Florida Senate

During a meeting about procedural issues, Senate President Wilton Simpson advised members to get used to talking with lobbyists outside the Capitol complex.

The Judiciary Committee spent more than two hours debating the bill and four amendments before voting 7-4 along party lines to move it to the Commerce and Tourism Committee.

State Sen. Danny Burgess says a lesson from COVID-19 is the economic carnage created when businesses were closed to slow the spread of the virus.

Sen. Aaron Bean says there is statewide frustration over the state's plans and that Department of Health officials need to provide the public with a “clear direction.”

Neither chamber's measure contains lawsuit protections for health care providers, but Sen. Jeff Brandes, who sponsored the Senate version, says they will addressed in separate legislation.

Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., R-Hialeah, filed a proposed constitutional amendment that would require two-thirds votes of the House and Senate before a single-payer system could be enacted.

Under Senate President Wilton Simpson’s plan, members of the public will have to watch and testify remotely. House Speaker Chris Sprowls has embraced a somewhat more relaxed stance.

One state senator says DeSantis is manipulating data and "does not have this virus under control and has no interest in doing so."

The safety plan was developed with the guidance of a team from Tampa General Hospital.

The Florida House speaker on Tuesday called into question the state’s COVID-19 death toll, warning that it was based on compromised data and used a…