It's official. No more texting and driving in the state of Florida.
Gov. Rick Scott was in South Florida on Tuesday to sign SB 52, legislation championed by Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) for the last four years.
Under the new law, Florida will join a large majority of states in prohibiting texting while driving. As a secondary offense, however, drivers must be stopped for a separate alleged traffic violation before being ticketed for texting while driving.
Gov. Rick Scott signed the 2013-14 state budget into law today.
He also sent a letter to Secretary of State Ken Detzner explaining his decision to veto a tuition hike. “We are also holding the line on tuition by vetoing the Legislature’s recommended 3 percent tuition increase on our college and university students,” the governor wrote.
Gov. Rick Scott on Monday signed a $74.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 and vetoed $368 million in projects.
Scott vetoed 3 percent tuition increases for universities and state colleges and also rejected numerous spending proposals, including $14 million sought by Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, for a project at Gulf Coast State College in Panama City.
In a budget message, Scott touted that the spending plan includes $480 million to raise teacher pay.
Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland, believes he has the votes to put his sweeping overhaul of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. up for a final vote in the Senate on Thursday.
Simmons was busy lobbying his colleagues over the proposal (SB 1770) during the floor session on Wednesday after the measure was postponed for the second time in nine days from being put up for a final Senate vote.
We're nearly halfway through the legislative session, and your roving Capitol bureau reporters are ready for a nap.
We'll need one, since the busiest days are still weeks away.
It was quiet at the Capitol in the days before Easter. So this seemed like a good time to share some observations made while covering the Florida Legislature.
Everybody chews gum. Lawmakers and lobbyists in particular can, in fact, walk and chew gum at the same time.