Florida News

Florida's public universities can free up $22.5 million a year to compensate student-athletes. That's under an emergency rule approved Wednesday by the state board overseeing the universities. The rule comes ahead of a landmark legal settlement going into effect July 1 allowing schools to directly pay their players for the use of their name, image and likeness.

Acquiring a medical marijuana license, setting up facilities and securing dispensary locations costs tens of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, hemp retailers can set up shop faster, easier and cheaper.

Tuition hikes for out-of-state students would have to be approved by university boards of trustees, and schools would have to maintain their current ratio of in-state students to out-of-state students. If increases are approved for the 2025-2026 school year, they would be the first tuition hikes in more than a decade for out-of-state students

Democrat Josh Weil of Florida is running for the U.S. Senate in 2026. Weil made the announcement Wednesday. He raised millions of dollars for an unsuccessful U.S. House campaign in Florida this year. If he were to become the Democratic nominee, Weil would challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody.

But more money has been allocated in this year's state budget for a program that pays farmers and ranchers in the Florida Wildlife Corridor not to develop their land.

Almost 1.8 million Florida K-12 students attended a school of choice during the 2023-2024 school year.

Millions of Floridians may see steep cuts to food aid, or the Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program and nearly $700 billion in reduced spending in Medicaid under the president's "Big, Beautiful" bill in Congress

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida would normally be traversing the state this time of year, trumpeting his legislative accomplishments and the fellow Republican lawmakers who had fallen in line to achieve them. This year has been different, mostly because of one man: the Republican speaker of the state House of Representatives Daniel Perez.

Florida's attorney general has been found to be in civil contempt of a federal judge's order over a new state law making it a misdemeanor for people in the U.S. illegally to enter the state. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said Tuesday that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier was unconvincing in his arguments that he didn't flout her injunction putting the law on hold earlier this year.

Authorities can't enforce a new Florida law making it a misdemeanor for people in the U.S. illegally to enter the state while the law is being challenged in court. That's according to two new rulings. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Monday denied a request by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier to put on hold her earlier injunction while it is being appealed.

The new budget lacks some of the top priorities of legislative leaders and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, coming in $500 million less than the governor's proposed budget, and $3.5 billion less than last year's adjusted total, a goal of conservative lawmakers focused on scaling back state spending amid concerns of a broader economic slowdown.

The agency's announced changes will offer water utilities more flexibility to comply with regulations, but could come at a cost to public and environmental health.