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The death of a child in Brevard county has sparked legislation aimed at increasing pedestrian safety.

The bill targets yellow flashing pedestrian crossing signals that lawmakers argue create a false sense of security.

Just before Christmas, 12-year-old Sophia Nelson was crossing an intersection when tragedy struck.

A car blew through the flashing yellow pedestrian crossing signal, hitting Sophia.

She passed away on Christmas Day.

“She put trust in that button when she pushed it and she put trust in the yellow lights,” said Mark Nelson, Sophia’s father during a House Committee Thursday.

Sophia’s parents shared her story with lawmakers, putting a face on the bill named in her memory.

It would outlaw the use of the yellow flashing signals in most cases.

The bill would allow the yellow flashing signals to stay under certain conditions, as long as the road is only two lanes and the speed limit is 35 miles per hour or less.

All other signals would have to be removed or replaced with red flashing lights.

“Either we will put in devices that actually work or we will remove them so pedestrians actually know you’re going into a dangerous intersection, don’t rely on some flashing yellow light to make sure you’re safe,” said House sponsor Representative Randy Fine.

Sophia’s family said her organs were donated and used to save four lives.

Now they hope the bill carrying her name can save even more.

“We feel that those crosswalks are unsafe and they give a false sense of security. And we want to honor our daughter and her legacy and try to save other people from ever going through what we’ve had to go through,” said Sophia’s mother Jill Nelson.

The switch to red flashing lights will require federal approval, but federal approval or not, all the yellow flashing lights will still have to be removed within four years.

The Sophia Nelson Pedestrian Safety Act still needs to pass one more Senate committee and clear floor votes in both chambers.

If signed into law, the Federal Government would have one year to approve the use of red flashing pedestrian crossing signals.

Local governments could loose what little control they have over short term vacation rentals like AirBnB under a bill passed through its final House Committee Thursday.

Homeowners who’ve had bad experiences living next to the rentals worry the state won’t be able to address their individual concerns.

Heat maps show the widespread popularity of short term rentals like AirBNB.

One of the dots represents an AirBNB in Tallahassee, which Jean Hulse said has turned her once quite neighborhood into a nightmare.

“She’s renting the entire house for bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, weddings, legislative events. It’s an event planning business,” said Hulse.

Hulse brought her story to lawmakers, as they considered legislation that would strip away the last tools local governments have to regulate short term rentals: the authority to license and inspect the properties.

“The bill in front of you today, if approved, up heads my ability to turn to my local government for help,” said Hulse.

The authority to license and inspect short term rentals would be placed under the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation if the bill becomes law.

Local governments could also still regulate short term rentals to some degree, as long as any ordinance they pass applies to all homes the same, short term rental or not.

“They still have the ability to pass ‘Good Neighbor’ ordinances and so if there’s an issue with noise or there’s an issue with parking or things like that local governments are still able to address those issues,” said bill sponsor Representative Jason Fischer. “What we did do was preempt the regulation of the platforms and the vacation rentals themselves, the licensing of it, that was preempted to the state level and that way it’s clear and consistent for everybody anywhere that they go in the state of Florida.”

But Hulse argued further preempting local control over short term rentals evaporates any remaining hope for a resolution in her situation.

“Nobody wants to live next to an AirBNB. So my option to sell my home, I don’t even think is there anymore. So we’re kind of stuck,” said Hulse.

Any ordinances regulating short term rentals passed before 2011 won’t be affected by the legislation.

Beginning July first, pregnant teens will need their parents permission for an abortion in Florida under legislation likely headed to the Governor Thursday.

But the battle is far from over.

In 1989, a pregnant 15 year old known as TW in court documents was afraid of emotional and physical abuse if she asked for her parents consent for an abortion.

Her case made it to the state Supreme Court.

It ruled the consent requirement violated her right to privacy.

“This legislation’s already been found unconstitutional,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell.

Now that case is being cited as a reason not pass pass the consent notification over 30 years later.

“Let’s not take these poor frightened girls and make their lives hell,” said Rep. Joe Geller.

But sponsor Rep. Erin Grall said it is a new day in Florida.

“My only goal is that parents are involved with minors seeking to have an abortion. That’s the conversation we’ve been having, We’ve been keeping it on that level. Whether or not it goes to the courts is out of my hands,” said Grall.

Even the Governor asked for it in his state of the state.

Florida still has a the same privacy guarantee it did in 1989.

What’s different, is a conservative court which recently reversed a three year old ruling on death cases, calling it wrong.

Hours before the vote, the Governor acknowledged a challenge was imminent.

“So this I really view this as an outlier and I really do believe it needs to be reconsidered,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Advocates worry that if Roe V Wade is overturned at the federal level, this legislation will end up weakening abortion rights for all women.

“The intention of is to strip away our right to privacy in the state that protects abortion access,” said Laura Hernandez with the Planned Parenthood Foundation.

The open question, will the courts block the bill while it is being challenged?

The House Chamber erupted in applause Thursday afternoon after all 117 members present voted to strip the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence of its designation as the state’s only conduit of state money to local domestic violence centers.

Sponsor Juan Fernandez-Barquin of Miami said the change was necessary to protect taxpayers from the former CEO’s $761,000 annual salary.

“What’s happened with the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence shocks the conscience. Tax payer money being diverted for personal gain. This issue has kept me up at night because it’s not our money. This is the state’s money given to us and trusted to us by tax payers,” said Fernandez-Barquin.

On Monday, 13 former employees or board members have been subpoenaed by lawmakers to testify behind closed doors about the operations at the domestic violence coalition.

Twelve-year-old Sophia Nelson was crossing A1A in Satellite Beach with her father and siblings just before Christmas after she pushed a button to activate flashing yellow safety lights.

A driver didn’t stop, hitting Sophia and causing brain trauma.

Sophia died Christmas day and now legislation to replace those flashing yellow lights with a constant red light has cleared the House State Affairs cCmmittee in the Capitol with her mother Jill and father Mark watching.

“So she started walking and she just put her trust in that button and she put her trust in those yellow flashing lights and she put her trust in that driver to see her and to stop in time. She was just out of my reach and when I realized the car wasn’t going to slow down, as a father you can’t help but… I was her protector and I just don’t want to ever see that happen again,” said Mark Nelson.

The legislation, called the Sophia Nelson Pedestrian Safety Act, mandates communities that don’t want to replace the flashing yellow lights with the constant red light, must remove the yellow lights because they offer a false sense of security.

Survivors of crime from across the state unveiled their legislative agenda Wednesday.

All week they’ve been meeting with lawmakers and even rap artist T-Pain.

T-Pain, ’T’ standing for Tallahassee, knows all too well the suffering caused by violent crime.

“In 2017 with my niece being murdered in Tallahassee, you know and there not really being anything in place for any reconciliation or anything like that,” said T-Pain.

Speaking with survivors, the artist is supporting their push for reforms in Florida.

“Being that there’s no momentum in the past, any pace and any step forward is progress,” said T-Pain.

But the group’s main audience is the Florida Legislature.

“We as crime survivors know where the gaps are and what can help us and our communities. We just need to be heard,” said Aswad Thomas with Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice.

Joined by former NFL Player Stedman Bailey, whose career was cut short when he fell victim to gun violence in South Florida, survivors unveiled their 2020 agenda.

It includes housing and employment protections for crime victims.

“Many victims and witnesses to crimes struggle with safety in their homes in their community,” said crime survivor Dr. Ladonna Butler.

They also are supporting legislation that would give certain prisoners the ability to earn more time off their sentence for good behavior.

Jo-Lee Manning’s daughter was killed in a hit and run involving a woman who had been arrested ten previous times.

“I’d be willing for her to get out of jail now if she could be a productive citizen,” said Manning.

Just a day before crime survivors came out in support of allowing prisoners to earn more time off their sentence, Florida Law Enforcement also stood on the fourth floor of the Capitol announcing their opposition to the idea.

Lawmakers like Representative Shevrin Jones who support the reforms, said the Legislature has a choice to make.

“We’re either for criminal justice reform or we’re not,” said Jones.

Last year crime survivors were able to score some of the first major criminal justice reform the state had seen in 20 years.

Whether they can repeat that success is yet to be seen.

Plans to merge New College with Florida State and Poly Tech with the University of Florida are moving forward at the State Capitol despite opposition from both schools being absorbed and indifference by those that would take them over.

New College supporters were in the Capitol Wednesday pushing back.

None of the four University Presidents affected by the proposed mergers got a heads up before it was unveiled at a committee as week ago.

“It was a surprise for us to see the bill,” said UF President Kent Fuchs.

Publicly, the stated reason for the mergers is that administrative costs for both New College and Florida Poly are too high, something New College’s President Donal O’Shea disputes.

“It produces minimal prospects for savings, and the disruption is way more than the savings would justify,” said O’Shea.

And under a 2017 plan to grow the school by 50 percent, administrative costs would go down.

“This one says that the merger should take place by June 30th of this year, and you can’t do it that fast,” said O’Shea.

An honors college, it has produced more Fulbright scholars per capita than any school in the state.

“But it’s not cookie cutter and it doesn’t work in that sort of large research university model,” said Representative Margret Good.

Few lawmakers are willing to talk about the reason for the mergers on the record.

And one very high profile lawmaker who opposes the merger said that both schools should be worried.

Senate President Bill Galvano was surprisingly receptive of the idea.

“I am open to that dialog with the Speaker and Florid a House,” said Galvano.

The Speaker of the House has been mum, but they are the only two with the juice to pull off such a high profile move with so little discussion.

New College currently has about 800 students.

In 2017-18, it was given money to hire 15 faculty and increase enrollment to 1,200 by the 2023 school year.

17 Florida felons cannot be blocked from voting for being too poor to pay their fines and fees.

That’s the ruling a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals made Wednesday, upholding a preliminary injunction made by a Federal Judge last year.

However, Representative James Grant, who sponsored the original legislation requiring fines and fees be paid before felons’ voting rights can be restored under Amendment 4 said the ruling does little to inspire the Legislature to act.

“When the Florida Supreme Court pretty strongly and clearly validated my approach I didn’t spike the football. That’s just part of this journey and I think at the end of the day we’re going to watch this litigation play out. Fundamental here at issue is whether or not probation as listed in the amendment’s text itself is a poll tax as some are alleging and if that’s the case Amendment 4 itself is in jeopardy. I certainly hope Amendment 4 doesn’t get thrown out by the people who are putting it at risk, but that’s where we are,” said Grant.

The Governor has said he’ll appeal the ruling to the full 11th Circuit.

Following the firing of six cancer researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in December for failing to disclose their ties to China, the State House set up a select investigative committee.

The Committee was told most universities rely on self reporting of conflicts Tuesday.

Tuesday was also Gator day at the State Capitol.

One of the first things UF President Kent Fuchs bragged to onlookers was how many research dollars are coming into UF.

“It went up seven percent over any past record. $929 million. Our goal is a billion dollars,” said Fuchs.

Research at Florida universities is a multi-billion dollar business.

State lawmakers want to know how the universities are protecting their work.

“To deal with potential foreign meddling in our research institutions,” said Rep. Chris Sprowls.

The University of Central Florida has seen one researcher indicted and another flee to China.

“We were very engaged with the FBI,” said UCF Vice President of Ethics and Compliance Rhonda Bishop.

Since the 2016 arrest, the institution has developed a list of red flags.

“Are they potentially receiving funding from a foreign government? Are there undisclosed affiliations with foreign entities?” said Bishop.

While the Chairman would not let the question about ongoing investigations be answered in public he invited committee members to inspect documents privately.

Whether there’ll be legislation this year remains an open question, but we’ve been told securing research will be a multi-year effort.

The reason: It’s complicated.

“I think most of us think if somebody is involved in a secret agreement with a foreign county that they work with and they haven’t told us, that certainly they could get fired. I think the Universities say well, if there’s tenure, we have to go through this process. That’s a problem,” said Sprowls.

But perhaps not for much longer.

Requiring all businesses to check their employees immigration status through the federal E-verify system is a top priority of the Governor.

E-verify legislation passed through its second Senate committee Tuesday morning, but the bill sponsor said much more work is needed.

The legislation continues to morph as it moves through the Senate.

An exemption for the agriculture industry was added and then removed.

Now an option for employers to use an alternative immigration check has been added.

“This essentially is taking us back to the honor system,” said Senate sponsor Tom Lee.

In its second committee stop supporters made a case for public safety.

“Illegal aliens on average murder 428 people in Florida every year,” said Robert Windham with Floridians For E-Verify Now.

And opponents warned of economic impacts.

“This measure if passed, would significantly add to Floridian’s food bills,” said Kathy Bird Carvajal with the American Business Immigration Coalition.

Senator Lee said it comes down ensuring businesses don’t take advantage of illegal workers.

“Just for cheap labor, just to make a buck to stick in their pocket and you know it’s just not okay,” said Lee.

Under the bill all businesses would have to begin checking all new hires’ immigration status by July 1st, 2022.

The bill still has one more committee stop in the Senate.

Lee said serious changes need to be made before it passes, specifically he said allowing businesses to use an alternative immigration check kills the intent of the bill.

“You know we’ve got like I said a lot of cooks in the kitchen and some of them are not coming out of the closet to talk on the record about it,” said Lee.

And if it stays, he doesn’t see a path forward with the Governor.

“I think he’d veto it and I’d tell him to veto it,” said Lee.

If Lee is successful the House would likely also pass the legislation, as it has done in years past.

It was Florida Gator Day at the State Capitol Tuesday and there were plenty of orange and blue balloons and booths touting the Universities accomplishments.

Head Football Coach Dan Mullen joked that since UF has been moving up academically in national rankings, he has to work extra hard to make sure the UF is still known for its football.

“I know we went from number eight up to number seven in academics last year, and so we went from seven to six, because I’m always trying to make sure we just stay ahead. I gotta make sure we’re still know as a football school, some, not just purely academics. I’m trying to keep the football ahead of academics so I’m hopefully going to put the pressure on Dr, Fuchs and everybody at the University that they have to get to number two next year. We’re trying to get to number one in football, so if we keep that same trend going, hopefully we’ll do it,” said Mullen.

Florida Sheriffs and Police Chiefs are pushing back against proposed criminal justice reforms including a bill that would allow judges to divert from mandatory minimum sentences in drug cases and another that would increase the amount of gain time prisoners could earn to get out early.

Law enforcement unveiled a study which concluded prisoners incarcerated on drug convictions had an average of 36 prior charges and 18 prior convictions.

They also found 85 percent of the inmates had committed prior violent crimes or burglaries.

“These are he criminals that will potentially end up back in your neighborhoods and communities if some of the legislation that has been proposed passed. You know for the life of me I don’t see how putting more of these repeat offenders back in our communities before they’re reformed is going to make our communities safer,” said Gary Hester with the Florida Police Chiefs Association.

Those supporting the reforms have argued the changes would not apply to repeat offenders or violent felons.

Law enforcement countered that at least one provision, which would set a maximum jail sentence of one year for simple possession, could result in light sentences for some who would otherwise do hard time.

About 300 felons, many of whom earned the right to vote back after the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018, rallied at the State Capitol Tuesday afternoon.

Lead by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, the theme of the advocacy day was “Our Vote, Our Voice, Our Time”.

As the legal battle challenging whether payment of fines and fees should be required for felons to have the right to vote back plays out in the courts, the group is calling on the Governor and Cabinet to reform the clemency process to help speed up the rights restoration process for former inmates.

“We do not have to solely rely on the implementation of Amendment 4 to expand democracy in this great state. We do not have to rely on the implementation of Amendment 4 to expand opportunities for jobs that will stimulate our economy, that would allow us to carry our fair share of the tax burden. Right? Then that would allow us to create safer communities,” said FRRC Executive Director Desmond Meade.

Last year the Coalition announced it would be launching a campaign to help felons pay off fines and fees they owe so they can vote.

More information on how to apply for assistance can be found at FloridaRRC.com.

Directors at the majority of the state’s domestic violence shelters are calling for the resignation of the statewide board that administers their funding after documents raised questions about the CEO’s compensation.

Writing they are shocked and concerned, 26 Domestic Violence Center directors are demanding the resignations of the Board overseeing the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

Over the last three years, the board paid CEO Tiffany Carr $7.5 million.

The money may have come from a questionable pay to play scheme.

Florida law requires membership in the coalition to receive state funding, but The Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence was also requiring local centers to return a portion of their annual budget to a fund not required by law.

“What was silent in the statute was whether there had to be a payment for membership status,” said Meg Baldwin with Refuge House.

Each of the 42 shelters were required to pay annual dues based on the funding they received from the state through the Coalition.

“I have been concerned about the implication that you somehow have to pay to be eligible for public funding,” said Baldwin.

In the case of the Refuge House, which serves eight North Florida counties, the annual dues were roughly equal to ten percent of what the shelter received each month from the state.

“I don’t know if it was illegal, but it is against Federal policy, it is against state policy and it’s just plain wrong that domestic violence centers have to pay to play,” said State Senator Aaron Bean.

The arrangement has caught the intention of the Governor’s Inspector General Melinda Miguel, who is looking into whether or not any laws were broken.

“On it’s face its not really clear. It’s not clear yet. We’ve not received those records,” said Miguel.

The dues payments did not come from state funds, but money raised locally.

In the case of the North Florida center, it paid $10,000 in annual dues while receiving about a $100,000 a month in state funding.

Last year the state sent more than $46 million through the coalition.

The ‘Parents’ Bill of Rights’, passed by a Senate Committee Monday, lists a wide range of rights parents have over their children.

Many like the right to not vaccinate your child, and the right to object to educational materials and courses like sex ed are already in state law.

“The bill is covering rights the parents already have, which is why it’s unnecessary, except for the additional language,” said Lakey Love with the Florida National Organization for Women.

But LGBTQ groups protested the bill ahead of the hearing, arguing its language is overly broad.

“It’s a broad requirement for schools to disclose all records relating to the student and there’s no balancing there,” said Jon Harris Maurer with Equality Florida.

Their main concern is the bill could lead to school guidance counselors having to disclose students’ sexual orientation or gender identity to their parents.

“This bill takes away the right of queer and trans kids to even have their own personal identification with themselves, the right they have to tell their parents about their queerness and their transness in their way,” said Delilah Pierre with the Florida Coalition for Trans Liberation.

They also fear it would make it easier for parents to object to nearly anything taught in schools.

“Things like civil rights or LGBTQ rights or anything like even history on the Holocaust,” said Maurer.

The bill also specifies a health care practitioner who provides a medical procedure on a minor without written consent of a parent may be fined up to $1,000 and face a year in prison.

Senate sponsor Kelli Stargel said the intent of this bill is clarity, so parents will have a single place in law to see what rights they possess.

“We already have the right to know what’s happening within the course of that day, report cards, progress, disciplinary actions. All this bill is doing is putting it all in one area called ‘Parental Rights’. It’s not changing what we’re currently doing today,” said Stargel. “Parents already have rights, we’re just making sure that they’re being protected, watched and actually followed.”

The bill has just one more committee stop in the Senate and will be heard by its final House committee Tuesday.