2021 Florida Legislature

Senate sponsor Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said in March that the additional money would help Moffitt Cancer Center build a new campus.

Senate President Wilton Simpson made the announcement, but it’s not clear if other parts of state government will follow a health advisory by Florida's surgeon general to reopen as the pandemic continues.

The law takes effect July 1. The governor's executive order enacts some provisions of the law more quickly to “bridge the gap between then and now,” he said.

The measure allows the governor to override local orders during a health crisis and puts a permanent ban on vaccine "passports."

The proposal covers people with cognitive, developmental, physical or emotional disabilities as well as those with brain injuries who go missing.

A measure to protect Florida public employees who use medical marijuana stalled this legislative session, leaving a disconnect between restrictive federal laws and permissive local laws.

Democrat Rep. Bobby DuBose and Republican Sen. Dennis Baxley helped pass a bill creating the state's Rare Disease Advisory Council.

While COVID-19 passports could be used to show people have been vaccinated, ban supporters say the plan strikes a “delicate balance” between protecting people and civil liberties.

The endowment, currently valued at about $958.4 million, was created in 1999 to provide support for health care programs and biomedical research. The bill will fold it into a budget reserve.

Advocates worry about a worker shortage that, they say, will only grow worse as more people qualify for the program unless lawmakers do something about increasing wages for people who provide services.