COUNTY 

TC Palm 

St. Lucie County sales tax renewal for Port St. Lucie, Fort Pierce 

St. Lucie County voters likely will decide in November whether to renew a half-percent sales tax for infrastructure. 

 

Fox 13 

Manatee County’s District 1 commissioner suddenly passes away: ‘Greatly missed’  

BRADENTON, Fla. – Manatee County announced the death of one of their commissioners, Carol Ann Felts, on Tuesday.   

 

Your Observer 

Local legislators and businesses come together on Manatee County Day 

Manatee County commissioners travel to Tallahassee to meet with legislators annually to discuss the county’s needs and priorities. 

 

Orlando Weekly 

Demings gives feds more time to renegotiate reimbursement for ICE detention costs  

Federal officials requested the county extend their deadline for negotiations after Demings threatened to potentially cancel their agreement allowing the local jail to serve as a temporary detention center. 

 

TECHNOLOGY 

WUWF 

Florida House starts to advance rules on massive data centers  

Legislation putting new restrictions on large-scale data centers, major plank of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ push to put guardrails on artificial intelligence, cleared its first House committee on Tuesday. 

 

WPBF 

Developers hit pause on St. Lucie County data center plans 

The developers’ withdrawal of their application does not mean the plans are off the table, according to a county commissioner. 

 

STATE 

Miami Herald 

Florida Cabinet approves $40M for rural immigration enforcement  

Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the Florida Cabinet on Tuesday approved roughly $40 million to reimburse local law enforcement agencies — primarily in rural counties — for a rapid buildup of equipment and detention capacity as part of the state’s escalating immigration crackdown. 

  

LEGISLATION 

Sun Sentinel 

Fort Lauderdale not a fan of ‘catastrophic’ Live Local bills 

Florida lawmakers, in their zeal to boost affordable housing to accommodate the state’s surging population, have come up with a one-size-fits-all approach that will have dire consequences for crowded urban areas like Fort Lauderdale, critics say. 

 

Midflorida Newspaper 

House passes budget, but Speaker warns against ‘artificial deadline’ 

The House passed its $113.6 billion budget proposal Thursday, but House Speaker Daniel Perez warned negotiations with the Senate could be rocky, possibly leading to an extension of the legislative session. 

 

Florida Bar 

Bill boosting payments to court clerks advances 

The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Tuesday to significantly raise the reimbursement rate the state pays to Florida court clerks for waiving filing fees and service charges for domestic violence victims and the poor. 

 

Orlando Weekly 

Could Pulse memorial be affected by Florida’s proposed crackdown on city-funded DEI?  

A proposal making its way through the state Legislature would prevent cities from funding any diversity, equity or inclusion initiative, with limited exceptions. 

 

Florida Politics 

Release the records! Final House Committee OKs government transparency bill 

Government agencies’ default setting is ‘ignore, delay, and deny’ when it comes to public records.