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Florida could soon become the 8th state in the country to raise the legal age for smoking from 18 to 21.

The restriction would also apply to vaping products.

Fewer than one in 20 teens smoked a traditional cigarette in 2017, but nearly 15% said they used an e cigarette.

13-year-old McKenzie Faust, who was touring the Capitol for kids day isn’t one of them.

“You should wait or not do it ever,” said Faust.

State Senator David Simmons says one way to keep kids like McKenzie from picking up the habit, is to raise the legal age from 18 to 21 for both cigarettes and E-cigarettes.

“The ability to abuse young people, even if they are eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years old exists because this is a very addictive product,” said Simmons.

At a committee hearing for a bill that would raise the age, vape store owners cried foul.

“It would be unfair to categorize us a tobacco product,” said vape store owner Jonathan Risteen.

But Vape manufacturers supported raising the age in a full page ad in a local Tallahassee newspaper published Tuesday morning.

“I hate tobacco,” said State Senator Aaron Bean.

Bean was the only member of the committee who voted no on raising the age.

“We have to allow people to make their own decisions,” said Bean. “I struggled with it, but I did say when you turn eighteen you’re an adult and you have to make your own decisions.”

Concerns are also being raised when it comes to taking away an already 18-year-olds’ right to smoke.

“When Florida raised the drinking age from 18 to 21 back in the mid 1980’s, no 18-year-old lost the right to drink.

The age was raised one year at a time.

The legislation faces an uphill battle in the House where personal freedom is the mantra of leadership.

While making young adults wait longer to legally smoke, the legislation also eliminates a provision in Florida law that takes away an underage teen’s drivers license if they are caught with tobacco products.

If you’re out of town and someone’s breaking into your house, how do you report the crime to your local police?

A new bill would require every dispatch in the state to have the ability to transfer you to any other jurisdiction at a moments notice.

Imagine calling 9-1-1, getting the wrong dispatch center and being hung up on because they can’t transfer you.

It’s exactly what happened to Rep. Mike Caruso when his son was injured on a ski trip.

“Finally after about ten minutes on the phone trying to get somebody to come I just hung up the phone and picked my son up off the ground, put him in my car and drove to the hospital,” said Caruso.

The proposed legislation, which cleared a House committee Tuesday, would require all dispatch centers Florida to be able to transfer calls to any other dispatch center in the state.

“This bill could mean the difference between life and death,” said House Sponsor Bobby DuBose.

Rep.  DuBose says a requirement in the bill that all dispatcher centers be able to receive text messages will also make Floridians safer.

“We have individuals who have no voice, but also are confronted with emergency situations. So this gives them an opportunity to reach out and receive help,” said DuBose.

The legislation would also require dispatchers to have a system in place that would allow them to directly communicate with all first responders in the field, to cut down on response times to incidents of mass violence.

Former Police Chief Gary Hester says the need for improving response times was highlighted during the Parkland shooting.

“The massacre occurred in three minutes or less, so response is absolutely crucial,” said Hester.

Under the bill, text to 911 services would have to be in place by 2022, while transferring 9-1-1 calls has no deadline.

It’s expected all but six counties in the state will offer text to 9-1-1 services by the end of the year, regardless of whether or not the proposed legislation passes.

An amendment to a human trafficking bill approved Tuesday requires that johns caught in a prostitution ring like the one uncovered in South Florida that snared billionaire football owner Robert Kraft, face a mandatory ten-day jail sentence.

Sponsor Toby Overdorf hopes jail time will be a deterrent.

“Currently on the first conviction, there is actually not a jail term associated with it, and this is a real deterrent. If a person is looking at having ten days in jail for going through a solicitation act, I think they’ll think twice about going through a solicitation,” said Rep. Toby Overdorf.

Other legislation also seeks to train restaurant and hotel workers to look for signs of human trafficking.

A House committee voted unanimously Tuesday to impose a $2 penalty on local governments for every gallon of sewage that is spilled or improperly released.

It is the second unanimous vote for the bill this legislative session and bodes well for the bills ultimate approval.

The bill requires the money be used to upgrade the system that failed.

House Sponsor Rep. Randy Fine says Government can’t keep asking citizens to make sacrifices when it won’t do the same.

“I mean, we’re actually putting what you flush down the toilet into our water ways. And the bigger problem is how do we ask people to change their own lives and how they live in the state of Florida when every time it rains the government puts sewage into the waterways. We can’t have do as I say not as I do regulation. Government has to get serious about how it contributes to the problem,” said Fine.

Sewage discharge is being partially blamed for the fouling of waterways on each side of the state.

A coalition of immigrant rights organizations rallied at the State Capitol this morning against a proposed ban on sanctuary cities in the state.

While supporters of the legislation say it only targets undocumented immigrants who have broken the law, opponents fear it would ramp up deportations of all immigrants, including those in the country seeking asylum or with protected statuses.

“The consequences of this bill need to be front and center. Our colleagues need to understand all the damage they would do in so many parts of our community, local governments, and all kids of issues that would be caused by this bill,” said Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez.

The group also advocated in support of legislation they say would help immigrants. Including a bill that would allow non citizens to acquire drivers licenses.

A House committee approved a proposed ban on fracking Tuesday morning, but the legislation ironically faced opposition from the petroleum industry and some environmentalists.

The ban applies to two forms of fracking, but does not address a third, known as matrix acidizing.

Environmentalists call it an intentional loophole, but bill sponsor Rep. Holly Raschein says it’s a necessary compromise, because the technique has applications outside of fracking.

“A lot of folks again, use that to clean out water wells, the oil and gas industry use it for exploration… Anything that we do or we move forward on we do not want to have unintended consequences. That’s something that we really try to avoid in the Legislature,” said Raschein.

The Senate companion bill passed its first committee stop this afternoon. It also includes language that would ban oil drilling in the Everglades, while the House bill addresses only fracking.

Legislation to increase the age booster seats are required for kids from five to six is in trouble in the state house where lawmakers worry about infringing on parents rights, but Senate Sponsor Keith Perry says he’ll keep trying anyway.

“You know, One is that five-year-olds, six-year-olds, three-year-olds, they don’t have any choice to make decisions.And so what we ant to do is make sure they are protected out on our roadways,” said Perry.

This is the last week of subcommittee hearings in the house and no hearing has been scheduled, but no legislation is ever really dead until the session ends in early May.

A group of faith leaders held a prayer session at the State Capitol this afternoon, in support of public school funding.

The group calling itself, Pastors for Florida Children says the state is headed in the wrong direction by increasing funding for private school vouchers.

Reverend Charles Johnson says public schools serve all children, not just a select few.

“Well education is a gift from God for all children and that is preserved and protected by public education, which of course at the beginning of our country was a faith initiative. We believe that every child deserves to be educated so that he or she can fulfill God’s purpose for him or her in the world,” said Johnson.

The House, Senate and Governor’s proposed budgets all include more spending for private school scholarships.

The movement towards school choice has been a contentious issue in the education debate for at least the last 20 years.

Across the country, four children are killed and 490 are injured everyday in traffic crashes.

More than half are totally unrestrained.

In an effort to make the roads safer for children lawmakers are looking to increase the age kids must be kept in booster seats, but some say the Government shouldn’t be playing parent.

Tajiria Howard has a one year old daughter.

For now, she rides in a car seat, but Howard says once she turns four she’ll move to a booster seat.

“It’s the safest thing. I don’t want to not have a car seat and then something happen,” said Howard.

Howard says she’ll keep the booster seat until her daughter is six.

Florida law only requires a booster seat for kids five and under, but new legislation would raise the age to six and under.

“Just put a 20 or $30 booster seat in and potentially save kids from long term disabilities and traumatic brain injuries we’ve seen that last a child their whole life,” said Senate sponsor Kieth Perry.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recommends kids age seven and under should restrained in a booster seat, but supporters hope increasing the age gradually, will give the bill a better chance of passing.

However, House Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Brad Drake says he doesn’t intend to give the bill a hearing, arguing the government shouldn’t be playing parent.

“I’m not real comfortable with a government making those choices that belong to the parents,” said Drake.

Mary Lynn Cullen with the Advocacy Institute for Children has been pushing for the change for years.

“The fight’s not over yet,” said Cullen.

She points out that the $60 fine in the bill can be waived, if the parent takes a booster seat safety course.

“This really is a learning bill, not a gotcha bill,” said Cullen.

Supporters of the bill hope opponents have a change of heart, arguing the more time that passes, the more kids stand to be injured or even killed in accidents.

On Tuesday supporters of raising the minimum age for booster states will hold a rally in the state capitol.

Speakers will include former first responders who have witnessed first hand how dangerous it can be for young children to ride without booster seats.

Hemp, which is marijuana with a low THC level, was legalized and taken off the Federal Schedule I list of dangerous drugs last year.

While it remains illegal under Florida law, a Senate committee Monday voted to legalize hemp, and that’s good news for what is already a growth industry for the state.

Charles Savage got bitten by a tick and ended up with lime disease.

“It took a big toll on me, like arthritis and pain,” said Savage.

For months, he got no relief until he tried CBD oil made from low THC hemp.

“It pretty much was a game changer for me. I have full ability now, zero pain. It’s phenomenal,” said Savage.

With his pain gone, Savage opened his own CBD store, but Hemp and its CBD oil remain in a legally gray area.

“It’s still as schedule one drug as it relates to our statutes, so the goal is to free that up and let this industry thrive and grow,” said Rep Ben Albritton.

While hemp is still in a legally gray area, hemp is out of the shadows.

The Hemp Association has its office less than a block from the Capitol.

Gabe Suarez owns two CBD stores with at least three more in the works.

He’s been raided by police but not arrested.

“We hope this will guide law enforcement in the right direction and to enforce things properly, and not be misinformed and sometimes harassing stores like we experienced in the past,” said Suarez.

Saurez supports licensing.

“There is a good number of players that do things honestly and right, but you can’t guarantee everybody always will, so this will regulate that,” said Saurez.

The legislation also calls for the testing of products for THC levels and for purity, something missing in today’s market.

Unlike medical marijuana, the hemp program would be overseen by the Department of Agriculture.

Citrus farmers as well as those who lost timber in Hurricane Michael has expressed interest in growing hemp.

Suntrust Bank is facing some criticism tonight for closing the bank account of the Tallahassee based Florida Medical Marijuana Business Association.

The association was told by letter that the bank is looking out for not only its customers best interests, but the banks as well.

The letter made no mention of marijuana, but founder Jeff Sharkey says there name tells it all.

“We’re trying to find banks that want to get involved. Hopefully congress will do something to eliminate the restrictions at the federal level. But, you know, we got thirty days to find a bank,” said Sharkey.

Marijuana remains a schedule one drug under federal law.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who saw her campaign account closed last year because of donations from marijuana lobbyists calls SunTrusts action a move in the wrong direction.

“As we move forward on cannabis with an expansion of access to medical marijuana and a state hemp program, SunTrust’s policy shift is a move in the wrong direction. A lack of financial services forces all cash operations, which is inefficient and a public safety risk. Businesses can’t operate with irregularities restricting their growth, stability, and ability to pay bills,” said Fried. “Cannabis provides an important medicine and an incredible economic potential for Florida. We should be enacting forward-thinking policies to position our state to become a national leader in the industry.”

Low income families, including the elderly, and those families with disabilities or children under 18 who suffered damage to their home from Hurricane Irma in 2017 are eligible to apply for funds to rebuild their home from Rebuild Florida, but the deadline to register for assistance is next Friday, March 29th.

Department of Economic Opportunity Director Ken Lawson says if you don’t register by the deadline, you’ll miss your chance for assistance.

“Any Floridian that suffered damage from Hurricane Irma is eligible to register. Then, once they register, explain who they are, type of damage, then we’ll review it and determine if they can apply. And if they apply, and determine that we can be helpful, we’ll work with them to either rebuild or repair their home,” said Lawson.

More than six thousand people have already received funding from Rebuild Florida.

It is part of a one point four billion dollar grant from the Federal Government.

For more information you can visit the website, RebuildFlorida.gov or call the Department of Economic Opportunity at 844.833.1010.

Over the last 24 hours the House and Senate spending plans were unveiled.

Governor Ron DeSantis released his more than a month ago.

While the three are fairly close on some big issues like the environment, other areas like education show big differences.

When the Governor unveiled his initial budget request earlier this year he asked for $625 million for the environment and water clean up.

“I think with the water, people want us to tackle it and so I’m serious about doing it and we’re going to get it done,” said DeSantis.

Now it’s looking like the Governor may get his way.

The House budget is $18 million short, but the Senate raised the Governor $25 million, proposing $650 million for the environment.

“There’s a lot of good stuff in there,” said Jonathan Webber with the Florida Conservation Voters.

But Webber says it’s not all good news.

He points out neither chamber honored the Governor’s request for $100 million for land acquisition.

“Protecting land is protecting water. So if you want to do a lot of ecological good in Florida, start protecting the most important lands,” said Webber.

While overall spending for the environment is close, education spending is far apart.

The Senate wants to raise the education budget by $1.1 billion.

The House is proposing $600 million.

“A step in the right direction, a small step with the Senate budget,” said Martin Powell with the Florida Education Association.

FEA, the state’s largest teachers union, is happy to see $600 million in flexible funds, that could be used for teacher pay raises, included in the Senate’s budget.

“I know there’s a negotiation to be had. I’m hopeful that the House comes up to the Senate, rather than the Senate coming down to the House,” said Powell.

Health care is another area the House and Senate are far apart. The Senate is proposing $543 million dollars than the House.

Hurricane Irma and Michael recovery makes the budget especially tight this year, which means lawmakers have a lot of work ahead of them if they’re to come to an agreement by May 3rd.

The Florida Senate passed a bill Thursday preventing local governments from banning front yard vegetable gardens.

While only a few cities actually have a ban, it became a matter of property rights for some powerful and influential lawmakers.

Edgar Jackson grows vegetables to give away.

He is a man of few words, putting bluntly when we asked if he would want someone telling him he couldn’t grow his produce on his property.

“No, I wouldn’t,” said Jackson.

But State Senator Rob Bradley has plenty to say when it comes to local governments banning gardens in someone’s front yard.

“I find it outrageous that a local government would keep someone from growing food for their family on their own property,” said Bradley. “That’s why I filed the bill.”

Only a handful of cities ban front yard gardens.

A Miami Springs couple challenged the ban all the way to the supreme court and lost.

“I think it’s our duty to review decisions that are made in the courts,” said Bradley.

A handful of opponents say a sweeping ban goes too far.

“Where do the property rights of my neighbor end and mine begin with regard to a nuisance,” asked Senator Bobby Powell.

“These are fundamental property rights. When you own a piece of property you should be able to grow food on that property for your families consumption. With that I ask your support on this bill,” said Bradley.

The bill passed with a 35 to 5 vote.

One of those no votes is ironically named Farmer.

“Having a vegetable garden in a front yard will just attract more iguanas, as well as rats and some other stuff,” said Senator Gary Farmer.

As the bill moves through the House, there’s likely to be an effort to limit how big someone’s front yard garden can be.

The legislation has been a pun generator

“Lettuce get this done today,” said Senator Bradley addressing the chamber.

The legislation shows the reach a powerful state senator can have.

Miami Springs is the city that put the garden ban on the sponsor’s radar.

It’s 350 miles from his district outside Jacksonville.

Trulieve, the first company to open a medical marijuana dispensary has become the first company to sell smokable marijuana.

The company says it will soon offer the smokable marijuana at all 25 of its locations.

State Senator Jeff Brandes, is the author of the legislation that led to the sale.

He was surprised, but pleased with the speed of getting the product to patients.

“That seems like the Department is all in the know and everything’s on the up and up and acting in good faith,” said Brandes. “I think everyone knew it was coming, but I think it speaks well of Governor DeSantis wasting no time making sure people have access to medical cannabis.”

A second dispensary, Curaleaf, has also been approved to sell the smokable marijuana.

A third company, Altmed, has applied but not yet been authorized.

All three companies applied before the passage of the Senate Bill authorizing the sales.