| | | | |  | | By Gary Fineout | Good Monday morning. Deep Down in Florida — The mission by Republican legislators — and encouraged strongly by business groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce — to keep citizen initiatives off the ballot appears to have worked for now. I Can't Be Satisfied — On Friday, a group powered by tens of millions of dollars largely from Las Vegas Sands officially conceded defeat and withdrew its legal challenge trying to get an amendment authorizing a North Florida casino on the ballot. All Aboard — This means that there will be just three amendments on the 2022 ballot — and every one of them will have been put there by the Legislature. One of those three proposed amendments would permanently eliminate the Constitution Revision Commission, which is authorized to meet every 20 years and has the power to place items on the ballot. Rollin' and Tumblin' — There are a lot of very serious unanswered questions along with a dizzying array of allegations and counter-allegations regarding the organizers who pushed the casino amendment and their foes — which included the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Trouble No More — But let's also focus on what this means going forward. Florida's big businesses, upset about recent citizen initiatives, including one aimed at raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, have thrown a lot of effort into encouraging legislators to place legal obstacles in front of them. Groups trying to gather the nearly 900,000 voter signatures needed to make the ballot have seen plenty of obstacles — everything from constitutionally-dubious fundraising limits to laws on petition gathering. I Feel Like Going Home — The two groups trying to place gambling proposals on this year's ballot spent more than $112 million and failed to make the finish line. Sarah Bascom, a spokesperson for Florida Voters in Charge, said their effort were rendered "untenable" by the legal hoops confronting them. You Can't Lose What You Ain't Never Had — This does not augur well for future citizen initiatives, including a possible marijuana legalization effort. It also means that Florida's business interests will have fewer options to bypass the Legislature if they suddenly find themselves in open warfare with a more populist-oriented Legislature. (Hmm) Rollin' Stone — The decision by Florida Voters in Charge to drop its battle also means a court will not rule on the legal arguments asserted in the lawsuit put together by Jesse Panuccio, who was once the general counsel for Rick Scott when he was governor. That lawsuit contended that several of the changes made in recent years by GOP legislators are unconstitutional. While a circuit judge turned down a request for an injunction, that one-page decision did not explain the legal reasoning behind the ruling. So the question remains whether this is the end of citizen initiatives in the state. — WHERE'S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.
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. | | | | | |  | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Equal Ground Action Fund is launching a digital campaign Monday morning called "We Draw the Lines" that is aimed at reaching 2.5 million Floridians to mobilize opposition to Gov. Ron DeSantis' push to eliminate two minority access seats in Congress now held by Black Democrats. The ad campaign will run statewide but will target Floridians who live in predominantly Black cities. DeSantis last week vetoed a new congressional map approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and called legislators back to town for a special session that starts April 19. DeSantis has been critical of keeping a North Florida congressional seat now held by Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, intact. The governor in January recommended his own map that took aim at both Lawson's seat and the seat now held by Rep. Val Demings. The campaign from Equal Ground Action Fund, which will feature ads on Facebook and Instagram, will urge Floridians to send a letter to legislators to stop a "direct attack on Black representation." The proposed letter reads: "I am asking that as you prepare to go back to Tallahassee for Legislative session, you stand firm and reject the Governor's attempt to diminish minority representation in Congress." The campaign will run through the special session. 'REVERSING THE BRAND' — "' Wrought with entitlement': Florida Democrats struggle to win over Latinos," by POLITICO's Matt Dixon: Yet with Republicans making huge inroads with Florida's Latino voters in recent election cycles — Joe Biden won Latino-heavy Miami-Dade County by just 7-points while Hillary Clinton won it by nearly 30-points just four years earlier — the question remains whether Democrats can win back one of the most vital voting groups in the state. "We need to be in more agreement that Hispanic voters in Florida are a universe of voters that are persuadable that Republicans can win, not [Democratic] base voters," said veteran Democratic consultant Christian Ulvert. The wrong way — Florida International University professor Guillermo Grenier says Democrats approach to Hispanic voters has been "wrought with entitlement," and based on the outdated idea that because the party generally opposes Republicans' hardline stance on issues like immigration that Florida's diverse bloc of Latino voters will support them. But Republicans' focus their outreach on more visceral appeals. "They [Latino voters] want someone who says, ''I've got the balls to fight for you.' That's basically all Trump did, and it worked," Grenier said. "The Democratic elite think that just because they are right on the issues, they [Latino voters] will flock to them. But that's not the way it works, and Republicans know that." SNAKE EYES — "Backers drop North Florida casinos bid for controversial constitutional amendment," by News Service of Florida's Dara Kam: "After spending more than $70 million and wrangling in court for months, backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would open the door to Las Vegas-style casinos in North Florida have dropped an effort to place the measure on the 2022 ballot. The clash over the casino initiative pitted Las Vegas Sands Corp. against the Seminole Tribe of Florida and included allegations of death threats against workers gathering signatures for the ballot proposal, accusations that supporters of the measure violated state law by paying workers by the signature and feuding over the tribe's efforts to 'buy off' signature gatherers." HMM — "Old Trump-Crist bromance hangs over Florida Democratic primary for governor," by NBC News' Marc Caputo: "On social media and in private conversations with donors and allies, [Nikki] Fried's campaign has signaled an effort to open a new, more heated phase of the primary by questioning [Charlie] Crist's once-warm relationship with [former President Donald] Trump — from the time Crist gave him a Florida-shaped birthday cake in 2005 to Crist congratulating Trump via text over his 2016 presidential win, which sent Democrats reeling. Crist's campaign dismissed any talk of his past Trump friendship harming him now. 'This is nonsense. Charlie is the only candidate for governor who has voted twice to impeach President Trump, and Florida voters know exactly where he stands,' press secretary Samantha Ramirez said in an email."
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SAINT PETERSBURG, FL - NOVEMBER 04: Former Florida Governor and now Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist as he concedes defeat in the Vinoy hotel on November 4, 2014 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Crist lost to incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | — "Governor DeSantis starts in music video dedicated to Florida, himself," by WEAR-TV's Kai Davis — "Political melee: election-year redistricting upends careers and turns allies into enemies," by Sun Sentinel's Anthony Man
| | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | MOVING AHEAD — "Judge denies request to block Florida's 'intellectual freedom' surveys," by POLITICO's Andrew Atterbury: A federal judge on Friday denied an attempt by university faculty and students to stop Florida officials from carrying out a massive-scale campus political climate survey that they argue would violate their freedom of speech. Barring an appeal, the move by Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker allows the state university system to move ahead with emailing the survey to thousands of students, faculty and staff starting Monday as the overarching legal challenge awaits trial later this year. FOLLOW THE MONEY — " Florida lawmakers raid $100M from affordable housing for program that doesn't exist," by Orlando Sentinel's Jeffrey Schweers: "In the midst of a statewide housing crisis, the Florida Legislature swept $100 million out of a nationally respected affordable housing rental assistance program for low-income families into a home-buying program that exists in name only…The budget doesn't provide any guidance on how to set up the program, criteria for who can qualify for assistance or even how much money each individual or family can receive. That's because the bill (SB 788) that would have created the program died in committee, said Jaimie Ross, president and CEO of the Florida Housing Coalition, a training and advocacy group on affordable housing issues." 'A WIN-WIN' — "In Disney, DeSantis finds his corporate foil," by NBC News' Marc Caputo: "[Gov. Ron DeSantis]'s earned conservative accolades from Fox News appearances criticizing Disney for doing business in China yet remaining silent about the Uyghur genocide, and for sending Disney cruises to the Caribbean island of Dominica, where homosexuality is criminalized. 'This is right in DeSantis' wheelhouse,' said José Oliva, a DeSantis ally who was the Florida House speaker in 2019 and 2020, during the governor's first two years in office. 'Disney's woke capitalism is exactly what DeSantis calls out.' He also reads about it: DeSantis was recently spotted with a copy of the book "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam," by Vivek Ramaswamy, according to an insider." MEANWHILE — "Larry Hogan rips DeSantis for heavy hand with Disney, cruise lines, schools," by Newsweek's Andrew Stanton: "Republican Maryland Governor Larry Hogan criticized Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday for his "crazy fight" with Disney over the state's "Don't Say Gay" legislation during an interview with CNN….'The whole thing seems like just a crazy fight,' he said. 'It concerns me that DeSantis is always talking about he was not demanding that businesses do things, but he was telling the cruise lines what they had to do. He was telling local schools what they were mandating. And now he wants to criticize Disney for expressing how they feel about that bill.'" — "Duking it out with Disney? DeSantis raises campaign cash, political profile in feud," by Miami Herald's David Smiley and Tampa Bay Times' Emily L. Mahoney | 
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JULY 13: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a new conference on the surge in coronavirus cases in the state held at the Jackson Memorial Hospital on July 13, 2020 in Miami, Florida. Yesterday, Florida reported 15,300 new confirmed cases on Sunday, topping the previous U.S. record for the largest daily increase of Covid-19 infections. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | 'THAT'S NEVER HAPPENED' — "How Disney fell flat in fight over LGBTQ talk in Florida's schools," by Washington Post's Todd C. Frankel: "Disney's missteps illustrate just how much the political landscape has changed for companies in a country roiled by Black Lives Matter protests and the Jan. 6 insurrection. Disney discovered that the old corporate playbook for avoiding such controversy had been shredded by new customer and employee expectations about how companies should react, along with a fresh willingness from previously business-friendly Republicans to buck corporate wishes. 'It's pretty rare that Disney in Florida has come up short,' said Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida, who co-authored the book 'Politics in Florida.'" HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW — "DeSantis slammed a special Disney carveout. His staff helped write it," by Tampa Bay Times' Emily L. Mahoney: "[Legislative affairs director Stephanie] Kopelousos' messages have subject lines including, 'Latest from disney' and 'New Disney language,' all with various clauses that could be added to the bill to exempt the company, often by tweaking the definition of what constitutes a social media company. In one message sent one day before the end of the regular session, Kopelousos wrote: 'Disney responded with this,' before a new line to potentially add to the bill. DeSantis' budget and policy chief, Chris Spencer, replied with suggestions and feedback, as did the governor's general counsel at the time, James Uthmeier, who has since become chief of staff." — "'I cannot teach in Florida': LGBTQ educators fear fallout from new school law," by NBC News' Matt Lavietes — " State says Florida's redistricting case should be put on hold," by News Service of Florida's Jim Saunders — " Politics and Florida's Supreme Court: The remarkable rise of the next chief justice," by Florida Bulldog's Noreen Marcus — "Florida nursing homes end legislative session with wins. But will patients lose ?" by Orlando Sentinel's Kate Santich — "Troubled home insurance system off the table for April special session," by News Service of Florida's Jim Turner — "DeSantis urged to veto Lake Okeechobee water supply bill by 4 environmental nonprofits," by Treasure Coast Newspapers' Ed Killer
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | GAETZ, MAST VOTE YES — "House passes marijuana legalization bill (again), but with no clear path forward ," by POLITICO's Natalie Fertig: The House passed a far-reaching marijuana legalization bill on Friday by a 220-204 vote, largely along party lines and still with no real path to President Joe Biden's desk. It marks the second time in less than two years that the House passed legislation to decriminalize cannabis, scrap some old marijuana-related convictions and allow states to make their own decisions about whether to establish marijuana markets. But Democrats seem no closer to fulfilling a major campaign promise, passing a party-line bill that has little chance of getting the necessary Republican support to pass the Senate. IN THROUGH THE OUT DOOR (from POLITICO Influence): Dave Karvelas, the former chief of staff to Rep. Vern Buchanan who joined the lobbying firm Ballard Partners earlier this year, is headed back to work for his old boss. PI reached out to the firm after receiving a tip that Karvelas' staff page was no longer live on Ballard's site, and partner Justin Sayfie told PI that Karvelas had accepted an offer from Buchanan to rejoin the congressman's staff and had parted ways from the firm. Buchanan is widely seen as the man to beat for the prized chair role of the House Ways and Means Committee should Republicans win control of the House in November, and Karvelas and several other Ballard partners hosted a fundraiser for the congressman last month. TO JAIL — "Florida man gets 18 months in prison for threats to Pelosi, AOC," by POLITICO's Josh Gerstein: A Florida man was sentenced Friday to a year and a half in federal prison for issuing a series of crude and violent threats to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Paul Hoeffer, 60, of Palm Beach Gardens, received the sentence at a hearing in Fort Pierce, Fla., after pleading guilty to three felony counts of making interstate threats against Pelosi (D-Calif.), Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and a prominent prosecutor in Chicago, Kim Foxx, court records show. TRANSITIONS — Mary Thomas has been named the new executive director of the Club for Growth Foundation. She was once general counsel for Department of Elder Affairs under then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott and ran for Congress in 2016 but lost in the Republican primary to eventual winner Rep. Neal Dunn.
| | THE GUNSHINE STATE | | 1,500 POTENTIAL JURORS — "Parkland shooter's lawyer face tough task in jury selection," by The Associated Press' Terry Spencer: "Attorneys for Parkland, Florida, school shooter Nikolas Cruz will have one goal when jury selection starts Monday: to identify candidates who might give Cruz the single vote he needs to get a life sentence instead of death for the 2018 murders of 17 students and staff members. The process will involve a lot of educated guesses. Court officials said perhaps 1,500 or more potential jurors could file through Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer's courtroom over several weeks as she, prosecutors and Cruz's public defenders select 12 panelists, plus eight alternates, for his penalty trial."
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | 'WE'VE DONE A FULL 180 THERE' — "How a fight over cruise ships visiting Key West has changed tourism in a tourist city," by FLKeysNews.com's Gwen Filosa: "But behind the images and the advertising campaigns, this small island is torn over tourism. The Key West economy gets a boost from visitors, about two million a year. Yet more and more residents are wary of the crowds. And they have turned their attention to a source that drops thousands of people at a time onto the narrow streets: cruise ships. While the pandemic put a halt to all cruising for two years, ships are sailing again. After a series of protests against the big ships, the Southernmost City changed the course of cruises. Ships will continue to bring thousands of passengers — and there were nearly a million in 2019. But there will be fewer ships than in the past." — "Fried says stronger laws may be needed after Tyre Sampson's death on Orlando Free Fall," by Orlando Sentinel's Katie Rice — " At UF library, the Karl Marx room is gone, sparking protests," by Tampa Bay Times' Divya Kumar — "NY mobster who killed 3 escapes federal custody in Florida ," by Associated Press
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — "St. Johns County teacher wears 'Protect Trans Kids' shirt, is asked to remove it," by St. Augustine Record's Sheldon Gardner: "After a parent complained, a teacher at Tocoi Creek High School in St. Johns County was asked to remove a T-shirt that read, "Protect Trans Kids," according to school district spokeswoman Christina H. Upchurch. The teacher wore the shirt to the school on Tuesday, and a parent sent a picture to Principal Jay Willets "expressing concern," according to Upchurch. Willets 'immediately' spoke with the teacher about it and provided another shirt, and the teacher changed shirts, according to Upchurch. No disciplinary action was taken." BIRTHDAYS: Former Florida first lady Adele Graham … David DeCamp, director of corporate communications at Crowley | | | | 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 | | | | |
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