JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Florida is known for making headlines across the country, and 2025 was no exception.<\/p>\n
According to the real-time and historical analytics tool used by News4JAX, our Florida news stories on News4JAX.com<\/a> received 742,910 pageviews.<\/p>\n While many interesting stories came out of Florida \u2014 including stories about very bizarre events \u2014 politics was one of the hottest topics this year.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s go over the Florida headlines, specifically political stories, that gained the most traction on News4JAX.com<\/a> and sparked mixed opinions across the board.<\/p>\n New laws, amendmentsFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs more bills into law (Copyright 2025 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Florida saw hundreds of laws take effect this year, with the majority of new laws taking effect on July 1 and Oct. 1.<\/p>\n Some of the new laws that went into effect this year include \u201cTrenton\u2019s Law,<\/a>” which was named after Trenton Stewart, a St. Johns County teen who was struck and killed by an impaired driver in 2023. This new law increases penalties for repeat offenders convicted of DUI and BUI manslaughter, and vehicular and vessel homicide.<\/p>\n Another new law,<\/a> dubbed \u201cTrooper\u2019s Law,\u201d makes it a felony to abandon an animal while leaving it chained up during a natural disaster.<\/p>\n Other new laws include one that recognizes gold and silver as \u201cproper legal tender,\u201d and a new law targeting \u201csuper speeders.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n MORE: 25 Florida laws that went into effect on July 1<\/a> | 30 new Florida laws that took effect on Oct. 1<\/a> | All the new Florida laws taking effect New Year\u2019s Day<\/a><\/p>\n Illegal immigration crackdownFILE – Trucks come and go from the “Alligator Alcatraz” immigration detention center in the Florida Everglades, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025, in Collier County, Fla. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell, File) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Florida played a big role in helping the federal government with its crackdown on illegal immigration.<\/p>\n Gov. Ron DeSantis has always been vocal about his stance on illegal immigration, but this year, he ramped up his efforts to end it. <\/p>\n Some of those efforts included the opening of new detention centers across the state, including the controversial facility in the Florida Everglades dubbed \u201cAlligator Alcatraz\u201d<\/a> and another one in Baker County dubbed \u201cDeportation Depot.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Moreover, in early February, DeSantis signed a sweeping package of immigration laws<\/a> aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda.<\/p>\n Open Carry ban overturnedNo description found<\/p>\n Open carry of a firearm is now legal in the state of Florida after a Florida appeals court earlier this year declared unconstitutional a state law banning the open carrying of firearms<\/a>. <\/p>\n The court called the law incompatible with the Second Amendment right to bear arms.<\/p>\n The appeals court ruling led to some confusion early on<\/a> because it was unclear if the state of Florida would appeal the ruling and ask the state Supreme Court to restore the ban.<\/p>\n Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook<\/a> was among the first sheriffs in our area to address the issue, saying shortly after the ruling that she had instructed her deputies not to enforce the state\u2019s open carry ban.<\/p>\n Once the Florida Attorney General weighed in, it became clear that Florida is now an open carry state<\/a>.<\/p>\n DOGE effortsMayor Deegan responded to Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia hours after he posted to social media claiming that “some local governments are trying to place ‘conditions’ and restrictions on our investigators doing Florida DOGE audits.” (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n In February, DeSantis announced the creation of the Florida State Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) task force, which has the goal to \u201cfurther eliminate waste within state government, save taxpayers money, and ensure accountability in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n Fast forward to October, the governor and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia highlighted some of the results of these DOGE audits<\/a>. Jacksonville was one of the 12 jurisdictions that were audited and was heavily criticized by Ingoglia. <\/p>\n According to Ingoglia, the city has overtaxed its residents by more than $200 million<\/a> over the past five years. <\/p>\n But Mayor Donna Deegan responded to the findings and emphasized the city\u2019s fiscal responsibility, saying Ingoglia failed to show how he calculated the data.<\/p>\n High-profile cyberstalking caseRep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., testifies at the first public hearing of a bipartisan congressional task force investigating the assassination attempts against Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, at Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. (AP Photo\/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n A restraining order was approved in October against Central Florida Congressman Cory Mills<\/a>, who was accused earlier this year of threatening his former girlfriend, Lindsey Langston. <\/p>\n Mills, who represents parts of Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Flagler counties, was accused of cyberstalking Langston, his ex-girlfriend and reigning Miss United States, as well as a Columbia County Republican state committeewoman.<\/p>\n Since their breakup, Langston claimed Mills has threatened to release nude images and videos of her, including recordings of them engaging in sexual acts.<\/p>\n The judge sided with Langston, issuing an injunction against Mills.<\/p>\n Record executionsFILE – Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP Photo\/Curt Anderson, File) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Florida set a new record for executions in 2025, driving the nationwide execution rate to nearly double.<\/p>\n As of mid-December, Florida had executed 19 inmates this year.<\/a> The previous modern-era record for a year was eight in 1984 and 2014. <\/p>\n Before this year, the most executions carried out since DeSantis took office were six in 2023.<\/p>\n Two of the 19 men executed in Florida this year committed their crimes in Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n Michael Bell was executed in July<\/a> for the double murder of 18-year-old Tamecka Smith and 23-year-old Jimmy West outside the Moncrief Liquors and Lounge in Jacksonville.<\/p>\n In November, Richard Barry Randolph, 63, was executed<\/a> for murder, armed robbery, sexual battery and grand theft in the 1988 slaying of Minnie Ruth McCollum, his former manager at a Palatka convenience store.<\/p>\n Property tax debateProperty taxes generic (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Since the beginning of the year, DeSantis has expressed his desire to eliminate property taxes in Florida \u2014 a proposal that has drawn mixed reactions among elected officials, homeowners and mortgage experts<\/a>. <\/p>\n DeSantis outlined the concept during an appearance on Fox & Friends,<\/a> saying the plan would apply only to homesteaded properties. Families\u2019 second homes, investment properties and vacation rentals would continue to be taxed.<\/p>\n One of the key concerns raised by critics is how counties would continue to fund core services \u2014 including law enforcement, fire departments and public schools \u2014 without property tax revenue, which is currently the largest source of income for local governments<\/a>.<\/p>\n Several proposals moving through the House<\/a> focus on reducing or eliminating non-school property taxes for homesteaded properties. Options range from full elimination to gradual phase-outs and targeted exemptions, with most intended for the 2026 ballot.<\/p>\n Push to eliminate school vaccine requirementsFILE – Florida Department of Health Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo speaks during a Patient Freedom news conference on March 5, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo\/Chris O’Meara, File) (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Florida officials are plowing ahead with a proposal to roll back certain vaccine mandates<\/a> for the state\u2019s schoolchildren, after DeSantis called for the state to become the first in the nation to eliminate all school vaccination requirements.<\/p>\n Pediatricians, infectious disease physicians and teachers have decried the push to undermine vaccines<\/a>. <\/p>\n Experts have warned that doing away with the mandates could allow for a dangerous resurgence of preventable childhood diseases and deaths<\/a>, amounting to a reversal of one of the greatest advancements in public health history.<\/p>\n But Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who has long clashed with the medical establishment, has cast current requirements in schools and elsewhere as \u201cimmoral\u201d intrusions on people\u2019s rights that hamper parents\u2019 ability to make health decisions for their children.<\/p>\n Hope Florida controversyThe chairman of a foundation tied to Hope Florida \u2014 First Lady Casey DeSantis\u2019 signature welfare-assistance program \u2014 said under oath Tuesday that \u201cmistakes were made\u201d with the foundation\u2019s record-keeping, as a skirmish over the group\u2019s finances continued to escalate. (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n Hope Florida,<\/a> an initiative spearheaded by Gov. DeSantis\u2019 wife, Casey DeSantis, was under scrutiny this year over a $10 million donation. The donation, linked to a major Medicaid managed-care plan, raised questions about the program\u2019s funding and transparency.<\/p>\n Hope Florida received a $10 million donation from Centene, the state\u2019s largest Medicaid managed care operator, a contribution that was part of a $67 million out-of-court settlement concerning Centene\u2019s pharmacy benefit manager.<\/p>\n The settlement, finalized in September 2024, required Centene to transfer the $10 million directly to the Hope Florida Foundation within seven days, with the obligation fulfilled upon deposit.<\/p>\n According to reports from Politico<\/a> and the Tampa Bay Times<\/a>, the Hope Florida Foundation later sent $5 million each to two organizations that waged an anti-marijuana campaign championed by the governor ahead of Amendment 3 voting<\/a>.<\/p>\n