News from the South - Florida News Feed
DeSantis wants Legislature to ‘reevaluate’ gun safety laws passed after Parkland
DeSantis wants Legislature to ‘reevaluate’ gun safety laws passed after Parkland
by Mitch Perry and Jackie Llanos, Florida Phoenix
March 4, 2025
Gov Ron DeSantis said Tuesday in his State of the State address that he wants the Florida Legislature to re-examine key provisions of the landmark 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, enacted following the shootings in Parkland that killed 17 students and school administrators.
Specifically, the governor wants the Legislature to repeal language that raised the legal age to purchase a shotgun or rifle in Florida from 18 to 21 and also the state’s “red flag” law, which allows law enforcement or family members to petition a court to temporarily remove a person’s firearms if they pose a risk to themselves or others.
“We need to be a strong Second Amendment state. I know many of you agree, so let’s get some positive reform done for the people in this state of Florida,” he said.
During a press conference held immediately after the speech, DeSantis reiterated his criticism of those laws, adding once again that he would like Florida to join the overwhelming majority of states that allow open carry.
“I don’t know what the Legislature is going to do in those respects but, in spite of us saying that ‘we’re the free state,’ in spite of us being like, “oh, we’re this Republican bastion, conservative bastion,’ we definitely lag on that issue.”
Legislative leaders, particularly in the Senate, have opposed open carry in recent years. Senate President Ben Albritton said last fall that he doesn’t support it because neither does law enforcement (specifically, the Florida Sheriffs Association), and repeated that opinion on Tuesday. He said he also supports “Red Flag” laws.
Property Insurance
Although the governor focused on guns, perhaps no issue is more important to Floridians than the cost of property insurance. DeSantis insisted the news on that front is good, mentioning how 11 new companies have entered the market over the last year with more than 130,000 new private policies put into effect in 2024, and that 73% of state-backed Citizens Property Insurance policyholders in Miami-Dade County are scheduled to receive a rate decrease of an average of 6.3%.
And he urged the Legislature to provide additional funding for those on the My Safe Florida Home waitlist — people who have been approved for grants to strengthen their homes against hurricane winds.
DeSantis said he supports House Speaker Daniel Perez’s plan to order a committee to hold hearings into property insurance companies moving billions of dollars to affiliate companies losses, based on a report from the Tampa Bay Times.
“If there’s things that need to be done to be able to make sure that we have transparency and appropriate oversight, I’m all for it,” the governor said. “What I am not going to support is opening the litigation floodgates. The fact is, our markets were being driven into the ground because of excessive litigation.”
Property taxes
DeSantis took time once again to tout one of his new goals before he leaves office — to make Florida the first state to outlaw property taxes. The proposal could go before voters as a constitutional amendment in 2026 if lawmakers first approve a study of the issue. (Lee County Republican Jonathan Martin is sponsoring a resolution to require the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research to analyze the repercussions).
“Is the property yours or are you just renting from the government?” the governor asked the assembled members of the Legislature.
And he emphasized that no one should believe that removing property taxes would lead to a state income tax, which the Florida Constitution does not allow. “This body will not pass tax increases, and this governor will not sign tax increases,” he said to applause.
Overhaul ballot initiatives
DeSantis was successful in 2024 in stopping two proposed constitutional amendments from securing the 60% vote required for passage. Amendment 4 would have enshrined abortion rights in the Florida Constitution while Amendment 3 would have legalized use of recreational cannabis for adults. Both received majority support, however.
Since then, citing a state report alleging fraud in the petition gathering process by the group advocating for Amendment 4, the governor has been calling for the Legislature to make it even more difficult for citizen-led constitutional amendments, complaining the process had been “perverted.”
“We need to clean up the petition fraud and we need to clean up this out-of-control amendment process, and you in the Legislature have the opportunity to do just that and protect Florida’s Constitution once and for all,” he declared.
This was likely DeSantis’ next-to-last State of the State address as governor. It came at an uncertain time in his tenure — while he remains the most powerful person in Florida government, in January GOP legislative leaders and rank-and-file legislators rebuked his initial proposals on illegal immigration.
Whether his wife, First Lady Casey DeSantis, decides to run to succeed her husband in 2026, the governor took time in his speech to give credit to her work in leading Hope Florida, an initiative designed to make it easier for Floridians to access help for mental health and substance abuse.
“By the end of 2024, Hope Florida has helped nearly 30,000 participants reduce or eliminate their reliance on government assistance, netting the taxpayers over $108 million in annual savings,” he said. “The Hope Florida model is now being replicated by other states around the country. Thanks to Casey for her leadership and ingenuity,” he declared, pointing to Casey, who sat with the couple’s son, Mason, in the East Gallery of the Florida House chamber.
Democratic responses
Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo praised DeSantis’ handling of emergencies but lamented that Republicans have focused on culture wars instead of homeowner’s insurance and increasing pay for law enforcement and teachers.
Pizzo, who is expected to run for governor, in a rebuttal speech mentioned one of his bills, which would require all private employers to verify that their new hires are authorized to work in the country.
“You are not serious about curbing illegal immigration if you continue to cower to donors and not listen to our citizens,” he said.
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell delivered her caucus’ rebuttal to the address. She hit DeSantis on his recently announced Florida DOGE initiative and push to remove property taxes, saying the governor was merely seeking attention.
But Driskell acknowledged her party’s superminority position, making it essentially impossible to pass their priorities, such as expanding Medicaid and universal background checks in gun sales.
“We understand the political reality of Tallahassee, so we know these ideas aren’t likely to go anywhere, regardless of how good they are,” Driskell said in her pre-recorded remarks.
“It isn’t easy being in the minority party in the Legislature, but we aren’t Democrats only when it’s easy. We’re here to advocate for our communities and make our voices heard, and that’s what we’ll be doing.”
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
The post DeSantis wants Legislature to ‘reevaluate’ gun safety laws passed after Parkland appeared first on floridaphoenix.com
News from the South - Florida News Feed
Microsoft’s AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their users
SUMMARY: On Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, Mustafa Suleyman, head of the company’s AI division, envisions a future with personalized AI companions that adapt to users over time, embodying unique names, styles, and memories. This initiative focuses on creating meaningful relationships rather than solely enhancing tools, with the AI, called Copilot, already integrated into various Microsoft applications. Suleyman, a former co-founder of DeepMind, is cautious about the race for advanced AI, prioritizing practical personal assistants over abstract goals like artificial general intelligence. He believes these AI companions will revolutionize both professional and personal lives by handling tedious tasks and fostering creativity.
The post Microsoft’s AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their users appeared first on www.clickorlando.com
News from the South - Florida News Feed
Florida Dreamers aren’t giving up just yet
by Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix
April 4, 2025
In a sweeping immigration bill designed to help President Donald Trump enact his mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants, the Florida Legislature earlier this year repealed a 2014 law allowing individuals brought to the U.S. as children without documentation, known as “Dreamers,” to pay in-state tuition rates at Florida colleges and universities.
That abrupt change will affect approximately 6,500 undergraduates, according to the Florida Policy Institute.
When the measure went before the Florida Senate in February, South Florida Democrat Jason Pizzo offered an amendment to grandfather in any dreamer enrolled in a state college or university so they could continue pay that in-state tuition for an additional four years.
It didn’t pass.
Advocates aren’t giving up, though. This week, the group TheDream.US trekked to the Capitol to resume the fight. Specifically, they hope to revive the idea of allowing students now enrolled to continue paying in-state rates until they graduate.
“Right now, they’re working on the budget, and we know that the budget needs to pass, right?” said TheDream.US president and CEO Gaby Pacheco.
“And so it could be a potential vehicle for us to get a grandfathered-in clause. The hope is that the House as they’re working through this perhaps put in an amendment. We’re not legislators, so we don’t necessarily know the ins and outs. We’re just hoping that they know that this is important for the state of Florida, for their constituents, for these students and our college systems.”
Pacheco made regular visits to the Capitol in 2023 to defend against the threatened cutoff of in-state tuition for dreamers. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced before that legislative session a slate of proposals cracking down on illegal immigration.
Yet, somehow, the law survived that year. It wasn’t the first time that some Republicans in the Legislature had attempted to repeal the measure. But after last year’s election, in which illegal immigration was a central issue, DeSantis made it clear to state lawmakers at the beginning of this year that he wanted the law struck down.
‘Everything that I’ve fought for’
Among those joining Pacheco in the Capitol this week was a 20-year-old student from the University of Central Florida who wanted to be identified only by her first name of Callie, out of fear she could be targeted because of her immigration status.
She’s a junior majoring in advertising and public relations who has accumulated 80 credits toward her degree and says that will be up to 100 by the end of the spring semester — not enough yet to graduate.
But as of July 1, when the law takes effect, she’ll be forced to pay full tuition. “That means I can no longer afford my public education and will have to give up everything that I’ve fought for,” she said.
In addition to her studies, Cailie works between 20 and 36 hours a week at Publix and spends her free time volunteering to help students prepare college scholarship applications. Her tuition is roughly $2,800 a semester, covered through a scholarship from TheDream.US. It will more than double after the law takes effect — an amount she says she can’t bear.
Cailie, 20, migrated to the United States from Haiti almost seven years ago. Her parents aren’t supporting her, she said, as she was forced to leave home at 16. Her rough upbringing compelled her to try to make a better life for herself but, without the benefit of in-state tuition, “it’s impossible.”
She spent part of Tuesday meeting with lawmakers to explain her plight, although she knows it’s an uphill battle.
“It’s hard to get people to change their mind, so all we’re asking for are the current students to be grandfathered in and protected for now,” she said. “Because most of us only have a few more credits to go, and it’s so unfair that we had to fight so hard to get here and just knowing that all of a sudden it meant nothing? That’s hard.”
Cailie’s ambition is to start her own business helping other students from low-income families get educations like she’s been able to achieve — for now, anyway.
“I want to be a role model to show them that I come from an undeveloped country, that I didn’t have the same opportunities as everybody else, and I made it, so it’s possible. The U.S. is a country of opportunists, but now I’m wondering if that’s even true anymore.”
Pacheco acknowledges her group has limited leverage with the Legislature, but believes it’s worth the effort.
“At the end of the day, we’re practically begging,” she said. “We’re saying, ‘Please do not do this to these students. Please do not do this to 6,000 young people who have worked so hard to get so far, and that are so close to be able to get those college degrees.’”
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Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com.
The post Florida Dreamers aren’t giving up just yet appeared first on floridaphoenix.com
News from the South - Florida News Feed
Consumers fear Trump's tariffs will hike prices
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