Florida lawmakers send lifeline to families with brain-damaged newborns
The weekâs drama heralds a new reality for hundreds of families scattered throughout the state.
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Delaina Parrish is today able to communicate because of a machine that translates her eye movements into words. The machine came from the manufacturer, not from Floridaâs Birth-related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA. She recently graduated from the University of Florida. [ EMILY MICHOT | Miami Herald ]
By Daniel Chang and Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald
Published Yesterday
Updated Yesterday
After a dramatic and emotional 72 hours in Tallahassee, Florida lawmakers late Thursday approved a sweeping overhaul of the stateâs controversial compensation program for catastrophically brain-damaged newborns â agreeing to a package of reforms meant to improve the lives of struggling families.
Florida lawmakers put brakes on âNo Faultâ auto insurance
In a bill that now goes to Gov. Ron DeSantis, the requirement for carrying so-called PIP coverage would end and motorists would need to have bodily-injury coverage.
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By Jim Turner
Updated Apr. 30
TALLAHASSEE â Florida motorists are one step closer to no longer having âno faultâ auto insurance, after lawmakers Friday approved ditching the decades-old system and its requirement of carrying personal-injury protection coverage.
The House and Senate signed off on a heavily negotiated bill (SB 54) in the closing hours of the 2021 legislative session. If the bill is signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the requirement for carrying so-called PIP coverage would end and motorists would need to have bodily-injury coverage.
Updated Apr. 30
TALLAHASSEE â Eight months ago, state lawmakers were fretting about the stateâs budget. With millions of Floridians out of work, sales tax revenues dried up and state agencies were facing deep cuts.
But in a dramatic turnaround, sales tax revenues rebounded and Congress sent Florida billions in stimulus dollars, allowing lawmakers to go on a spending spree this year.
State lawmakers on Friday signed off on a record $101.5 billion on the state budget that has left both Republicans and Democrats happy â mostly.
Flush with $10.2 billion American Rescue Plan funding from Congress, Republicans are using it to cross off longstanding issues and plug holes in the budget created by the pandemic.