Jim Turner - News Service of Florida

A draft of the bill, which will be presented during a special legislative session that starts Monday, would allow property tax refunds to those who were forced from their homes for more than a month.

State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis cited ideological differences with BlackRock, specifically the firm’s use of environmental, social and governance standards.

They include feeding lettuce for the second straight year, as poor water quality and algae blooms have depleted seagrass beds that provide a key food source for manatees in the Indian River Lagoon.

With the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season ending next week, state officials are looking at potential changes after Florida got hit by its deadliest storm in nearly nine decades.

October's jobless rate was 2.7%, up from a historic low of 2.5% in September.

Visit Florida estimates the state attracted 35 million travelers during the third quarter, a 6.9 percent increase from 2021. The estimate was also 8% above the same period of 2019, before the pandemic.

DeSantis, who won reelection as Florida's governor last week, deflected questions on Wednesday about his possible bid for the presidency in 2024.

Gov. Ron DeSantis says Nicole may not be as "significant" as Ian, but he expressed concern it would cause flooding and further damage coastal areas that sustained erosion in the September hurricane.

Outgoing Senate President Wilton Simpson was elected agriculture commissioner while Attorney General Ashley Moody and CFO Jimmy Patronis won second terms.

In the four weeks before Ian made landfall Sept. 28, Florida averaged 5,498 unemployment claims a week. In the four weeks after Ian, the state averaged 10,779 claims a week.