A majority of Florida voters appeared to help three amendments to the state structure, however early election outcomes confirmed all three nonetheless under the 60% threshold wanted for the modifications to be permitted.
All three poll initiatives have been provided by the state Legislature, which suggests every was put onto the poll by votes of three-fifths of each the state Home and Senate.
Modification 1 was maybe the least controversial of the three. It might permit the Legislature to move a tax exemption on investmentsin houses that make them extra proof against flood harm. Presently, the Florida Structure permits for tax exemptions for renovations associated to wind resistance or for photo voltaic set up. (Usually, the Legislature can’t change what’s exempt from native property taxes. That’s why this difficulty — and Modification 3 — needed to go earlier than voters.)
“An space’s resistance to flood harm might be elevated by way of … enhancements made to particular person properties, reminiscent of elevating constructions, filling basements, and waterproofing,” a Home invoice evaluation wrote in 2021. The measure got here earlier than voters after clearing each chambers of the Legislature unanimously.
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Usually, renovations that make a house extra proof against flood harm enhance the worth of a home, famous the League of Girls Voters, which didn’t take a place on the modification. Modification 1 would make it so governments can’t tax a house owner extra primarily based on these enhancements.
Outcomes simply after 8 p.m. confirmed the modification poised to fail, with 56% of voters approving the measure, although many Panhandle votes remained to be tallied.
The second constitutional modification earlier than voters would abolish a distinct course of for amending the state structure: the Structure Revision Fee. Each 20 years, a 37-person committee meets to debate modifications to the state structure. Three members are appointed by the chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court docket; 9 by the president of the state Senate; 9 by the speaker of the state Home; and 15 by the governor, together with the chairperson. The legal professional common additionally sits on the fee.
The fee final met in 2017-2018. That yr, it put seven amendments earlier than voters, together with a ban on betting on canine racing.
“By eliminating the Structure Revision Fee, we nonetheless have a number of pathways to get to the structure. Folks have a direct democracy path, and so they have a consultant authorities path. However what they don’t have is an unelected-bureaucrat-being-placed-on-the-Structure-Revision-Fee path,” Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, stated in 2021, moments earlier than the state Senate voted to advance the measure.
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Opponents of the modification stated that the fee will not be good but it surely shouldn’t be scrapped.
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“Eliminating the Structure Revision Fee will take away a generational alternative for residents to replace their structure,” the League of Girls Voters wrote on its web site.
Voters disagreed, with 53% in favor of Modification 2, as of 8 p.m. — not sufficient to get rid of the Structure Revision Committee.
Modification 3 was one other proposal to exempt sure folks from some native property taxes.
Classroom academics, regulation enforcement officers, correctional officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, youngster welfare providers professionals, active-duty navy members and members of the Florida Nationwide Guard would all get a further $50,000 homestead exemption beneath the modification.
That exemption would apply to the worth of the property between $100,000 and $150,000. It might not apply to highschool district taxes.
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Modification 3 nonetheless fell wanting the margin wanted for passage as of 8 p.m. Tuesday, with 57% voting in favor and 42% opposed.
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Florida State linebacker Tatum Bethune has been picked 251 overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 NFL Draft.
He began his college career at Central Florida (UCF) in 2019 before transferring to FSU in 2022, playing two seasons in Tallahassee.
Here’s everything you need to know about Bethune.
Tatum Bethune height and weight
Bethune was measured at 5-foot-11-inches and 229 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine.
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Tatum Bethune college, hometown
Bethune began his college career at UCF in 2019 before he transferred to FSU in 2022. He has spent the last two years in Tallahassee.
He is from Miami, Florida and attended national powerhouse Miami Central High School.
Tatum Bethune college stats, highlights
There were questions when it came to FSU’s linebacker room at the beginning of the season and Bethune played a major role in keeping play consistent.
In 2023, he recorded 71 tackles, three pass deflections and one interception.
During his entire college career, he’s recorded 340 tackles, nine pass deflections 7.5 sacks and four interceptions. 108 tackles came during his junior year at UCF.
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Bethune had two massive games this season. He recorded nine tackles in FSU’s season-opening win over No. 5 LSU, 54-24. At Wake Forest, he had nine tackles again.
One of his biggest moments came in the ACC Championship when he made a game-saving interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter, helping the Seminoles to a 16-6 win over Louisville.
While Bethune wasn’t FSU’s star linebacker, he has proven in the past to thrive in the right team environments and be a constant producer on the defensive side of the ball.
Tatum Bethune NFL Combine results
40-yard dash – did not participate
Bench press (225 pounds) – 16 reps
Vertical jump – did not participate
Broad jump – did not participate
3-cone drill – did not participate
Shuttle run – did not participate
Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on X @jackgwilliams.
UCF wide receiver Javon Baker kicked off Day 3 for Florida prospects in the NFL draft. The Patriots took him in the fourth round (No. 110 overall).
The 6-foot-1, 202-pound Atlanta native and transfer from Alabama was one of the Big 12′s top receivers last season as the Knights transitioned to a major conference. He led the league with 1,139 receiving yards, and his yards per catch (21.9) ranked second nationally. He finished with 52 catches and seven touchdowns.
Baker is the first UCF player taken so far.
Florida State had six players picked through the first two days. The Gators had one (first-round receiver Ricky Pearsall), and Miami had another (third-round pick Kamren Kinchens).
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Notable state Day 3 hopefuls include: FSU quarterback Jordan Travis, USF and Gaither High alumnus Donovan Jennings, FSU receiver Johnny Wilson, Gators offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun and Iowa State defensive back T.J. Tampa (from Lakewood High).
We’ll update this post as more state/local players are chosen.
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The state of Florida, a recent haven for women in the Deep South seeking to terminate their pregnancies in the post-Dobbs era, will ban abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy starting May 1, further narrowing access to the procedure for Louisiana residents.
Nearly 1,200 Louisiana women traveled to Florida for abortions in 2023, roughly three times the number who sought the procedure there two years earlier, according to Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration. Louisiana residents made up about 15% of Florida’s 7,736 out-of-state abortions last year.
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The ban may be temporary. While upholding the 6-week abortion threshold earlier this month, Florida’s Supreme Court also ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee the right to abortion “before viability,” which is typically around 24 weeks, would be on the November ballot.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Louisiana residents will have to travel farther and wait longer to get appointments in states other than Florida. The closest states are North Carolina, which offers abortions up to 12 weeks; Virginia, which allows the procedure until the third trimester; Illinois, which offers abortion until viability; and Kansas, where abortion is legal until 22 weeks.
“That inundates them,” said Kendra Smith-Parks, communications manager at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast in New Orleans. “Right now, we’re one of the most restricted regions, and patients are left with fewer and further options.”
Even as Florida tightened the window in which women could get abortions, Louisiana residents continuing seeking them there in increasing numbers.
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In 2021, 380 Louisiana residents traveled to Florida to terminate their pregnancies, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration. In 2022, when the abortion ban in Louisiana came down mid-year, the number rose to 910. Then in 2023, the first full year after the near-total ban was enacted, 1,191 Louisiana residents received abortions in Florida, which provided the procedure up to 15 weeks.
Although Florida requires two visits 24 hours apart before an abortion will be performed, the distance and familiarity made it an easier option than flying to a state with less cumbersome requirements for some Gulf South residents.
“A lot of people we’ve spoken to coming out of Texas and Louisiana, some of them have never flown,” said Smith-Parks. “Some are undocumented and are afraid of being detained.”
From June 2022 to January of this year, Planned Parenthood Gulf South has spent about $870,000 assisting around 2,000 women with abortions. With Florida no longer an option for most, Parks said costs the organization paid for, such as gas, flights and childcare, will be more expensive.
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The distance also will likely influence whether some choose to continue an unwanted pregnancy, said Michelle Erenberg, executive director of Lift Louisiana, an abortion rights advocacy group.
“Louisiana is honestly the worst-positioned state in the entire country when it comes to abortion access now,” said Erenberg. “The number of states to traverse in order to find a state in which they can access legal abortion is just monumental and will be insurmountable.”
To get an abortion in Florida after May 1, patients would need to find out they were pregnant in the fifth week of pregnancy, which might be one week after a missed period.
Increased funding for crisis centers
Alongside the six-week ban, Florida is giving $25 million to the Florida Pregnancy Care Network, a group of crisis pregnancy centers that counsel women not to have abortions and may offer supplies like diapers and strollers, though some such centers have been found to provide inaccurate or misleading information about abortions. Unlike Louisiana’s law, Florida’s law allows for exceptions for rape and incest up to 15 weeks, but requires an accompanying police or medical report.
Louisiana lawmakers voted to increase funding for similar centers from $1 million to $3 million starting July 1.
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Anti-abortion groups pointed to the crisis centers as a resource for the potential additional pregnancies and births that may occur in the state as a result of Florida’s ban.
“Our hope would be that the 1,200 women would look to Louisiana’s local services,” said Sarah Zagorski, director of communications for Louisiana Right to Life, adding that findhelp.org, a site can help families during and after pregnancy.
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