Florida lawmakers

State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, along with state Reps. Dr. Anna V. Eskamani, D-Orlando, Angie Nixon, D-Jacksonville, and Michele Rayner, D-St. Petersburg, said they were not allowed to tour the facility off Tamiami Trail in the Everglades when they made a July 3 surprise visit.

Even though a state-designated lab had been compiling data on human trafficking since it was established in 2019, the report released this month is the first of its kind.

The Legislature considers such "claim bills" each year because of the state’s sovereign immunity laws, which generally shield government agencies from liability for negligence. This year, nine were enacted.

The issue of lawmaker safety has drawn national attention after a gunman murdered former Minnesota Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband early Saturday at their home and shot Democratic Sen. John Hoffman and his wife at their home

U.S. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, Darren Soto, D-Orlando and María Elvira Salazar, Miami, said Thursday they introduced the Venezuela TPS Act of 2025 to extend Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants already in the U.S.

The Florida legislature offers people a way to find and contact their elected officials online. Here's a step-by-step guide to getting in touch and making your voice heard.

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee voted 6-2 to approve a proposal that would put in the Florida Constitution eight-year term limits for county commissioners and school board members.

Lawmakers passed a bill two years ago that would make Florida high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools no earlier than 8 a.m. starting in 2026.

State legislators are considering a bill to ban ash-producing incinerators near residential and commercial areas.

The case involves information that a union, AFSCME Florida Council 79, mailed to state employees in 2020 after lawmakers approved a 3 percent pay increase in the state budget.

Florida lawmakers in 2023 should not add more judgeships and should consider trimming some, the state Supreme Court said in its annual recommendations. The Supreme Court said “we certify no need for additional county court, circuit court, or district court of appeal judgeships."

After Parkland, Florida passed a new gun law and efforts to protect schools. Are they safer now?