March 29, 2024

Monday's Daily Pulse

What you need to know about Florida today

| 5/8/2017

Session Roundup: All over but the budget

Everglades projects

To the extent that any legislative session is remembered, the 2017 edition might be remembered as much for what lawmakers didn't do as for what they did. Even if last minute legislation is approved, this Legislature will not be able to avoid being one of the least active in terms of bills passed since at least 1998, as far back as online records go More from WJXT, the Times/Herald, and the Florida Times-Union.

See also:
» State budget headed for today's vote (PDF - 452 pages)
» If Rick Scott vetoes budget, House Speaker says they have votes to override
» What's $419 million and 278 pages? An education bill that state lawmakers vote on today
» Florida's medical marijuana deal goes up in smoke
» Winners, losers during the 2017 legislative session
» John Morgan and other medical pot supporters call for special session after Legislature's inaction

Your turn:
» Do you think Gov. Rick Scott veto all or part of the 2017 budget? (quick poll)

Offshore drilling opponents gear up for Gulf fight

Offshore drilling opponents in Florida are bracing for a potential fight as oil groups say they are eyeing potential exploration in the eastern Gulf, a prospect buoyed by the Trump administration's recent review of federal offshore drilling policies. [Source: The Hill]

Democrats hope health care vote could upend Florida GOP

Democrats think their chances of taking back the House next year got a major lift with Thursday’s approval of a Republican bill to fundamentally reshape Obamacare. Independent political handicappers predict that a number of seats held by Republicans in Florida could be more competitive as a result of the vote. [Source: Fort Myers News-Press]

Florida officials blame arsonists for 320 wildfires in 2017

Florida officials say arsonists have ignited about 320 wildfires so far this year, burning more than 20,000 acres across the state. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said severe drought conditions have increased the wildfire threat statewide, but arson causes many blazes. [Source: WFTX]

Push to legalize fantasy sports fails in Florida

A last-minute push to clear up the murky legal status of fantasy sports in Florida failed in the waning moments of the legislative session. Late Friday, the Florida House rejected a proposal that fantasy sports are legal and not subject to regulation. [Source: AP]

ALSO AROUND FLORIDA:

› After construction setbacks, science museum opens in Miami
A long-awaited science museum is set to open to the public in Miami. The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science will open Monday in downtown Miami after five years of construction.

› Jacksonville mayor declines consideration as Florida chief financial officer
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has taken himself out of consideration to become Florida’s next chief financial officer.

› Lockheed Martin is moving ballistic missile jobs to Florida
Lockheed Martin Corp. plans to move about 300 ballistic missile program jobs from California to Florida's Space Coast over the next two years.

› Ringling College’s Goldstein Library will draw archi-tourists to north Sarasota
Sarasota’s architectural tour circuit has a new attraction — the Alfred R. Goldstein Library at the Ringling College of Art and Design. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch, a large architecture firm in Boston, the building opened this year to much fanfare.

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