| | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Presented by Floridians for Affordable Rx | Good Tuesday morning. Ready to rumble? — Florida and national Republicans are just now squaring off in federal court with critics of last year's contentious voting law that created new mail-in ballot restrictions and put limits on drop boxes. Who's ready for Round 2 just months before a critical election when Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Marco Rubio and state legislators are on the ballot? Coming attractions — A state Senate panel today will take up yet another comprehensive election measure — which was released to the public on Monday — designed to carry out much of what DeSantis wants (if not quite in the way he wants it). What the governor wants — The bill sponsored by Sen. Travis Hutson would create a new stand-alone unit to look at election law violations, which Republicans contend don't get enough attention and scrutiny from local prosecutors. But the Senate is deviating from DeSantis in some key ways. First, the Senate budget will not authorize anywhere near the amount of positions and spending the governor wants. Big government — DeSantis called for more than 50 positions — including sworn law-enforcement agents — in a new election crimes office housed inside the Department of State. Instead, the Senate will recommend 15 non-sworn employees under Secretary of State Laurel Lee, as well as another 10 sworn agents selected by the governor working in the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Hmm — But Hutson's bill does much more than just create a specialized unit investigating election crime allegations. It also calls on election supervisors to verify the address of every registered voter who has not voted in the last two years. That could target hundreds of thousands of voters since election participation usually drops off in between presidential elections. Voters who do not respond could be labeled inactive, setting them up for eventual removal from the rolls. There's more — The legislation would also require voters who use mail-in ballots to include additional personal information on their ballot, require supervisors to scrub voting rolls once a year, offer free state-issued ID cards to someone who is already registered to vote, and increase criminal penalties on those who engage in "ballot harvesting." Response — It's not clear if House Republicans are on board with this approach. Rep. Blaise Ingoglia, a former Republican Party of Florida chairman who usually shepherds election bills in that chamber, said he "would need to see it first" before saying if the House would go along. Democrats are already lining up in opposition. "OMG. Awful," texted Sen. Annette Taddeo when asked about the bill. The way it was — In the past, authorizing election law changes just months before voters weigh in on contests totally scrambled by redistricting would be a non-starter. It won't be surprising if election supervisors warn that this is recipe for chaos in a state that has made strides to shed its reputation as a laughing stock. But in the era when false allegations of massive voter fraud continue to reverberate, it could be the new normal. — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis will hold a press conference in Dunedin with House Speaker Chris Sprowls, Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton and Chief Resilience Officer Wes Brooks. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com
| | A message from Floridians for Affordable Rx: This legislative session, let's take politics out of prescriptions in Florida. Floridians for Affordable Rx is committed to educating policymakers and the public on proven ways to lower prescription drug costs. We are standing up to special interests, like Big Pharma and the independent pharmacy lobby, that are pushing government mandates that will increase costs to grow their profits while making Florida patients and employers pay more. Learn more. | | | |  | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FLORIDA MEN — " Scoop: Trump helps launch NRSC podcast," by Axios' Alayna Treene: "The Senate Republicans' campaign and fundraising arm is launching a new podcast — with Donald Trump as its debut guest and donor lure. Why it matters: It shows how crucial the GOP considers Trump to its chances of taking back the majority. There's something in it for Trump as well: being interviewed by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, gives him institutional validation at a time of political and legal scrutiny. The guest spot also shows how Republicans still see his brand as a net positive, despite sagging poll numbers, legal investigations and blowback from a weekend speech in which he mused about pardoning Jan. 6 insurrectionists." FOLLOW THE MONEY — " How Trump's political groups are spending their huge cash haul," by POLITICO's Meredith McGraw, Alex Isenstadt and Scott Bland: According to Save America PAC's new filing, tens of thousands of dollars were paid to law firms representing top Trump aides who have gotten subpoenas from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill. It's unclear exactly why the PAC was paying the firms, but several of them have been deeply involved in dealings with the Jan. 6 committee. Among the firms paid — The PAC paid $29,500 in December to Abel Bean Law, a firm based in Jacksonville, Fla., that is representing [Taylor] Budowich, the Trump spokesperson. Over the holidays, Budowich — who testified before the committee and turned over financial documents — sued the committee over a subpoena to his bank. A federal judge rejected that effort, but Budowich and his attorneys continue to fight to keep his bank records private. | 
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in Washington. Trump is en route to Minnesota and Wisconsin. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo |
RUBIO V. DEMINGS — Sen. Marco Rubio raised $5.2 million in the final quarter of 2021 — or about $2 million less than main Democratic challenger Val Demings. Demings raised $7.2 million and has outraised Rubio for three consecutive quarters but she also spent $5 million on her campaign. Rubio still has more money overall – roughly $10.6 million — compared to $8.15 million for Demings.
DAY 1 — " Civil rights groups testify Florida's controversial voting law suppresses voter registration efforts," by POLITICO's Gary Fineout: Officials who work for some of the groups suing the state testified Monday that the new restrictions were dissuading people from registering to vote. They were sharply critical of a new requirement that potential voters must be told by third-party groups that there's a chance their voter registration application may not be delivered within a newly required 14-day deadline. But the groups themselves are subject to fines if they fail to meet that deadline. "It's confusing," said Rosemary McCoy, president of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters, an organization based in Duval County. "Why are we telling the public something that is not true?" THE NEW PLAN — "Florida Republicans roll out new legislation that aims to crack down on voting fraud," by POLITICO's Gary Fineout: The Republican-controlled Senate on Monday pushed a comprehensive measure that proposes a sweeping effort to crack down on voter fraud in the battleground state while also accelerating the potential purge of voters from the rolls. Republican lawmakers released the legislation on the same day that voting rights and civil rights groups squared off in federal court against the state and national GOP groups over a controversial election bill legislators approved last year at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis. SMOKED OUT — " Pot legalization effort in Florida punts to 2024," by POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian: The chair of a cannabis legalization campaign in Florida said on Monday that he has scrapped plans to get an initiative on the 2022 ballot to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Sensible Florida Chair Michael Minardi said he will relaunch the 2024 effort later this week. The Tampa-based Sensible Florida only gathered 17,596 signed petitions as of the beginning of January from voters who wanted to see the legalization initiative on this year's ballot.
| | | | BECOME A GLOBAL INSIDER: The world is more connected than ever. It has never been more essential to identify, unpack and analyze important news, trends and decisions shaping our future — and we've got you covered! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, Global Insider author Ryan Heath navigates the global news maze and connects you to power players and events changing our world. Don't miss out on this influential global community. Subscribe now. | | | | | | | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | UM, WHAT?— " DeSantis aide deletes tweet suggesting Nazi protesters were Democratic operatives," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Gov. Ron DeSantis' press secretary is facing massive backlash after she sent tweets Sunday night questioning whether pro-Nazi demonstrations in Orlando over the weekend were organized by Democratic staffers. Her comments drew widespread condemnation from elected officials as well as a prominent South Florida rabbi who called the tweets from Christina Pushaw "reprehensible." Follow-up — After facing swift blowback on Twitter, Pushaw Sunday night followed up her initial tweet with another post admitting that she did not know who staged the Orlando protest and stressed that Nazi symbolism and hate speech are wrong. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin, of Temple Israel in Palm Beach and a columnist for Religion News Service, said DeSantis must condemn the comments from his own press staffer. Florida is home to one of the largest populations of Jews in the U.S. MORE ABOUT ME — " As officials denounce Nazi rallies in Orlando, DeSantis accuses political opponents of 'smear,'" by Orlando Sentinel's Jeff Weiner, Desiree Stennett and Monivette Cordeiro: "Neo-Nazi demonstrations in Orlando over the weekend drew bipartisan condemnations from state and local officials, but Gov. Ron DeSantis remained silent until Monday afternoon when he responded to a question about the rallies with a tirade against his political enemies. 'So what I'm going to say is these people, these Democrats who are trying to use this as some type of political issue to try to smear me as if I had something to with do that, we're not playing their game,' the governor said during a press conference in Palm Beach." FEELIN' STRONGER EVERY DAY — " Fried criticizes 'power grab' by DeSantis on Cabinet appointments," by POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie: Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried on Monday criticized what she called a "power grab" by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his "cronies" for a bill that would shift some agency appointments from the Cabinet to the Senate. The details: Fried, who is running for governor, criticized SB 1658 ahead of a Senate committee meeting on Monday during which lawmakers amended and approved the measure. The bill changes a requirement in state law that the heads of Florida's departments of law enforcement, environmental protection and veterans affairs be approved by all three members of the Cabinet." WHAT'S A FAIR AMOUNT? — " House, Senate set contours of big money sovereign immunity fight," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: The House and Senate both agree that people severely injured by government entities should be able to receive more than $200,000 in damages without the Legislature signing off. But how much above that current cap is setting up to be a fight headed into the final weeks of session. Both chambers have legislation — HB 985 and SB 974 — that would increase the $200,000 cap that a person injured by a government entity can receive without the Legislature passing a so-called claims bill, which is the term for a bill needed in order for someone injured by a government entity to get any payout above $200,000. — " Florida bill would make protests outside homes illegal ," by The Associated Press' Brendan Farrington — " Florida could end court fees for kids. Will election-year politics stop it?" by Tampa Bay Times' Lawrence Mower — " As rents continue to skyrocket, a Florida senator is pushing a 'Rent Control Measures' bill," by WFTS's Wendi Lane
| | | | A message from Floridians for Affordable Rx:   | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | WATER WARS — "DeSantis, Democrats trade barbs over Everglades restoration, infrastructure funding," by Palm Beach Post's Kimberly Miller: "A key project in Everglades restoration south of Lake Okeechobee received "not one dime" from the $1.2 trillion federal infrastructure law, an omittance Gov. Ron DeSantis called a 'whiff' and U.S. Rep. Brian Mast said was a 'middle finger' to Florida." But — "The infrastructure bill does include $1.1 billion for other Everglades projects, including two reservoirs in the Treasure Coast to catch contaminated rainfall runoff before it enters the Indian River Lagoon, a water preserve in Broward County, and money for a pump station along the Tamiami Trail. Despite the criticism on the lack of funding for the reservoir, DeSantis said he is hopeful his $725 million request for Everglades restoration will be included in President Joe Biden's 2023 budget with money available for the project." | 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans from the state during a press conference yesterday. | @GovRonDeSantis/Twitter |
ADDITION TO BALLARD PARTNERS — Matt Bryza, a former U.S. ambassador to Azerbaijan during the Obama administration, is joining Ballard Partners as a senior policy adviser. Bryza, who also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia and currently lives in Istanbul, spent 23 years as a U.S. diplomat. "Ambassador Bryza's extensive experience in the White House and State Department brings a new dimension of international expertise to the firm and we are honored to have him join our team," said Brian Ballard, the firm's president and founder. "Matt's unique perspective will be invaluable to the firm's global clients."
| | CORONAVIRUS UPDATES | | The daily rundown — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that there were 15,394 Covid-19 infections reported on Sunday and 19,766 Covid-19 infections reported on Saturday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that 9,015 hospital beds were being used in the state for Covid-19 patients. HMM — " Trump World adjusts to growing influence of vaccine skeptics within its ranks," by POLITICO's Meredith McGraw: A few weeks ago, Donald Trump decried politicians who did not share their Covid-19 vaccine booster status as "gutless" — a seeming swipe at other Republicans with presidential ambitions, mainly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who were keeping mum on the matter. Days later, Trump took the stage in Arizona and didn't mention his vaccination status or encourage others to get it, as he had at past rallies. He has not talked about booster shots since. — "' Greed and selfishness': Daughter of former Broward mayor gets prison in COVID fraud case," by Sun Sentinel's Lisa J. Huriash
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | THE PRICE OF ADMISSION — " State finds Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony lied about his murder arrest and much more. But he won't be prosecuted," by Sun Sentinel's Brittany Wallman and Lisa J. Huriash: "The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said some of the sheriff's falsehoods were too long ago to prosecute, and the most recent allegation — that he lied to obtain a new driver's license — will not be pursued because the clerk's memory of the incident is fuzzy. 'Although it appears that [Sheriff Gregory] Tony knowingly and willfully [misled] public servants in the performance of their official duties by making false statements in writing on his official applications (regarding his traffic citation, drug use, and arrest history) ... a criminal prosecution of these actions would be negated' by the Florida statute of limitations, a memo from FDLE agent Keith Riddick says." FOR SALE — " The rush for a slice of paradise in Puerto Rico ," by The New York Times' Coral Murphy Marcos and Patricia Mazzei: "Mr. [Samuel] Sánchez [Tirado] lives in Rincón, a seaside town in northwestern Puerto Rico famous for surfing and sunsets that has become a hot spot for wealthy investors looking for tax breaks. The visitors, like so many before them, were interested in buying his one-story home, which is a two-minute walk from the beach. It is not for sale, but that has not stopped the unsolicited offers from coming. 'They don't ask you for a price,' he said. 'They just hand you a check and tell you to fill it out with whatever you think the house is worth.'" — "' A colossal mess': Embattled Crystal Cruises diverts second ship to Bahamas, send passengers to Fort Lauderdale," by Miami Herald's Anna Jean Kaiser — " Prosecutors renew bid for delay in Parkland mass shooting case," by Sun Sentinel's Rafael Olmeda
| | A message from Floridians for Affordable Rx: The Florida independent pharmacy lobby claims that pharmacies are struggling, but, 1 in 3 pharmacies in Florida is an independent pharmacy and, while thousands of businesses shuttered due to the pandemic, 20 new independent pharmacies were added in 2020. Despite this growth, their lobbyists are pushing an agenda that will make it harder for small businesses to provide affordable prescription drug coverage.
Florida lawmakers need to reject the costly and harmful special interest agenda of the independent pharmacy lobby and support a more competitive marketplace that will reduce prescription drug costs. That means supporting patient advocates like pharmacy benefit managers, PBMs, that negotiate with drug companies and pharmacies to reduce prescription drug costs for patients. Tell your legislators it is time to put the health and safety of Florida families first. Learn more. | | | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — " Florida's flamingos disappeared decades ago. That may soon change," by National Geographic's Ashley Belanger: "Over the past decade, Florida flamingo sightings have steadily increased, and there are thought to be fewer than a thousand in the state, all presumably temporary visitors. That data, combined with Conchy's decision to stay put, suggest that the stage is set for the return of permanent flamingo populations in Florida, he says. In 2018, Florida updated the flamingo's status to native. Yet in May 2021, Florida wildlife agencies declined to grant the state's flamingos certain protections, such as management and monitoring, with the rationale that existing conservation efforts in South Florida, particularly in the Everglades, is sufficient." BIRTHDAYS: Matt Moon, deputy executive director at National Republican Senatorial Committee … state Rep. Chuck Brannan … former State Sen. Oscar Braynon
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