Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milberg interviews Florida Rep. Alex Rizo, a Republican, and Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones, a Democrat, about early voting.

Frank Artiles served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives and one term in the Florida Senate before he ended up in the middle of a “ghost” candidate scandal.

Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milberg interviews Rodney Jacobs and Chad Klitzman, Democrats running for the Florida State Senate District 35 seat against Barbara Sharief, a former Broward County mayor.

Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milberg interviews Torey Alson, a Broward School Board member; Rodney Jacobs and Chad Klitzman, both Democrats running for the Florida State Senate; and Scott Galvin, a North Miami councilman. Local 10 News Anchor Calvin Hughes talks about his coverage of Haiti.

SB 1596, which removes some restrictions for 16 and 17-year-olds who are working across the state, moved forward in the Florida Senate on Tuesday.

A fight is developing in Florida's legislature over a measure that would allow fire stations and hospitals to install boxes where distressed mothers could leave their unwanted newborns.

Getting arrested during a demonstration didn’t stop the Florida Senate Democratic leader from continuing to protest against the Florida Republicans’ proposed abortion bill.

After a bitter battle, Lauren Book will keep her senate seat.

Florida will require statewide recertification of condominiums over three stories tall under new legislation Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law.

The Florida Senate has approved a sweeping legislative package meant to combat rising property insurance rates and other problems in the state’s turbulent insurance market, creating a $2 billion reinsurance fund and writing new rules around coverage denials and attorney fees.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is holding a news conference Tuesday morning at Miami Dade College. Lt Gov. Jeanette Nuñez will also be present.

The bill, named "Individual Freedom" is what Gov. Ron DeSantis calls the Stop Woke Act. It passed along party lines Thursday and now heads to the Governor's desk for approval.

The Florida Senate passed a big elections security bill last week that Gov. Ron DeSantis wanted, but with some changes he did not.

The law would create a police force known as the Office of Election Crimes and Security, and it would review fraud allegations.

The creation of the bill came following the death of 19-year-old South Florida native Miya Marcano.

Lawmakers debated the bill on Wednesday, and one South Florida lawmaker revealed something very personal.

One of the most controversial and divisive bills this legislative session is now heading to the Florida Senate.

After Republicans in the Florida Senate confirmed Dr. Joseph Ladapo as Florida’s surgeon general, Sen. Lauren Book said Thursday the state’s residents deserve better.

The four Democrats on the Florida Senate’s Health Policy Committee walked out during a confirmation hearing for state Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo on Wednesday morning, frustrated with his responses.

There is a rare consensus in the Florida Senate about a new shift in public education policy after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the Florida Standards Assessments in 2020.

With slain college student Miya Marcano in mind, Florida Sen. Linda Stewart filed a bill proposed for the 2022 session that aims to improve apartment safety. Florida Rep. Robin Bartleman plans to file the House bill.

Florida’s Republican-controlled Legislature has approved stiffer penalties against violent protesters.

Nikki Fried stood at a gas station on Monday in Hialeah to announce her support of a proposed bill against credit card skimmers who exploit gas station pumps in Florida.

A proposal pushed by the leader of the Florida Senate to close the state’s pension plan is now awaiting consideration from the House. But it’s fate is uncertain.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Florida Republicans are pushing a bill to make it more difficult to vote by mail. To explain the efforts, Florida Republicans point not to evidence of problems but to the potential for voter fraud and suspicion about the process. Ad(The Associated Press contributed to this story)There is simply no excuse for government to obstruct the power of the people. To locate and contact your local Representative, use Find Your Representative feature. (See the complete directories of the Florida Senate, Florida House of Representatives below)

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Florida Republicans are pushing a bill to make it more difficult to vote by mail with measures that include banning drop boxes and requiring voters to request a mail-in ballot before every election cycle. The Florida Committee Substitute Senate Bill 90 prevents local elections’ supervisors from sending ballots to voters without a request, and it also increases the identification requirements. Members of the League of Women Voters of Florida, a civic nonpartisan organization, are also standing against the bill and criticizing it as a tactic to suppress votes. According to the Florida Division of Elections’ data, about 4.85 million people voted by mail last year in Florida. AdBoth the Florida Senate’s Ethics and Elections Committee and the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee voted to move the bill forward.

MIAMI – If Sen. Dennis Baxley and his fellow Republican supporters get their way, Florida voters will have to request a vote-by-mail ballot every two years. White said SB 90 will force the 400,000 Miami-Dade voters who have requests for vote-by-mail ballots to make the request again and again. The proposed law would also cancel 107,000 vote-by-mail ballots in five Miami-Dade cities holding elections this fall. I don’t think we should be changing ... our system when it comes to [vote-by-mail] ballots,” Miami Commissioner Raquel Regalado said. SB90 also authorizes the canvassing of vote-by-mail ballots upon the completion of the public preelection testing of automatic tabulating equipment.

Ron DeSantis and Florida Senate President Bill Galvano are asking a federal judge to reject a lawsuit filed by disgraced former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who contends his constitutional rights were violated when he was removed from office last year. Attorneys for Israel on Monday filed a response in opposition to the motion to dismiss the lawsuit. They claim DeSantis and the Florida Senate deprived Israel of due process, compromising the will of Broward County voters and ignoring a special master’s recommendation that he be reinstated. “Yet, the governor did just that in suspending Sheriff Israel from office, despite the absence of factual and evidentiary support.”DeSantis appointed Gregory Tony to replace Israel. Israel is running against Tony to get his old job back in the 2020 election.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A state senator from Fort Lauderdale wants to stop the sale of iguanas in Florida pet shops. Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale, has filed a bill that would ban the sale of green iguanas or black and white tegu lizards. The Senate Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources voted 4-0 in favor of the bill Tuesday. Should the bill become law, the giant lizards would join other invasive species like the Burmese python to be banned in Florida. If passed, the law would take effect in July.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Disgraced former Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel is suing over his removal from office. Attorneys for Israel said a federal lawsuit contends Gov. DeSantis suspended Israel in January, citing “neglect of duty and incompetence” during two mass shootings in Broward County -- at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in January 2017 and at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Valentine’s Day 2018. Special Master Dudley Goodlette, a Republican and former state lawmaker, wrote in his 34-page report that DeSantis failed to present any evidence to support the Republican governor’s position. Israel is running against Tony to get his old job back in the 2020 election.

Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony, making his first public appearance since the Florida Senate voted to remove Scott Israel from office, had nothing to say about the decision. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel won't be getting his job back. The Florida Senate voted Wednesday to uphold Israel's suspension, going against a special master's recommendation to reinstate him. A special master recommended last month that Israel be reinstated, but the Florida Senate Rules Committee voted 9-7 along party lines recommending to uphold Israel's suspension. DeSantis suspended Israel in January, citing "neglect of duty and incompetence" during two mass shootings -- at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in January 2017 and at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Valentine's Day 2018. But some parents of the Parkland school shooting victims lobbied state senators throughout the week to uphold the suspension.

The governor alleged Israel was incompetent and negligent in his duties related to the shooting at Stoneman Douglas and another a year earlier at the Fort Lauderdale airport. DeSantis is a Republican who was elected governor last year; Israel is a Democrat first elected as Broward County sheriff in 2012 and again in 2016. Supporters of the suspended sheriff also showed up at the State Capitol in Tallahassee on Monday, wearing buttons with the words "The People's Sheriff" printed on them. No matter what the state Senate decides, the outcome is expected to be controversial. "Sheriff Israel has never, never taken the position that anybody, including himself, acted perfectly.

The Florida Senate will decide this week whether to follow a special master's recommendation to reinstate suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

As Parkland parents protest the possible reinstatement of suspended Sheriff Scott Israel, the Florida Senate begins hearing testimony on the matter. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Online sellers would have to automatically collect sales tax from Floridians and submit it to the state under a bill moving in the Florida Senate. Republican Sen. Joe Gruters said Florida consumers are required to pay the sales tax, but rarely do so if online sellers don't collect it. He said the state would collect about $700 million in revenue if the bill becomes law. He added it would make Florida's brick and mortar stores more competitive with online retailers. Florida's sales tax is 6 percent.

PARKLAND, Fla. - The Florida Senate will soon decide whether to reinstate Scott Israel as Broward County sheriff, as recommended by a special master. The parents of some Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victims do not want Israel to get his job back. "This should not be about politics, (but) sadly Mr. Israel has made it about politics. Ron DeSantis called Israel's actions on the day of the Stoneman Douglas shooting inadequate, with parents backing up those claims. BSO failures under Mr. Israel were that deputies and detectives had numerous interactions with the shooter prior to that tragic day and did not follow through to complete further action required by BSO procedures."

The Florida Senate will soon decide whether or not to reinstate Scott Israel as Broward County Sheriff, as recommended by a special master. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A special master appointed by the president of the Florida Senate has recommended that suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel be reinstated. Special Master Dudley Goodlette, while not completely exonerating Israel, wrote in his recommendation Tuesday that Gov. "In broad strokes, the governor claims that Sheriff Israel's failed leadership resulted in multiple deaths from two mass shooting incidents in Broward County," Goodlette wrote. Dudley Goodlette, special master appointed in the Florida Senate hearing for suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, listens to Israel's attorneys, June 19, 2019, in Tallahassee, Florida. "However, I cannot adopt the governor's position that their personal failures, in and of themselves, create grounds to remove Sheriff Israel."

A special master appointed by the president of the Florida Senate has recommended that suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel be reinstated. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

A special master appointed by the president of the Florida Senate has recommended that suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel be reinstated. Copyright 2019 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

A special master will make a recommendation to Florida Senate President Bill Galvano whether to reinstate Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, who was suspended by Gov. PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. - Will suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel get his job back? The final arguments are officially filed, and now it is up to a state special master to recommend to the Florida Senate whether to uphold the suspension. Dudley Goodlette, special master appointed in the Florida Senate hearing for suspended Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, listens to Israel's attorneys, June 19, 2019, in Tallahassee, Florida. "Sheriff Israel ... implemented and followed best practices governing the hiring, training and supervision of law-enforcement personnel," Kuehne wrote.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Scott Israel filed paperwork Monday morning to run again for Broward County sheriff. Israel was joined by his wife and campaign manager Monday as he turned in his paperwork as he waits for the Florida Senate to weigh in on his suspension. Israel recently testified before the Florida Senate in Tallahassee during an appeals hearing, claiming that his suspension was purely political. I haven't stopped campaigning, even post-suspension, and I know that the Broward County residents, the Broward County voter, is fully aware that we had a governor make a promise -- a campaign promise -- to suspend the sheriff," Israel told Local 10 News. Tony also has said he plans to run for sheriff when the current term is up in 2020.