| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard and Gary Fineout | | | |  The interior of the Florida State Capitol building is seen in Tallahassee, Fla., on Jan. 11, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. The Republican-controlled Legislature is now entering that final — and at times frantic — period where legislators rush to reach a deal on a new state budget while deciding once and for all whether to push through dozens of bills. Any bill remains alive in some form until the session’s scheduled end on March 8. But gravity is already starting to weigh many contentious bills down and, absent some deux ex machina, it’s unlikely they will make it through. On Monday, sponsors of some heavily-debated bills acknowledged they were not going to be able to get them across the finish line. Sen. Erin Grall, who was pushing a bill to add fetuses to wrongful death lawsuits that had drawn strong opposition from Democrats who saw it as a way to go after abortion providers, told POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian about her bill: “Although I have worked diligently to respond to questions and concerns, I understand there is still work that needs to be done. It is important we get the policy right with an issue of this significance.” Another bill that has drawn a lot of resistance — including from conservative media — was a measure that would alter the state’s defamation laws. The bill has drawn opposition from an array of critics, ranging from top adviser to Donald Trump Stephen Miller to the owners of conservative news outlets. The Senate version was not taken up at its final committee stop on Monday, a sign that it’s in deep trouble Rep. Alex Andrade, the Pensacola Republican sponsoring the House bill, noted that the lower chamber could still pass his version and send it to the Senate. “It’s ready for the floor whenever the speaker puts it on,” Andrade said in a text message. “It’s not dead. It just depends on who cares about it and how much.” Both House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, however, have already passed their top priorities and look ready to bring the session in for a landing. Passidomo previously declared several other controversial bills, such as one designed to preserve Confederate monuments, dead for the session. Renner last week quickly retreated on a controversial elections bill after it was roundly criticized by Democrats and Republicans. A key point to remember is that legislators entered this year without a lengthy agenda from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was immersed in his presidential campaign until right after the session started. It was a complete turnabout from recent years. Renner did not go along with a push supported by DeSantis to bring gambling to a famed Miami Beach hotel. And now DeSantis appears poised to veto Renner’s top priority — a bill that would impose restrictions on social media accounts. — Gary Fineout Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | A message from Alibaba: Every day, American businesses generate big global sales on Alibaba's online marketplace – to the tune of $66B in one year alone. These sales are having a bigger impact on communities back home. Florida companies like Timberwolf Pet Foods and DS Laboratories sell to over one billion consumers in China through Alibaba, supporting 15,800 local jobs and contributing $1.9B to Florida's GDP. Learn more about how Alibaba positively impacts Florida's economy. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | |  Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo holds an oversized gavel as she presides over a session in the Senate chamber at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 10, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP |
THIS WEEK — Deal-making time arrives at Florida Capitol as budget negotiations start, reports POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. Florida legislators kicked off budget negotiations on Monday and quickly came to agreement on certain high profile items — such as funding for the state’s tourism marketing arm — but remain apart in many key spending areas.
Legislative leaders announced earlier in the day they had reached a deal on the topline numbers for the budget — which actually reflect an infusion of extra money above and beyond what was included in the initial House and Senate budgets. The final budget deal between House Speaker Paul Renner and Senate President Kathleen Passidomo calls for spending more than $48 billion from the state’s general revenue account, which is the main state source for the budget. — A notable difference between the House and Senate budgets currently is teacher pay, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. The House is seeking $1.05 billion for this pocket of cash that has long been a DeSantis priority for a boost of $201.8 million while the Senate so far recommends no increase. OVER AND OUT — Florida proposal to cap THC in marijuana if voters legalize it dies, reports POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. A bill pushed heavily by the House that sought to cap the concentration of THC found in marijuana if voters agreed to legalize the plant for adult use died on Monday after its Senate companion failed to make its last committee meeting. Under the bill, the concentration of THC found in raw “flower” marijuana would be limited to 30 percent, and edibles would be limited to 200 milligrams of THC per package. Vape cartridges would be limited to 1 gram of THC. WHAT'S NEXT — Florida, DOJ disagree on path forward after 'enormously disruptive' court decision on wetlands permitting, reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. Tania Galloni of Earthjustice, which represents environmental groups that sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 over the decision to transfer permitting responsibility, on Monday blasted the state for its motion. The request "is convoluted and confusing, and the federal government has said it’s unworkable," Galloni told POLITICO. "If what people want is clarity, the best course is the clean slate that the judge ordered, sending the federal wetlands permitting program in Florida back to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," Galloni said. MOMS FOR ETHICS — Moms for Liberty co-founder questioned during Senate confirmation vote, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. A key Senate panel granted initial approval Monday to Tina Descovich, a co-founder of the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty who DeSantis appointed to the Florida Commission on Ethics. Senators on the Ethics and Elections Committee backed Descovich by a 6-3 vote with Democrats in opposition, claiming she was too involved in politics through Moms for Liberty, which has influenced policy in the state and endorsed candidates for office. Democrats during the tense hearing pelted Descovich with questions about the group, bringing up past social media posts and her stance against they/them pronouns. | | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, the newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world, including WEF in Davos, Milken Global in Beverly Hills, to UNGA in NYC and many more. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | | | 
Former President Donald Trump and his son Trump Jr. attend the Ultimate Fighting Championship 287 mixed martial arts event in Miami, Florida, on April 8, 2023. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images | SECRET SERVICE CALLED — Authorities investigate suspicious substance at Donald Trump Jr.’s Florida home, reports POLITICO’s Alex Isenstadt. Authorities on Monday responded to Donald Trump Jr.’s Florida home after the former president’s son opened an envelope with a suspicious white powder in it. Hasmat vehicles and fire trucks were spotted outside Trump Jr.’s Jupiter, Florida, home. The initial test results on the substance were inconclusive, the person said, though authorities don’t believe the powder is deadly. The person added that Trump Jr.’s life is not in jeopardy. SANCTIONED — “National college professors group sanctions New College: 'politically motivated takeover,’” reports Steven Walker of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “The governing body of the American Association of University Professors voted to sanction New College of Florida for ‘substantial non-compliance’ with academic governance standards, the organization announced in a press release Monday … the AAUP outlines an ‘unprecedented politically motivated takeover of New College of Florida,’ and the imposition of an ‘aggressively ideological agenda, marked by a complete departure from shared governance,’ according to the organization.” DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH — “Leon County students, teachers grapple with teaching Black history,” reports Alaijah Brown of the Tallahassee Democrat. “With recent legislation prohibiting topics on critical race theory and the introduction of new standards maintaining that slavery was a ‘benefit’ in some instances, teachers and students are finding this month to be a minefield of controversy to navigate in classrooms.” SECOND TRY — “Joe Gruters wants Sarasota’s water, cultural treasures receiving their fair share,” reports Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics. “The veto pen landed hard on Sarasota last year, highlighting political schisms between Sen. Joe Gruters and DeSantis. But Gruters continues to fight for water and road projects in his district. ‘I’m hopeful that Sarasota will have a fair chance at bringing home some of these project dollars,’ the Sarasota Republican said. ‘I’m pushing very hard.’ He’s fighting particularly hard for funding for improvements to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, which provides both a public community asset and a valuable research center.” NEW STATION — “Brightline will build new station in Stuart,” reports Keith Burbank and Wicker Perlis of Treasure Coast Newspapers. “City officials were notified Monday that Stuart had won the competition for the new station. It will be located downtown, near the Martin County Courthouse. City Manager Mike Mortell informed city employees on Monday.” | | | | A message from Alibaba:   | | | | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
LIVING IN TRUMPWORLD — “DeSantis moves toward running again in 2028 — and draws ire from Trump’s inner circle,” report CNN's Steve Contorno and Alayna Treene. “For his part, DeSantis hasn’t denied he is considering another presidential campaign as soon as 2028 …. But DeSantis’ remarks … which included criticisms of Trump and his team, also provoked a heated response from the former president’s advisers and allies. The public lashing served as a reminder to the Florida governor that his political future may yet rely on his standing in Trump’s world.”
SENATE RACE — “GOP Sen. Rick Scott is uniquely unpopular in Florida. Can Dems capitalize?” by the Daily Beast’s Riley Rogerson. “Scott is up for re-election this cycle, and Democrats think they have a candidate who could surprise election prognosticators. They’ve recruited former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-FL), a one-term member who narrowly defeated former Republican Rep. Carlos Curbello in a Miami-adjacent district in 2018, and then narrowly lost to current Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez in 2020.” FUNDRAISING HAUL — Former Key Biscayne mayor Mike Davey raised more than $100,000 in his first 72 hours after he announced his candidacy for Florida’s 27th Congressional District, per his campaign. Davey is running for the Democratic nomination to go up against U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar. | | | | On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | | | 
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., speaks during an event on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. | Susan Walsh/AP | TODAY — Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz will hold an event about measles vaccination at 10 a.m. in Sunrise following an outbreak where at least 8 children were infected in Broward County. (There now is also a Polk County case, in an adult, per the Orlando Sentinel.) Wasserman Schultz will call for Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to be removed from his position after he issued a letter last week in which he failed to urge parents to vaccinate their children. Two doses of the MMR vaccine have a 98 percent protection rate against measles. SCOTUS TAKES UP FLORIDA LAW — Justices hint that Florida and Texas social media laws may be unconstitutional, reports POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Rebecca Kern. The Supreme Court grappled with competing views of free speech on social media as it heard nearly four hours of arguments Monday on a pair of state laws that regulate how large tech companies control what content can appear on their sites. Most justices seemed to think that, in some contexts, the Florida and Texas laws likely violate the First Amendment rights of the social media firms. But the justices also expressed concern that blocking the laws in their entirety might go too far. — Attorney General Ashley Moody was in Washington D.C. yesterday for the arguments ... The law in question prevented social media companies from censoring and deplatforming people, which Republicans like Moody say quiet conservative voices. “You have the United States government in there supporting the big tech companies fighting against Florida, who is standing up for folks that want their voices to be heard,” Moody said outside the Supreme Court afterward. “And the big tech companies with the support of the Biden administration are saying ‘no, we have the right to do that.’” The law was primarily inspired by social media companies' ban on Trump after the January 6 attack on the Capitol. “This is an extraordinarily important fight for where we stand and I am so proud of not just Florida's leaders for passing this legislation, but I'm proud of Florida for stand up for the voices of so many and their rights to be heard, regardless of the power of corporations,” Moody said. “And regardless of how the US government is supporting the silencing of their voices.” — Mia McCarthy | | Transitions | | — Ryan Tyson and Andrew Romeo, two veterans of Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, are joining P2 Public Affairs. Tyson, who was the DeSantis campaign pollster, will lead P2 Insights, a newly established research vertical. Romeo, who was the campaign’s comms director, will focus on advising clients on communications-related matters. The firm was co-founded by Phil Cox and Generra Peck, two other senior figures in the DeSantis orbit. | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
BIRTHDAYS: State Rep. Angie Nixon … Ryan Duffy, director of corporate communications at U.S. Sugar ... Kathleen Haughney, assistant director of research communications at Florida State University
| | A message from Alibaba: Timberwolf Pet Food, a family-owned company based in Windermere, Florida, achieved an impressive 7-figure growth after launching on Alibaba's online marketplace, which reaches over one billion consumers in China. Partnering with Alibaba helped the 25-year-old company double its sales projections, allowing Timberwolf to expand its product lines, production, and staffing to meet the increasing demand.
Florida businesses generated enough global sales on Alibaba’s online marketplace to add $1.9 billion to Florida’s economy, supporting 15,800 local jobs and $1.1 billion in wages in one year.
"I knew from experience that Alibaba, with over one billion online consumers, was essential to launch our brand in China successfully," said Timberwolf CEO Kam Martin.
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