Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his eighth and final budget of his tenure Monday, vetoing more than $800 million from a $114.5 billion spending plan. The budget also includes $30 billion for schools, $4.5 billion for school vouchers, $665 million for Everglades restoration.
Budget discussions are underway across Central Florida as local governments prepare for a possible major shift in property tax revenue.
Florida cities and counties can continue to operate under their own e-bike and e-scooter rules after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have created a uniform statewide system — leaving parents and advocates questioning what comes next.
Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost is calling on lawmakers to act after a ruling that allows the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disasters in Haiti and Syria.
As Florida hurricane survivors wait for FEMA to approve their grant applications, Congress and a council appointed by President Trump push different plans to overhaul FEMA.
A Daytona Beach ordinance banning panhandling partially violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, a U.S. Appeals Court affirmed this week. But the judges also ruled the lower court went too far in blocking the whole ordinance.
Currently, Horizon West remains an unincorporated community, meaning it does not have its own city government. Instead, services are managed through Orange County. But the area has experienced rapid growth, with thousands of new residents, homes and businesses moving in. Now people are asking: should Horizon West be its own city?
People who want to bring sloths into Florida will have to file for a special permit under a new rule by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The new policy was created after dozens of sloths died in the care of a group planning to open the Sloth World attraction on International Drive in Orlando.
In the final week of June, the City of Winter Park is poised to set a major precedent for both lakefront development and historic preservation — or the lack of it. City commissioners will decide whether to give a local developer the green light to demolish the notorious Merrywood Estate.
Oviedo voters will have four charter amendments to decide on during the upcoming November elections, including another chance to end off-year elections. Our News Collaborative of Central Florida partner, Oviedo Community News, has the details.
Eatonville leaders will consider a “call to action” aimed at increasing transparency and community input as a data center project draws questions from residents.
The Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether states can use juries made up of only six people in criminal cases, instead of the usual 12.
St. Cloud is holding a workshop to discuss “Property Tax Reform Impacts and City Fees" as a proposed amendment on tax reform heads to the November ballot. The workshop is at 2:30 p.m. at St. Cloud City Hall today.
It’s common knowledge by now that consuming alcohol and driving is not only against the law — it’s also incredibly dangerous. But what many might not know is that it doesn't just stop at cars.
The attorney general took aim at the HOA last month over a new rule he said violated residents' rights. On Thursday, he announced that the group had finally repealed the ban.
Oviedo business owners say the city is hiding the true cost of doing business - hitting them with massive, unexpected charges only after hundreds of thousands of dollars have already been spent.
City leaders in Ocoee are warning that a proposed amendment aimed at lowering property taxes for Florida homeowners could significantly reduce local government revenue and lead to difficult budget decisions affecting public services.
The attorney general took aim at the HOA last month over a new rule he said violated residents' rights. On Wednesday, he announced that the group had finally agreed to stop enforcing that rule.
A decision to move forward with a development along Marsh Road in Winter Garden is frustrating residents concerned the road cannot handle the influx of new residents. At a meeting, city leaders acknowledged there was an issue, but said developers cannot be required to fix pre-existing road issues.
The House for the first time has approved a war powers resolution that would halt the U.S. military action against Iran.
The Florida House and Senate passed a tweaked version of a major proposal to cut local property taxes on Tuesday. The bill increases the current $50,000 exemption on homestead property taxes to $150,000 for 2027, and to $250,000 in 2028. The exemption will not apply to school district taxes.
You buy a home in Florida that you saw online. The site says estimated property taxes are around $4,000. But when you get your first property tax bill, the cost may be thousands of dollars more. Why? Because the sites don't factor in Florida's Save Our Homes benefit, which doesn't stay when the home is sold, according to Orange County's property appraiser.
The Seminole County Property Appraiser estimates that the governor’s property tax proposal would result in a reduction of $409 million in tax revenue for the county.
Florida is accusing OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, of harmful and deceptive practices in a first-in-the-nation lawsuit against the maker of ChatGPT. Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the lawsuit on Monday.
A provision tucked into the state budget would direct the Department of Children and Families to competitively procure a vendor capable of using machine learning to analyze Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, eligibility determinations.
Lawmakers will stay in Tallahassee a little longer after Gov. Ron DeSantis called a special session to pass a property tax amendment for the November ballot. The session is expected to start on Monday.
Florida’s newly drawn congressional districts will remain intact, a Tallahassee judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Joshua Hawkes of the Leon Circuit Court rejected the push from two voting rights organizations and a group of voters to strike down the map drawn up by an aide for Gov. Ron DeSantis and passed by the GOP-led Legislature.
After News 6 posted on Facebook about CFO Blaise Ingoglia’s visit, many viewers expressed a similar sentiment: “What about Alligator Alcatraz?”
The Orlando VA Medical Center in Lake Nona hosted a remembrance ceremony Friday morning honoring men and women who died in military service, while also connecting veterans with local support services.
On Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took to social media to once again broach a pair of issues that he argues can potentially fix issues in the U.S. Congress.
The Kissimmee City Commission voted to pause its ethics complaint process while drafting a new ordinance, delaying new complaints against the mayor and a commissioner as existing investigations continue.
Florida lawmakers earn less than $30,000 a year in salary. In 2024, 82 of the 160 lawmakers had a reported net worth of over a million dollars. Find out how much your state representative and state senator are worth.
On Monday, Port Canaveral received a $20 million US Department of Transportation grant to expand capacity at two of its busiest docks that take in hundreds of millions of dollars a year in refined petroleum, keeping fuel moving into Florida.
A council meant to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency proposed Thursday a series of long-awaited changes to the disaster recovery body that stop short of the administration’s promises to dismantle it, but could reduce the number of disasters the federal government supports and the amount of money it doles out.
A major project to raise a flood-prone Deltona road is moving closer to reality. The Deltona City Commission is set to vote on approving engineering, design and permitting work to elevate Elkcam Boulevard, a thoroughfare that residents say floods during even minor storms — and becomes impassable for weeks, sometimes months, after major ones.
A lack of space in state-run mental health facilities and growing waitlists point to a system balancing legal standards, medical opinions, and limited resources—often under intense pressure.
More than one month after ending the regular session without passing a budget, legislative leaders said Thursday they have a deal on top-line spending levels and plans for a May special session to pass the bill that funds the Florida government.
On Wednesday, DeSantis said that "White males" have been the No. 1 "disfavored group" of DEI initiatives after he signed a ban on local governments from implementing such policies.
Orange County Commissioners will likely face renewed pressure from opponents on Tuesday over the county’s agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The new crackdown comes thanks to a new pilot program, which allows states to block the purchases of certain goods under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
How should Brevard County pay for lifeguards on every beach? The recent drowning of two people in Cocoa Beach is sparking a conversation, and pushback from one city mayor who says lifeguards can't be funded everywhere, and the Tourist Development Council needs to be involved in the conversation.
After two drownings this week, a Brevard commissioner says he’d be willing to raise taxes to put lifeguards on every beach in the county. The reality on most of the Brevard County coastline is there aren’t lifeguards to save someone in an emergency.
Daytona Beach city commissioners are set to vote Wednesday night on a more than $1 million contract to repair sidewalks in a newly built neighborhood where residents say dozens of people have fallen.
Gov. Ron DeSantis could push back the special session on congressional redistricting, he said Tuesday. DeSantis originally called the session to produce new maps for the U.S. House in an unusual mid-decade redistricting in January and it’s scheduled to start Monday.
Smoking in Seminole County parks could soon be prohibited as county leaders prepare to vote on a proposed ban. The Seminole County Board of Commissioners is expected to take up the measure on Monday, April 13. If approved, the ordinance would ban smoking at all county-owned parks.
Florida stepped in last week to help manage the distressed finances of two rural school districts, and that could be just an inkling of what’s to come for school districts across the state, state leaders say, as enrollment continues to decline.
During a bill signing on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called on state lawmakers to ban cousins from getting married in Florida.
The NFL says it will keep the Rooney Rule, while Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier calls it illegal under state law and threatens a lawsuit if the league doesn’t change it by May 1.
A new animal shelter in Orange County is officially underway. The shelter, which will cost $49 million, will be the largest in Florida at 123,419 square feet, and will have a much larger medical suite to help increase capacity for medical needs such as spay and neuter services.
The bill requires verification of U.S. citizenship during voter registration, mandates paper ballots for all elections and requires congressional candidates to disclose stock trading activity while in office.
An internal audit of the Daytona Beach Fire Department is raising serious questions about more than $500,000 in spending — and a city commissioner says what’s in the report is “extremely concerning.”
After city leaders in Sanford scrapped a major development in the downtown area, commissioners are once again discussing what could happen to the properties where the Heritage Park project was once planned.
A proposal from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to eliminate the Transportation Security Administration drew mixed reactions from travelers, aviation experts and lawmakers, according to our sister station WJXT in Jacksonville.
On Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year, Florida's attorney general announced that his office will no longer enforce over 80 state laws.
Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuked some of Florida’s top law enforcement officials Thursday, criticizing their calls to Congress and President Donald Trump to work on a path to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants.
Brevard County has been looking for solutions to those so-called forever chemicals that are linked to all kinds of health problems, including cancer. County commissioners on Tuesday voted to spend $5 million to buy land next to a current water plant north of Micco Road in order to build new water and wastewater treatment facilities.
The city of Oviedo raised their stormwater rate last year and promised to start tackling a list of infrastructure improvements. Our News 6 team followed up this week to see how that money is being used now.
A group of sheriffs on a state immigration enforcement board sharply criticized the federal government’s mass deportation efforts Monday, a stark departure from hardline policies in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has spearheaded collaboration with federal officials to remove all undocumented immigrants.
A bill that would have stopped Florida from selling certain driver information to third-party companies has died in the House.
Water bead toys now have new safety rules set by the federal government. The CPSC says that from 2017 to 2022, there were an estimated 6,300 water bead-related ingestion injuries. At least one child, a 10-month-old girl, died in 2023.
In a rare bipartisan effort for a deeply divided Congress, the Senate has passed a broad bill to make U.S. housing more accessible and affordable.
The Florida House on Wednesday approved the bill (SB 484) that aims to put restrictions on the growth of massive data centers that power the rapidly developing AI technology, and their effects on regional electric and water resources.
Florida lawmakers are bringing the anti-DEI crusade to local governments with a bill headed to Gov. DeSantis that bans cities and counties from funding or supporting diversity programs or events, and gives the governor the power to remove officials who violate the law.
Orange County commissioners officially approved a resolution that opposes the establishment of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in the county. During a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday, commissioners unanimously approved the resolution as a part of their consent agenda.
Osceola County School District is considering hiring a third-party consultant to persuade families to return students to district schools, a step that could cost $935 for each student who re-enrolls.
Some much-needed improvements could soon be underway for Sanford’s troubled wastewater treatment facility. At a meeting on Monday, commissioners will vote on funding to harden infrastructure against future hurricanes.
Neighbors in Sanford are pushing back against a proposal to build a gas station and convenience store near their homes. Plans submitted to the city of Sanford show where a 7-Eleven would be built near E. Lake Mary Boulevard and Skyway Drive.
A vacant lot on Goldenrod Road could soon become the site of a new homeless shelter in Orange County. The county is considering a plan to build a 150-bed, full-service facility, but some neighbors say they have questions about security and how the program would work.
The Brevard County high school teacher who was essentially fired by the district because she used a student’s preferred name without parental permission won an arbitration in the case. Talking to News 6 on Friday, Melissa Calhoun called the decision a win for all teachers, even though BPS still has no plans on rehiring her.
Concerned residents and business owners packed City Hall in Winter Garden on Thursday night, filling commission chambers to capacity as they voiced fears over how recent downtown property sales could reshape the community and force out small businesses.
The Florida Department of Health issued emergency rules Wednesday that will block thousands of Floridians from accessing their HIV medication.
Businesses could round cash sales up or down to the nearest nickel to account for the discontinuation of the penny under a bill that has passed the Florida Senate.
Legislation putting new restrictions on large-scale data centers, a major plank of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to put guardrails on artificial intelligence, cleared its first House committee on Tuesday.
