Latest news with #JackieLlanos
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DeSantis signs anti-squatting bills benefiting hospitality industry, retail property owners
Miami river skyline on May 30, 2025. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills on Monday that allow hotels and business property owners to have police remove squatters. Under SB 606, police can remove a person from a hotel and arrest them after receiving a written notice that they need to leave if they fail to check out on time and refuse to pay for their stay. Similarly, SB 322 allows a business space owner to submit a form to the local sheriff to remove someone unlawfully occupying the property without a lease. 'What we've seen is hotel guests just not pay and squat in the hotel,' DeSantis said during the bill signing ceremony in Sarasota. 'This forces the owner of the hotel to go through basically a traditional eviction process.' Retail property owners will have to pay the sheriff's office for serving the removal notice to the people squatting and for law enforcement to stay while the people leave. However, the alleged squatter can sue for wrongful removal and collect damages if any of their belongings are damaged, and recover their attorney fees. Both measures go into effect on July 1. Hotels and restaurants will have to inform guests about any service charges, such as automatic tips, on their menus and receipts under the bill sponsored by St. Augustine Republican Tom Leek. Gil Reyes, Suncoast chapter president of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association and general manager of the hotel where the ceremony took place, thanked the governor for signing the bill. 'This legislation is a win for Florida's hospitality industry,' he said. 'It brings our laws in line with current practices, offers clear guidance, and supports both property rights and consumer understanding again.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Restrictions on constitutional amendment process clears the Florida Legislature
Anti-abortion and pro-abortion people rally outside of the Florida Supreme Court on Feb. 7, 2024, after the oral argument on the proposed amendment to enshrine abortion-rights in the Florida Constitution. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) A measure that Democrats and voting rights advocates say would make it significantly more difficult for citizen-led constitutional amendments to make it on the ballot has passed in the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. It now goes to Governor Ron DeSantis desk, where he is expected to quickly sign the measure into law. 'This is the most important bill that we will be hearing in this chamber,' said Democratic Senate Leader Lori Berman on Wednesday. 'And as you've heard, it's going to greatly restrict the access of the citizens of the state of Florida to be able to address the system.' The Senate on Friday passed an amended version of HB 1205, 28-9. The House voted 81-30 on Thursday night. DeSantis said in January that it was a top legislative priority for him this year. The governor and his fellow Republicans in the Legislature argue the measure is needed to combat signature petition fraud that they alleged was exposed last year in the campaigns to pass constitutional amendments regarding legalizing recreational marijuana and abortion rights. Their proof? A report published in January by the Office of Election Crimes and Security alleging that more than 100 representatives of the group attempting to pass the abortion-rights initiative committed crimes related to gathering petitions. 'The report penetrates the smokescreen of out-of-state petition mills who steal citizens' identity and then hide from Florida prosecutors,' said Panhandle Republican Don Gaetz, co-sponsor of the Senate bill, on Wednesday during floor debate. 'The report explains the slippery sidestepping of responsibility of amendment sponsors who pay for it all and then deny it all.' Jacksonville Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis argued that Republicans were making too much of that report. 'We talk about the fraudulent report,' she said. 'You've heard that over and over again. The 900-page [report] that shows all of the fraudulent cases. Guess what guys? I have it, too. Seventeen arrests. Twenty-five cases. Most of this is charts. Redacted pages, and so on.' Vero Beach Republican Sen. Erin Grall, the other co-sponsor of the bill, said on Thursday that the report showed 18 arrests in all, along with hundreds of allegations of petition fraud referred to the Office of Election Crimes and Security that are listed in the document. The bill includes a number of proposals that Democrats say will allow only the wealthy to participate in the process of placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot in Florida. 'This bill raises the costs,' said South Florida Democratic Sen. Shevrin Jones on Thursday. 'This bill tightens the timeline. This bill adds legal tasks and risks. And lastly, members, this bill absolutely stacks the deck until the only people who can access the process are those who can afford lobbyists and lawyers.' Floridians strongly supported the two constitutional amendments on last year's ballot regarding cannabis and abortion rights, with both measure drawing more than 55% of the vote — clear majorities but short of the 60% required for passage in Florida. 'Those pesky amendments 3 and 4 just came too damn close to passing, so, what are we going to do?' said South Florida Sen. Tina Polsky, mimicking what she said top Republicans had in mind. 'We're going to make it so hard, and so expensive, that only corporate interests are going to be able to get a citizen's initiative on the ballot.' 'Fifty-seven percent of Floridians told us that a six-week abortion ban was extreme and should be overturned,' said Orlando Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. 'So, instead of taking action when they told us, 'Do something about this extreme abortion ban,' we did nothing. Oh, wait, wait. I'm wrong. We did something. We came up with this bill to remind people that we are not listening.' But Northeast Florida Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley insisted the bill was absolutely needed. 'This is not a bill to restrict, it is a bill to protect. To make sure that our constitutional system is one of integrity and that it's free of fraud,' she said. 'The bill that is before us does not address imaginary, hypothetical fraud, but known fraud, fraud that has been exposed for us to see.' Among the provisions in the bill are: Requires additional personal identifying information for voters signing petition forms and for applicants for petition circulators, including listing their Florida driver license or ID card number and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. Bans people who are not residents of Florida from acting as petition circulators. People who are not U.S. citizens are also banned, as are people who have been convicted of a felony violation and not had their right to vote restored. The sponsors of an amendment are liable for a $50,000 fine if found to have used such people as petition gatherers. Requires training for petition circulators. Requires signed petitions must be returned to the supervisor of elections office within 10 days after the voter signs the form (currently it is 30 days). The petition gatherer will be fined $50 per each day late for each petition form received after 10 days. That fine will be increased to $2,500 for each petition form received if the petition gatherer 'acted willfully.' Those fines will rise to $100 per each day late, up to a maximum of $500, for each petition form signed by a voter on or before Feb. 1 in an election year. That goes up to $5,000 if the petition gatherer acted willfully. Requires supervisors of elections to notify voters whose signatures are verified and provide an opportunity for such persons to report that their signatures were forged or misrepresented. Provides for inclusion of the financial impact statement on the petition form and adds the financial impact statement to the issues subject to automatic Supreme Court review. If a petition gatherer signs someone else's name to a petition, he or she will be fined $5,000 for each petition. If the petition gatherer retains a voter's information for any reason other than for an amendment campaign, they will be subject to a third-degree felony. A person who collects, delivers, or otherwise physically possesses more than 25 signed petition forms in addition to his or her own signed petition form or a signed petition form belonging to an immediate family member, and who is not registered as a petition circulator, is subject to a third-degree felony. For any reporting period in which the percentage of petition forms deemed invalid by the supervisor of elections exceeds 25% of the forms received in a particular reporting period, the supervisor must notify the Office of Election Crimes and Security. They will then conduct a preliminary investigation into whether the invalidated petitions are a result of fraud. If warranted, the Office of Election Crimes and Security may report findings to the statewide prosecutor or the state attorney for the judicial circuit where the alleged violation occurred for prosecution. Bans anyone from the state government from authorizing the expenditure of public funds for a political advertisement or any other communication for a citizen-led constitutional amendment campaign. However, the bill also says that it 'does not preclude' state government or a person acting on behalf of the state government from reporting on official actions of the state government in 'an accurate, fair, and impartial manner; posting factual information on a government website or in printed materials; hosting and providing information at a public forum; providing factual information in response to an inquiry.' The last provision was placed on the bill earlier this year by Sen. Bradley, and follows reports that DeSantis used taxpayers funds last year for public service ads and otherwise used government resources to campaign against Amendments 3 and 4. South Florida Sen. Jason Pizzo, who left the Democratic Party a week ago to become a political independent, told the bill sponsors on Thursday that if they could acknowledge that state elected officials used taxpayer resources last year, they would have his vote. 'The Bradley provision which we included in this bill was inspired by individuals who work for the state government and are part of the state government now,' Sen. Gaetz said. 'And they engaged in behavior that will now be unlawful, and will now be prevented if we pass this bill.' With that acknowledgement, Pizzo joined all the Senate Republicans in supporting the measure. All Democrats opposed it. The law will go into effect immediately after the governor signs the bill. That means it will affect organizations working to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot in 2026, such as Florida Decides Healthcare, working to have Florida expand Medicaid. 'This legislation is not about 'transparency' or 'reform.' It's a calculated move by out-of-touch politicians trying to rewrite the rules to further keep the power in their hands and away from everyday citizens. They're attempting to silence Floridians because they're afraid of answering to We The People,' said Florida Decides Healthcare Campaign Manager Mitch Emerson. 'Florida Decides Healthcare has fought tirelessly to protect the voice of the people and we're not going anywhere. We will continue to fight for the freedom of every Floridian to access the healthcare they need because no politician gets to decide which rights we're allowed to keep. The people of Florida deserve better than this bad-faith attempt to silence our voices.' Brad Ashwell, Florida director of All Voting is Local, took aim at one specific part of the bill as especially egregious. 'By imposing a 10-day timeline on signed petition forms, Florida politicians would effectively get rid of citizen-led amendments and eliminate a proven way for people to participate in the state's democratic processes,' Ashwell said in a written statement. 'Point blank, this is an attack on our democracy and follows an undeniable pattern in Florida where state officials want to silence anyone who doesn't agree with them and ensure people can't decide for themselves how they're governed.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Legislature finally settles its differences on condo bill
Condominiums in front of Bayfront Park in downtown Miami. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Lawmakers in both chambers of the Florida Legislature voted unanimously Wednesday to pass a bill addressing rising fees for condominium owners, which is one of the items that has sprouted criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis. With the scheduled end of the session looming mere days away, the Legislature approved a bill, HB 913, that allows condominium associations to secure credit lines and invest funds to pay for building repairs instead of immediately raising large amounts of cash from owners. But lawmakers sponsoring the legislation acknowledged that they will likely have to continue making changes in the future in light of escalating fees following last year's deadline for condominiums to complete studies detailing how much each needs to save to pay for roof and structural maintenance. 'This incredible bill addressing the condominium crisis we have all heard about for the last year gives a lot of financial relief,' Miami Republican Rep. Vicki Lopez said. She's the bill's main sponsor in the House. Fleming Island Republican Sen. Jennifer Bradley filed the Senate's proposal. Lawmakers passed legislation requiring those studies and milestone inspections 30 years after a building's construction, following the 2021 collapse in Surfside of a 12-story condo that killed 98 people. The passage comes amid DeSantis' continued bashing of the Legislature, with emphasis on the House, over their inaction on condos. He called lawmakers to Tallahassee at the beginning of the year for a special session on immigration, condos, hurricane relief, and citizen-led constitutional amendments. The Legislature ended up only addressing immigration ahead of their scheduled session opening in March. 'We have this condo issue, that legislation that caused these crushing assessments,' DeSantis said during a Wednesday press conference about Hope Florida in Fruitland Park. 'We know people need relief from that. We've gotta do it. The Senate's got a great product that can do it.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Senators waited a week to take up the House's proposal, with changes requiring both chambers to make concessions. For example, Bradley's idea to allow condo associations to invest money meant for repairs is still in the bill, but the compromise limits those investments to certificates of deposit. The House's push to allow associations to pay for repairs with credits will also require support from the majority of owners of condo units. The legislation provides some flexibility for associations, carving out condos with only three residential stories from the building inspection requirements and letting associations pause contributions to reserve funds for repairs for up to two years after a milestone inspection, required 30 years after the buildings' construction. With the bill headed to the governor's desk, DeSantis could still harbor objections to it, particularly regarding electronic voting. A quarter of condo owners could petition their association to hold an electronic vote under the bill, which DeSantis has said would incite fraud. Still, one provision that intensified disagreement between the sponsors early made its way to the Senate floor's discussion despite the House abandoning the idea earlier in the process. Lopez originally wanted to prohibit Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state's property insurer of last resort, from issuing or renewing policies for condominium buildings that haven't completed their building inspections. 'Obviously, ensuring compliance is important, but such a provision would devastate owners in an already weak condo market,' Bradley said, adding that she brought up the removed provision because other senators still raised concerns about it. Both Lopez and Bradley received compliments from their colleagues. Senators made multiple references to constituents yelling at them over the heightened fees. 'Condo meetings are not where you wanna go with a thin skin. I assure you of that,' Bradley said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Teens need parental consent to get STI treatment, but not to work full-time, House votes
High school and college students participating in Planned Parenthood programs testified against a bill in the Senate on March 25, 2025, that would require parental consent to access birth control and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Although older teens could work unlimited hours, they wouldn't be able to get treatment for sexually transmitted infections on their own under two bills the Florida House approved Friday. House lawmakers voted on party lines both to require parental consent for health care providers to treat minors with STIs and to let 16- and 17-year-olds work full-time hours during the school year without their parents' permission. The passage of the bills rolling back child labor laws (HB 1225) and exceptions entitling minors to privacy with doctors (HB 1505) prompted ardent debate from Democrats, who raised concerns about children who may be too afraid to report abuse. Orlando Democratic Rep. Rita Harris put forward a failed amendment allowing minors 16 and older to get treatment for STIs without parental consent. 'There is definitely space for people who are 16 or 17 to be able to make decisions on their own, as it was stated,' Harris said. 'They drive a car. We trust them to get behind a car, which could literally kill people and kill themselves.' It didn't come up during Friday's debate, but the legislation co-sponsored by Lake Mary Republican Rep. Rachel Plakon also would remove a 'loophole' in Florida law that allows physicians to prescribe birth control to a minor if their medical opinion is that the patient would suffer health hazards otherwise. Plakon said she wants parents to have greater involvement over their kids' health decisions than institutions. 'The overwhelming majority of parents want to do the right thing for their children, and we believe that the passing of this legislation is a restoration of parental rights with health care and will foster better communication between parents and their children,' Plakon said. Parental consent doesn't apply to minors whose parents are being investigated for a crime against them. The Senate version, SB 1288, has not been scheduled for a floor vote. Additionally, the change could come at a time when Florida teens are contracting chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis at the highest rates since 2008, according to 2023 data from the Florida Department of Health. Those infections can be cured with antibiotics, but worsen if left untreated. Seventeen-year-old Adriana Rodas views the bills in juxtaposition to each other. The South Floridian traveled to Tallahassee in March to testify against HB 1505. 'I think saying that [teens] are only old enough to do one thing, and that one thing also happens to benefit the people who want to make this legislation pass, is hypocritical because it just shows to me that they always say they care about children, but then when it comes to having them work longer hours, which deteriorates mental health and can really slow them down academically, they don't care,' Rodas said in an interview with Florida Phoenix. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Lawmakers then approved the bill loosening working laws for young Floridians, which Democrats decried as a chance for employers to exploit minors, by a vote of 78-30. Specifically, the bill would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work shifts longer than eight hours on the day before a school day and more than 30 hours in a week while school is in session. The bill loosens restrictions for 14- and 15-year-old home-school students, online students, and those who've graduated. Employers wouldn't have to give 30-minute breaks to older teens under the bill. 'In Florida, we're requiring parental rights for many other things, like field trips, school presentations, and even, previously, this bill that just moved, kids would need parental rights for STI treatment,' said Jacksonville Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon. Florida now allows waivers signed by parents. guardians, or school superintendents for young people to work beyond restrictions spelled out in state law, but Republicans argued that the ultimate permission is granted by parents, and a waiver should not be required. Rep. Monique Miller, a Republican representing Palm Bay and the bill's sponsor, said that, because of 'a resurgence in apprenticeships and such, we want to reduce barriers to teenagers learning their trade.' Gov. Ron DeSantis' office drafted the legislation, Orlando Weekly reported. The bill makes Florida's minor labor laws stricter in one aspect. It was amended to prohibit students from working past 10 p.m. on school nights. Florida law now allows students to work until 11:00 p.m. The Senate version of the bill, SB 918, has not moved since its first committee stop, when it passed on a 5-4 vote. That bill, and the original version of the House bill, would've let minors work overnight on school nights. During its last committee stop, the bill was amended to speed up a preemption established last year, when lawmakers voted to eliminate local living-wage laws, specifically for government contractors, effective in 2026. The 2025 bill revises that preemption to take effect this year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Amid rise of STI rates among teens, a bill could risk their access to treatment and birth control
High school and college students with the Planned Parenthood lights and generation action programs testified against a bill in the Senate on March 25, 2025, that would require parental consent to access birth control and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix) Florida teens are contracting sexually transmitted infections at rates higher than in the past decade, and a bill advancing in the Republican-controlled Legislature would require them to tell their parents to secure treatment. Minors in Florida are entitled to privacy with doctors and medical providers to receive treatment for STIs, substance abuse, and mental health problems. In some cases, doctors can prescribe birth control to minors without their parents' written consent. Vero Beach Republican Sen. Erin Grall wants to eliminate those exceptions and grant parents access to all their kids' medical records, including approving any health surveys or questionnaires they may fill out. This means that healthcare providers wouldn't be able to treat a minor with an STI without a parent's permission. The staunch anti-abortion senator is labeling the statutory exceptions providing teens privacy with their doctors a parental rights problem in SB 1288. 'It's tragic to me that so many people have had to experience such pain at the hands of their parents, but I believe that as a society, we have marginalized parents in a way that has led to that behavior, and it's my hope that we see that change,' Grall said during the Senate Pre-K-12 Committee meeting, which the bill passed with four senators in opposition, including a Republican. Grall said she found bothersome her own experience taking her daughter to the doctors' office, where the child was given a survey about suicide. She told lawmakers that repeatedly asking children if they had ever considered suicide could cause them to start thinking about it. During nearly an hour of testimony, sexual assault survivors and reproductive health advocates say the bill was dangerous for kids who can't confide in their parents at risk, leading to an increase in teen pregnancies and STIs. Statewide rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis among 13 to 17-year-olds are the highest they have been since 2008, according to 2023 data from the Florida Department of Health. Those infections can be cured with antibiotics, but worsen if left untreated for longer. 'This is war on our reproductive freedoms, but what I was really shocked to hear is that we are now attacking the mental health of our children,' said Sarah Parker, a member of the public providing testimony who said she had been sexually assaulted as a child. 'We know that children are abused and raped in the system. Let's not pretend these things are not happening. Just say you don't care and be transparent.' Florida statute is clearer about teens' ability to receive treatment for STIs, substance abuse, and mental health services without parental consent than it is about granting access to birth control. However, physicians can prescribe birth control to a minor if their medical opinion is that the patient would suffer health hazards otherwise. Nearly all of Grall's Republican colleagues agreed, but Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud opposed the bill, insisting that the requirement become parental notification and not consent. Grall said she wasn't willing to make that change. 'We have to consider how we protect vulnerable populations, and we cannot hope the best for them with the policy without creating some sort of protections for them,' Calatayud said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The state has been making strides toward reducing the number of teen pregnancies. Between 2004 and 2023, the rate of teen pregnancies among minors fell from 13.8 to 3.6 per 1,000 women in the state, according to FDH data. Those numbers don't capture how Florida's reproductive care landscape has changed since the six-week abortion ban went into effect in May, but doctors already had to get parental consent or permission from a judge to provide abortions to minors. Grall, who sponsored the law restricting abortions in most cases after six weeks' gestation, said she wasn't concerned about an increase in teen pregnancies and that minors could still report abuse to law enforcement or other mandated reporters. With a shorter timeframe for minors to secure an abortion before six weeks' gestation, pro-abortion advocates say access to birth control is essential. 'This bill helps no one and causes undue harm to young Floridians, who, under the current abortion ban, would be forced to carry out unwanted teen pregnancies due to lack of access to education, birth control, and testing,' said Tsi Day Smyth, chief deputy director of Voices of Florida. 'I was here when y'all decided that parents do not have the authority to make these sorts of decisions when it comes to their kids' gender-affirming care, and now you're saying that they do have the authority to make these decisions when it comes to reproductive care. Pick a lane, please.' The lack of sex education in public schools across the state also worsens the potential damage of the bill if kids don't know how they can contract STIs, critics of the proposal said. 'At the end of the day, failing to educate young people, hampering our ability to conduct risk assessment surveys, and restricting access to family planning is a recipe for disaster for young people in Florida,' said Michelle Grimsley Shindano, director of Public Policy for the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, in a press release. Health care providers could face disciplinary actions if they disobey parental consent requirements, such as probation and suspension or revocation of their licenses, according to a legislative analysis of the bill. They could also have to pay fines of up to $10,000 per violation. January Littlejohn, the Leon County mother whom First Lady Melania Trump invited to President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, was one of five people speaking in support of the bill. The parental rights advocate recently lost her appeal in the dismissal of her suit against the county's school board and superintendent over a dispute relating to her child wanting to use pronouns and express a gender identity she didn't approve of, according to the Tallahassee Democrat. 'Bottom line is, we cannot continue to presume all parents to be a risk of abuse with no due process, and continue to cut them out of medical and mental health care decisions for their children, because it is us, the parents, that know and love our children better than anyone else,' she said. SB 1288 is not the only bill Grall filed angering pro-abortion advocates this legislative session. The Republican senator also wants parents to claim damages in the wrongful death of a fetus at any stage of development, which critics say would establish fetal personhood. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
