Legislative Update - November 7, 2021

Last week was a very busy one in Tallahassee!  Governor Ron DeSantis called a Special Session last week to deal with vaccination and mask mandates and then expanded the call to include elections.  On Wednesday, the Governor announced a new legislative proposal to further strengthen Florida’s election integrity. This proposed legislation will be addressed in the upcoming 2022 Legislative Session, which begins in January. 

Governor DeSantis called on the Legislature to take four additional steps to safeguard elections:

• Establish an Office of Election Crimes and Security within the Department of State to investigate election crimes and fraud;
• Elevate the crime of ballot harvesting to a third-degree felony, recognizing that this offense is a serious attack on democracy;
• Require timelines for supervisors of elections to clean the voter rolls of ineligible voters; and
• Prohibit unsecure, haphazard drop box locations in Florida.

Hours after the Biden administration moved forward with COVID-19 vaccination requirements for tens of millions of workers, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that Florida will join Georgia, Alabama and private plaintiffs in filing a legal challenge.

The lawsuit, which is expected to be filed Friday at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will challenge a rule issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration that will apply to employers with 100 or more workers. The rule will take effect Jan. 4 and require employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or test negative at least once a week.

DeSantis said Florida also will challenge a separate rule issued Thursday by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that will apply to health-care facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes, that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Workers in the facilities will have to show they have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine by Dec. 5 and be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4.

A special primary election was held Tuesday for the South Florida congressional seat left vacant by the death of Alcee Hastings. Three former Democratic legislators, Rep. Bobby DuBose, Rep. Omari Hardy and Sen. Perry Thurston, are among the candidates vying to fill the seat for Florida's 20th congressional district.  None of them won.  That evening, unofficial totals returned by Palm Beach and Broward county elections officials showed Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness ahead of health care company CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick by 12 votes.  Today Cherfilus-McCormick is ahead of Holness by three votes.

State Websites Suffer Outage - Some state-supported government websites were down in recent days following the failure of a backup processor on Friday. The State Data Center reported a hardware failure causing certain Florida webpages like the governor's website and MyFlorida.com to crash. The Department of Management Services said some agencies such as the Department of Children and Families have said the crash has caused other internal processing problems. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Economic Opportunity’s online unemployment site experienced similar issues, causing the system to crash multiple times. Florida Politics

Florida budget writers got some good news Wednesday, as general-revenue tax collections topped expectations for September by 15.7 percent, due in part to people continuing to spend down savings amassed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But savings stockpiled since early 2020 by Floridians might be returning to a pre-pandemic normal. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve issued a statement Wednesday indicating it will start reducing monthly bond purchases, indicating a shift in focus from trying to boost the economy to dealing with inflation.

A report released Wednesday by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research said general-revenue tax collections in September were $442.2 million more than had been projected in an August forecast.

The report continued a series of signs that lawmakers will be flush with cash as they draw up a budget during the legislative session that will start in January. Economists in August estimated lawmakers would have $2.6 billion more in general revenue than previously forecast this fiscal year, which started July 1, and in the 2022-2023 fiscal year.

The revenue is in addition to nearly $6 billion in unspent federal coronavirus stimulus money.

Still, economists anticipate an eventual slowing, but not a reversing, of the current economic direction.

One sign of the slowing could be seen in Floridians’ personal saving rate, the percentage of disposable income that people save. The rate stood at a “below-normal” 7.5 percent in September, according to Wednesday’s report. The rate was 7.9 percent during the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

During the pandemic, as people limited movement and spending, the saving rate hit a record 33.7 percent in April 2020. In July, the figure stood at 9.6 percent.

The report pointed to sales taxes and corporate-income taxes for the September gains in revenue.

“September collections reflect activity that largely occurred in August, which continued to benefit from the most recent round of stimulus checks to households, redirected spending from the hard-hit service sector and some consumers’ ability to draw down atypically large savings that built up during the pandemic,” the report said.

The report said revenue from sales taxes, after adjustments, was $200.6 million, or 10.3 percent, higher than forecast for the month.

The overall general-revenue total of $3.251 billion for September marked the 14th consecutive month in which the state exceeded forecast numbers. General revenue had been forecast at $2.809 billion for the month.

General-revenue taxes play a key role in funding programs such as schools, health care and prisons. DeSantis is expected to release a budget proposal in the coming weeks that will serve as a starting point as lawmakers move into the legislative session.

Want to know how taxes in Florida stack up to other states? Florida TaxWatch has a report for that.

2021 How Florida Compares: Taxes analyzes Florida’s state and local tax rates, tax collections, and other government revenues and compares the data to the 49 other states and the national average.

The data show that Florida is middle of the road on property taxes, ranking No. 24. Sales taxes account for 81.5% of Florida tax collections, far above the national average of 48.2%.

Much of the tax burden in Florida is due to costs that state and local governments don’t classify as taxes, such as special assessments, charges for services, and impact fees levied by local governments. About half of local tax collections come from such sources.

Notably, businesses pay 53% of all state and local taxes in Florida, which is No. 9 highest percentage in the U.S. and higher than the national average of 44%.

Florida Gas Prices Stabilize … After increasing earlier in October, gasoline prices stabilized in Florida last week, according to the AAA auto club. The average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.31 on Sunday, virtually unchanged from a week earlier. That was up from about $3.06 a month ago, AAA said. "Although oil prices remain elevated, they seem to have leveled off, which helped prevent any additional spikes at the pump last week," AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said in a prepared statement. "Drivers could see another week of stagnant gas prices, unless there are any big shifts in what has become an extremely tight crude oil market." AAA said the price of crude oil increased 12 percent in October, leading to higher gasoline prices. The most expensive gasoline last week in Florida was in the West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Vero Beach areas. The least expensive was in the Punta Gorda, Sebring, Villages and Melbourne areas.

Special Session …

Special Session on Vaccine Mandates Will Start Nov. 15 - Lawmakers will meet in special session the week of Nov. 15 to consider legislation to block vaccine mandates for employees. Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday filled in details on his call to the Legislature for the special session on the issue. The Legislature had already been scheduled to be in Tallahassee that week for committee meetings. The special session will begin at noon on Monday, Nov. 15 and will go no longer than Friday, Nov. 19. The governor's order specifies that the session is for the "exclusive purpose" of a long list of issues related to COVID, including considering legislation to prevent employees of Florida companies from being required to be vaccinated against COVID, and making it clear in state law that schools in Florida cannot require students to wear masks. The call also says lawmakers should consider whether Florida should take over authority for occupational safety and health issues for workplaces, rather than submitting to the federal government's role in such regulations, and repealing the state of Florida's authority to order people to be vaccinated for any disease during a public health emergency. Governor's Special Session 2021 B Proclamation / LobbyTools Special Session B Page / Associated Press

Business and the GOP are split on government mandates on how companies can deal with their workers when it comes to vaccines. Orlando Sentinel 

“Leading House Dem: Republicans will scale back Ron DeSantis’ vaccine mandate ban” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics

DeSantis Proposes New Election Security Measures - Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to Republican calls for more scrutiny on elections with a call Wednesday for legislation to strengthen policing and prosecution of voting law violations and other measures related to voting procedures. The plan would include the creation of a separate state office dedicated to investigating and prosecuting election crimes in Florida and increased penalties for so-called "ballot harvesting," where political organizers collect absentee ballots from voters and drop them off at a polling place or election office. DeSantis said he would also ask lawmakers to require elections supervisors to clean up voter rolls more often to remove ineligible voters. The move by the Republican governor is the latest in a long-running back-and-forth between the two parties over laws governing the casting of ballots. Republicans have for years complained that fraud has been too easy in elections and moved to put restrictions on voting, including an election reform bill that became law this year in Florida. Democrats have generally opposed many of the measures, saying they have made it harder for people legitimately allowed to vote to do so. The Republican calls for voting restrictions have intensified since the 2020 election in which former President Donald Trump claimed fraud cost him the election. Tampa Bay Times / Politico / WPTV / WINK

Legislative … 

The Legislature on Thursday saw the 1,000th bill filed for the upcoming session. Typically, in recent years, about 3,000 are filed each session.

LBC OKS Extra Money for Nursing Homes, VA Care - Legislators approved spending an extra $100 million for three months through Medicaid to help struggling private nursing homes. The mid-year budget adjustment approved Thursday by the Joint Legislative Budget Commission would boost Medicaid payment rates to help long-term care facilities that have seen revenue drop amid a decline in occupancy rates. Health care facilities throughout Florida also face a worker shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission also approved over $4.4 million for the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs to help pay for five state facilities' contracted costs of nursing care through January. The Joint Legislative Budget Commission is made up of state legislators from both chambers and is the only committee allowed to make budget decisions while the Legislature is adjourned. Florida Politics 

The LBC also approved an additional $1 billion in Medicaid spending with money from the American Rescue Plan Act that will help increase access to home- and community-based services throughout Florida as the pandemic continues. Florida Politics

Pointing to substance abuse and overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Florida Department of Health will ask a legislative panel this week to approve spending $5 million for a youth drug-prevention campaign. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported youth are now at an increased risk of substance use disorder and overdose in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said a proposal slated to go before the Joint Legislative Budget Commission on Thursday. “The impact of isolation from quarantine orders and disruption in school and social events has massively impacted youth who suffer from a SUD (substance use disorder) and has led to a rise in drug overdoses. To address this growing threat, it is critical that youth, parents/guardians, and educators are provided factual information on drug use during the current pandemic and in future disaster scenarios to prevent future youth substance use and abuse.” The legislative panel is made up of House and Senate members and can make mid-year budget decisions. The proposal said the Department of Health, working with the Department of Education, would develop a statewide media campaign dubbed “The Facts, Your Future, Youth Substance Use Prevention.”

Senate Children and Families to Discuss Suicide Prevention

The Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee today will hear a presentation by the Department of Children and Families on the state's behavioral health system and state suicide prevention efforts, along with the implementation of 2020's SB 7012, which expanded the duties of the Statewide Office of Suicide Prevention. The committee will also hear an update on the new Commission on Mental Health and Substance Abuse established earlier this year. The committee also will hear from several experts on Florida's Behavioral Health System, the Baker Act and Marchman Act, and First Responder Suicide Prevention. Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Packet

Nursing Home Staffing Changes Proposed - As nursing homes and other health-care providers struggle with worker shortages, a Senate Republican filed a proposal Wednesday that would revamp staffing requirements at nursing homes. Sen. Ben Albritton, R-Wauchula, filed the proposal (SB 804) for consideration during the 2022 legislative session, which will start in January. The proposal would provide more flexibility in staffing requirements that were first put in place about two decades ago. As an example, current law requires nursing homes to provide a minimum weekly average of 3.6 hours of direct care per day to each resident. That amount of care is required to be provided by certified nursing assistants and licensed nurses. Under the bill, facilities would be required to provide a minimum monthly average of 3.6 hours of direct care per day to each resident, a more-flexible requirement than the weekly average. Also, a definition of direct-care staff would include employees who provide services such as physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, along with certified nursing assistants and licensed nurses. Also, the bill would require providing a minimum of 2.5 hours of direct care per day to each resident by staff members who are not nurses. During a meeting with reporters Monday, Emmett Reed, CEO of the Florida Health Care Association, raised the possibility of changing staffing requirements to address the workforce shortages. The association is the state’s largest nursing-home industry group.

Senate tackles telehealth - The Senate Health Policy Committee began consideration this week of SB 312, brought forth by Chair Manny Diaz, which would make changes in the state’s telehealth laws. Among other things, the legislation would add audio-only calls in the definition of telehealth and would change rules on allowing the prescribing of controlled substances through telehealth appointments. 

SB 808 filed Wednesday by Sen. Joe Gruters would create a temporary sales tax holiday for disaster preparedness items, which has been regularly held in several recent years.  

A measure filed in the Senate (SB 812) would require the state to study the possibility of using "digital license plates" on cars, which could connect with the internet and could display more information than currently can be displayed on tags, such as car registration information. The plates would also be integrated with the state's toll collection system.

Bill Would Eliminate State Health Officer's Ability to Require Vaccines During Emergencies - The state's top health official would no longer have the authority to order people to be vaccinated during any public health emergency under legislation (HB 6069) filed Monday in the House. The measure, filed by Rep. Jason Shoaf, R-Port St. Joe, is identical to another House bill (HB 6009) already filed by Rep. Anthony Sabatini that is awaiting a hearing in the House Pandemics and Public Emergencies Committee. While the bill is filed for the 2022 regular session, eliminating a provision in state law that allows the public health officer to require people be vaccinated should there be a public health emergency is something that lawmakers would also be allowed to do under the list of possible actions they may take under Gov. Ron DeSantis' call for a special session to deal with vaccine and other public health issues that is scheduled for later this month. 

House Panel to Work on Public Official Lobbying Restriction Language - The House Public Integrity and Elections Committee meets today for a workshop on implementing certain lobbying restrictions for public officials now required by the state constitution. Voters approved an amendment to the constitution in 2018 that prohibits elected officials and heads of state agencies from lobbying for six years after leaving office. The ban, among the toughest in the nation, doesn't start until the end of 2022. The committee meeting Monday will work on definitions for the legislation that will carry out the constitutional requirement. Committee Packet / LobbyTools Calendar

“‘Toddler in a crappy diaper’: Evan Jenne defends Chris Sprowls, jabs at critics” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics

COVID-19 …

DeSantis to Sue Feds to Block Vaccine Requirements for Workers - The DeSantis administration will sue to block a new Biden Administration rule that requires employees of certain large employers to either get regular COVID testing or be vaccinated against the virus, the governor said Thursday. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state will ask the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to block a new rule issued by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration that requires companies with 100 or more workers to ensure by Jan. 4 that employees are either fully vaccinated or test negative for COVID-19 at least once a week. "Florida will be responding, and I think the rule's going down," DeSantis said. "I just don't think that there's an adequate basis for it." USA Today Network / Miami Herald-Tampa Bay Times / Orlando Sentinel / Politico / The Hill / Axios / NBC6

“Florida COVID-19 update: Reporting change causes lag in death data” via Devoun Cetoute and Ana Claudia Chacin of the Miami Herald — Since last Friday, Florida has only added four deaths to its COVID tally — at least according to the data reported on the CDC website. However, behind the scenes, the CDC has been working with the Florida Department of Health to return to a previously used reporting method, causing a lag in reporting deaths. “On Monday, Nov. 1, CDC began transitioning jurisdictions reporting by event date back to report date,” said CDC spokeswoman Jasmine Reed. Now, the health department would have to switch back to how it reported cases before the summer change. “Due to reporting changes, there was a lag in death data updates for Florida. CDC is working with the Florida Department of Health to correct the issue.”

“Faster-spreading strain of delta variant detected in Florida” via CBS Miami — As COVID-19 cases begin to go down, there is a warning about a potentially faster-spreading strain of the delta variant. It has been spotted in Florida and seven other states. Health experts say that although this strain spreads faster, there is no evidence that it causes more severe illness. Current vaccines also appear to be effective against it.

“Lawmakers approve $643M for Regeneron alternative in COVID-19 fight” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics — Lawmakers have approved an additional $1.2 billion for the Division of Emergency Management to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than half of which is precautionary spending. The agency has played a leading role in the state’s pandemic response, including coordinating federal reimbursements for the state’s pandemic-related activities. Before the Joint Legislative Budget Commission meeting on Thursday, DEM Financial Management Administrator Mark Mahoney presented the billion-dollar request, which includes three projects. The panel unanimously approved the expenditures, all three of which are slated as federal reimbursements. The most significant request is to unlock $643.4 million in anticipated federal funds for the agency to acquire doses of GlaxoSmithKline’s sotrovimab, a recently approved monoclonal antibody treatment that hasn’t been funneled directly through the federal government.

Florida Courts Lifting Mask Mandate as State COVID Cases Continue to Decline

Starting Nov. 15, Florida courts will ease health restrictions following a decline in COVID infections throughout the state. Chief Justice Charles Canady announced on Thursday that masks will be optional in courts across the state but encourages judges to accommodate requests for social distancing in courtrooms. The new order also requires all Baker Act and Marchman Act hearings on involuntary commitments to be held in person. Law 360 / Press Release

“Florida hospitals face COVID-19 vaccine requirements under new Biden administration rule” via Frank Gluck of the Fort Myers News-Press — The Biden administration released rules requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for health care workers, a shot mandate many Florida hospitals so far have avoided and one likely to launch a new front in the state's opposition to compulsory pandemic inoculations. Under the federal plan, organizations that accept Medicare and Medicaid will have to get their workers fully vaccinated by Jan. 4. They must be at least partially vaccinated by Dec. 5 to provide patient care. This includes most hospitals and long-term care operators. Facilities covered by this regulation must establish a policy ensuring all eligible staff receives the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine or a one-dose COVID-19 vaccine before providing any care, treatment or other services by Dec. 5.

Redistricting …

House Democrats Push More Access to Redistricting Process - House Democrats are urging more transparency during the redistricting process amid fears they and the public are being left out of the map redrawing process and concerns that partisan maps have already been drawn. Although an in-person state tour of lawmakers for gathering input – as was done a decade ago – is not expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some representatives are asking for video calls to allow the public to participate in the process. Florida Politics

Elections …

Broward, Palm Beach Counties Prepare to Recount Ballots in Race for Congressional Seat - The Democratic primary in the race to fill the seat in Congress left vacant by the death of Congressman Alcee Hastings will require a recount after a dozen votes or fewer separated the two leading candidates. Unofficial totals returned by Palm Beach and Broward county elections officials showed Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness ahead of health care company CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick by 12 votes. The state Division of Elections reported the difference as 9 votes. The narrow margin required a hand recount of ballots that vote tabulating machines read as having either no votes or too many votes to determine if there was evidence of voter intention in a bid to award those votes to one candidate or the other. A recount is expected on Friday. The special general election for the 20th Congressional District seat is Jan. 11. Jason Mariner defeated Greg Musselwhite in the Republican primary. Sun Sentinel / Palm Beach Post / Miami Herald / Associated Press / Florida Politics / Politico / LobbyTools

“Ex-felon who won Republican CD 20 Primary never applied for right to hold political office” via Corbin Bolies of Florida Politics — The winning Republican in this week’s congressional Primary in South Florida is a former felon who did not go through the state’s process to restore his civil rights after imprisonment, interviews and records show. That step is required under Florida law for a candidate to hold political office. Jason Mariner won Tuesday’s Republican Party primary with 58% of votes in heavily Democratic Florida’s 20th Congressional District. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the election’s outcome would be challenged. The General Election will be on Jan. 11. Democrats have held the seat, one of the most Democratic districts in Florida, for more than two decades.

Vacancies in Legislature After Members Resign to Run Longest in Two Decades - Three seats in the Legislature are likely to be vacant well into the 2022 legislative session with the members who held the seats having resigned to run for Congress. With Gov. Ron DeSantis setting a special general election near the end of the spring session, the seats will likely have been vacant far longer than others have been in similar circumstances over the past 20 years, according to a newspaper report. Sun Sentinel

Ken Welch on Tuesday was elected as the first Black mayor of the once-segregated city of St. Petersburg. Associated Press / Bay News 9

“‘Limited recognition’ keeps DeSantis behind Donald Trump, Mike Pence in 2024 poll” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

Cut off: Democratic Governors to take a pass on Florida in 2022 — The Democratic Governors Association will not be helping Florida Democrats defeat DeSantis next year, a major setback for those seeking to unseat the popular Republican Governor. Matt Dixon of POLITICO Florida reports that in the previous two gubernatorial cycles, the DGA spent more than $15 million. In 2022, Dixon writes, the DGA plans to “deprioritize” the state in the midterms, using its limited resources to protect incumbent Governors instead. The feeling is Democrats can’t win statewide elections in Florida, sources said. It’s a clear sign that Florida’s reputation as the largest swing state is slipping and that it is now leaning more center-right. “I do think, and I can’t stress this enough, the DGA is playing mostly defense this year, and that’s a monumental change,” said Democratic consultant Jonathan Ducote told POLITICO.

UF Faculty Experts Can't Be Paid to Testify in Case Challenging New Election Law - The University of Florida is banning three professors from testifying as paid experts in a lawsuit challenging the state's broad new elections law, saying that as a state institution it's against the university's interest to support a challenge to a state law. The new law makes changes to voting procedures, including limiting how remote voting drop boxes are used, adding steps for voters who want to vote by mail and limiting how poll workers can interact with voters in line. The university said that to let professors Dan Smith, Michael McDonald and Sharon Austin serve as paid experts for plaintiffs challenging the law would be "adverse to the university's interests as a state of Florida institution." But the university appeared to back off some on Sunday, saying it could be possible for the three to testify if they're unpaid. Attorneys for the professors said over the weekend they could take legal action claiming violations of the First Amendment and academic freedom if the school doesn't allow them to testify. Gainesville Sun / Associated Press

Other news …

Sports Betting Starts as Seminoles Begin Taking Wagers - All bets are on. Sports betting, legalized as part of the new Seminole gaming compact with the state, began Monday as the tribe began taking bets through its mobile gaming operation. Orlando Sentinel / Florida Politics / Sports Handle / Florida Phoenix / WPLG