Category: Free content
Content free to the public
WEEKLY ROUNDUP: Budget done, property taxes on deck
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – Florida heads into the hurricane season with a budget now in place, even if for a second consecutive year it took longer than expected, with a third special session on the horizon.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly approved a $114.5 billion spending plan Friday, wrapping up a special session to complete the budget 77 days after they failed to do so during the regular session.
WEEKLY ROUNDUP: State budget in limb0
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE– Gov. Ron DeSantis still isn’t fully on board with cutting the state gas tax to counter mounting fuel prices.
But as legislative budget leaders head into the Memorial Day weekend having spent the past week of the special session quietly behind closed doors, DeSantis said Friday he’d sign a tax package that includes a reduction in the state’s 22-cent-a-gallon gas tax.
“If they put it in the tax package, I’ll happily sign it,” DeSantis said during a bill signing event in Jacksonville.
Ask Judge Smith: Out with the old and in with the new
By JUDGE LAYNE SMITH
Years ago, I wrote three newspaper columns with “Independence Day” in-mind. I share them now in celebration of our nation’s 250th birthday.
This is part three of three:
The Revolutionary War began in 1775 and ended in 1783. It spanned over 8 years (101 months). During that time, many American soldiers received little to no pay for their military service. After the war ended, Congress couldn’t satisfy the nation’s war debts, including soldiers’ back pay. Chronically short of funds, the federal government caused runaway inflation by over-circulating worthless paper money. Farmers were hit hard, and many lost their farms to foreclosures.
Weekly Roundup:Redistricting rumble
By JIM TURNER
News Service of Florida
TALLAHASSEE – Special session season will soon be a reality in Florida.
Long awaited, the Senate on Friday published its bills for the non-congressional redistricting side of the session Gov. Ron DeSantis called, which begins on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the House and Senate went public a day earlier with plans to discuss the budget over three weeks in May.
