After a rough start, a Florida Senate education panel has managed to move a major testing bill forward. Lynn Hatter reports the proposal is a mix of two separate testing bills. Roth IRAS, pensions, investments, money markets , credit scores...Personal finance can be difficult to navigate. Regan McCarthy reports now Florida lawmakers want to help. Governor Rick Scott met Monday with members of the Safety Net Alliance of Florida to discuss hospital funding. Hospitals say doctors will leave the

Capital Report Correspondents Nick Evans, Lynn Hatter and Regan McCarthy talk about the week’s top stories at the Capitol. Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission holds its first public hearing in twenty years. The gathering took place in Orlando and Lynn Hatter talks to WMFE News Director Catherine Welch about it. The Florida House has voted to expand autism awareness training for law enforcement. Support for the issue amped up this session after a North Miami officer shot at an autistic man

The House is proposing nearly 300 million dollars in tax cuts. Nick Evans reports the ways and means committee unveiled their ideas this week. A gambling overhaul bill passed through the full Florida Senate Thursday. Meanwhile the House bill is heading for that chamber’s floor. While leaders say it’s been years since a gambling bill has advanced so far through the process, others point out there’s a long way left to go. Death penalty opponents rallied at Florida’s Capitol in support of Orlando

A rift has emerged on a now-familiar fault line in the Florida House and Senate Education spending plans. Lynn Hatter reports the chambers are again at odds over how to count what’s known as the required local effort to fund public schools. The Florida House is looking at allowing students to take a computer coding course to fulfill credit requirements in lieu of a foreign language. Catherine Buckler reports, the bill was amended before the vote. Florida’s universities say they need more money

The Florida House and Senate are planning big cuts to Florida hospitals and those groups say it will hurt medical care access for the poor and disabled. We get the latest on that story from Sarah Mueller. Florida State University could soon face a lawsuit following a shooting on campus that left one student paralyzed. Ronny Ahmed was shot multiple times by the man who opened fire in Strozier Library on a late night in November 2014. Lynn Hatter reports at issue is whether the school was

A Senate education panel has temporarily postponed a school testing overhaul bill—putting one of the two major testing proposals in jeopardy. Lynn Hatter reports on the latest between warring testing philosophies in the legislature. Florida mayors have been ramping up the pressure on legislators. As Jim Ash reports, local governments are complaining about what they consider to be the biggest legislative power grab in modern history. Since the 1970s, Florida drivers have been required by law to

The rate of overdose deaths from opioids went up 75 percent between 2014 and 2015. And it continues to climb. Florida isn’t alone—opioid addition is ravaging parts of the U.S. The situation is critical in South Florida, where WLRN’s Peter Hayden brings us this report. A note to our listeners, some parts of this story may be disturbing. This week Nevada's legislature ratified the Equal Rights Amendment. It's been 40 years since the last state approved the provision and the move raises questions

The abuse of both prescription and illegal Opioids are driving a national spike in overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control, these substances were involved in more than 33-thousand deaths across the country in 2015. Florida has seen a dramatic increase in opioid-driven overdoses, up more than 20 percent. Now as Lynn Hatter reports, state lawmakers are grappling with how to stop the tragedy. While the U.S. House of Representatives was voting down the Republican replacement

Environmental activists flooded the Capitol on Wednesday to support a handful of bills and oppose others. But as Jim Ash reports, one of their biggest goals is a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing. Florida lawmakers are voting on legislation that would allow more religious expression in public schools. Bill sponsors say not allowing students and school employees to talk about their religions violates the First Amendment. But critics say these bills force Christian believes on others. Sarah

The Florida House is promising some big cuts to higher education funding. And it has a few more changes in mind for the state’s colleges and universities. Lynn Hatter reports those revelations came this week in response to one of Senate President Joe Negron’s top priorities. The Florida House is considering legislation that would strip hundreds of thousands of Florida children from the public assistance rolls. But critics say lawmakers focused on punishing the poor when they should be trying to