Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix

Gov. Ron DeSantis threw out the V word on Thursday and warned state legislators he is getting ready to use his line-item veto power.

During a lengthy press conference on higher education held on the campus of Florida Atlantic University, the Republican governor took shots at the Legislature for not passing a budget on time. He also noted that the final $115.1 billion budget includes enough local projects for individual lawmakers to leave him “kind of numb.”

He will have to sign the budget and use any line-item vetoes before July 1....

President Donald Trump during his first administration promised to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, but fell short.

While there’s less chatter about the repeal, during Trump’s second administration the One Big Beautiful Bill Act might deliver on the years-old promise.

Although cuts to the Medicaid and supplemental nutrition assistance programs (SNAP) are grabbing the headlines, Florida health care advocates worry that the changes to the ACA may be even more damaging....

Two recent top agency appointments by Gov. Ron DeSantis, both of whom have been grilled by legislators over a charity linked to First Lady Casey DeSantis’ Hope Florida initiative, appear unlikely to win confirmation this session from the Florida Senate.

Sen. Don Gaetz, chair of the committee responsible for screening appointees, told the Florida Phoenix in a phone interview Monday that of the more than 200 gubernatorial appointees for the Senate to consider this session, roughly 150 are still awaiting action.

He said the committee lacks time to consider the appointment of Shevaun Harris as head of the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) or Taylor Hatch as secretary of the Department of Children and Families (DCF). ...

Florida could join a list of red states that are requiring public schools to teach “human embryologic development” as part of their health education curriculum, likely via a controversial video.

Filed Wednesday by Rep. Dana Trabulsy, HB 1255, would present the embryologic development information in the form of a “high-quality, computer-generated rendering, animation, video, or other multimedia, at least three minutes in duration, showing and describing the process of fertilization and various stages of human development inside the uterus, noting significant markers in cell growth and organ development.”

The state Department of Education would adopt rules to implement the requirement in the health education curricula for students in grades 6-12. ...

The DeSantis administration on Tuesday unveiled a pregnancy website that officials said provides “additional wraparound support for life.”

The website, dubbed Strong Florida Moms, launched after the Legislature 2024 passed HB 415 along partisan lines, with Democrats pondering why the site was necessary and whether it would also provide information to women who are seeking abortions, which are mostly illegal in Florida after six weeks. (It does not.)

The bill directed the Department of Health to contract with a third party to develop the website and appropriated $466,200 to support it. ...