The emergency preparedness fund was originally set aside for recovery from hurricanes and other natural disasters. This past year, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration used much of the money to build and operate the now-shuttered Everglades immigration detention facility dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Tag: florida legislature
Posted inEducation
At UNF, sole finalist for presidency rekindles fight over secrecy law
At issue is a 2022 state law that shielded most of the presidential interview process from public view, a law some former supporters now regret
Posted inState Government
Where are they now? Key actors in Hope Florida scandal got promoted
Despite finding the $10 million was misappropriated, the grand jury said there was “insufficient evidence” to charge anyone criminally – because no one would admit to orchestrating the scheme.
Posted inState Government
Florida lawmaker liable for sexual harassment; jury awards $450K in damages
A Leon County jury has found Republican state Rep. Fabian Basabe of Miami Beach liable for sexual harassment, battery and defamation in a rare and dramatic civil case that aired serious allegations against a sitting lawmaker up for re-election.
Posted inElections
What Florida’s tax rollback looks like through the eyes of one small town
When Floridians go to the polls in November to decide whether to cut themselves a break on property taxes, they may well be deciding to cut the lifeline of one of the state’s endangered species: its small towns.
Posted inState Government
Tallahassee on trial: Lawmaker faces sexual harassment claims in civil case
A civil trial unfolding in a courtroom across from the Florida Capitol complex offers a mix of serious allegations against a sitting lawmaker and reality TV buffoonery.
Posted inEnvironment
New law makes it easier to pave over Florida farmland
The bill’s sponsors say they’re defending Floridians’ property rights. Environmental activists say it’s the latest step the state legislature has taken to speed suburban sprawl and weaken local power to regulate zoning and environmental protections.
Posted inElections
Florida lawmakers cede redistricting authority to executive power
Florida lawmakers voted largely along party lines to rubber-stamp a new Congressional district map.
Posted inEducation
With anti-terror law, DeSantis has new tool to reshape higher-ed
Campus protesters, already targeted by Florida’s governor, face new legal peril
Posted inImmigration, State Government
Lawmakers curtail governor’s emergency powers after ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ spending spree
Less than two weeks after the Florida Trib reported that newly released documents showed the DeSantis administration had burned through more than a million dollars a day on the makeshift tents-and-trailers facility, both chambers of the GOP-controlled Legislature voted to add new limits on the fund.