District 9 includes the southern half of Alachua County (everything south of State Roads 26 and 24) as well as all of Marion and Levy counties. Incumbent Republican state senator Keith Perry can’t run again due to term limits. With only one Republican and one Democrat competing for this open seat, this race only appears on the November ballot.

A jury has convicted a Tennessee man in the slaying of former NBA player Lorenzen Wright, whose bullet-riddled body was found in a field nearly 12 years ago in his hometown of Memphis.

A defense attorney for a man charged with fatally shooting former NBA player Lorenzen Wright attempted to poke holes in the testimony of a convicted killer who said Wright’s ex-wife gave him details about the slaying.

A former Navy sailor and convicted killer has testified that Lorenzen Wright’s ex-wife asked him to kill the former NBA player nearly 12 years ago in Atlanta.

Protests outside people's homes could become illegal in Florida.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Parents in Florida are currently required to keep their children in booster or car seats until they turn 5 years old. For a decade, the federal government has recommended that age 7 be the cutoff for these seats. But even a compromise that would raise the age to 6 hasn’t gone anywhere in the Florida Legislature. Raising the age limit from 5 to 6 is a move supported by science. He said the biggest challenge will be educating parents on the changes if the age limit is increased.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A proposal that would require 6-year-old children to be secured in car seats or booster seats is headed to the full Senate. Under current law, children through age 3 are required to be in car seats. Children ages 4 and 5 can be in car seats or booster seats. The proposal (SB 380), sponsored by Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, would raise the age to 6. The Senate Rules Committee unanimously approved the bill Thursday, positioning the measure to go to the Senate floor.

Legislation broadening Florida’s hate crime law took a step toward inclusiveness Tuesday after the testimony of a grieving parent. Jeff Binkley could barely speak to a legislative committee as it considered broadening hate crimes to include gender or gender identity. “The last two FBI hate crimes reports show a cumulative increase of violent hate crimes of over 30 percent,” said Binkley. AdWhen it comes to hate crimes, prosecutors first have to prove there was a crime, then they have to prove the hate element as well. The bill still faces an uphill battle over doubts that adding hate crime designations do much to curb overall crime.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, is again pursuing legislation that would require 6-year-old children to be in car seats or booster seats, raising the age in state law by one year. As he’s done for the past three years, Perry on Wednesday filed a measure (SB 380) to raise the age in which children must be in crash-tested, federally approved car seats or booster seats when riding in vehicles. Currently, children through age 3 are required to be in car seats. Children ages 4 and 5 can be in car seats or booster seats. Perry’s proposal would also require children to be strapped into booster seats or car seats when they are 6.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than two dozen loyal Republicans gathered in the Senate chamber of the Florida Capitol on Monday afternoon and cast the state’s 29 votes in the Electoral College for President Donald Trump. The 29 electors -- many of them current or former elected or party officials -- were submitted to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Aug. 31 and earned a seat in the chamber when Trump won the most votes in Florida in the Nov. 3 election. Had Joe Biden carried the state, a slate of 29 prominent Democrats selected as that party’s electors would be voting Monday instead and, based on the certified popular vote, Biden will win 306 electoral votes to 232 votes for Trump. That fact made Monday a bittersweet day for Dr. Roy Hinman, of St. Augustine, who case one of Florida’s 29 votes for Trump.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The state Republican and Democratic parties have named their slates of electors for this year’s presidential election, with the names of current and former lawmakers sprinkled through the lists. EXPLAINED: Electoral College vs popular voteThe Florida Department of State posted the lists Friday on its website. The Republican list includes Florida GOP Chairman Joe Gruters, a state senator from Sarasota; incoming state Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby; state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples; state Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville; incoming House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor; state Rep. Jason Fischer, R-Jacksonville; state Rep. Randy Fine, R-Palm Bay; and state Rep. Daniel Perez, R-Miami. The Democatic list includes Florida Democratic Chairwoman Terrie Rizzo; Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried; former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.; former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham, D-Fla.; state Rep. Joe Geller, D-Aventura; and state Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park. Rod Smith, a Gainesville attorney who was a Democratic candidate in the 2016 race for governor, is also on the list.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Tax breaks on hurricane and back-to-school supplies, expected to be in the mix for any tax package lawmakers cook up during the 2020 legislative session, drew initial support Tuesday in the Florida Senate. Committee Chairman Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican who is sponsoring the disaster-preparedness measure, intends to continue advancing proposals as separate bills before they are ultimately combined in a tax package. "We'll have a lot of different tax bills, but the final determination of who runs the tax package we'll have to wait until later on and see what transpires." During the 2019 session, lawmakers compromised on a $121 million tax package that included a seven-day tax holiday ahead of the hurricane season and a five-day school tax holiday on clothes, supplies and computers. The proposed tax holiday on disaster-preparedness supplies would run from May 29 to June 15, a period that includes the June 1 start of the hurricane season.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Senate criminal justice panel on Tuesday pushed forward a bill that would remove time restrictions for prosecuting sexual-assault cases where victims are younger than 18. But a big change to the proposal, approved unanimously by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, would apply the elimination of the statute of limitations to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2020. The bill (SB 170) originally would have applied to the cases of victims who were raped or sexually assaulted before that date. She said the bill now "clarifies the exact beginning of this bill, to make sure that nobody gets grandfathered in." Three rape victims urged the Senate panel to scrap the statute of limitations.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A Senate Republican has proposed holding a 10-day back-to-school tax "holiday" as children get ready to return to classes next year. Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, filed the bill (SB 542) this week for consideration during the 2020 legislative session, which starts Jan. 14. Under it, the holiday period for most items would last from July 31 through Aug. 9. Shoppers would not have to pay sales taxes on clothing items costing $60 or less, school supplies costing $15 or less, and personal computers and computer accessories costing $1,000 or less. The tax holiday for computers and computer accessories would be one day shorter, lasting from Aug. 1 through Aug. 9, according to the bill.

Sen. Linda Stewart, a Democrat from Orlando, filed a measure (SB 170) intended to end the three-year window for minors aged 16 and 17 to report a sex battery. Epstein, 66, was found dead of an apparent suicide in his cell in a federal jail in New York on Aug. 10. The wealthy financier was facing sex-trafficking charges involving minors in Florida and New York. The politically connected Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to two state prostitution charges in Florida, including procuring a minor for sex. Similar legislation (HB 69) has been filed this year in the House by Jacksonville Democrat Tracie Davis and Longwood Republican Scott Plakon.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gainesville Republican Sen. Keith Perry is continuing his crusade to require children to be in a car seat or booster seat until the age of 7, raising the age now required by state law by one year. As hes done for the past two years, Perry on Tuesday filed a measure (SB 158) to raise the age in which children must be in a crash-tested, federally approved car seat or booster seat when riding in a vehicle. Floridas car seat laws currently require children through the age of three to be in a separate carrier or a vehicle manufacturers integrated child seat. For children ages four and five, a booster seat can also be used. Perry's proposal would require children to be strapped into a booster seat or car seat until they're 7 years old.