Weekly Legislative Report - February 16, 2021

Legislative Report for the Week of Feb 16

With the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win in Super Bowl 55, “Champa Bay” has been in the spotlight including a boat parade larger than any Trump Flotilla.  Governor DeSantis attended the game with the First Lady and was photographed without a mask.  He simply replied that it hard to drink a beer with a mask on.

President Joe Biden hinted about restricting travel to Florida due to the number of COVID-19 cases.  Governor Ron DeSantis immediately went on the defense.  “Any attempt to restrict or lockdown Florida by the federal government would be an attack on our state, done purely for political purposes.” — Gov. DeSantis, on travel restrictions being considered by the White House.

Vaccination distribution outlets are being expanded to include Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club and additional Publix locations.  Approximately 2 million Floridians have received the vaccination so far.

The latest version of the new $350 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund would permit state revenue replacement in addition to other COVID-related expenses, potentially a boon for states who could use money to backfill budgets for lost revenue.

SB 74 by Senator Jeff Brandes that would provide healthcare workers with lawsuit protection related to the COVID-19 pandemic cleared its first committee last Wednesday with a 6-4 vote in Senate Judiciary.

Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson are getting the most mileage from a plan aimed at targeting Big Tech. They have made the rounds on the conservative television media with a list of grievances that includes accusing the Facebook, Twitter, Google and Amazon of “viewpoint discrimination” that alleges their algorithms unfairly limit conservative speech. Their complaint comes after Twitter and Facebook banned former President Donald Trump for using their platforms to incite violence and promote dangerous conspiracy theories and Google and Amazon banned the web site Parler.

Called the “Transparency and Technology Act,” the measure would limit the extent to which social media companies can change their terms of service or moderate their content. It would force platforms to allow users to opt-out of algorithms and make it easier for Florida’s attorney general and individuals to sue “Big Tech..”

The midpoint of a governor’s term traditionally is a time for agency heads to move on and the governor to hit the reset button. Last Friday, the changes came pouring in as Gov. Ron DeSantis replaced the leaders of the Department of Children and Families, the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Management Services.  Shame Strum, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, is also leaving to become Broward’s Health CEO.

And the election scene for 2022 is getting interesting … Governor DeSantis says he is focused on his re-election but not ruling out a run for President in 2024.

Below are articles about the issues mention above and more:

“Defiant Ron DeSantis blasts Joe Biden administration amid report of travel limits ” via Gary Fineout of POLITICO — DeSantis on Thursday lashed out at the Biden administration, promising that the state would strongly and swiftly oppose any attempts to block Americans from traveling to the Sunshine State. DeSantis’ comments were in response to a Wednesday story by McClatchy that quoted an unnamed White House official saying the administration was considering imposing domestic travel restrictions, including on Florida, to stem the transmission of a new COVID-19 variant that is rapidly spreading in the state. DeSantis’ office declined to immediately comment following the news conference on whether they have had any discussions with anyone from the Biden administration about potential travel restrictions.

“Chief of Staff Shane Strum leaving Governor’s Office for Broward Health” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Strum will leave the Governor’s Office this week to become Broward Health’s CEO. Strum will begin a three-year contract at the helm of Broward Health on March 8. Broward Health’s board of commissioners voted unanimously for Strum from a pool of three candidates, he told Florida Politics. He will replace Gino Santorio, who leaves Thursday to become the Mount Sinai Medical Center CEO in Miami Beach. Strum touted his political connections and health care experience as a former executive vice president of Memorial Healthcare System.

COVID Issues…

“Jim Boyd tests positive for COVID-19 and is having ‘mild symptoms’” via Zac Anderson of The Sarasota Herald-Tribune — State Sen. Boyd tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing “mild symptoms,” he said Monday. “Taking all necessary precautions including self-quarantine,” Boyd said in a text message. Senate spokeswoman Katie Betta said in an email that Boyd “did not have close contact with anyone outside of his immediate family in the days prior to testing positive.”

“House, Senate diverge on health lawsuit bills” via Christine Sexton of News Service of Florida — Chief among the differences are how long legal protections should be in effect, types of COVID-19-related lawsuits that would be limited and whether to require physician affidavits when lawsuits are filed. A proposed House bill (PCB HHS 21-01) would make changes in how lawsuits are filed, including requiring physician affidavits, but would rescind the changes “one year and one day” after they become effective. By contrast, the Senate proposal (SB 74) by Brandes would apply to COVID-19 lawsuits for injuries that occur up to one year after the end of a declared state or federal public health emergency, whichever is later. The chambers also take different approaches to the types of COVID-19-related claims that would be limited.

“Evan Jenne laments COVID-19 liability proposals” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics — As Republicans forge ahead with plans to enact COVID-19 liability protections in Florida, Jenne said Democrats will continue to dig their heels against the legislation. Speaking to reporters, Jenne conceded that Democrats face an uphill battle. Nevertheless, he said they will push back wherever they can. Ahead of the 2021 Legislative Session, Republican leaders have fast-tracked legislation that seeks to shield various businesses and institutions from frivolous COVID-19 related claims. The multiple Republican-proposed protections extend to businesses, schools and health care providers such as nursing homes.

“Democrats revive Medicaid expansion fight amid COVID-19 woes” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Democrats are reigniting the fight for Medicaid expansion, framing it with the health and economic hardships facing Floridians amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Democratic lawmakers in the House and Senate have filed a series of bills expanding Medicaid coverage to Floridians, as the Affordable Care Act allows. However, Republicans are unlikely to give Democrats' proposals any airtime. Democrats have been pushing to expand Medicaid since 2012, but they now say the pandemic makes it especially necessary. "We didn't know that there was going to be COVID pandemic that would come after that, but our predictions were still right, that people would die. It's just now they're dying on steroids. They're dying in an exasperated manner," Sen. Perry Thurston said.

“More than 40% of Palm Beach County seniors now vaccinated against COVID-19” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — More than 146,000 seniors have now been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Palm Beach County, representing more than 40% of the region’s senior population. Palm Beach County has a large elderly population, making vaccine access a priority in the region. Some lawmakers have criticized DeSantis for his approach in ensuring the vaccine is available for seniors of all races and income levels. While the 40% marker represents progress on the effort, the state and nation still have a long way to reach herd immunity levels, which are necessary for a fuller return to normalcy.

“One million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to be shipped to Florida pharmacies” via NBC Miami staff reports — Walmart and Sam's Club are expected to ship 1 million doses of the coveted COVID-19 vaccine to pharmacies across Florida this week, with vaccinations set to start Thursday. The shipments are being received as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program. The program aims to speed up vaccine distribution and eventually expand to 40,000 pharmacies. Nationwide, 6,500 pharmacies will be receiving the vaccine. Pharmacies in Miami-Dade and Broward counties are expecting a substantial shipment. But getting the vaccine won't be as easy as walking in and getting a flu shot.

“‘Tremendous fight’ looms in Florida over excluding ‘hard-to-hire’ workers from the minimum wage” via Caroline Glenn of the Orlando Sentinel — Just a few months after Floridians voted to raise the state’s minimum wage, Florida lawmakers are considering a proposal that would exempt more than 2 million workers from it. Introduced by Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Pinellas County Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the proposal, if passed this upcoming legislative session, would place an amendment on the 2022 ballot authorizing lawmakers to create a lower “training wage” for workers who have served time for felonies, who are under 21 and others considered “hard-to-hire.” Brandes, who has sponsored several bills over the years to reform the prison system, said the resolution is intended to mitigate the job losses that some groups expect to come from Amendment 2.