Author: Carma Henry

     The Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday backed a proposal (SB 28) that would require electric-vehicle owners to pay $200 registration fees to try to offset anticipated losses in gas-tax dollars as more people convert to electric and hybrid vehicles.

With concerns raised about a proposed annual registration fee on electric vehicles amounting to a “double tax,” House members want a study about impacts of the increased number of electric vehicles on Florida roads.

  Brian Newman, chief judge of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings, was approved Wednesday to become general counsel of the state’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Newman has served as an administrative law judge since 2019 and became acting chief judge in 2022. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state Cabinet in January approved his appointment as chief judge.

A little more than a year after calling on the National Guard to assist the state Department of Corrections, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is proposing to assign another 100 guard members to Florida prisons and buy dozens of now-leased trailers to house them and family members.

     A lawyer for Worrell told justices the suspension did not meet a high bar set in the Florida Constitution, warning that allowing it to remain in place would have a “chilling” effect on prosecutors statewide and undermine the will of voters who overwhelmingly elected Worrell in 2020.

     The Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research released a report this week that showed the state’s estimated population in April was 22,634,867, an increase of nearly 359,000 people, or 1.61 percent, from a year earlier.

      The need for youth to speak up and make their voices heard about the issues they care about is as important as ever, which is why one student-led organization in Florida is leading the way in the fight against the tobacco industry and the addictive products that target youth.

Florida A&M University (FAMU) has selected Carlotta Mitchell to serve as the director of its Center for Academic Advising. Mitchell brings more than 25 years of experience in higher education to the position, effective Dec. 1.

Sickle cell disease, a group of inherited blood disorders, affects around 100,000 individuals in the United States and is predominant among African Americans.

     An ordained minister, he is president of the auxiliary council at his church in Inglewood and heads Village Solutions Foundation, a faith-based community development corporation that connects Black churches and communities with green energy programs. He begins his emails with “God morning” or “God afternoon” instead of “good morning” or “good afternoon,” and for him, there is no conflict between his Christian faith and climate action. On the contrary, God and climate (specifically clean energy) are wholly aligned.