American Rescue Plan

It's part of a $250 million package Gov. Ron DeSantis announced will go to Florida's ports.

Advocates for poor, elderly and disabled individuals, who have been pressing the DeSantis administration to leverage the additional funding since spring, hailed the plan.

Federal education officials questioned state leaders about teacher bonuses and holding back COVID-19 relief funds from school districts.

The state wants a 30-day extension to consider the effects of using added funds from the American Rescue Plan for home- and community-based services.

Florida received about $35 million to advance transportation projects, $3.3 million of which went to St. Petersburg’s SunRunner Rapid Transit Bus.

Because of a legally required 72-hour “cooling off” period, the budget is required to be finalized and printed Tuesday for the annual legislative session to end on time Friday.

The Florida House's new plan includes going along with Senate on spending $100 million to clean up Piney Point in Manatee County; $300 million on a statewide wildlife corridor; and $2 billion to offset losses to the state transportation trust fund during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Legislative leaders reached agreement on more than $22 billion in school spending, including a bump in money for teacher salaries as well as $1,000 bonuses for teachers and principals.

In this interview, Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, explains provisions that make it easier for Floridians who lost their job to keep health insurance during the pandemic.

The pandemic forced the company to reduce routes and furlough workers last year.

Many are essential workers at high risk of exposure to the coronavirus — and the pandemic’s economic crash — with no direct access to billions of dollars in federal pandemic relief.

The colossal package allocates money for COVID-19 vaccines, small businesses and anti-poverty programs like the child tax credit. Here are the highlights of the bill President Biden signed Thursday.