| | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Good Tuesday morning. Stroke of a pen — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — amid a national controversy that drew in the White House — used the backdrop of a Pasco County charter school to sign the "Parental Rights in Education" bill into law on Monday. Lawsuits coming? — The new law, which earned the title "don't say gay" from critics and opponents, isn't scheduled to take effect until this summer, but legal challenges are just a matter of time. Where the bill came from — While much of the focus on the bill has revolved around its ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in lower grades, POLITICO has delved into how the legislation's origins appear to be linked to "support guides" used in several school districts. Those documents drew the ire of Republican House members as well as a Leon County lawsuit from parents upset about their interactions with the school district there. 'It's 100 percent a legislative driven bill' — State Rep. Chris Latvala, a St. Petersburg Republican and chair of the main education committee in the state House, said he directed legislative staff to review one guide that had been drawn up by Martin County. "Can you look to see if this really going on in our schools?" Latvala recalls telling his aides. The bill sponsor — Latvala turned to Rep. Joe Harding, a first-term Republican from north central Florida, to run the legislation. Harding, who has young children in elementary school, said the bill tapped into a growing frustration among parents, including among some of who lived in his district. "It became an issue that is a rallying cry for our caucus because, in my opinion, this is a fault-line issue that we Republicans are on the right side of," Harding said. 'Backlash' — Those opposed to the bill, however, view the new law as dangerous and one that could further marginalize vulnerable students and lead to bullying and even suicide. They view the language as so open-ended that it would discourage teachers from having a conversation about a child's family tree. Legislators such as Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who is openly gay, view it part of a national backlash against the LGBTQ community. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona warned that the feds would monitor the implementation of the law to make sure it did not violate federal civil rights laws. The DeSantis doctrine — DeSantis emerged as one of the most vocal and visible supporters of the bill even though legislation generated from the Florida House with the strong backing of House Speaker Chris Sprowls. It was DeSantis who openly clashed with Disney and slammed the entertainment giant when the company announced its opposition after the bill had already passed. During his press conference Monday, DeSantis maintained that the new law would prevent the "indoctrination" of children in Florida's public schools. Whatever the genesis of the legislation, it's now part of the GOP's governor legacy and reelection effort. — WHERE'S RON? — Gov. DeSantis is scheduled to be in Tallahassee for a meeting with members of the Florida Cabinet. THE COUNT: It's been 25 days since the Florida Legislature approved a new congressional map but it still hasn't been sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has promised to veto the map. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch: gfineout@politico.com
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | THE PATH — "How a lawsuit over teen spurred Florida Republicans to pass the 'Don't Say Gay law ," by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury and Gary Fineout: Florida's fight over contentious LGBTQ legislation — dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" bill by opponents — had its genesis nearly two years ago, not in the halls of the state Legislature but in a September conversation between a Tallahassee mother and her 13-year-old teen. The teen, according to a federal lawsuit, said they "might be non-binary" and wanted to change their name ahead of the upcoming school year to one that fit a gender different from the one they were assigned at birth. The mother, January Littlejohn, and her husband said "no," but allowed the then-13-year-old to use a "nickname" at middle school while the parents continued to use the teen's birth name at home. AS PROMISED — "DeSantis signs so-called 'don't say gay' bill," by Tampa Bay Times' Kirby Wilson and Jeffrey S. Solochek: "With a stroke of his pen, a defiant Gov. Ron DeSantis shot back at critics in Florida and across the country. On Monday, surrounded by Republican legislators, the governor signed House Bill 1557, called the "Parental Rights in Education" bill. Critics have dubbed the measure Florida's "don't say gay" legislation because, although the bill does not mention the word "gay," it prohibits instruction related to gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through third grade and potentially restricts such instruction for older kids." | 
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights in Education, aka the Don't Say Gay bill, flanked by elementary school students during a news conference on Monday, March 28, 2022, at Classical Preparatory school in Shady Hills. | Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP |
D.C. GAZE — "Feds say they'll be watching Florida schools after DeSantis signs 'don't say gay' bill," by Miami Herald's Bryan Lowry: "Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Monday that his department will monitor Florida's implementation of a controversial new education law that restricts classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to determine whether it violates federal civil rights law. Cardona's statement hints at potential legal ramifications for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' decision Monday to sign the legislation, which critics have called the 'don't say gay' bill, into law. But it does not specify what actions the Biden administration could take in response."
— "'Don't say gay': Five things to know as controversial bill becomes Florida law," by Sun Sentinel's Brooke Baitinger — " Disney says 'Don't Say Gay' bill should not have happened," by WFLA's Robert Pandolfino — "'Don't say gay' is part of larger LGBTQ backlash, Orlando Rep. Smith says, " by Orlando Sentinel's Jeffrey Schweers — "Ron DeSantis says Disney & Hollywood opposition to 'Don't Say Gay' bill is a 'badge of honor,'" by Deadline's Ted Johnson TOP COP'S EXIT SPED UP — Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen, who just last Friday announced he would retire on Sept. 1, moved up his last day on the job to May 1. Swearingen, 62, has served as Florida Department of Law Enforcement commissioner since December 2014, following the abrupt ouster of former commissioner Gerald Bailey. Swearingen, who earns more than $155,000 as FDLE commissioner, had emailed the entire agency last week about his decision to step down. A FDLE spokesperson did not give a detailed answer on why his retirement date was suddenly altered by four months. Gretl Plessinger said that Swearingen "determined it was in the best interest of FDLE to retire on May 1." The FDLE commissioner reports to the governor and Cabinet, but it is the governor who appoints the commissioner subject to a majority vote.
| | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | | 'THE COURT FEARS JAN. 6 WILL REPEAT ITSELF' — "Trump likely committed felony obstruction, federal judge rules ," by POLITICO's Kyle Cheney, Josh Gerstein and Nicholas Wu: A federal judge ruled Monday that former President Donald Trump "more likely than not" attempted to illegally obstruct Congress as part of a criminal conspiracy when he tried to subvert the 2020 election on Jan. 6, 2021. "Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021," U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote. Carter's sweeping and historic ruling came as he ordered the release to the House's Jan. 6 committee of 101 emails from Trump ally John Eastman, rejecting Eastman's effort to shield them via attorney-client privilege.
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | THE DANCE — "DeSantis, Florida Republicans talk like they're divorcing big business. Are they?" by Tampa Bay Times' Emily L. Mahoney and Langston Taylor: "It's now common for Republicans like DeSantis to criticize big business or call out individual companies, particularly ones that oppose laws passed by Republican-led legislatures, hold diversity training deemed 'woke,' or removed former President Donald Trump and allies from social media platforms. Yet for all the attention that DeSantis and other Republicans receive for these once unthinkable attacks against big businesses, a Tampa Bay Times review of thousands of campaign contributions shows their 2022 campaigns are still going to be heavily funded by them." COMING DUE? — "Ex-Congressman David Rivera loses 'last-ditch' move to avoid $456,000 campaign fine," by Florida Bulldog's Francisco Alvarado: "In a severe rebuke of David Rivera, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke rejected the former Miami Republican congressman's 'last-ditch effort' to dodge a $456,000 judgment against him tied to his decade-old federal elections campaign violations. On March 24, roughly a year after ruling in favor of the Federal Elections Commission, Cooke denied Rivera's motion to dismiss the elections watchdog agency's lawsuit against him on the grounds that he never received mail notices he was going to be sued, and that a five-year statute of limitations had expired when the complaint was filed on July 14, 2017." WHAT'S IN YOUR WALLET? — "Tom Petway family tops campaign contributions in busy fund-raising for Jacksonville election," by Florida Times-Union's David Bauerlein: "A year out from Jacksonville's next round of city elections, Tom Petway remains a wellspring of campaign money and tops the list of local donors so far with $275,000 in contributions by him and his son for the May 2023 contest. Clocking in at the $200,000 contribution level in local races are business and civic leaders Gary Chartrand, David Miller and Michael Ward, along with road-building company J.B. Coxwell Contracting and construction contractor Gunner/Houston Ltd."
| | | | DON'T MISS POLITICO'S INAUGURAL HEALTH CARE SUMMIT ON 3/31: Join POLITICO for a discussion with health care providers, policymakers, federal regulators, patient representatives, and industry leaders to better understand the latest policy and industry solutions in place as we enter year three of the pandemic. Panelists will discuss the latest proposals to overcome long-standing health care challenges in the U.S., such as expanding access to care, affordability, and prescription drug prices. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | THE OTHER 'ADVERSARY' — "Marco Rubio leads G.O.P. push for a more combative stance on China," by The New York Times' Blake Hounshell and Leah Askarinam: "Marco Rubio wants Americans to 'wake up.' China is already locked in conflict with the United States, the Republican senator from Florida warns. We just haven't realized it yet. And even as Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine shows that wars of aggression are no relic of the past — the 'return of history,' Rubio calls it — he worries that China's Communist rulers pose a more insidious, long-term danger to America's peace and prosperity, and that the threat isn't being treated with the seriousness it deserves. 'It does us no good to pretend they're not an adversary,' Rubio said in an interview."
| 
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 10: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) talks to reporters as he leaves a briefing for Senators by officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Director of National Intelligence, and the National Security Agency on the state of election security on Capitol Hill on March 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images) | Samuel Corum/Getty Images |
'TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION' — "Biden requests $407M for Everglades, South FL ecosystem restoration," by POLITICO's Bruce Ritchie: President Joe Biden's 2022-23 federal budget request released on Monday includes $407 million for South Florida ecosystem restoration projects, the Army Corps of Engineers said. Some environmentalists praised the president's request, which includes $300 million for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir, while Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), a close ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis, said more federal funding is needed.
More wanted — Michael L. Connor, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, told reporters during a press conference on Monday that the request is in addition to increased funding in last year's spending bill and more than $22 billion in federal aid packages under Biden. "So we are making substantial investments to continue the construction activities that have already started," Connor said. Mast said in a statement that the request "is trending in the right direction" but is "still a far cry" from the $725 million yearly requested in 2021 by Florida's bipartisan congressional delegation. UP, UP AND AWAY — "NASA gets 8 percent boost in Biden's new budget," by POLITICO's Bryan Bender: President Joe Biden's fiscal 2023 budget request for NASA is seeking $26 billion, nearly $2 billion more than it received this year, as the space agency steps up plans to return to the moon and fosters the development of private space stations. "That is a significant increase over last year's budget," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a speech at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday. "In fact, it's 8 percent more than the enacted federal spending levels."
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | PAUSED — "A federal judge puts environmentalists' lawsuit against Piney Point on hold," by News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders: "A federal judge has put on hold a lawsuit that environmental groups filed last year after massive amounts of wastewater were discharged from a former phosphate plant site to avert a potential catastrophe. U.S. District Judge William Jung put a six-month stay on the lawsuit, as a court-ordered receiver in a separate state case works to close the Piney Point site in Manatee County. Jung, in an order dated Friday and posted online Monday, wrote that the state court system 'already has a running start on the closure of Piney Point' and pointed to $100 million that the Legislature approved last year to help clean up the site." SETTLEMENT — "Ex-principal in Holocaust controversy would have to take college course on the genocide if he wants to teach again," by Palm Beach Post's Giuseppe Sabella: "The former Spanish River High School principal who twice lost his job after making controversial remarks on the Holocaust might have to take a college-level course on the subject as part of a settlement reached with the state Department of Education. William Latson, who refused to say the Holocaust was a factual event in his conversation with a parent, agreed to a letter of reprimand and three years of probation under the Education Department's supervision." 'IT'S OUR TOWN' — " New Surfside mayor wants condo collapse victims remembered. 'It was our residents,'" by Miami Herald's Martin Vassolo: "Newly elected Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger didn't talk much about the Champlain Towers South collapse during his campaign because he said he didn't want to politicize a tragedy that killed 98 people just a few blocks from Town Hall. But in his first weeks in office since unseating former Mayor Charles Burkett, who became the face of Surfside's response to the June 24 disaster, Danzinger is making it one of his first priorities." SPRING HAS SPRUNG — " Florida officials fight back against rowdy spring breakers," by The Associated Press: "Rowdy spring break crowds have forced curfews and led some establishments to close their doors from Miami Beach to Florida's Panhandle. Law enforcement officials in Bay County, Florida, said Sunday that they won't tolerate the bad behavior from spring breakers after a 21-year-old from Alabama was shot in the foot Sunday during a shooting in Panama City Beach. 'The crowd that has been here this weekend, there are no words that can describe the way they have behaved themselves, conducted themselves and the amount of laws they have broken,' Panama City Beach police Chief J.R. Talamantez said Sunday after the shooting."
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "Bobcats with a taste for python eggs might be the guardians of Florida's swamp," by The New York Times' Matt Kaplan: "But new observations suggest that the bobcat, a wildcat native to Florida, might be able to help. A team of ecologists collected evidence recently of a bobcat devouring python eggs in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, and last month reported their findings in the journal Ecology and Evolution. It's hard to say whether this individual cat was more adventurous than the average bobcat, but it suggests one potential way the python's proliferation could be limited — by other animals eating their unhatched young." BIRTHDAYS: Tina Cummings Grier, executive assistant to president/CEO at Florida TaxWatch | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment