Tag Archives: Gov. Ron DeSantis

by Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix May 27, 2022 A Florida appellate court ruled Friday that a trial judge abused his authority in ordering state government to retain a Black-access congressional district in North Florida before holding a full trial on whether the state’s Fair District amendment required doing so. The …

A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on Monday ruled that a 2021 Florida law targeting social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter unconstitutionally restricts the companies’ First Amendment rights. Monday’s decision by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld most of a preliminary injunction imposed …

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill into law that bans Floridians from protesting outside of private residences. “Sending unruly mobs to private residences, like we have seen with the angry crowds in front of the homes of Supreme Court justices, is inappropriate,” Governor DeSantis said just before …

by Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix May 13, 2022 A state trial judge has rejected Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ demand to dismantle Congressional District 5, a sprawling, Black-access congressional district in North Florida, citing language in the state Constitution forbidding diminishment of minority voting strength. Instead, Circuit Judge Layne Smith, sitting in …

A Florida judge on Wednesday ruled that a congressional map approved by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and drawn by his staff is unconstitutional because it breaks up a district where Black voters can choose their representatives. “I am finding that the enacted map is unconstitutional under the Fair District Amendment …

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Monday establishing a new, first-of-its-kind election police task force to investigate voter fraud allegations as well as other election violations or irregularities. The bill, Senate Bill 524, creates the Office of Election Crimes and Security under the direction of the Department of State. …

by Diane Rado, Florida Phoenix April 22, 2022 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 7 into law on Friday, an “Intellectual Freedom” measure also referred to as the “Stop WOKE” act. Among critics, it caused immediate condemnation across Florida and states elsewhere. “We believe in education, not indoctrination,” said DeSantis, …

On Friday, several voting rights groups sued Florida over the state’s new congressional maps, which were drawn by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, and passed by the state’s Republican-led legislature earlier this week. DeSantis signed the measure into law on Friday. The League of Women Voters of Florida joined Black Voters …

Florida‘s Republican lawmakers have passed a bill to strip a special district status that Walt Disney World has been allowed to operate on its properties in the state for more than five decades. Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed for the bill to be taken up during a special session after …

On Tuesday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that state lawmakers will consider stripping Disney of its self-governing power during a special session originally called to work specifically on congressional redistricting. “They also will be considering termination of all special districts that were enacted in Florida prior to 1968 and that …

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Osceola County on Thursday, where he signed Florida’s bill that bans abortions after 15 weeks into law. The new law, which goes into effect July 1, significantly reduces access to late-term abortions in the southeast — North Carolina will become the only southern state to permit …

by Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix March 31, 2022 Statewide LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Gov. Ron DeSantis, state education officials, and others over a new law aiming to limit conversations about LGBTQ people in classrooms. The lawsuit arrived in the U.S. District Court …

by Issac Morgan, Florida Phoenix March 29, 2022 While a federal face mask mandate for public transportation hubs is set to expire in less than a month, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced that the state has filed a lawsuit against the feds to block the requirement immediately. …

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the “Parental Rights in Education” bill — also dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill – into law. The bill prohibits the discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms and also bars teaching those topics in other classrooms in …

The state senate in Florida has passed the controversial ‘Parental Rights in Education’ bill (House Bill 1557), which critics have dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The legislation passed by a 22-17 vote, along party lines, with the Republican majority voting in favor of it, except for two Republicans, Jeff …