| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  The Florida State Capitol is seen in Tallahassee, Florida, Jan. 11, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Good morning from Tallahassee and welcome to Monday. The end of Florida’s legislative session is in sight. What may be House Speaker Paul Renner's most high-profile priority is up for a quick makeover today. The Senate will take up a revamped bill aimed at getting more minors off social media, one that’s supposed to be a compromise between Renner and Gov. Ron DeSantis. The back-and-forth between the Legislature and governor shows just how much power DeSantis continues to wield in Florida. The governor vetoed an earlier version ahead of the weekend because he wanted parents to have a say. Renner insisted lawmakers were “happy” about the way things turned out and DeSantis predicted a “superior bill” would reach his desk. The new version will allow parents to give consent for 14- and 15-year olds to use social media. Other measures expected to sail out of the Legislature include (by no means an exhaustive list): legislation to ban “identity politics” from teacher training programs, a ban on the sale of lab-grown meat, a slew of “deregulation” measures in public schools, making private Jewish school security funding recurring and compensation for abuse survivors from the Dozier School. A DeSantis-backed bill aimed at homelessness, which would place restrictions on people sleeping in public, is likely to face final passage. Lawmaker are also expected to pass a bill to put a constitutional amendment question before Florida voters in November over whether to repeal public financing of statewide elections for gubernatorial candidates and Cabinet members. Bills in the category of we’ll-see-what happens are a Senate-passed measure to regulate hemp products and a measure to preempt local ordinances that specify how to protect workers from the heat. It’s also not clear what the fate of a bill to expand work hours for 16- and 17-year-olds will be, after it was significantly watered down in a Senate committee. It’s not clear what lawmakers will do about a move to ease restrictions on some Chinese residents attempting to buy land, after DeSantis said he didn’t approve. The Senate will also put its finishing touches on the tax package that the House passed last week, one that’s significantly smaller than last year’s. Tucked in the budget are a series of sales tax holidays, for back-to-school shopping and purchasing tools as well as summer activities such as concerts and outdoor recreation. It also includes DeSantis’ request to lift the tax on property insurance premiums for homes valued at $750,000 a year or less, and would lower the business rent tax for a year. Much of lawmakers’ attention is on the $117 million budget. Lawmakers over the weekend came to an agreement on public school spending and elements for environment and health care. They have to finish working on the budget by tomorrow to abide by the state’s 72-hour cooling-off period before a final vote so they can end the session on time. WHERE’S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the Strawberry Festival luncheon in Plant City at 11:30 a.m. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com
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Florida Surgeon Gen. Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo (left) speaks at a news conference with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right), Jan. 3, 2022, at Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. | Wilfredo Lee/AP |
DEFENDING TOP DOC — Florida’s surgeon general is under fire for measles advice. But the GOP is defending him, by POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian. Joseph Ladapo, who rejected federal guidelines for Covid-19 vaccinations, sent a recent letter to parents at an elementary school in Broward County in which he didn’t follow federal recommendations to urge parents to vaccinate their children against measles or quarantine those who may have come in contact with the virus.
But top GOP senators in the GOP-led Legislature are defending him based on his credentials but not engaging the issue at hand, saying lawmakers can’t withdraw confirmations and they approve of the work he’s done. CIAO — DeSantis OKs transfer of convicted murderer to Italy as Biden meets with Italian PM, reports POLITICO’ Gary Fineout. After years of legal wrangling, Florida will let a one-time Italian television producer and convicted murderer whose case has attracted international attention serve out his sentence in his home country. DeSantis gave the green-light to transfer 66-year-old Enrico Forti to Italian authorities on the same day that the nation’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni was scheduled to meet with President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C. Meloni also spoke to DeSantis about the transfer on Friday. DEI PURGE — UF becomes the latest Florida school to gut DEI programs, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. The University of Florida took some of the most drastic actions against diversity, equity, and inclusion in the state Friday by eliminating more than a dozen full-time campus positions including the “chief diversity officer.” UF, Florida’s flagship school, closed the Chief Diversity Officer’s office, scrapped other jobs and “halted DEI-focused” vendor contracts in a wave of decisions under President Ben Sasse. The moves are a response to higher education reforms backed by DeSantis and Republicans in the state who are targeting “wokeness” and liberal “indoctrination” in Florida’s university system. BUDGET UPDATE — House and Senate close out school spending, still working as deadline nears, by POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. Florida House and Senate budget negotiators reached a deal Saturday on funding for public schools, one of the largest sections included in the annual spending plan that sometimes can be a major stumbling block. And on Sunday night, legislators reached budget deals on prisons, Everglades restoration, more money for nursing homes and a grant fund used by Gov. Ron DeSantis to lure businesses to the state. PASSED LAST WEEK — “Bill trims red tape for some felons in Florida seeking barber, cosmetology licenses,” reports WUFT’s Aidan Bush. “The bill reduces how long criminal background checks can be used to keep a former inmate from applying for a barber or cosmetology license and allows any inmate enrolled in barber or cosmetology classes while incarcerated to apply those credits toward getting a license. In addition, the measure specifies the term ‘conviction’ applies regardless of the crime or sentencing, but allows boards to consider crimes listed in specific statutes if they relate to the profession's practice.” ANCHORS AWAY — “As boaters and Miami Beach officials fight, lawmakers move to restrict anchoring,” reports the Miami Herald’s Alyssa Johnson. “Miami-Dade boaters may face more limitations on where they can anchor their vessels based on a proposal that passed in the Florida House and is moving favorably in the Senate. The legislation aims to target overnight anchoring in Biscayne Bay, which lawmakers say would help solve concerns about environmental damage in the area and the safety of recreational boaters. But critics of the legislation say it infringes on the rights of boat owners, leaves liveaboard boaters with fewer options and unfairly blames them for the issues cited by lawmakers.”
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The stakes are high as America's health care community strives to meet the evolving needs of patients and practitioners, adopt new technologies and navigate skeptical public attitudes toward science. Join POLITICO’s annual Health Care Summit on March 13 where we will discuss the future of medicine, including the latest in health tech, new drugs and brain treatments, diagnostics, health equity, workforce strains and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | … BILLS HITTING THE LEGISLATIVE GRAVEYARD … — “Bills to expand benefits for public employees will die on the legislative vine,” per James Call of USA Today Network - Florida — “Florida lawmakers won't hear bills to improve state prison conditions this session,” per Elena Barrera of the Tallahassee Democrat — “Legislation for Toxic Secret chemical 1,4-dioxane dies in Florida House,” per the Orlando Sentinel’s Kevin Spear — “House guts bill on small-town financial disclosures in rare GOP-on-GOP showdown,” per Florida Politics Jacob Ogles | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
TODAY — Early voting in Florida for the presidential primary begins.
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Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) speaks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol, on Feb. 13, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | JUST OVER HALF UNDECIDED — U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has an early lead in the 2026 gubernatorial contest, per a poll from Kaplan Strategies. He’s closely followed by U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) and GOP Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody. FUNDRAISING — “Florida Future Leaders PAC reports $100K raised in first month,” reports Florida Politics’ Jesse Scheckner. “A new Generation Z-led political action committee focused on flipping Florida state seats blue is reporting that it amassed $100,000 in its first month of fundraising. The organization, Florida Future Leaders, tapped a blend of grassroots and political donors inside and outside the Sunshine State, Chair Jayden D’Onofrio told Florida Politics.” DEM FOCUS — “‘Come closer! We’re listening!’ Florida Democrats try to lure Hispanic voters away from Republicans,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “‘Acércate! Estamos Escuchando!’ is the newly launched attempt by Florida Democrats to win support from the state’s Hispanic voters, a constituency party leaders hope will help them win back some of the ground they’ve lost in recent elections. The plan — which translates as ‘Come closer! We’re listening!’ — is aimed at countering both decades of messaging from Republicans to Hispanic voters that has contributed to Florida turning increasingly red, and a sense by some that Democrats come around only during election season, only to disappear until the next election approaches.” FLORIDA WOMAN — “'She sits in a tough chair': Meet Susie Wiles, the operative trying to guide Trump through four indictments to the White House,” reports NBC News’ Jonathan Allen and Matt Dixon. “Trump is storming through the Republican presidential primary campaign with Wiles, his de facto national campaign manager, applying a cool temperament to the political fires — often self-started — that surround and threaten to consume him. Wiles’ low-drama approach, forged over more than 40 years serving Republicans at every level from mayor to president, acts as a crucial counterbalance to a volatile candidate who is trying to win the White House while fighting four criminal indictments, according to GOP sources inside and outside Trump’s camp.”
| | DATELINE D.C. | |
TODAY — U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) is holding a press conference about IVF at 10 a.m. Joining her will be Stacey Lieberman, a local resident who has used IVF and advocates for its use, and who will be Wasserman Schultz’s guest at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday.
HAVANA SUMMIT — Progressives defend Cuba trip as ‘productive’ amid GOP backlash, reports POLITICO’s Matt Berg and Eric Bazail-Eimil. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) visited Havana to meet with Cuban officials, including President Miguel Diaz-Canel, as part of an effort to mend ties with Washington. They also met with relatives of those imprisoned for protesting against the government. News of the trip only broke publicly this week in a report from the Miami Herald. That prompted criticism from Republican lawmakers, including South Florida’s Cuban-American representatives, who slammed the pair for not disclosing the trip publicly before going — and questioned why they went at all. Jayapal told POLITICO the visit was not disclosed beforehand for security reasons, while Omar said it was necessary for informing legislative decisions. — “Gimenez denounces Jayapal and Omar's secret Cuba visit,” reports The Floridian’s Grayson Bakich
| | | | 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. | | | | | | | TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP | |
MAR-A-LAGO DOCUMENTS CASE — Judge Cannon signals doubts about Jack Smith’s timeline for Trump trial in Florida, reports POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein, Kyle Cheney and Siena Duncan. A federal judge in Florida expressed skepticism Friday about the feasibility of special counsel Jack Smith’s plan to bring Donald Trump to trial in July on charges that he stashed government secrets at his Mar-a-Lago estate after leaving office.
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did not immediately signal whether she believes the trial can still occur before the 2024 presidential election. But during a pivotal hearing in the case, she worried that the complex legal issues surrounding the classified evidence required for the trial would quickly chew up the calendar over the next four months. | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
BIRTHDAYS: Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles Wells …
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