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Florida
2024 Session: Florida lawmaker walks back labor bill; won’t let minors work on roofs
‘It’s a great opportunity for young people to learn skills, to learn a trade and go forward,’ said Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville.
A controversial bill that would have allowed teenagers to work as roofers was amended to limit 16- and 17-year-olds to residential construction projects lower than 6 feet, a change softening a measure that critics called child exploitation.
At a Senate Education PreK-12 meeting Wednesday morning, the bill’s sponsor rejected critics’ claims that the bill was a way to make up for any loss in Florida’s workforce after last year’s immigration crackdown law and said it would help teens learn construction and technical education skills.
“If we’re cutting them off because of political conversations, instead of giving them and showing them opportunities, then we’re missing the boat on what our responsibility should be as parents, as neighbors, as legislators,” said Sen. Corey Simon, R-Quincy.
What’s called a “strike-all” amendment, usually a near-total rewrite of a bill, says roofs and scaffolding would still be off limits. Teens would also only be allowed to work on residential construction sites, not commercial, Simon said. Minors would still be able to work on ladders, but no taller than 6 feet.
The career and technical education (CTE) legislation is among bills filed this year that critics say will wrongly roll back the state’s child labor laws.
But the bill, which is backed by the construction industry and co-introduced by roofing company owner Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, passed through the committee with nine yeas and two nays.
Forty-seven years ago, Perry began roofing at 16 and started his company at 17, he said.
“We’re not talking about taking a kid and saying ‘we’re going to direct you because you’re going into one of these trades,’ that’s what you can do the whole life,” said Perry. “It’s a great opportunity for young people to learn skills, to learn a trade and go forward.”
What is HB 49? GOP seeks to roll back child labor laws, let employers work kids longer
A related bill by Rep. Linda Chaney, R-St. Pete Beach, was met with protests Tuesday. It would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work six days a week, for more than eight hours a day and more than 30 hours a week.
A group of around 10 Gen Z protesters piled into her office suite in the Capitol wanting to speak with her but ended up sharing their concerns with a staffer.
“This was never about allowing kids to work more,” said 19-year-old Cameron Driggers, executive director of the Youth Action Fund, which organized the demonstration. “(This is about) donors and large corporations that just want to exploit and take advantage of youth labor.”
Democratic committee members on Wednesday were concerned Simon’s bill would be in violation of federal labor law that generally does not allow children under 18 from working in roofing occupations. But Simon said the strike-all removed provisions to let teens on roofs and scaffolding.
Currently in Florida, only a teen enrolled in a CTE program at a school is allowed to work an apprenticeship, Simon said. His measure would let Florida teens work on construction sites regardless of whether they are enrolled in a CTE program.
Rich Templin, director of politics and public policy for the Florida AFL-CIO, said the statewide labor union had serious concerns with the bill. The supervisory requirements aren’t strong enough, according to apprenticeship directors he’s spoken to.
“As I was filling out my card, I really wish you guys would add a third box, because it’s ‘oppose,’ it’s ‘support,’ and there needs to be one where it’s like ‘it’s complicated,’ right?” Templin said. He wound up opposing the bill.
More: Florida education bills to watch: Mandatory computer classes, parents’ rights and more
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
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Florida
Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”
Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.
Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.
The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.
In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.
In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”
The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion.
Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
Florida
Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.
Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.
Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.
The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.
Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.
Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.
Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.
Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.
The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.
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