Tag: FLORIDA LEGISLATURE

Florida is about to fundamentally change the way it educates its children, as Gov. Rick Scott prepares to sign a sweeping education reform bill Thursday. The measure steers far more money into privately-run charter schools, a move that school districts say will cost public schools a lot of money, and lead to lower quality education.

Florida became the first state with a law that spells out that prosecutors, and not defendants, have the burden of proof in pretrial "stand your ground" hearings when Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill Friday. The measure was among 16 bills that Scott signed, including a bill that gives students and school employees a broader right to express their religious viewpoint in schools.

Caps on how much money patients injured by a doctor's mistakes can receive were declared unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday, a decision that strikes down one of former Gov. Jeb Bush's major policy victories. The court ruled that the caps placed into law in 2003 were arbitrary and there's no proof that they reduced malpractice insurance rates that lawmakers were attempting to contain. Even if they have, there's no present crisis to justify the caps. In a 4-3 decision, justices also said the caps unfairly hurt those most severely injured by doctors' mistakes.

Florida legislators are spending their second day of a special session wrangling over money for public schools and medical marijuana. House Democrats on Thursday wanted to allow the smoking of medical marijuana, saying that's what voters wanted when they approved an amendment last November.

Florida lawmakers are back in Tallahassee Wednesday for a three-day special session aimed at making changes to the state’s budget that will win Gov. Rick Scott’s approval. Scott called lawmakers back shortly after the end of the regular session after reaching a backroom deal with House and Senate leaders that has Scott making $300 million in line-item vetoes and using that money to fund his pet projects.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The long-standing liquor wall, which was been around since Prohibition ended, is facing the wrecking ball under a bill headed...