Florida legislature enters final week of session with many significant items still on the table
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - It's crunch time for Florida lawmakers, as the current legislative session ends on Friday with several items still up for debate.
One pressing for the Florida legislature this week is the budget. They'll have to finalize that by tomorrow, but this is also a last call for any bills that have yet to head to a final vote, so lawmakers will be busy.
READ: Florida House passes bill preventing homeless people from sleeping in public
The Florida House passed a controversial proposal on Friday that would prevent homeless people from sleeping in public. Backers say they don't want cities turning into defacto homeless camps, but opponents say the bill does nothing to actually address the problem of homelessness.
The Senate will debate their version of the bill on Monday.
Another major piece of legislation is a bill that would limit social media access for children and young teens.
On Friday, Governor DeSantis banned a proposed bill that would ban social media for minors under 16, but lawmakers are now rushing to approve a new version of the bill that would allow kids ages 14 and 15 to have social media accounts with their parent's consent.
READ: Florida Senate to take up revised social media bill following objections from DeSantis
Lawmakers are also down to the wire this week on a solution to the ongoing home insurance crisis, and as we've seen in previous sessions, they can't seem to agree on solutions.
So far, the biggest action has been a commitment to pump more money into the My Safe Florida program. That additional funding will allow the state to work through some of its backlog of applicants while prioritizing older Floridians and those who fall below certain income limits.
READ: My Safe Florida Program to prioritize age, income limitations
The House and Senate will also need to decide on a Governor DeSantis budget proposal to suspend the tax on homeowners insurance premiums for one year; it would apply to policyholders with homes valued up to $750,000.
Finally, on Monday, the Florida Senate is expected to pass a $20 million compensation plan for abuse victims of the shuttered Dozier school for boys and another state reform school in Okeechobee.
The plan passed the House unanimously last week.