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A Republican State Senator is looking to build support for legislation that would enhance the state’s firearm background check process.

It will be no easy feat, but the Senator believes the idea is gaining traction.

This year, the Senate President tasked a committee to formulate a response to the Dayton and El Paso mass shootings.

Kate Kyle with Moms Demand Action delivered 807 letters from Florida voters to Committee Chairman Tom Lee.

She said the number on ask is universal background checks.

“It is a policy solution we have in our toolbox that we haven’t tried here in Florida and I think it’s the most effective. I don’t think it tramples anyone’s rights,” said Kyle.

Lee seems to be listening.

“This seems like the most common sense thing to do is to see if there’s some holes in the background check system that could be tightened up,” said Lee. “I understand that there was about 9,000 people last year that applied for a background check… that were denied and ostensibly because they had a prior felony. Why aren’t those people being prosecuted?”

He said public response has been positive.

“Former police chiefs and law enforcement people from my area of the state, which is a pretty conservative area saying look, you know, this is not unreasonable,” said Lee.

The NRA, a powerful force in the Florida Legislature, has long held the position that enforcing current laws would be more effective than passing new ones.

Exactly what Lee might propose is unclear at this time.

“We’re just kind of peeling back the layers of the onion and trying to figure out how do we make the place a little safer for Floridians,” said Lee.

Lee said whatever the final product, bipartisan support will be critical.

At least eight unique bills aimed at increasing gun control have been filed for the 2020 session.

Last year, no gun control measures were passed.

Following a volley of Tweets criticizing Governor Ron DeSantis, former Congresswoman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gwen Graham was asked to step down as co-chair of Rebuild 850.

The nonpartisan group was formed after Hurricane Michael to aid recovery efforts in the panhandle.

Rebuild 850 coordinator and longtime friend of Graham, Ron Sachs made the decision to ask Graham to step down.

“Gwen, who has every right as a citizen to express strong opinions that are political in nature, but as volunteers with Rebuild 850, which is completely nonpolitical and nonpartisan, it’s not appropriate to take personal shots at the Governor or anybody. The Governor has made it a priority to focus on recovery in Northwest Florida and that’s our mission too at Rebuild 850,” said Sachs.

Since stepping down, Graham has been active on Twitter, posting support for the panhandle and Hurricane Michael victims.

If you’d like to donate to Rebuild 850 to help those struggling in the panhandle, visit rebuild850.org.

Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried has announced a new set of rules aimed at increasing the safety of controlled burns in the state.

The state will now factor in the air quality index before authorizing burns.

There are also new regulations specifically targeting the sugarcane industry, creating an 80-acre buffer zone between woodlands and burn sites on dry windy days.

The rules also require the industry to get special approval for nighttime burns and prohibits burns before 11 am on days with fog advisories.

“And in the near future we’ll be announcing additional changes to our agriculture burning process. These changes may include shortening the length of the burning season, potential improvements to the zone model to increase safety for populations, increased compliance checks and training to further enhance public safety and a rule making process to increase fines and penalties for those who choose not to follow these regulations,” said Fried.

Fried also announced improvements to the state’s smoke plume prediction tool, a new software system to provide real-time updates to fire responders and more user friendly fire maps for the public.