Gov Ron DeSantis

the right to firearms and privacy from banking monitoring of purchases

DeSantis began with remarks regarding immigration, stating the state’s attorney general, Ashley Mood, had gone to court to prevent immigrants from being released in Florida with the expiration of Title 42 “They need to be sent back to their home country,” DeSantis said

“You need to build a wall,” DeSantis said, regarding the border with Mexico DeSantis said he would send state workers to help construct the wall

The state legislature recently approved $12 million in the state budget to expand migrant relocation efforts that would allow t h e s t a t e t o t r a n s p o r t u n d o c u m e n t e d migrants from all over the country. Last year’s action by the state to transport migrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard has been challenged in court

Senate President Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples), extolled the state legislature’s passing of more than 200 bills and a $117 billion budget this session Passidomo credited the leaders of the legislature (both houses of which are dominated by Republicans) to being aligned ideologically with DeSantis

During the appearance, DeSantis signed two laws relating to banking Senate Bill 214 is intended to prevent consumers from having their spending habits on guns tracked by credit card companies Senate Bill 7504 prohibits the use of a federally adopted central bank digital currency (CBDC) by excluding it from the definition of money within Florida’s Uniform Commercial Code

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Wilton Simpson said if a bank was found to track gun sales of consumers in Florida, they could be fined up to $10,000 under the new legislation The law prevents banks from using firearm-specific merchant category codes to flag purchases

F o r t M y e r s B e a c h O b s e r v e r , M a y 1 7 , 2 0 2 3 n P a g e 6 Report your news to FORTMYERSBEACHTALK COM

DeSantis accused some financial companies of tracking consumer activity that included shopping at sporting good stores or gun stores DeSantis accused the companies of “colluding” to flag people for those purchases

The appearance also featured several speakers backing

Referring to the travels of DeSantis across the country and around the world in recent weeks, Passidomo joked that DeSantis “hadn’t been here in two weeks ”

DeSantis said the state has a “massive surplus” and touted his efforts to respond to Hurricane Ian

The Florida legislature recently voted to change state law to allow DeSantis to run for the presidency while serving as governor

On Thursday, DeSantis signed legislation allowing his travel records to be sealed from public record The move had been opposed by open government advocates for limiting knowledge about the travels of DeSantis at a time when he has been going across the country and appearing at political events ahead of the upcoming Republican presidential primary

“We’re excited to be putting points on the board,” DeSantis said in remarks about his legislative accomplishments

Social Security Administration Q&A

I am 67 years old, stopped working what factor can affect my retirement benefit amount?

Answer:

B Machado, Coral Gables, Florida

You're eligible to get Medicare at age 65 and the sign-up process for Part A (Hospital Insurance) and Part B (Medical Insurance) is completed through us If you decide to sign up for Part B, the cost will be taken out of your monthly benefit amount Be sure to plan ahead for that reduction

Question:

May I pay withholding taxes from benefit payments?

Answer:

Q Mills, Palmetto Bay, Florida

You may pay federal income taxes on your benefits if your combined income (50% of your benefit amount plus any other earned income) exceeds $25,000/year filing individually or $32,000/year filing jointly You can pay the IRS directly or have taxes withheld from your payment The form is called W-

4V: Voluntary Withholding Request from the IRS’s website

Question:

When can I apply for my retirement benefits?

Answer:

D Anderson, Hollywood, Florida

You can time your first benefit payment to avoid a gap in income Your first check won't arrive until the month after the one you pick in your application You can apply any time up to four months before the month you pick

For example, you want your first check in April Follow this timing:

A p p l y i n N o v e m b e r , D e c e m b e r , J a n u a r y ,

February, or March

∫ Get the first check in April

Question:

Can I get the maximum amount of benefits due a current or former spouse’s work?

J Nielson, Boynton Beach, Florida