Dara Kam - News Service of Florida

The lawsuit filed is the latest twist in a legal battle between Dr. Joseph Dorn and state health officials, who sought to strip him of his medical license.

State attorneys argued Jason Weida should not have to testify because he is a high-ranking official.

The House version of the proposal would extend the ban to children already receiving treatments. It would also stop insurance companies from covering gender-affirming surgeries for transgender adults.

The bill, among other things, would make it a felony for health care professionals to order puberty blockers, hormone treatment or surgery for minors.

An administrative law judge rules that the Pigford license earmarked for Moton Hopkins should not go to his heirs and partners because they are not members of a "recognized class."

The judge initially rejected a request to have a South Carolina psychiatrist perform the evaluations but gave the state another chance to show how findings from exams would affect “the controlling substantive issue of whether treatments at issue are experimental.”

Under the emergency rule released Friday, 22 licenses will be available, adding to the 22 currently licensed operators. The state will accept applications April 24-28.

The Smart & Safe Florida PAC, which has been bankrolled by cannabis operator Trulieve, submitted 294,037 valid petition signatures, enough to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review.

The Agency for Health Care Administration, which largely oversees the Medicaid program, is using the money for legal and expert-witness fees in its push to ban Medicaid coverage for transgender treatments.

AHCA asked for “mental examinations” on a pair of 12-year-olds who are plaintiffs in a challenge to a state rule prohibiting Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care.