Legislative Update - November 25, 2022

House and Senate to Meet for Organization Session - Lawmakers will meet in their respective chambers today to hold a constitutionally required organization session. Newly elected members will be sworn in and legislative leaders will be formally voted on for the 2022-24 term. The chambers will consider a concurrent resolution establishing the joint rules governing both chambers of the Legislature, and members of the Senate and House will also vote on the new rules for their respective chambers. An organization session is the first formal day in a legislative term for House and Senate legislators. Senate President-designate Kathleen Passidomo and House Speaker-designate Paul Renner will also take questions from the media following the floor sessions.

President Passidomo speech - https://www.flsenate.gov/Media/PressReleases/Show/4376

Speaker Renner speech - https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?DocumentType=Press%20Release&FileName=840

Senate …

Passidomo to Push for Affordable Housing, Wildlife Protection - Incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo wants lawmakers to invest in affordable and workforce housing and will push to expand a wildlife corridor, including building a bike path that connects to the Florida trail system. The Fort Myers Republican will begin her term leading the Senate today, and will be the third woman in the history of the Legislature to serve as President of the Florida Senate. She will lead a GOP supermajority with more than 28 Republican senators out of 40. Florida Channel Interview Video 

Book Confirmed as Senate Minority Leader - Sen. Lauren Book, D-Plantation, was unanimously confirmed as Senate Democratic Caucus Leader on Monday for the 2022-24 term. Book also named her leadership team which includes Orlando Sen. Linda Stewart as Democratic Whip, Boynton Beach Sen. Lori Berman as Democratic Caucus Rules Chair and Fleming Island Sen. Tracie Davis as Fiscal Policy Chair. Other members of Book's leadership team include Sen. Victor Torres of Kissimmee, Sen. Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg and Sen. Shevrin Jones of Miami Gardens. "We may be down, but we certainly are not out," said Book, "and what matters now, my friends, is how we rise." Senate Democratic members also approved the nomination of Sen. Jason Pizzo to serve as Leader Pro Tempore for the 2022-24 term. "We 12 endeavor to protect the underserved and forgotten, expose inconvenient truths, defend all men and women, resist a pattern of revisionist history – which seeks only to appease other sensitivities by bleaching the struggle and achievements of your ancestors and the stark reality that it was much harder for many of your mothers and fathers to be here and seated in this, the upper chamber of the third largest state in the nation," said Pizzo in a speech. Democrats lost two state Senate seats going into the new term. The upper chamber consists of 12 Democratic senators with a 28-member Republican supermajority. Florida Politics

House …

Hurricane Recovery, Education Investment Among Speaker's Priorities - Incoming House Speaker Paul Renner told the Orlando Sentinel that his policy agenda for the 2022-24 term includes addressing ongoing hurricane recovery efforts, combating inflation, investing in students and "pushing back against ideologues who are politicizing every aspect of our society." The Palm Coast Republican will preside over a historic GOP majority in the House, with enough votes to override a governor's veto. Renner has been a longtime supporter of school choice and his views also fall in line with Gov. Ron DeSantis' stance against "environmental, social and governance, or ESG, investing." The practice of ESG seeks to consider factors like systemic racism and economic inequality, or environmental effects, when making investment decisions that sometimes can collide with profit margins, and can be an issue for policy makers because of laws surrounding investment of state money.Orlando Sentinel

Driskell to Start Term as House Minority Leader - House Democrats formally voted Monday to approve Rep. Fentrice Driskell as House Democratic Leader for the 2022-24 term. Driskell, who represents part of Hillsborough County and was initially elected in 2018, will be the first Black woman to serve as the caucus' leader. Driskell also chose an all South Florida leadership team. Miami Rep. Dotie Joseph will serve as Leader Pro Tempore, Boca Raton Rep. Kelly Skidmore will serve as Policy Chair, Davie Rep. Mike Gottlieb will serve as Floor Leader and Parkland Rep. Christine Hunschofsky will serve as Democratic Whip. "You are the party, we are the party, and change starts right here, right now," Driskell said to caucus members. Republicans will have more than a two-thirds majority in the House, however, outnumbering Democrats 85-35 after the GOP grew its majority from 78 of 120 to 85 of 120 following this month's election. Earlier this year, Driskell was unanimously chosen by her colleagues after former North Florida Rep. Ramon Alexander, who was next in line to lead the party, decided not to seek reelection following sexual harassment allegations. Driskell had been next in line for the leadership position behind Alexander. Leaders usually only serve two-year terms but Democrats already chose Driskell to lead them in 2024, meaning she could have four years in charge of the caucus if she's re-elected. Driskell Press Release / Florida Politics / WFSU

New Committee Structure for Upcoming Term - The incoming House's committees will reflect the times. The House Pandemics and Public Emergencies Committee, set up as the COVID pandemic ravaged the country, is no more. As much of the country turns a big part of its collective attention to climate change, the House is adding an Infrastructure Strategies Committee, with responsibilities that include flood resilience and infrastructure planning. Incoming House Speaker Paul Renner announced there will be nine full committees and 23 subcommittees in the upcoming legislative session. Among other changes: the State Affairs Committee will now take on the Ethics, Elections & Open Government Subcommittee, which was previously its own committee known as the Public Integrity & Elections Committee. The full Appropriations Committee will keep its seven subcommittees. The Tourism, Infrastructure & Energy Subcommittee will be replaced with an Energy, Communications & Cybersecurity Subcommittee. Education-related panels were also restructured with a main Education & Employment Committee and three subcommittees: Choice & Innovation Subcommittee, Education Quality Subcommittee and Postsecondary Education & Workforce Subcommittee. House members have until Wednesday, Nov. 30 to submit their committee preferences but Renner will reorganize assignments next year after session. Florida Politics / House Press Release / LobbyTools House Committees Page 

House Rules Ready for Org Session Vote - Rules for the House during the upcoming legislative term are outlined in a House resolution (HR 1O) filed for members to vote on during the organizational session scheduled for Tuesday. Among the changes in House rules is one that will eliminate a previous requirement, implemented by former House Speaker Richard Corcoran during the 2016-18 term, that budget projects be filed as separate appropriations project bills and go through the committee process. Funding projects will still be posted online with details that include who is requesting the funding, local and federal money going toward the project and the timeline to complete the project. An additional change in the lower chamber's rules includes a provision that says "member conduct that causes a material disruption to official legislative business is punishable by the House body." The new rule comes after Democrats held a sit-in on the House floor, protesting the governor's 28-district congressional map that they said reduced Black districts. Another new rule requires repealer bills to count towards members' seven-bill limit. Previously, bills that repealed a part of a law, were not considered as one of a legislator's seven bills. The Senate is yet to officially release its proposed rules in bill form. Florida Politics / House Memorandum / LobbyTools Rules Page / HR 1O

Florida Legislative Black Caucus …

FL Legislative Black Caucus elects new leader [Florida Phoenix]
With incumbents and new lawmakers convening Tuesday in the Legislature, state Rep. Dianne Hart will take a leadership role as chair of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus, a group of minority lawmakers established in the 1960s.

The Florida Legislative Black Caucus will have four Republican members after this month's election, up from one, previously. Florida Phoenix

Division of Emergency Management …

Guthrie to Continue Leading the Division of Emergency Management - Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie will remain on the job for Gov. Ron DeSantis' second term as governor, according to a social media post. Guthrie was appointed by former Gov. Rick Scott in 2018 to serve as the agency's chief of staff and was promoted in 2019 to deputy director. In 2021, DeSantis appointed Guthrie as director of the Division of Emergency Management after former lawmaker Jared Moskowitz stepped down. Guthrie's first day leading the agency was the same day Hurricane Michael, a Category 5 storm, hit North Florida and ravaged several communities in the Panhandle. "From the tragic condo collapse in Surfside to the destructive Hurricane Ian, Kevin Guthrie has led emergency response efforts with leadership and skill," said the governor in a tweet. "It is my pleasure to announce that he will be returning as the Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management in our second term!" Florida Politics

Business …

Statewide Gas Tax Expected to Rise in 2023 - State taxes on fuel are set to increase by about 1.5 cents per gallon come the new year, according to the Florida Department of Revenue. Beginning in January, the state's gas tax on motor and diesel fuel will rise from 19 cents per gallon to 20.2 cents per gallon. Florida law requires annual adjustments to the state fuel tax rates based on the National Consumer Price Index after lawmakers in the early 1990’s tied the two together. While additional local taxes on gas vary by county, the State Comprehensive Enhanced Transportation System tax rate on motor fuel will increase from 8.3 cents per gallon to 8.6 cents per gallon. The total state and county rates on diesel fuel will increase from 34.3 cents per gallon to 36.1 cents per gallon statewide. Motor fuel inspection fees will remain at 0.125 cents per gallon and the state tax rate on aviation fuel will also remain unchanged at 4.27 cents per gallon. The average price for gas in Florida is currently $3.46 per gallon, according to AAA. Gas prices in the state have decreased over the past week but are still about ten cents higher than what Florida drivers paid this time last year. Florida Revenue Press Release / WGFL / WFLA / WQCS 

Easing the financial strain of higher turkey costs, gas prices are falling in Florida and across the country as the Thanksgiving Day holiday approaches, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports

Elections and campaigns …

Florida Republican voters prefer DeSantis as a 2024 presidential nominee over former President Donald Trump, according to findings from the latest Victory Insights poll, Florida Politics reports.