Weekly Legislative Update - April 19, 2021

Last week, the Florida House spent hours debating and passing legislation to ban transgender females from girls’, women’s school sports, the anti-rioting bill and a resolution condemning communism. 

Republican lawmakers handed Gov. Ron DeSantis one of his top legislative priorities Thursday, with the Florida Senate giving final passage to a contentious law-and-order measure spawned by nationwide protests after last year’s death of George Floyd.

The sweeping anti-rioting proposal, titled “Combating Public Disorder,” would create a new crime of “mob intimidation,” enhance penalties for riot-related looting and violence and create an affirmative defense for individuals who injure or kill violent protesters.

Gov. Ron DeSantis’ COVID-19 response may be getting dragged through the mud by national media, but a new survey shows Florida voters are fans.

Polling firm Cygnal surveyed 800 likely general election voters in Florida and found 60% believe DeSantis has done a good job navigating the state through the pandemic. That beats the 58% approval earned by the Joe Biden administration and the 49% approval for Donald Trump’s response.

Floridians aren’t just fans of DeSantis’ plans; they’re fans of the man himself, handing him a plus-17 job approval rating halfway through his first term. The media, which has taken to thrashing DeSantis a few times in recent weeks, earned a minus-14 approval rating from the same set of voters.

Lawmakers met Friday to kick off this year’s budget conference, and that process is slated to continue through Monday. Items not hammered out by then will go to the top negotiators. Conferees will negotiate $36.2 billion in general revenue expenditures. And don’t be surprised if the final budget tops $100 billion. “We’re excited to start conference, work with y’all and the rest of our Senate partners to construct a budget that prepares Florida today for a better tomorrow,” House budget chief Jay Trumbull said. “We have an exciting couple few days,” Senate budget chief Kelli Stargel added. “I’m glad we’re moving and I’m looking forward to working with you in this process.”

A package that would provide $61.5 million in tax reductions next fiscal year was introduced Friday by the House, including holding sales tax “holidays” on back-to-school supplies and hurricane gear and a “freedom week” related to entertainment and outdoor activities. The package, which was be taken up by the House Ways & Means Committee, comes as Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, and House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, advised members Thursday to expect formal budget negotiations to take place this weekend. The House tax package (PCB WMC 21-01) is topped by a seven-day tax holiday in early August as students prepare to go back to school. During the period, shoppers would be able to avoid paying sales taxes on clothes costing $60 or less, school supplies costing $15 or less and personal computers costing less than $1,000. During a disaster-preparedness holiday over seven days around the June 1 start of hurricane season, shoppers would be able to avoid paying sales taxes on items ranging from tarpaulins and small batteries to portable generators costing up to $750. The “Freedom Week” holiday, which would be held the first week of July, would provide a sales-tax exemption on tickets purchased for such things as live music, athletic contests and in-theater movies. The bill also includes proposals such as a property tax discount for certain multifamily projects that provide affordable housing to low-income families. It also would allow local governments to use tourist-development and convention-development taxes for flood mitigation projects.

Senators will continue to try to work out differences of opinion about possible changes to election law after a bill seeking to make changes to the voting process stalled on Wednesday after long debate in the Senate Rules Committee, which didn't get to a vote on the proposal. Opponents say there's no need to make significant changes to the way Florida voters cast their ballots after a successful 2020 election in the state. The bill's Senate sponsor, Republican Dennis Baxley of Ocala, said issues in other states show the need to guard against possible problems. "I'm not trying to present a case that there's a problem," Baxley said during the Rules Committee debate on Wednesday. "I'm presenting a case that we can prevent ever having a problem. ... We don't want to backslide, we want to keep Florida a model for the nation." Proposed changes in the legislation (SB 90) involve the process for turning mail-in ballots in to dropboxes and the security around that process, as well as rules around interactions between voters and others at polling places and signatures required by voters, among other issues. The Rules Committee ran out of time when considering the bill on Wednesday, and could return to the issue on Friday.

Yesterday the Senate Appropriations Committee considered SB 1948 by Senator Aaron Bean to require upgrades to the state's maligned CONNECT unemployment compensation system, which had trouble last year keeping up with the massive spike in jobless claims early in the pandemic.  Ironically, the system was down when Senator Bean presented the bill.  The companion bill, HB 1463 by Rep. Chip LaMarca, has been heard by all committees and ready for a final vote in the House. 

An effort to increase Florida’s much-criticized unemployment benefits, boosting the amounts and lengths of payments, continued to advance Thursday in the state Senate.

Pointing to the massive jump in unemployment last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a revised proposal (SB 1906) that would increase the maximum amount of unemployment benefits to $375 a week.

Currently, benefits range from $32 to $275 a week, among the lowest amounts in the nation. The state cut benefits in 2011 to blunt a major increase in unemployment taxes on businesses. 

“We’re a much more modern society than when this (unemployment) statute was first written,” said Sen. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican sponsoring the bill. “We've done some great things to bolster our (unemployment) trust fund.”

Brodeur’s bill underwent changes, including expanding the number of weeks that benefits would be available and refining a “work search” requirement in which people on unemployment must reach out to five prospective employers each week. The House does not have an identical bill. 

And there are more problems for the proposed unemployment benefit changes … DeSantis on Friday said he opposes proposals to boost Florida’s unemployment payments. DeSantis opposed the idea when asked by reporters in Lakeland. “Increase benefits? Look, no. I think we are getting people back to work. You see and hear these stories about ‘businesses need more.’ Our goal is to get people back to work,” DeSantis said. Republican Sen. Jason Brodeur is shepherding the Senate’s proposal to raise weekly benefits from $275 to $375 each week. However, there’s no counterpart in the House. The Governor’s opposition might just seal the deal. “We’re going to continue to work through the process and hope we can convince the Governor of the need,” Brodeur said.

A proposal that would make it harder to change the Florida Constitution is ready to go before the House. The Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Thursday to approve a proposal (HJR 61) that would ask voters in 2022 to increase the percentage of votes needed to pass future constitutional amendments. The measure would require support from two-thirds of voters to pass constitutional amendments.

Currently, constitutional amendments can pass with 60 percent of the vote. Supporters of making it more difficult to amend the Constitution contend that ballot initiatives have been used to make policy decisions that should be left to the Legislature. “We think the republic process works best because we have such a good deliberative process right here in Tallahassee,” Rep. Rick Roth, a West Palm Beach Republican who is sponsoring the proposal, said. “We have more facts. We have more historical perspective. We have more resources. We have more debate. We have the ability to amend. We have none of that with the constitutional amendment process.”

Florida voters in 2006 approved requiring the 60 percent threshold to pass constitutional amendments. Since then, 31 of 50 ballot proposals have been approved. Of those 31, 15 received more than 66.7 percent support. Amendments that did not reach two-thirds support included a 2020 measure to raise the minimum wage --- which passed with 60.8 percent support --- and a 2018 amendment to restore felons’ voting rights --- which passed with 64.5 percent. Democrats argued the proposal is part of GOP attempts to make it more difficult to pass already-expensive and time-consuming ballot initiatives. An identical proposal in the Senate (SJR 1238) awaits an appearance before the Rules Committee.

Talking about planning ahead … Rep. Sam Garrison is quietly emerging as a front-runner in the jockeying for the role of 2026 House speaker. Florida Politics

Below you will find articles about the issues mentioned above and more …

COVID-19 …

“Florida suspends use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine” via David Flesher of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel — Florida will suspend use of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, after it was linked to rare and dangerous blood clots, DeSantis said Tuesday. The Governor said Florida would follow recommendations issued Tuesday by the federal government, which temporarily halted the use of the vaccine at federal sites after blood clots were discovered in six women. The CDC and the FDA both called for a suspension of the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after it was linked to rare blood clots in female recipients. Six women between the ages of 18 and 48 developed the blood clots within two weeks of vaccination. One died and another remains hospitalized.

“YouTube pulls video of DeSantis panel discussion urging no masks for children” via Meryl Kornfield of The Washington Post — YouTube has pulled a video featuring DeSantis over allegations it contains misinformation about the coronavirus and mask-wearing. The video is of a March 18 roundtable discussion in Tallahassee the Governor hosted with panelists who have publicly spoken against lockdowns and other measures enacted to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. According to platform spokeswoman Elena Hernandez, the video was taken down Wednesday because it violated a policy related to “COVID-19 medical misinformation,” according to platform spokeswoman Elena Hernandez. One panelist wrote that he viewed the discussion as a “policy forum” and raised objections to mask-wearing based on evidence that masks could hinder a child’s ability to learn and interact with others.

Elections …

“DeSantis continues to pull in millions for reelection campaign” via Gary Fineout of POLITICO — Gov. DeSantis continues to haul in money for his reelection campaign at a torrential pace, adding close to $6 million since the start of this year’s annual Florida legislative session on March 2. DeSantis shut down his fundraising operations at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but he restarted his efforts back up in October. He has raised more than $11.3 million over the last six-and-a-half months — but about half of it flowed in since state legislators started their work. The Governor is significantly outraising the Republican Party of Florida, which reported it raised $3.65 million into its state account for the first three months of 2021.

“Nikki Fried’s political committee pulls in nearly $150,000 in March” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Fried’s political committee in March reported its strongest fundraising numbers since 2019. And she’s picking up support from some surprising places. Florida Consumers First, the committee affiliated with Fried, raked in $148,641 over the course of the month. That’s money that could aid in a presumed run for Governor against incumbent DeSantis next year, though Fried has yet to file for higher office or reelection to her current post. That she’s not filed for another term as Agriculture Commissioner yet could be as clear a sign as any she intends to take on the Governor.

“Jimmy Patronis adds more than $107K in March, as possible challenger Lauren Book brings in $86K” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics — Patronis raised more than $107,000 in March as he seeks a second full term as the state’s Chief Financial Officer. His political committee pulled in another $310,000 and change. Patronis picked up the fundraising pace after a potential challenger, Democratic Sen. Book, added more than $250,000 in February. She’s considering a run against the Republican Patronis, though Book can also seek reelection in Senate District 32. Patronis brought in more than $107,000 after raising just $10,000 in February, following his official announcement that he’d run for reelection. Mach was his first full month of fundraising since that decision.

“Moody committee hits $200,000” via News Service of Florida — Moody’s political committee, Friends of Ashley Moody, raised $200,025 last month, after bringing in $152,650 in February, according to a new finance report posted on the state Division of Elections website. Those were the largest monthly amounts since 2018, when Moody was elected attorney general. Among the large contributions in March were $50,000 from Joseph C. White, identified as a Largo construction company executive; a combined $20,000 from the Daytona Beach-based insurance firms Brown & Brown, Inc. and Brown & Brown of Florida, Inc.; and $10,000 from Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, according to the report.

“Tom Rooney considering a run for Agriculture Commissioner” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics — Former U.S. Rep. Rooney may pursue a return to politics in 2022. The Tequesta Republican confirmed to Florida Politics Tuesday he’s exploring a bid for Agriculture Commissioner. “I definitely still have political ambitions,” he said. “I’m 50. I’m not retired.” Rooney won election to the House in 2008 and served for a decade before announcing in 2018 he would not seek reelection. “Most of the things our office worked on dealt with agriculture,” he said. But Rooney stressed he’s still gauging interest in a run and considering what a statewide campaign may mean as far as his own family. He retired from Congress in part so he could spend more time at home while his sons finished high school.