Legislative Update - December 30, 2022

It has been a quite week in Tallahassee with everyone gearing up for the Inauguration and interim committee meetings next week.  Here are a few stories that appeared in the media …

Beefed up lobbying restrictions and breaks for motorists who frequently use toll roads are among state laws and other changes that will arrive with the new year.

Most of the bills that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed this year took effect on July 1 or upon his signature. But here are some changes that will take effect Sunday:

--- LOBBYING: New laws (HB 7001 and HB 7003) will carry out a constitutional amendment that voters overwhelmingly passed in 2018 to expand from two years to six years the time that certain officials will have to wait to start lobbying after leaving government positions. The restrictions will apply to lawmakers, state agency heads, judges and many local officials.

--- TOLL CREDITS: During a special session this month, lawmakers approved a measure (SB 6-A) that will provide 50 percent credits to motorists who record 35 or more toll-road trips in a month. The program will last for a year, with lawmakers agreeing to spend $500 million to help toll agencies cover lost revenue.

--- DISASTER ASSISTANCE: Responding to the devastating 2021 collapse of the Champlain Towers South building in Surfside, lawmakers approved making property tax rebates available when residential properties are rendered uninhabitable for 30 days. During the December special session, lawmakers passed a measure (SB 4-A) to offer similar rebates to property owners who sustained damage in Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Nicole. Property owners will be able to apply to county property appraisers between Jan. 1 and April 1.

--- LAND PRESERVATION: Part of the state budget will free up $300 million within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for land acquisition.

--- PUBLIC NOTICES: Lawmakers approved a measure (HB 7049) that will allow local governments to publish legal notices on county websites instead of in newspapers. Local governments in counties with fewer than 160,000 residents must first hold public hearings to determine if residents have sufficient access to the internet.

— PROPERTY INSURANCE: Lawmakers during the special session this month approved ending a controversial practice known as assignment of benefits for property insurance. The practice involves homeowners signing over claims to contractors, who then pursue payments from insurers. The prohibition on assignment of benefits (SB 2-A) will apply to policies issued on or after Jan. 1.

— WORKERS' COMPENSATION RATES: An average 8.4 percent decrease in workers’ compensation insurance rates will take effect in January, marking the sixth consecutive year that average rates have decreased.

--- APPELLATE COURTS: Florida’s appellate courts will be revamped Jan. 1 under a law (HB 7027) that created a 6th District Court of Appeal and revised the jurisdictions of the 1st District Court of Appeal, the 2nd District Court of Appeal and the 5th District Court of Appeal.

--- MIYA'S LAW: Lawmakers passed a measure (SB 898) that will require apartment landlords to conduct background checks on all employees. The bill, dubbed “Miya’s Law,” came after the death of 19-year-old Miya Marcano, a Valencia College student who went missing from her Orlando apartment in September and was found dead a week later. The suspected killer, who later committed suicide, worked as a maintenance worker at Marcano’s apartment complex.

--- SCHOOL BOOK SELECTIONS: As part of a broader education bill (HB 1467), lawmakers required that a training program be available as of Jan. 1 for school librarians, media specialists and others involved in the selection of school library materials. The program is aimed, in part, at providing access to “age-appropriate materials and library resources.”

--- NEWBORN SCREENINGS: A measure (SB 292) will require hospitals and other state-licensed birthing facilities to test newborns for congenital cytomegalovirus if the infants fail hearing tests. The virus can cause hearing loss in infants.

Florida has changed much over one year, with stark increases in the cost of housing, the number of Republican voters and the number of monthly opioid overdoses, the Miami Herald reports.

DeSantis top aide Larry Keefe used a private email address with the alias “Clarice Starling” – a reference to the Hannibal Lecter serial killer novels – to help a former client win a state contract for Florida’s migrant flight program, the Miami Herald reports. 

State Tax Collections Top Projection - Hurricane recovery efforts helped November tax collections in Florida, as housing sales waned and people continued to dip into savings amid high inflation.

A report released Wednesday estimated that general-revenue collections were 14.1 percent higher than projected for November.

The report by the Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research estimated the state collected $3.625 billion in general revenue in November, $447.2 million over the projection issued in August.

The office said its preliminary analysis indicated that Hurricane Ian recovery and rebuilding efforts resulted in about a quarter of the higher-than-expected revenue. The Category 4 storm made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida before crossing the state.

The report released Wednesday by the Office of Economic & Demographic Research showed that sales-tax collections --- a major part of general revenue –-- topped a projection by $412.1 million.

Sales-tax collections related to tourism topped expectations by 11.3 percent, while auto sales were 24.4 percent above a projection. Meanwhile, corporate income taxes were off by 22.6 percent.

General revenue is closely watched in Tallahassee because it plays a key role in funding education, health-care programs and prisons.

Business …

Gasoline Prices Climb – The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Florida jumped about 8 cents Wednesday after dipping below $3, according to the AAA auto club. The average price was $3.07, up from $2.99 on Tuesday. It also was up from $3.01 a week ago, but far below the $3.38 average a month ago. Florida hit an all-time high of $4.89 on June 13, but prices steadily declined during the rest of the year. The national average Wednesday was $3.13 a gallon, according to AAA.

Gas Prices Could Face Roller Coaster Ride - As average gasoline prices have moved back above $3 a gallon in Florida, a tech company that monitors the fuel industry foresees prices above $4 a gallon in 2023.

The Boston-based GasBuddy, in an annual outlook released Wednesday, predicted that pump prices will peak at an average of $4.25 to $4.65 a gallon in Miami, $4.15 to $4.55 in Orlando and $4.10 to $4.45 in Tampa.

The peaks, barring unexpected changes, likely would happen in the summer, followed by “normal seasonal fluctuations” with prices falling after Labor Day. GasBuddy forecast the national average will be back down to about $3.17 before the start of 2024.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded Thursday in Florida was $3.12, while the national average was $3.16, according to the AAA auto club.

Average prices hit $5 nationally and $4.89 in Florida in June before steadily declining through much of the rest of the year. Prices have started to rise this week after dipping below an average of $3 in Florida.

Florida is the fastest-growing state in the nation, Census estimates show - It’s not your imagination: People really are flocking to Florida. The Sunshine State had the fastest-growing population in the country last year — the first time the state has taken the top spot since 1957, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released last week. The nation’s third-largest state grew by 1.9% from July 2021 to July 2022 — netting over 400,000 new residents to reach an estimated population of 22,244,823. [Source: Tampa Bay Times]

Florida Jobless Claims Drop - Newly filed unemployment claims in Florida dropped by more than 1,300 last week in the run-up to Christmas. The U.S. Department of Labor issued a report Thursday that estimated 4,344 claims were filed during the week that ended Dec. 24, down from 5,669 the previous week. Over the past four weeks, the state has averaged 5,700 new claims a week. Nationally, 225,000 claims were filed last week, up 9,000 from the week ending Dec. 17. In Florida, the weeks around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays have typically seen drops in claims. Florida had a 2.6 percent unemployment rate in November, representing 280,000 Floridians out-of-work from a labor force of 10.756 million. The national unemployment rate stood at 3.7 percent. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity will release a December unemployment report on Jan. 20.

Pensacola named in Forbes' Top 10 places to live in Florida[Pensacola News Journal] - Pensacola once again has been recognized as a top place to live, this time earning a No. 10 spot on Forbes Advisor’s annual Best Places to Live in Florida review. Forbes analyzed cities by pulling recent data on key lifestyle factors such as the area’s median home price, personal income per capita, and the unemployment and crime rate.

Florida Legal Battles to Watch in 2023

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/12/28/10-florida-legal-battles-watch-2023/

Board of Medicine …

Gov. Ron DeSantis has tapped two doctors to sit on the state’s 15-member Board of Medicine, which was in the news last month for banning treatments such as puberty-blocking medications, hormone therapy and surgery to transgender people younger than 18. Both appointees specialize in pediatric medicine.  

Dr. Gregory Coffman is a pediatrician at Orlando Health Physician Associates, according to a press release from the Governor’s Office. “With over 28 years of experience, he currently serves as co-vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics for the Orlando Health Physician Association.” He’s also an Air Force veteran who received his undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida and his M.D. from Emory University. 

Dr. Matthew Benson is a pediatric endocrinologist for Nemours Children’s Health, the press release said. Endocrinologists treat patients who have problems with hormones. “He is a current member of the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research as well as the Pediatric Endocrine Society,” the release added, receiving his undergraduate degree from Pensacola Christian College and his M.D. from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. 

Coffman and Benson must be confirmed by the Florida Senate, in which Republicans now hold a more than two-thirds supermajority. 

Judge Targets PA's License - The Florida Board of Medicine should revoke the license of a Port St. Lucie physician assistant who performed plastic-surgery procedures without a doctor present, an administrative law judge ruled Thursday. 

https://www.newsserviceflorida.com/latest/briefs/judge-says-physician-assistant-should-lose-license/article_1eab9962-87cd-11ed-b7cb-371e6e2196ce.html

COVID …

The governor joined 24 other Republican governors in asking President Joe Biden to end a COVID-19 emergency declaration that has helped lead to a surge in enrollment in Florida’s Medicaid program, the News Service of Florida reports.

While thousands of Floridians continue to be infected by coronavirus, state health officials already are treating COVID-19 as an endemic disease as health experts cling to the hope that it has become more manageable and less deadly, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.

Elections & Campaigns …

Redistricting Trial Set for September - A September trial has been scheduled in a federal-court challenge to a congressional redistricting plan that Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature this spring. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor issued an order Friday that said the trial will start Sept. 25. 

The lawsuit, filed by Common Cause Florida, Fair Districts Now, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and individual plaintiffs, alleges that the redistricting plan violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment ensures equal protection, while the 15th Amendment prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on race. 

DeSantis called an April special session after he vetoed a redistricting plan that lawmakers passed. During the special session, the Republican-dominated House and Senate quickly passed a map that DeSantis’ office proposed. 

The map helped Florida Republicans in the November elections increase their number of U.S. House members from 16 to 20. A three-judge panel in November rejected a request by the DeSantis administration to dismiss the lawsuit.