A federal judge rejected a Florida law limiting contributions to political committees that support ballot initiatives.

U.S. District Judge Winsor has issued a permanent injunction against Senate Bill 1890 and House Bill 921.

These bills placed a $3,000 contribution limit on donors to political committees sponsoring or opposing ballot initiatives.

Senate Bill 1890 was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2021, and House Bill 921’s effective date was July 1, 2022, but neither bill will take effect following the ruling.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bills 7001 and 7003 to prohibit lobbying by a public officer and a former justice or judge during public service and for a six-year period after leaving public office.

The bills were passed to implement Amendment 12, a 2018 constitutional amendment.

Both bills will take effect December 31, 2022.

Florida state legislators concluded a five-day special session after passing two bills addressing insurance rates.

The first bill helps insurers with their risk portfolio by creating reinsurance to assist policyholders.

The second requires condominiums to have thorough inspections and includes an entire section about roofing systems.

Legislatures felt the pressure of addressing these issues as soon as possible because of the continuous increase in insurance rates and because hurricane season is expected to begin on June 1.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has called for a special session to consider legislation related to property insurance.

This session will convene on May 23 and adjourn no later than May 27.

The main purpose of the special session is to make changes to the Florida Building Code in order to improve the affordability of property insurance prior to the next Atlantic hurricane season.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed Senate Bill 102 establishing the new congressional districts, citing the new maps were in violation of the 14th Amendment.

Further, Gov. DeSantis has called a special session of the Florida Legislature to address the rejected maps.

The special session will convene on April 19 and can adjourn no later than April 22.

The 2022 session of the Florida Legislature adjourned sine die on March 14.

Originally set to adjourn on March 11, the session was extended to enable the passage of the state’s $112 billion budget, which passed with bipartisan support.

However, most of the notable bills passed were approved along party lines, including a 15-week abortion ban, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, the “Stop WOKE Act” and the creation of an election police force.

Following an ethics workshop discussing recommendations by the city’s Independent Ethics Board, the Tallahassee City Commission voted to move forward with introducing ordinances amending the city’s ethics code, including a ban on contingency lobbying.

However, the commission declined to move forward on other recommended changes to lobbying laws including changes to the definition of lobbyist; a lobbyist contact log requirement; and a charter amendment to give the Independent Ethics Board direct oversight over lobbyists.

The Tallahassee City Commission is holding an ethics workshop to discuss and consider several proposed changes to the city’s ethics ordinances.

The proposals by the city’s Independent Ethics Board include clarifying the definition of lobbyist and expanding disclosure requirements.

Other proposals include broadening the board’s jurisdiction and the city’s whistleblower protections.

The Florida Legislature adjourned the special session on COVID-19 mandates on November 17 after just three days in session.

Lawmakers approved four anti-mandate bills, which are now awaiting approval by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Jason Mariner has secured the Republican nomination for U.S. House in Flordia’s 20th District.

Mariner defeated Greg Musselwhite, who unsuccessfully challenged the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings for the seat in 2020.

Mariner’s opponent for the January special general election is still unknown with the crowded Democrat primary race being too close to call.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has set the dates for the November Florida Legislature’s special session concerning COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

Lawmakers will convene the special session on November 15 and can adjourn no later than November 19.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced special election dates for Senate District 33, House District 88, and House District 94.

The special primary election will be held on January 11, 2022, followed by the special general election on March 8, 2022.

The three seats became available in July when Sen. Perry Thurston and Reps. Bobby DuBose and Omari Hardy resigned to run for U.S. House District 20, a seat vacated by the late Rep. Alcee Hastings.

This announcement comes after three months of delays and a lawsuit filed two weeks ago seeking to compel DeSantis to set election dates.

The delay will result in the new lawmakers missing preparations and the start of the 2022 legislative session.

Further, if a general election is needed, the new lawmakers will miss out on most of the session, which is scheduled to end on March 11, 2022.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced he intends to call a special session of the Florida Legislature in November.

Though the specific dates have not been set, the session will take up issues regarding COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

The Board of County Commissioners have adopted Ordinance 21-73 adding additional requirements to the registration and reporting of lobbyists communication with the Miami-Dade County.

The new requirements include requiring lobbyists to disclose the specific issues they are lobbying, lobbyist registration to be amended within 15 days to ensure accuracy, and requiring lobbyist expenditure reports to be filed even if there were no expenditures.