another given a trespass warning when they disrupted debate in the House.

Thursday began with what appeared to be an agreement between the House and Senate sponsors.

“Florida is going to be a state that respects the rule of law and if you are going to commit crimes in our state, we’re going to be serious about punishing you,” said House Sponsor Representative Cord Byrd.

“What we don’t have is the punitive damages in terms of fines on both the elected officials and the municipalities themselves,” said Senate Sponsor Joe Gruters.

But shortly after lunch, Gruters interrupted the Governor at the National Day of Prayer ceremony.

The two met behind closed doors before moving to the Governor’s Office.

The issue is a top priority for the Governor

A short time later, the Senate brought the bill up.

Democrats in the Senate offered more than 50 amendments.

One by one, they were shot down.

At the center of the dispute was whether the Department of Children and Families would be required to report someone to the Federal Government.

An exemption had been added to the Senate bill by Democrats while many Republicans were out of the room previously, but an exemption for DCF was a deal breaker for the House.

“We were not in the law going to create a Sanctuary agency,” said Byrd. “That would completely subvert the policy we were trying to accomplish.”

While the Senate approved the legislation Thursday, the bill still has to go back to the House, where anything could happen.

If the House approves of changes made by the Senate, the next stop is the Governor’s desk.

Under the compromise, local officials who violate the law could be suspended by the Governor.

Attorney General Ashley Moody is about to win a major legislative victory.

She had initially been thwarted in her efforts to gain access to the Opioid Prescription Database because of privacy concerns, but those concerns have apparently been satisfied.

She wants the data to help her prove drug makers and some pharmacies colluded to drive up sales.

“The database was created to insure that opioid drugs, which are highly addictive, we’re not being recklessly distributed. It will assist our office in showing that that was done in many instances, and it will help prove our case that we’ve alleged against certain manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies, certain pharmacies,” said Moody.

The bill that would allow access to the data is up for a final vote in the Senate scheduled for Friday.

Governor Ron DeSantis was the keynote speaker at Thursday’s 68th annual National Day of Prayer at the State Capitol.

He told those praying that despite a separation of church and state, out nation was very much founded on the principle of a belief in God.

The biggest part of the revolution our country was the idea that our rights are God given. Not given given by government but we have natural inalienable rights life liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and really from the beginning of our country to the present, you know all the great Triumphs in our history have recognized that principle,” said DeSantis.

The Governor will lead a trade mission to Israel later this month.

The Florida League of Cities is calling on the Governor to veto a bill that would require local governments provide cancer benefits to firefighters.

State Fire Marshal and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis joined a coalition of lawmakers Thursday morning condemning the League of Cities for its stance on the issue.

He’s asking individual cities to break with the League’s position and show their commitment to protecting firefighters.

“My question to them is okay why do we need to question providing a cancer benefit for somebody who is sacrificing their life 24/7, 365 for your family? So i think they’re pretty selfish in their efforts and their messaging,” said Patronis.

Patronis says he anticipates Governor Ron DeSantis will sign the bill, despite concerns from cities.

The Florida legislature is expect to pass a massive criminal justice reform package before session ends.

The bill would raise the threshold for felony theft from $300 to $750.

It also reduces the penalty for a third offense of driving with a suspended license from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Under the bill prisoners will also be able to participate in job training that will carry with them once they are released.

Sponsor, Senator Jeff Brandes says this bill is the first step towards more comprehensive criminal justice reform.

“We’re really focused on making sure that Florida has the best criminal justice system in the United States. It doesn’t today. My goal is after the next few years it will,” said Brandes.

Brandes had hoped to include more discretion for judges to divert from some mandatory minimum sentences and allow for certain prisoners to earn additional gain time.

He says those are issues that will be revisited next year.

Florida lawmakers have voted to allow school boards to arm classroom teachers.

25 counties already allow school employees to carry a concealed weapon, and nothing in the legislation mandates teachers carrying guns.

The legislation enacts dozens of recommendations from the task force set up after the Parkland school shooting.

Yet the nearly three hour House debate focused on almost exclusively on one topic.

“Arming teachers with a gun is not the tool they need to educate our children,” said Rep. Susan Valdez.

Democrats railed against what they called limited training.

“Why do we believe a teacher with minimal weapons training, who’s never had to use their weapon, has the ability and marksmanship to take down an armed assailant armed with a semi-automatic rifle,” said Rep. Adam Hattersley.

But Republicans shot back, pointing to the failure of the Parkland resource officer to engage the shooter

“You could make a very credible argument that Deputy Peterson was the most highly trained SRO in the state of Florida,” said Rep. Spencer Roach.

Democrats pointed out that a deputy accidentally discharged his weapon in a Pasco school when they debated the bill Tuesday.

“I’ve misfired a weapon myself,” said Rep. Matt Wilhite. “I didn’t mean to to that members. Mistakes happen.”

A 25 year law enforcement veteran called it the best deterrent available.

“This bill is the ultimate school hardening law. It allows the good guy to stop the bad. It allows the good guys to defend themselves and our children,” said Rep. Chuck Brannan, III. “The bad guy will never know when the good guy will be there to shoot back, and remember the main thing. It’s going to be the deterrent effect.”

Democrats say unlike last year when there was compromise, this bill was forced upon them.

Five Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the legislation.

The legislation now goes to the Governor, who is expected to sign it.

The Florida Legislature has opted to give Florida schools a big funding boost in the 2019 budget that now awaits Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature.

It revamps the state’s best and brightest teacher bonus programs, by removing the requirement SAT and ACT scores be factored into eligibility.

“This is more bonuses than ever,” said DeSantis.

$300 million for the bonus program is $100 million less than DeSantis asked for initially, but he says coupled with increased flexible funds it can make a notable impact on teacher pay.

“You have an opportunity to see some significant compensation increases for teachers, which I think we have to do. We’re in the bottom third,” said DeSantis. “We’ve got to do better than that.”

DeSantis also says he intends to revisit teacher salaries and benefits next year to address the growing teacher shortage in the state.

2019 will also see an increase in per-student of just over a $240.

Education advocates call it a small step in the right direction.

“We ultimately would like to see more money going into the base, but this is certainly a lot better than what the House was saying and is certainly a lot better than we’ve seen in four years,” said Florida Education Association Vice President, Andrew Spar.

The bill also includes $130 million that would be used to pay for private school vouchers for 18,000 additional students.

The voucher program passed this year is similar to one passed under Governor Jeb Bush.

That program was successfully challenged in the courts.

And traditional public school advocates say another suit could be on the horizon.

“It goes down a very dangerous slope towards destroying the uniform system of public education and certainly gives tax dollars to private institutions,” said Spar.

However, a newly conservative leaning State Supreme Court may be more inclined to side with school choice advocates this time around.