TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s office would have to replace stickers that display her smiling face on gas pumps by mid-September under a House budget proposal. Fried is the only Democrat elected statewide, and stickers placed on pumps after she took office last year included a picture of her. The fight over the stickers has festered for more than a year, since her office started to replace stickers that had been placed on pumps when Republican Adam Putnam was the agriculture commissioner. The new stickers went up as pumps were checked for illegal “skimmer” devices intended to steal credit card information. In addition to Fried’s face, the stickers say, “inspected and approved for accuracy,” along with her name and a consumer assistance web address and phone number.

Ron DeSantis and Attorney General Ashley Moody defend a state law dealing with local gun regulations, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is backing cities and counties that argue the law is unconstitutional. The law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011, threatens tough penalties -- including fines and potential removal from office -- if local elected officials approve gun regulations. Fried’s brief said the law violates constitutional immunities provided to elected officials as they make policy decisions. Dozens of cities, counties and local elected officials challenged the 2011 law last year after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. He also pointed to the constitutional separation of powers, as judges could be asked to rule on penalizing local officials.