Florida News That Impacts You – June 25th, 2024
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
- Florida’s crackdown on Medicaid abuses by illegal immigrants has resulted in a 54% reduction in Medicaid expenses by those lacking legal status in the current fiscal year according to a Politico report. The crackdown is a result of a law passed law year requiring hospitals to ask about a patient's citizenship status prior to receiving medical care. The year one Medicaid savings is approximately $81 million.
- Governor DeSantis signed 14 bills into law and issued three vetoes heading into the weekend. Among the new laws is the Veterinary Practices law. Effective July 1st veterinarians will be able to perform telehealth services in accordance with the Board of Veterinary Medicine guidelines. The Real Property bill will also become law July 1st. The new law empowers the Secretary of State with greater oversight of timeshare plans and adds in new protections for those purchasing timeshares within the state. The Ethics bill immediately became law. The new law limits ethics investigations to those with personal knowledge of alleged offenses as opposed to those offering hearsay testimony. The Taking of Bears bill will also become law July 1st. The law will enable Floridians to kill bears in self-defense on their property. Among the vetoes issued was the Graduate Program Admissions bill. The bill would have lowered the admission standards for veterans seeking to attend graduate school.
- Sewer maintenance will take place along South Ocean Blvd. in Palm Beach today through Wednesday causing lane closures. The closures will take place between 2100 South Ocean Blvd. and 300 South Ocean Blvd. Between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
- A mix of clouds and sun today with a chance of afternoon showers. Highs will be in the upper 80’s - which is typical for today. The National Hurricane Center is tracking one disturbance in the western Gulf of Mexico that’s entering Mexico this morning. It has no chance of development. Otherwise, no activity is expected for the next week.
- Gas prices dropped a bit over the weekend though they’re still higher than a week ago. The average price for regular unleaded in Florida is currently $3.35 per gallon. In Palm Beach County the average price is $3.53 per gallon, in Martin the average is $3.36 and in Indian River County the average is $3.37 per gallon.