FLORIDA HOUSE

A federal judge has rejected an initial request to block a Florida House effort to obtain internal communications about how the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics developed standards of care for children diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

A statewide pediatricians association is pushing back in federal court against the Florida House’s efforts to obtain internal communications showing how the group adopted standards of care for the treatment of gender dysphoria

Voters in Marion County will decide on Tuesday whether a Republican or a write-in candidate will represent them in the Florida Legislature.

State lawmakers said the legislation will ensure consistency across the state, which they claim is critical in creating an ideal marketplace for development and housing.

The Florida House on Friday passed a measure that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other “long” guns, voting to scrap a high-profile change passed after a 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

The Florida House unanimously approved a bill Wednesday that would require schools to teach Asian American and Pacific Islander history in K-12 classrooms.

The Florida House on Thursday unanimously approved a wide-ranging $1.38 billion tax package that would include savings for shoppers and businesses, as leaders work out differences with the Senate.

A key Senate committee on Tuesday approved a scaled-back proposal aimed at requiring transgender men and women to use restrooms that line up with their sex assigned at birth, as protesters marched to the Capitol to speak out against bills targeting the LGBTQ community.

In a particularly rancorous Florida Legislative Session, one bill brought everyone in the Florida House together Thursday — it was aimed at stopping the growing number of hateful messages being distributed in neighborhoods and projecting onto buildings.

Officials in a southwest Florida city have canceled a gay pride parade and restricted other pride events to people 21 years and older.

Wednesday was a busy day for Florida lawmakers as three big bills passed in the House but not without fierce opposition.

Two legislative committees approved a bill on Tuesday that would prevent the public from seeing travel records for Gov. Ron DeSantis.

With approval Friday from the Florida House, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s $711 million effort to make housing more affordable for working Floridians is headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

A Florida House panel on Wednesday approved a sweeping measure that would prohibit doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender minors, including children already receiving treatment such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

Committees in the Florida House and Senate have been assigned to review identical bills that include proposed felony charges for anyone who “tampers with, manipulates, removes, replaces, or interrupts any mechanical or electronic component located within a retail fuel dispenser.”

Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades.

Legislation moving in the Florida House would ban discussion of menstrual cycles and other human sexuality topics in elementary grades.

The Republican-controlled House on Friday passed a measure that would make every Florida student eligible for taxpayer-backed school vouchers, as Democrats and other critics slammed the expansion as a “coupon for millionaires.”

With backing from Speaker Paul Renner, a House panel on Monday approved a bill that would lower the minimum age from 21 to 18 to buy rifles and other long guns in Florida.

Florida House Bill 999 aims to target diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, also known as DEI, and the study of critical race theory at all of the state’s public universities.

With some high-powered support, a Florida House panel Thursday backed a proposal that would set start times for high schools and middle schools that would be more in tune with teens’ natural rhythms.

After the Florida House started moving forward last week with controversial changes to shield businesses and insurance companies from costly lawsuits, a Senate Republican on Thursday filed a bill that largely mirrors the House plan.

The Florida House's Health and Human Services Committee is set to discuss the effects of gender dysphoria treatments on minors.

Florida House Lawmakers in Tallahassee passed a bill Thursday that will change the governing body that runs Walt Disney World property in the latest chapter of the fight between Florida Gov. DeSantis and Walt Disney World.

Incumbent Jason Brodeur won out over Joy Goff-Marcil Tuesday for a Florida Senate District 10 seat — a newly redistricted area that covers Seminole and parts of Orange County.

Joy Goff-Marcil and Jason Brodeur face off for a Florida Senate District 10 seat, a newly-redistricted area that covers Seminole and parts of Orange County.

But with hurricane season starting next week, Florida House members overwhelmingly gave final approval Wednesday to a measure that seeks to stem property-insurance problems that have led to policyholders across the state losing coverage and seeing soaring premiums.

From the House floor, Florida Rep. Travaris McCurdy of Orlando joined other Democrats Thursday to protest Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redistricting map, which was approved in the Florida House later that day.

A congressional map pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis was passed by the Florida House amid a protest by Black lawmakers who say the map will diminish the state’s Black representation in the U.S. House.

One person was injured in a shooting early Thursday in Daytona Beach, police said.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday held a news conference at Destin Harbor Boardwalk in Okaloosa County to highlight an upcoming 57-day Gulf red snapper fishing season in Florida.

The staff member who prepared a congressional redistricting map said race and party politics in now way factored into the final product being considered by the Legislature.

As solar energy customers wait to see if Florida’s net metering bill will become law, some thinking about making the switch to solar are finding creative ways to save money ahead of possibly larger electric bills.

New political maps for the Florida House and Senate were approved by the state Supreme Court.

Overriding objections from Democrats who called the measure “wrong on all levels,” the Republican-controlled Florida House on Thursday passed a bill that would limit how race-related concepts are taught in schools and in workplace training sessions.

As a federal judge weighs the constitutionality of an elections law passed last year, the Florida House started moving forward with a new proposal that includes adding steps for voting by mail and creating a state office to investigate alleged elections fraud.

The Florida House on Wednesday approved new legislative districts over the objections of Democrats, who anticipate legal challenges about minority representation and how the lines were drawn.

Despite fierce objections from Democrats who argued the proposal is unconstitutional, a Florida House panel on Wednesday approved a controversial bill that would prohibit doctors from performing abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The Florida Senate is expected to consider a map on Wednesday that will redraw Congressional districts and add a new one for the state.

Rep. Geraldine Thompson introduce HB 1133 this past Monday in hopes to further heal Groveland community.

A jury has found the chairman of the Florida Board of Education not guilty of illegally excavating in waters around his former property in the Florida Keys.

For 2021, two Republican legislators are leading the national effort for the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make Daylight Saving Time a permanently fixed practice all year round.

The alarms will alert drivers if something or someone is left in the backseat.

With a key lawmaker saying he recognizes that vaccine hesitancy is “real and understandable,” the Florida House on Wednesday approved a measure that would limit local emergency orders and make permanent Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order barring COVID-19 vaccine “passports.”

A bill that would prevent men and transgender women from participating in Florida school and college sports designated for women passed in a Florida House vote Wednesday after two days of intense debate.

The Florida House is poised to pass a measure that would bar transgender females from participating in girls’ and women’s high-school and college sports.

With the number of weeks left before the Legislature’s scheduled adjournment in the final week of April, lawmakers also are beginning to tackle the state budget with more urgency. But proposals like the anti-riot bill are consuming much of the air in the Florida statehouse this session. The measure could spawn an interesting dynamic in the state Senate, where it has yet to get a hearing. The House passed the measure Friday, with the Republican majority arguing that the measure was needed to preserve law and order. Another House committee is taking up a proposal that would abolish the state’s Constitution Revision Commission.

AdThe Senate is considering its own changes to how vote-by-mail ballots are handled, including the banning of drop boxes. That provision has come under attack by Democrats who charge that Republicans are trying to wipe the slate clean after Democrats overtook the GOP in the vote-by-mail race. In the coming week, the House floor will take up a measure already passed by the Senate — but it’s unclear how the House will handle that proposal. It could decide to abandon its own two-pronged approach, which carves out a separate bill for health care providers, and instead adopt the single Senate bill to address what proponents fear could be a proliferation of frivolous COVID-related lawsuits. AdAnother controversial measure the House is taking up is the so-called anti-riot bill, which comes up this week for final debate in the chamber.

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Adding mid-block crossings with flashing-yellow lights along State Road A1A poses “an unreasonable safety risk” for pedestrians — because some drivers fail to stop when the lights are activated, the Cocoa Beach City Commission argues. The address is 900 N. Atlantic Ave. in Cocoa Beach. Cocoa Beach — S.R. It’s remarkable that FDOT doesn’t do anything about this,” Cocoa Beach City Commissioner Ed Martinez said during last week’s meeting. It’s remarkable that FDOT doesn’t do anything about this,” Cocoa Beach City Commissioner Ed Martinez said during last week’s meeting.

[LIVE RACE RESULTS: Scroll to bottom of story to see all race returns starting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3]As of early October, Republicans had a 71-46 control of the state House of Representatives, with three vacancies in the lower house of the state legislature, according to Ballotpedia.org, but all 120 Florida House seats are up for grabs in the upcoming election. Among some of the most-watched House races in Central Florida are Districts 28 and 29. As of 11 p.m. on Tuesday, the Associated Press had not declared a winner in the District 29 race. Below is a list of candidates in the running to represent Central Florida districts in the Florida House. Here’s who’s running in your district:State House District 22 -- MarionState House District 23 -- MarionState House District 24 -- FlaglerState House District 25 -- VolusiaState House District 26 -- VolusiaState House District 27 -- VolusiaState House District 28 -- SeminoleState House District 29 -- SeminoleState House District 30 -- SeminoleState House District 31 -- Lake, OrangeState House District 32 -- LakeState House District 33 -- Lake, SumterState House District 39 -- Osceola, PolkState House District 40 -- PolkState House District 41 -- PolkState House District 42 -- Osceola, PolkState House District 44 -- OrangeState House District 47 -- OrangeState House District 48 -- OrangeState House District 49 -- OrangeState House District 50 -- Brevard, OrangeState House District 51 -- BrevardState House District 52 -- BrevardState House District 53 -- BrevardRandy Fine (R), incumbentPhil Moore (D)Thomas Patrick Unger (WRI), no official campaign page could be foundState House District 56 -- PolkFind more election results and news on the Results 2020 page.

Democratic incumbent Darren Soto has been declared the winner of the U.S. House District 9 race. Nearly 689,000 people live in District 9, according to the last U.S. Census. Darren Soto (D)Congressman Soto was first elected in 2016 to represent Florida’s 9th Congressional District. He was first elected to the Florida House at the age of 29 and served for five and a half years. Clay Hill (WRI)Hill is a write-in candidate in the U.S. House District 9 race.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For the first time since 2007, the Florida House and Senate have agreed to fully fund the state’s affordable housing trust fund, known as the Sadowski fund. However, nearly $3 billion have diverted out of the Sadowski Fund to balance the state budget over since 2008. "That is dedicated dollars for state affordable housing programs that are literally being stolen out of that trust fund to pay for other non-related priorities," he said. "That money will be used to help counties provide more affordable housing for their citizens that are in desperate need." Though both the Florida House and Senate agreed not to sweep the fund, the budget still has to be finalized.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Through an initiative called Driving Change, News 6 has advocated for years for stricter texting and driving laws to make Florida roads safer. The Florida House voted overwhelmingly Monday to send a bill to make texting and driving a primary traffic offense to Gov. [RELATED: News 6 Driving Change timeline | News 6 anchor Matt Austin testifies for distracted driving bill | Could 2019 be the year Florida passes tougher distracted driving laws?] Bonus: When the bill becomes lawOnce HB 107 has been signed by the presiding officers, the bill will go to the governor. DeSantis will have seven days to sign the bill, veto the bill or let it become law without his signature.

So, with the bill passed, when is Gov. When HB 107 passed the House a second time -- the first version was amended by the Senate -- News 6 originally reported DeSantis would have seven days to sign the bill or it would automatically become a law. In Florida, as stated, the governor does have seven days to sign a bill or veto it, otherwise the bill automatically becomes a law. And if a lot of bills went through in the final days of the session, that could take some time. If you want to find out more about the whole process, read and click the excerpts below from the Florida Senate’s website:What is the deadline for the Governor to sign a bill?

ORLANDO, Fla. – UPDATE: The Florida House voted Monday to approve a bill to ban texting and driving. News 6 has advocated for three years for stricter texting and driving laws to make Florida's roads safer. The Florida House are going to vote on the amended House Bill 107 Monday afternoon. Ahead of the vote, advocates are rejoicing about how far the distracted driving bill has come. [RELATED: News 6 Driving Change timeline | News 6 anchor Matt Austin testifies for distracted driving bill | Could 2019 be the year Florida passes tougher distracted driving laws?]

Here is a list of big stories as well as a recap of this week's interview on "The Weekly." "The Weekly" spotlights News 6 podcastsWhether it's news-of-the-day or lifestyle, ClickOrlando.com is home to a wealth of content, and there's now a place where you can check out our new podcasts. Plea for breast milk after family tragedyIn the span of 24 hours, a Venezuelan man became a father and a widower. To see the video, click here. To see what happened after people noticed the sign, click here.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – For years, News 6 has been Driving Change by shining a light on Florida's toothless texting and driving laws and pushing for more commonsense legislation to make our roads safer. It’s called secondary enforcement and it’s a dangerous practice that does little to ensure safety and curtail distracted driving. Year in and year out, our leaders in Tallahassee have made excuses, inevitably killing tougher texting and driving and distracted driving bills silently in committee. “Let the will of the Florida House and the Florida Senate, which was elected by Florida voters, let us have our say,” he said. The House bill had little opposition, but the Senate version died in committee.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Three months before the official start of the 2019 Florida legislative session, two state politicians are wasting no time trying to toughen up Florida’s lax texting and driving law. Trilby’s bill, SB 76, is dubbed the “Florida Ban on Wireless Communications Devices While Driving Law.”Slosberg’s bill, HB 45, has a much simpler name: the “Hands-Free Florida Law.”“The No. Last year the Florida House passed its version of a tougher distracted driving bill but the Senate version stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee, which was chaired by Republican State Sen. For the third year in a row, Slosberg has sponsored anti-texting and driving legislation. Georgia recently passed a similar hands-free-only bill that went into effect on July 1.