Legislative Update - February 24, 2023

This week marks the seventh and final interim committee week ahead of the 2023 regular legislative session.  Committees considered legislation on affordable housing, guns, tort reform, and school vouchers.  Legislation is still being filed as the deadline to file a bill is March 7, the first day of the 2023 session.

Legislature …

“‘Live Local Act’ targeting affordable housing heads to Senate floor with changes” via Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics — A legislative package meant to increase Florida’s affordable housing inventory while banning local governments from imposing rent controls is on its way to the Florida Senate floor after undergoing several changes. On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a substitute version of the bill (SB 102), dubbed the “Live Local Act,” a priority of Senate President Passidomo. The Appropriations Committee was the bill’s last stop in the chamber, though there were calls for additional amendments to shore up concerns before the bill reaches a full Senate vote.

Transportation, Insurance Tort Reform Among Bills Up in Committee Today - The House Civil Justice Subcommittee is scheduled to consider three bills, including an insurance tort reform measure (HB 837) that aims to limit litigation costs for insurers by requiring plaintiffs to disclose letters of protection, ending attorney-client privilege on treating physicians for plaintiffs, and disallowing the use of multipliers in calculating fees for attorneys. It would also extend the threshold for making bad-faith claims against auto and liability insurers. The House Infrastructure & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee is also expected to take up two bills, one (HB 145) that would designate the Howell Drive bridge in Duval County as the "Coach Gwendolyn Maxwell Bridge to Ribault." The other proposal (HB 155) would dissolve the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transit Authority. In addition to the two House panels, staff of the Joint Legislative Auditing Committee is slated to select lobbying firms whose 2022 compensation reports will be audited. No members will be present. 

SESSION PREVIEW: Constitutional carry, water quality and cultural battles are just a few of the items topping the conservative legislative agenda this session in Florida

LEADERS IN LOCKSTEP: House and Senate leaders say the goal of the upcoming legislative session is to get priorities of Gov. Ron DeSantis “across the finish line,” such as limiting lawsuits, expanding school choice and preventing “woke” investing.

GUN BILL: A House committee OK’d a bill that combines allowing people to carry concealed firearms without licenses and efforts to improve school safety, despite Democratic arguments that easing gun restrictions will increase violence.

The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice also approved a new contentious measure (SB 150) backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis that would allow Floridians to carry concealed firearms without a license. The bill would also create a program to provide gun detecting canines for schools, require better law enforcement training protocol, enhance threat assessments and response via a statewide database and provide millions for school hardening efforts.

Florida bill would make it easier for people to sue media outlets - Florida Republicans want to make it easier for people to sue media outlets for defamation and for legal purposes make anonymous sources “false” by default in related court cases. Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) introduced House Bill 951 on Monday, proposing legislation that would make defamation “purely a matter of state law.” The bill would also let people sue publishers for alleged defamation in “any county where the material was accessed.” [Source: WFLA]

"Legislative leaders line up behind anti-woke banking bill championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

"Senate panel considers vote-by-mail concerns” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

“Florida bill would end diversity programs, ban majors, shift power at universities” via Divya Kumar of the Tampa Bay Times

Local elections supervisors are urging state lawmakers not to require any changes to mail-in voting before the 2024 presidential election, saying that additional changes could confuse voters and slow down election vote counting. Local supervisors are grappling with how to comply with some signature requirements for mailed ballots aimed at preventing fraud, but are asking lawmakers not to require a certain fix before the election. Tampa Bay Times

Governor …

“Gov. Ron DeSantis’ anti-illegal immigration push includes repeal of tuition law backed by Jeanette Nuñez” via Gray Rohrer of Florida Politics — DeSantis unveiled a slate of measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration in Florida, including the repeal of a law allowing undocumented migrants to pay in-state tuition rates at universities.

That measure was sponsored by then-Rep. Nuñez, who now serves as his Lt. Governor.

Other parts of the plan include increasing the penalty for human smuggling to a third-degree felony and a second-degree felony if the migrant is a minor; prohibiting local governments from issuing identification cards to unauthorized immigrants; requiring hospitals to collect data on care given to undocumented immigrants and submit reports on the costs to DeSantis and the Legislature; and barring illegal immigrants from practicing law.

“First DeSantis took on Disney. Now he’s coming for Wall Street” via Nic Querolo and Felipe Marques of Bloomberg — DeSantis has a warning for corporate America: Get on board, or else … It’s a message designed for Republican voters across the U.S. and could serve as the launchpad for a 2024 Presidential bid by DeSantis. It also has potential repercussions for Wall Street and the $4 trillion municipal bond market. Ground zero is the Magic Kingdom, where representatives — chosen by The Walt Disney Co. — have met monthly for decades to oversee the day-to-day operations of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, everything from approving building permits to issuing debt and making sure lights are on at Cinderella’s castle.

"After legislative fix, court dismisses lawsuit against DeSantis over migrant flights" via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald — In a seven-minute hearing, a Leon County Circuit Court judge dismissed a case against Gov. DeSantis Wednesday brought by a state senator over flights funded by Florida that took migrants to Martha’s Vineyard from Texas last year. Both parties agreed that the Florida Legislature had repealed the portion of the law that was used as a basis for the lawsuit accusing the governor of illegally flying migrants to Massachusetts last September and therefore should be dismissed. State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Hollywood Democrat sued the governor and the Florida Department of Transportation in his capacity as a private citizen, arguing that funding for the controversial flights improperly used an appropriations bill — the 2022-23 state Appropriations Act — to create a substantial new program instead of authorizing it through a separate law.

“Ron DeSantis administration requires events at the Capitol ‘align’ with its mission” via Matt Dixon of POLITICO — The Department of Management Services, the administration department that oversees state facilities, over the past few months has changed rules for groups or individuals who want to reserve space inside the Capitol. The changes require organizations seeking to reserve areas to make their requests through specific administration officials or legislative leaders and require they line up with the mission of the state. “One material change to the Rule is that events must align with state agency missions and applications must come from an agency sponsor,” read the Department of Management Services letter, copies of which were provided to POLITICO by multiple groups trying to plan events at the Capitol. “Once a sponsorship has been obtained, the state agency shall submit the required application to DMS on behalf of the requester.”

DMS Has New Rules for Events at Capitol - The Department of Management Services has put rules in place over the last few months to require that groups that want to hold events inside the Capitol must be holding events that "align with state agency missions," and have to route requests for events through state government agencies that will sponsor the event, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a DMS document. "Once a sponsorship has been obtained, the state agency shall submit the required application to DMS on behalf of the requestor," the new rules say. DMS oversees state facilities. The new rule also defines demonstrations, vigils, sit-ins and other such gatherings meant to express views on issues, and says that while such activities could still be allowed, DMS could request size limits on events. The new rules are "absurd and against our First Amendment right," Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, said. Politico

Business …

Florida's population is estimated at 22.6 million - Florida is projected to have a population of 22.6 million on April 1 and could top 25 million in 2032, a report released Thursday shows. The population is projected to hit 22.9 million in April 2024, 23.2 million in April 2025 and continue increasing until topping 25 million in April 2032. The report by the state’s Demographic Estimating Conference, however, said growth is expected to slow “modestly each year. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Florida jobless claims continue to decrease - Slightly more than 5,000 Floridians filed unemployment claims last week, as claims numbers continue to slow, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report released Thursday. The department estimated that 5,096 initial claims were filed in Florida during the week that ended Feb. 18, down from a revised count of 5,887 during the week that ended Feb. 11. A rolling four-week average declined to 5,821. It was 5,936 a week ago. [Source: News Service of Florida]

Surgeon General …

"Florida Surgeon General Joe Ladapo investigated for allegedly falsifying Covid report" — The Florida Department of Health’s inspector general last fall investigated Joseph Ladapo, the state’s surgeon general, after the agency received an anonymous complaint alleging he falsified a report focusing on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for young men. Among other things, the complainant alleged Ladapo committed “scientific fraud” and “manipulated data” in a report that Ladapo later used to claim that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines could increase the risk of cardiac death among young men, according to the complaint. Both brands use mRNA technology, which Ladapo contends was rushed to the market by the urgency of the pandemic without the proper testing. “The analysis performed in DOH did not find this,” the individual wrote without providing evidence, according to the complaint. “He manipulated the final draft of the analysis.” Ladapo’s report was used as evidence in vaccine guidance he released in October that came under heavy criticism from the medical community, which said the surgeon general’s stance that the vaccine posed a health risk in healthy young men was flawed and went against Covid-vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Elections and Politics …

“Ron DeSantis teases timeline of expected presidential run” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

Friends of Ron DeSantis, the governor’s political fundraising committee, got a big boost this month from a couple of million-dollar donations from trusts connected to billionaire businessmen. Records posted online show two $1 million contributions, one from the M. Jude Reyes 1999 Trust and another from the J. Christopher Reyes 1999 Trust. Both were dated last Wednesday. 

The brothers are co-chairmen of Reyes Holdings, a beer, beverage and food distribution company, which was ranked by Forbes as the seventh largest privately held company in the United States. It’s based in Rosemont, Illinois; both trusts listed addresses in the Phillips Point office building in West Palm Beach. J. Christopher Reyes also personally gave $25,000 to Friends of Ron DeSantis in March 2018, records show. 

“Sen. Scott prepares for 2024 battle during stop in Tampa” via Evan Axelbank of Fox 13 — As aides to Sen. Scott prepared the room for a roundtable discussion with supporters at La Teresita in west Tampa, they placed copies of his “11 Point Plan to Rescue America” around the room. Inside the glossy packet were proposals to reform education, police and immigration, plus an addendum printed on paper. In bold letters, under his proposal to reexamine federal programs every five years, it says, “this was never intended to apply to Social Security or Medicare.” “There's always a way to write things better,” he said during an interview afterward. “I am committing to do that.”

“Travis Hutson endorses Tom Leek as his preferred successor in SD 7” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics — Sen. Hutson is endorsing Rep. Leek in the 2024 race for Senate District 7. Hutson, a Palm Coast Republican, was re-elected to a two-year term after easily dispatching a Primary challenger last year. Since he entered the Senate after winning the 2015 Special Election, term limits prevent him from running for re-election in 2024. “It has been a wonderful experience and truly an honor serving in the Florida Legislature these past 11 years. I am proud of our accomplishments and record of conservative achievement,” Hutson said in a news release.

Ziegler Will Lead RPOF - Christian Ziegler will be the new chairman of the Republican Party of Florida. Ziegler defeated Evan Power in a 126 to 100 vote on Saturday. Power will serve as the party's state vice chairman. Ziegler replaces state Sen. Joe Gruters of Sarasota, the party's state chair since 2019, who didn't seek reelection. Ziegler is a former Sarasota County commissioner. Ziegler has been a backer of Donald Trump and the former president over the weekend portrayed Ziegler's win as a win for him over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Associated Press / Herald-Tribune / Florida Politics / Politico

Fried, Taddeo Receive Support in State Democratic Party Leader Race - Former Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is claiming to be leading in the race to be the next chair of the Florida Democratic Party. Fried's team said she has a lead of 177 likely votes over her nearest rival, former Miami-Dade County Chair and state Sen. Annette Taddeo. Fried has the endorsements of nine additional Democratic Executive Committee backers, taking her tally to 377 votes, which is still 200 votes short of what is needed to secure the position. Taddeo, however, has also garnered the support of 12 elected members on the Florida Democratic Executive Committee, including most recently Sarasota County Democratic Committeewoman Mary Clupper and numerous state lawmakers, such as House Democratic Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell. Both Taddeo and Fried ran for governor but Taddeo dropped out to vie for a congressional seat and both candidates ultimately lost their respective races. Other contenders bidding to lead the state party include Progressive Caucus Chair Carolina Ampudia and Broward County Democratic Chair Rick Hoye. The election is Feb. 25. Former Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz resigned last month. Florida Politics