Legislative Update - September 9, 2022

Gov. Ron DeSantis orders flags to half-staff in honor of Queen Elizabeth. The Governor issued a memo late Thursday ordering all U.S. and Florida flags at state and local buildings, installations, and grounds to be lowered to half-staff through the day of Elizabeth’s internment, “pursuant to the President’s orders and as a mark of respect.”

—"Florida elected officials and politicians respond to death of Queen Elizabeth II” via Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics

The Legislative Budget Commission is scheduled to meet today to review additional funding proposals from lawmakers and agencies. Earlier this summer, legislators had the option to apply for nonrecurring funding to support local government initiatives, education entities and privately operated programs in their districts. The money comes from the Local Support Grants Program that was included in the state's final spending plan. The initiative is funded by the $175 million allotted to the state from the Federal Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund. The commission is also expected to consider a $1.5 million request by the Department of Financial Services to hire a consultant to explore alternatives to the state's main property insurance financial rating company. Some state policymakers were angered earlier this year when Demotech, the dominant rating firm in Florida, moved to downgrade several insurers. The Legislative Budget Commission, chaired by Sen. Kelli Stargel and Rep. Jay Trumbull, is the only committee allowed to make budget decisions while the Legislature is adjourned.

—“Budget panel to approve $175M in local projects” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis sent a letter to the IRS on Wednesday requesting more information relating to reports saying the agency exposed confidential information of more than 120,000 taxpayers online. The tax documents that were allegedly leaked contained business tax return information filed by tax-exempt entities, such as individual retirement accounts. Patronis wants to know how many Floridians' confidential information was compromised and what steps the federal agency is taking to resolve the issue and prevent it from happening again. Patronis Press Release

Another major pollster is projecting tight races for Governor and U.S. Senate.

New data from Susquehanna Polling and Research shows Gov. Ron DeSantis leading at 47% with U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist pulling in 43%. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is leading U.S. Rep. Val Demings by three points, 47%-43%.

Both races fall within the margin of error, which stands at 4.3 percentage points.

The numbers paint a similar picture to that of a poll conducted by Fabrizio Ward on behalf of AARP-Florida. That measure showed DeSantis ahead of Crist 50%-47% and Rubio leading Demings 49%-47%.

A group of Democrats, former Pedro Pan kids and immigration advocates slammed Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez over comments she made last month over recently arrived Cuban migrants and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ goal to bus undocumented immigrants out of Florida, the Miami Herald reports.

USF Prof and Student Sue Over Law on Teaching About Racism - A University of South Florida student and a USF professor are suing the state university system Board of Governors and their university's board of trustees, among others, seeking to block implementation of a new law passed this year as HB 7 that includes language prohibiting university instruction that teaches that anyone should feel guilty or distressed over issues related to the history of racial relations. "The University of South Florida's central tenets are truth and wisdom," said the student plaintiff, Sam Rechek. "To me there's no greater way to pursue those two high values than through civil discourse and robust debate about difficult topics." The professor plaintiff, Adriana Novoa, said she's removed discussions about Jackie Robinson and segregation of sports from her History of Sports class because she fears the material could violate the law. She's also stopped teaching about certain aspects of colonialism in the "Modern Latin America" class. "The government should not tell the people what they can talk and think about," Novoa said in a press release. "Indoctrination isn't coming from my classroom – it's coming from a law intended to limit the freedom to think and express these thoughts, which is the foundation of good education." Tampa Bay Times / Politico

Chris Sprowls joins group fighting ‘woke’ prosecutors — House Speaker Sprowls, who was a prosecutor before his election to the House, has joined a national group dedicated to electing so-called “enforce the law” prosecutors and fighting back against progressive, “soft-on-crime” prosecutors. “These hyper-political prosecutors bring a criminal-first, victim-last mindset to their job — and it’s wrong,” Sprowls said. “Their ideology-driven decisions make our communities less safe; they cause businesses to invest elsewhere, impacting jobs and economic development. That’s why we need to elect effective prosecutors who will put victims first.” A news release announcing Sprowls’ addition highlights instances where prosecutors released individuals who later committed violent crimes.

It's hurricane season halftime: No immediate threats but tropics are rumbling - While the Atlantic showing signs of life this week after a soporific August is not unusual, the good news remains that there are no threats to Florida or the U.S. coastline today. This uptick, led by Hurricanes Danielle and Earl, is timely as the next seven days are the historical peak of hurricane season, with 10-15% of total activity and historical U.S. landfalls crammed into the five-pound bag of the upcoming week. [Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]

Governor …

DeSantis Proposes Broader Toll Relief Plan - Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to give Florida commuters additional toll relief by using a record $22 billion state budget surplus to fund a new rebate program. Under the proposal, drivers who use SunPass or E-PASS and go through at least 40 toll collection points per month would have 50% of those costs refunded to them at the end of that month. Although it would need approval from lawmakers during the upcoming legislative session, the plan could save about 750,000 commuters around $550 annually. Last month, the governor unveiled a similar short-term initiative that started Sept. 1 and applied to only toll roads within Florida's Turnpike System. For the next six months, commuters that hit at least 40 tolls in a month will receive a 20% discount and drivers who go through at least 80 tolls will get a 25% cut on their bill at the end of the month. DeSantis' new proposal would apply to all toll roads across the state and would begin on July 1, 2023, and run through June 30, 2024. "If you are a bona fide commuter you're getting a 50% discount in your tolls for the entire year, and that’s going to make a big difference," said the governor. The 2023 state legislative session is scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 7. DeSantis Press Release / Florida Politics / Sun Sentinel / WFLA / WPTV / WFTV 

—“Critics: Ron DeSantis’ campaign-style events on the taxpayers’ dime cross the line” via Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel

Bloomberg: Rejecting ESG Funds Could Reduce Gains for Pension Fund - ESG investments – which make asset allocation decisions based on environmental, social and governance standards aimed at taking environmental and certain social justice issues into consideration – have outpaced the general investment markets, and refusing to invest in companies that follow ESG principles is likely to cost Florida pensioners potential gains, Bloomberg argues in an opinion piece published Tuesday. "A big reason why ESG is attracting so much investment is because it's crushing the traditional investment benchmarks," argues Bloomberg editor Matthew Winkler in the piece. The article points to a couple of examples, including one ESG fund that invests in large cap companies that follow ESG principles, which has increased by 150% in value since its inception in 2014, outpacing other investment indices. While traditional fossil fuel company profits have been very strong in the last year, in part because of the war in Ukraine, and outgained clean energy companies, Winkler noted that's an exception to a broader trend over the last few years. Over the past five years, ESG-based funds that invest in clean energy companies have grown faster than funds including only traditional energy stocks. Gov. Ron DeSantis and the State Board of Administration moved recently to prohibit money managers who invest the state pension fund from allocating money into ESG funds for political reasons, saying they're pushing "woke" politics rather than just focusing on financial gains. Bloomberg

DeSantis, Cabinet to Meet in December - Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet are scheduled to meet in December, capping a year when they held three meetings, according to information posted on the Cabinet website. The total will be the fewest meetings in a year since DeSantis and the current makeup of the Cabinet — Attorney General Ashley Moody, state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried — took office in 2019. The number of meetings also is below the frequency under previous administrations. Fried, the only Democrat on the Cabinet, has been critical of a lack of meetings. DeSantis and the Cabinet met March 29 and Aug. 23 and are scheduled to meet Dec. 13. DeSantis, Moody and Patronis also met June 22 in their role as trustees of the State Board of Administration, but that did not include Fried and was not a full Cabinet meeting.

Health Care Related Issues …

Money Set to Boost Nursing Education - State higher-education officials are slated next week to discuss how universities plan to spend $40 million aimed at bolstering the number of “high-quality” nursing graduates in Florida. The Legislature this year approved spending $100 million to create what’s called the Prepping Institutions, Programs, Employers, and Learners through Incentives for Nursing Education fund, or PIPELINE. Along with money for universities, the PIPELINE fund included $40 million for nursing programs at state colleges and $20 million for nursing education at career and technical centers. Gov. Ron DeSantis touted the money as part of efforts to boost workforce education. “There has long been a need for nurses in Florida, especially as our state is growing, and we want to continue to support these front-line heroes,” the governor said in a statement that accompanied a news release about the funding in May. Ten of the state’s 12 universities will receive shares of the money because they have nursing programs. The University of South Florida and the University of Central Florida will receive the most money, with each getting more than $6.9 million. Money must be used on scholarships, recruiting and retaining faculty, purchasing or repairing equipment or creating or updating simulation centers. About $28 million, or 70 percent, of the $40 million will be spent on recruiting and retaining faculty and staff, with all 10 universities that received money planning to spend it in that category, a report said. Nearly $5 million is planned for equipment and learning resources, $2.8 million on student scholarships and support and $2.6 million on expanding or renovating education or office facilities. The university system’s Board of Governors, which will discuss the program, will hold committee meetings and a board meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Pensacola.

DeSantis admin shakes up top staffers at AHCA, EOG — Cody Farrill is leaving his position as the Chief of Staff at the Agency for Health Care Administration and will now serve as the Deputy Legislative Affairs Director & Director for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Governor’s office. Jason Weida will be succeeding Farrill at AHCA, moving up from his previous position as Assistant Deputy Secretary for Medicaid Policy & Quality. Brock Juarez is also moving up the ladder at AHCA, going from Communications Director to Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications & Legislative Affairs.

Florida’s Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine have announced a rulemaking workshop on “practice standards” for the treatment of transgender patients. The meeting comes as Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is seeking to ban certain medical treatment, such as hormone therapy and sex-reassignment surgery, for transgender minors. 

The workshop is set for Sept. 30 at the Betty Easley Conference Center in Tallahassee, according to a notice in the Florida Administrative Register. The aim is “to receive and consider presentations from subject matter experts and comments from the public, and to discuss and develop draft rule language … Public comments will be limited to three minutes per person.” Comments can also be sent to BOMPublicComment@flhealth.gov, the notice said. 

Treatment for transgender people, and youths in particular, has become a fiercely debated political issue in Florida and elsewhere. Prominent medical groups and the Biden administration support treatments for gender dysphoria, while Republicans such as DeSantis have argued the treatments should not be provided to people under 18.

On Wednesday, for example, DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin tweeted that “the Biden Admin. persists in pushing gender transitions on children and equates attempting to dissuade a child from undergoing permanent medical procedures to ‘dangerous conversion therapy.’ ” And state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo tweeted in July, “Florida doesn’t support the medicalization of minors with (gender dysphoria) because the benefits are unproven, and the risks are extraordinarily high.”

A coalition of transgender rights groups and four transgender plaintiffs filed two separate lawsuits against Florida over new regulations that block Medicaid from covering the costs associated with gender-affirming care, Politico Florida and the News Service of Florida report.

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office says it thinks the Florida Supreme Court should reverse a decades-old position that a privacy clause in the state Constitution protects abortion rights.

Data shows uptick in out-of-state women traveling to Florida for abortions — Data released by the Agency for Health Care Administration shows that 639 non-Florida residents traveled to the state for abortions in July, Arek Sarkissian of POLITICO Florida reports. The total marks a record for people traveling to Florida for the procedure and nearly doubles the number recorded in June though other recent months have seen totals north of 600. According to Christina Noce, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida, clinics in Tallahassee and Jacksonville had to bring in more personnel to deal with the influx of out-of-state patients. AHCA data shows 51,318 abortions have been performed in Florida through July. There were 79,817 performed in 2021.

The Legislative Budget Commission will also consider a request from the Department of Health to provide authority to use $40 million in federal money for the Child Care Food Program, which provides meals and snacks to kids in day care centers, afterschool programs and domestic violence and homeless shelters. LBC Packet

Business Issues …

Florida gas prices declined through Labor Day weekend, with the state average for regular unleaded gasoline now $3.52 per gallon, or 50 cents per gallon more than what drivers paid during last year’s holiday, the Florida AAA Newsroom reports.

Campaigns and Elections …

Let it flow: Various campaigns are spending big to win the Florida governor's race and get a marijuana measure on the ballot.

Democratic Senate candidate Val Demings said she supports the right to an abortion “up to the time of viability of the fetus,” a day after U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio attacked her for supporting abortion “at any point in a pregnancy,” the Miami Herald reports.

DeSantis holds the support of a slight majority of voters over Charlie Crist, 50%-47%, according to a new poll commissioned by AARP, Florida Politics reports.

—“‘Money talks’: Ron DeSantis goes after small-scale voter crimes, is silent on FPL and Matrix” via Mary Ellen Klas and Nicholas Nehamas of the Miami Herald

DeSantis Tops $5.2 Million in Matching Money - As he piles up money for his re-election bid, Gov. Ron DeSantis has received more than $5.2 million in state matching funds. DeSantis last week added $117,679 in matching funds, bringing his total to $5.21 million. State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis was the only other statewide candidate who drew matching funds last week, according to numbers posted Thursday on the state Division of Elections website. The program provides matches to contributions of $250 or less from individuals to statewide candidates’ campaign accounts. Gubernatorial candidates are ineligible for the money until they collect $150,000 in contributions. For state Cabinet candidates, the threshold is $100,000. Matching funds are not available for contributions to political committees or outside of statewide races. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist did not receive matching funds last week but has drawn $1.7 million from the program since the first round of distributions on July 22. The state has distributed $8.48 million so far this year. In 2018, the program was tapped for $9.85 million, with DeSantis getting $3.2 million of that total. Patronis last week picked up $600 from the program to increase his matching-funds total to $187,092. Adam Hattersley, the Democrat running for chief financial officer, has filed for the program but has not drawn state dollars. Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody, who has received $251,723 from the program, did not receive a distribution in the latest round. Her Democratic challenger, Aramis Ayala, has not participated in the program. Naomi Blemur, who won the Democratic primary for agriculture commissioner, has not drawn money from the program, while her Republican opponent, Senate President Wilton Simpson, has not signed up for it.

Governor DeSantis has chosen to accept one debate invitation and decline another. News broke over the weekend that DeSantis declined to participate in “Before You Vote,” the longest-running debate series in Florida history. However, DeSantis’ campaign has accepted an Oct. 12 debate against Democratic nominee, Charlie Crist, hosted by CBS 12. Crist slammed DeSantis for declining to participate, baiting the incumbent Governor to take part in order to defend his record.  

Economy is top priority for older voters in Florida Governor, U.S. Senate races, but abortion, immigration rank high

A near supermajority of likely voters in Florida this year are concerned about the government’s impact on their personal finances, a new survey from AARP Florida found. The issue is on track to be the top factor driving the choices of voters aged 50-plus at the polls in both the Governor’s race and an intensifying contest for the U.S. Senate. But while economic issues have been consistent priorities for older Floridians — the state’s most active voting population — relatively recent developments concerning abortion, immigration, Social Security, and Medicare have pushed other mainstay matters to the wayside. [Source: Florida Politics]

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s re-election campaign has received an endorsement from the Florida Professional Firefighters.

“On behalf of the more than 26,000 Florida Professional Firefighters and Paramedics, I am proud to announce our membership’s endorsement of Attorney General Ashley Moody for re-election,” said Florida Professional Firefighters President Wayne “Bernie” Bernoska.

Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is out with his first TV ad of the election cycle, taking aim at “Big Tech” companies and the “liberals in California” who run them.

“The hottest trade on the market today is you. Big Tech is too powerful,” Patronis says in the ad. “They know where you are, they know what you're reading, they know what you ate for lunch.”

Patronis then introduces himself as the CFO and says he wants to “stop them.”

Former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg alleged far-reaching public corruption when he spoke with investigators probing the “ghost” candidate scheme that helped Republican Jason Brodeur win a state Senate race  in 2020, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

* The Seminole County Chamber of Commerce said it will conduct “an extensive review” of the work of Brodeur,  its president and CEO, as the “ghost” candidate investigation continues, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

—“Joy Goff-Marcil calls for investigation of 2020 SD 9 election, wants Jason Brodeur to resign” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics

Garrison Committee Tops $92,000 - A political committee led by state Rep. Sam Garrison, a Fleming Island Republican who is in line to become House speaker in 2026, collected more than $92,000 last week and funneled $300,000 to another committee, according to a newly filed finance report. Garrison’s Honest Leadership committee raised $92,200 from Aug. 27 to Sept. 2, with $50,000 coming from Publix Super Markets, Inc. The committee had about $571,000 in cash on hand. It sent $300,000 last week to another committee, the Florida Right Direction committee. A committee led by Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach, also contributed $300,000 to the Florida Right Direction committee, reports show.

“Kim Daniels re-elected to Florida House after write-in opponent withdraws” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics — As first reported by Jacksonville Today, Daniels’ write-in opponent, Patrice Wynette Jones, withdrew from the race. Her main effect as a candidate was to close the Democratic Primary, ensuring that Republicans and NPA voters could not participate in what ended up being the decisive election in the heavily Democratic district. Daniels had 48% of the vote in August, dominating the competition. Jacksonville City Council member Garrett Dennis had 33%. Mincy Pollock had just 15%, and Iris Hinton just 13%. Former Rep. Daniels had previously represented the district, losing the 2020 Primary to current Rep. Angie Nixon, who will now represent HD 13 after redistricting. Nixon drew statewide support in the Democratic Party as she trounced Daniels in what would be the decisive August Primary that year.