Peter Schorsch
Sunburn – The morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics.
By Peter Schorsch, Phil Ammann, Ana Ceballos, Daniel McAuliffe, and Jim Rosica.
First on #FlaPol – Richard Corcoran’s Super Bowl email – The House Speaker sent a message and new football-themed video Sunday afternoon wishing all his supporters a Happy Super Bowl Sunday.
“As a Bucs fan, a team that is undefeated in the Super Bowl, I’m pulling for the Eagles to get their first championship. I also can relate to the feeling of being an underdog. You think going up against Belichick, Brady, and the New England Dynasty is tough? Try taking on the unions, corporate special interests, their armies of high paid lobbyists, and the liberal elites all at the same time! Here’s the good news – the Florida House is doing just that, and we’re winning! That’s why I wanted to share this video with you – all this football stuff is easy! But in all seriousness, if you are watching the game tonight, have fun and be safe.”
Click on the image below to watch the ad:
— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —
— @RealDonaldTrump: Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles on a great Super Bowl victory!
— @BSFarrington: Should we really be using MLK to sell pickup trucks?
— @LauraJollyFL: Is it me or are Tom and Giselle morphing into one?
— @JebBushJr: 9,000 teachers are DACA recipients. They could be fired if Congress doesn’t reach a solution.
— @EricHolthaus: Puerto Rico, Day 136: —More than 1 million people still w/o power (30% of the island) —One hundred thousand people still w/o clean water —Still a humanitarian emergency Puerto Rico has been without power for 4.5 months. Hurricane season starts in less than 4 months.
— @MCIMaps: Florida’s HD72 special election is just a little over a week away. So far Democrats have a higher absentee return rate, keeping the returned ballots gap very close between the two parties. GOP voters have far more ballots outstanding
— @JoeGruters: Thankful that @AnheuserBusch delivered 760,000 cans of emergency water to Floridians this past hurricane season?
— @BTDMB: I need to take a break from the band & touring 2 focus on my family & my health 4 a while. I will miss you guys & my brothers in the band but I’m somewhat worn out & need 2 spend more time with my family & 2 bring more balance to my life. Thanks 4 ur Love.
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— DAYS UNTIL —
The next government shutdown (maybe) – 3; Pyeongchang Winter Olympics — 4; “Hamilton” comes to the Straz Center – 7; Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training — 8; Valentine’s Day — 9; Last day for regularly scheduled legislative committee meetings – 22; Disney Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival – 24; Last day to take up Special Order Calendar – 28; Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program termination begins – 29; Sine Die (maybe) — 32; Major League Baseball Opening Day — 54; Solo: A Star Wars Story premier — 107; Close of candidate qualifying for statewide office — 137; Primary Election Day — 204; General Election Day — 274.
— NOTES FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —
First on #FlaPol – Donald Trump headlining Mar-a-Lago fundraiser in March:
“In AG debate, Ashley Moody, Jay Fant go after each other on ‘liberal’ attacks” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics – Moody and Fant were among four Republicans and one Democrat debating their campaigns for this year’s attorney general election. And while much of the debate focused on who could stake out the most conservative positions on legal issues – the answer never was Democrat Ryan Torrens, by the way – toward the end, the discussion turned personal and heated. In front of about 400 lawyers and judges – members of the conservative legal society – at the Disney Yacht Club Resort, Moody questioned Fant about attacks on her in mailers and in other forms, which she said were false. His reply was to insist they weren’t attacks, to challenger her to say what was false, and to tell her to get used to it. “This is what we do in the big leagues,” Fant said.
>>>“Fant launches new website in AG bid” via JayFant.com – A new campaign website from the Jacksonville Republican explains – as a lawyer who spent his career in business – why he’s running: “Whether it is the IRS coming after our wallets, or small businesses being over-regulated, or simply being told what to do or say. People don’t like it.” If elected AG, Fant vows to defend constitutional rights, root out political corruption and corporate scams, support and strengthen law enforcement and fight misguided court ruling and agencies th sat overstep their bounds.
“Scott Sturgill pulling away from Mike Miller in Republican money chase in CD 7” via Scott Powers of Florida Politics – Sturgill raised $102,561 in the fourth quarter of 2017, outperforming rival Republican candidate state Rep. Miller in the money chase for the Republican primary … Sturgill’s quarterly haul brought his total fundraising total to $308,956, which includes $100,250 of his own money. His campaign finished the year with about $265,674 in the bank. Miller, the two-term state representative from Winter Park, reported raising $64,434 in the last three months of 2017, bringing his total for the campaign to $220,831. That left his campaign with $184,792 heading into the new year. Sturgill appears to have found some momentum that Miller did not in the fourth quarter, as Sturgill again brought in six-figures in donations, while Miller’s campaign fundraising fell significantly from his start.
“Al Lawson wants Bill Montford to stay in the Florida Senate” via James Call of the Tallahassee Democrat – Lawson plan(ned) to speak with Montford over breakfast and say it is important the dean of the North Florida delegation to the Legislature finish out his Senate term. “I know he needs to make a decision and other people are leaning on him to bring stability to City Hall, but he has two years left and a lot of us hope he will finish the term,” said Lawson. “Bill carries a lot of clout in the Senate. Among Democrats and Republicans. There’s no question about it.”
“Former Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas contemplates a comeback” via David Smiley of the Miami Herald – Penelas, 56, confirmed he’s mulling a run for the state Senate seat currently held by term-limited Rene Garcia … Penelas has spoken to party leaders, and a firm tied to Senate Democrats is currently polling his name. “This is at a very preliminary stage,” said Penelas, who served as Miami-Dade mayor from 1996 to 2004, when he ran a losing bid for U.S. Senate. “I’m intrigued by the possibility but it’s not a foregone conclusion. It’s been what, 15, 14 years out of public office? I look at public service a lot differently than the way I looked at it before. The policy part does interest me. The politics does not.” Penelas, despite his long absence and some old baggage, could make sense for Florida Democrats hoping to flip a seat in a balanced district where registered Republican, Democratic and independent voters all hover around 77,000 a piece.
“Biden endorses in bellwether Florida House seat” via Marc Caputo of POLITICO – “In a local special election with national implications, former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday is endorsing a Florida House candidate in a swing seat that Democrats hope to win back from Republicans and demonstrate that a blue wave is mounting in the Sunshine State. “I’m proud to endorse Margaret Good, who gives us a real opportunity to elect a strong Democrat to a critical seat in the Florida House,” Biden said in a written statement … “Margaret will be a champion in Tallahassee in the fight for affordable healthcare, public education for all our kids, and protecting Florida’s vital coastline.”
“This candidate ‘did something really stupid.’ Now he’s banned from this Publix” via Martin Vassolo of the Miami Herald – Gary David Robinson, a candidate for South Miami’s city commission, admitted he “did something really stupid” last month when he ducked out of the 1401 Monza Ave. store with a reusable shopping bag stuffed with two packs each of ground beef, potato buns, salad hearts of romaine, tomatoes and cucumbers. It wasn’t his intention, he said. A client was calling him, and his reception was spotty. “My phone rang, I couldn’t get reception, and I just ran to the door, and I forgot that I still had some stuff in my hand,” said Robinson, 62, who works as a Realtor. Instead of pressing charges, the store manager banned Robinson from the store indefinitely and had police escort him off the property. The manager confirmed that Robinson remains banned … He can face charges of trespassing if he returns.
— CAPITOL INSIGHT —
“Joe Negron and a reckoning (or not) on gambling” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics – You’d think Negron would have learned by now that when it comes to gambling and the Legislature, you can’t always get what you want. Actually, you can’t even get what you need. But when it comes to what’s fair for voters, shouldn’t you fight like hell? In a media availability after Thursday’s floor session, the Senate President and Stuart Republican was asked about the absence of opportunity for new slots and the ban on designated player games in the House’s bill touted by Speaker Corcoran. “Nothing has changed,” he said. “I think that we owe it to the hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens who live in the eight counties that have approved (slot machine) referendums, including St. Lucie County, which I represent … They decided they wanted additional slots … I think that needs to be given great weight.”
“As Super Bowl still is fresh, remember fantasy sports legislation” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics – The Super Bowl was this Sunday, and it should be the last great reminder that Florida needs to clean up the fantasy sports scene. Yes, there’s been much ado about the Seminole Tribe’s contention that passing fantasy sports legislation would violate their exclusivity deal with the state. We direct your attention to a legal opinion by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Ken Bell for DraftKings, a leading fantasy sports website. Bell said “the passage of legislation authorizing online fantasy sports should have no effect on the payments due to the State of Florida under the Compact.”
“Seminole Tribe ‘insulted,’ doesn’t need gambling deal, lawyer says” via Jim Rosica of Florida Politics – A lawyer for the Seminole Tribe of Florida on Friday said his client is offended over gambling that violates its exclusive agreement with the state and won’t agree to a new deal unless “the games end.” Barry Richard, the Tribe’s outside counsel, and tribal leaders met with Sen. Bill Galvano and Rep. Jose Oliva this week on a grand bargain for future gambling that includes a renewed deal guaranteeing the state $3 billion over seven years from the Seminoles’ revenue … The Senate would allow continued play of designated player games. “Those things are non-starters for the Tribe. It’s insulting to the Tribe to say, ‘yeah, pay us more and by the way, we’re going to increase your competition.’ … The Tribe’s position is, you want to make a deal? Close down all this other stuff. And don’t make us be constantly fighting to protect what we have.”
“Will there be another raid on affordable housing funds? Yes, say House Republicans.” via Mary Ellen Klas of the Miami Herald – For the 11th consecutive year, Republican leaders in the House have decided to sweep more than half of the money collected out of the trust funds and use it to plug budget holes and fund other priorities – a total of $182 million. The Senate, which has traditionally gone along with trust fund sweeps, has had a change of heart this year. Its budget proposal not only spends all the money intended for affordable housing, it is also moving SB 874 by Sarasota Republican Rep. Kathleen Passidomo that would ban future legislatures from steering the housing funds to other needs.
“Doctors concerned Florida opioids bills would go too far” via Joe Reedy of The Associated Press – Physicians have mounted strong opposition to provisions being considered by House and Senate committees to limit prescriptions for Schedule II painkillers like Oxycontin and Fentanyl to three days — or seven days in some cases if a physician documents it as medically necessary. Doctors have told lawmakers that such limits on prescriptions are not enough for some cases of acute pain. They also argue the limits would go too far in limiting flexibility for practitioners, and would place too much burden on patients — some of whom may have limited access to transportation and limits on their mobility — to renew prescriptions. Tallahassee orthopedic surgeon Hank Hutchinson told a House Appropriations committee hearing last month that the proposed limits on prescriptions are too arbitrary. “I don’t think any of us as competent physicians would write a prescription that wasn’t medically necessary,” he said. “Patients are different. Their pain is different. And we treat them all differently.”
“Bills would let human-trafficking victims sue hotels for damages” via Julius Whigham of the Palm Beach Post – Bills before the Legislature call for giving trafficking victims the right to sue the lodgings where the crime happens — especially those that take no steps to stop an offense some have called modern-day slavery — to cover costs such as medical expenses and mental-health counseling. “Not only will it allow the victims to sue their traffickers, but also any establishment that knowingly allowed the trafficking to occur on their property or was willfully blind to the crime,” state Rep. Ross Spano, who sponsored the House version, said in an email. Sen. Lauren Book, has sponsored the companion bill in the Senate.
“Bill would help immigrants hurt on the job” via Maria Perez of the Naples Daily News – Florida employees who use fake IDs and identities no longer would face a felony workers’ comp fraud charge and would receive benefits under a proposal lawmakers are considering that would benefit unauthorized immigrants. The current workers’ compensation law in Florida, passed in 2003, makes it a crime for undocumented immigrants to apply for a job or benefits using false identifying information such as Social Security numbers. The proposal, introduced by state Sen. Gary Farmer, would only punish workers who provide false information related to eligibility for benefits, such as lying about an accident. Undocumented workers are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in Florida and other states. “These are workers who did their job, were injured doing their job,” Farmer said. “They should get the medical coverage.”
“Insurance lobby pulls knives out for ‘retroactive denial of claims’ bill” via Michael Moline of Florida Politics – An attempt in the Florida House to scale back legislation targeting retroactive denials of medical insurance claims hasn’t exactly mollified the insurance lobby. A string of lobbyists representing health carriers testified during a recent committee hearing against HB 217 by Boca Raton Republican Bill Hager, notwithstanding an amendment restricting its provisions to policy grace periods — generally, the 30 days when a policy is in effect but the policyholder might not yet have paid the premium … Asked during the hearing before the Health Innovation Subcommittee why he proposed the amendment, Hager was straightforward: “Because I want the bill to pass.”
Legislative committee meetings to watch:
Lawmakers debate medical marijuana applications – The Joint Administrative Procedures Committee will debate an emergency rule on application requirements for medical-marijuana treatment centers and will hear a presentation from the Department of Health’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use. Meeting begins 2:30 p.m. in Room 301 of the Senate Office Building.
Senate talks tourist development taxes – The Senate Finance and Tax Appropriations Subcommittee will hear SB 658, from St. Petersburg Republican Jeff Brandes, which seeks to expand how tourist-development taxes can be spent. Meeting starts at 4:30 p.m. in Room 41 of the Senate Office Building.
Senate looks at fracking ban – The Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee takes up SB 462 from Tampa Republican Dana Young to ban hydraulic fracturing, the oil- and gas-exploration technique better known as fracking. Meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. in Room 37 of the Senate Office Building.
— STATEWIDE —
Assignment editors – Gov. Rick Scott heads to Puerto Rico on Monday “to offer guidance and assistance regarding ongoing Hurricane Maria recovery efforts,” his office announced Sunday. Scott will be meeting with Governor Ricardo Rosselló, emergency management officials and visiting with utility lineworkers from Florida in Puerto Rico to thank them for their continued efforts.
“Darryl Rouson, Don Gaetz spar over proposed lobbying ban expansion” via Matt Dixon a POLITICO Florida – The public spat came during a meeting of the Constitution Revision Commission’s Ethics and Elections Committee, which was considering a Rouson-sponsored proposal to add a six-year lobbying ban to the state constitution. The state’s current ban is two years. A separate Gaetz-sponsored ethics reform package is more expansive and includes Rouson’s proposed lobbying ban expansion. Because that proposal has already passed its committee stops and been sent to the full commission for a final vote, Gaetz said Rouson should pull his proposal. His concern is that if the commission has two options, they would support Rouson’s plan, which has fewer ethics reforms. As a result, he filed an amendment to add his language to Rouson’s proposal, which would have made it identical to his bill. This angered Rouson, who told Gaetz of his annoyance during the meeting.
“Constitution panel could look for clemency fix” via Lloyd Dunkelberger of the News Service of Florida – The Florida Constitution Revision Commission may wade into the state’s process for restoring voting rights of ex-felons, after a federal judge ruled the current clemency process is unconstitutional. Members of the commission’s Ethics and Elections Committee unanimously agreed to explore ways to consider the issue, either through additional committee meetings or by amending a proposal when the full commission meets in March … U.S. District Judge Mark Walker found the current process – in which ex-felons must wait years to have their clemency cases considered and only a small number are successful in getting rights restored – to be arbitrary and unconstitutional. He also asked the state and lawyers who challenged the system to file plans to resolve the problem by Feb. 12. “I don’t know if there is anything we can do, should do, where we would go from here, et cetera,” said Commissioner Hank Coxe, a Jacksonville lawyer who heads the commission’s Ethics and Elections Committee. “But we’re here, it just happened and so we have it.”
“Plan would specify Lieutenant Governor duties” via Jim Turner of the News service of Florida – Florida’s lieutenant governor would have specific duties under a proposed constitutional amendment that continued to draw support from members of the state Constitution Revision Commission. The commission’s Legislative Committee unanimously backed a proposal (Proposal 66) by Thonotosassa Republican Sen. Tom Lee that would make the lieutenant governor serve as head of one of the departments in the executive branch. “Under our current structure, we have about the weakest lieutenant governor in the United States,” Lee, a member of the Constitution Revision Commission, said. Lee said money now spent on the office is “wasteful.”
“Justices reject 10 more death penalty appeals” via News Service of Florida – The Florida Supreme Court on Friday turned down appeals by 10 longtime Death Row inmates, as it continued rejecting batches of similar cases. The court has rejected 80 such appeals during the past two weeks in eight batches. Like the earlier cases, Friday’s rulings involved Death Row inmates who were sentenced before a 2002 cutoff date. The inmates’ appeals stemmed from a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case known as Hurst v. Florida and a subsequent Florida Supreme Court decision.
“Lack of urgency in DNA testing left accused child molester free to invade another home” via Megan O’Matz and Tonya Alanez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel – a man sneaked into a Hollywood home through a window in December molested a 13-year-old girl. It took seven weeks for the Broward Sheriff’s Office to analyze the DNA from the case — long enough for the assailant to strike again. While that DNA was getting tested, the suspect broke into another house in January, just two streets away from the girl’s home, and sexually assaulted a 50-year-old woman, police said. When the sheriff’s crime lab finally delivered the DNA findings, the results pointed to a neighborhood felon with more than 40 arrests. Local and national forensic-evidence experts say it is not unusual for DNA testing to take many weeks or even months. But it can be done far quicker, they say, and this crime — a stranger breaking into a home and molesting a child — perfectly fits the criteria for high-priority status.
“Do Florida nursing home patients need a bill of rights?” via Kate Santich of the Orlando Sentinel – “The public is completely in the dark about what happens in some of these facilities,” said Brian Lee, a former nursing-home watchdog for the state who now heads the national advocacy group Families for Better Care. “Even the tragedy of 12 nursing home residents dying from neglect after Hurricane Irma — deaths that were categorized as homicides — has not been enough to shame the industry into making changes.” It also prompted the governor to ask the state’s Constitution Revision Commission … to look at whether there are ways that the document could offer better protection for residents of long-term care facilities. The result is Proposal 88, which is now being aired in public hearings throughout the state. If approved by the commission, it would go before voters in November. The proposal establishes the right for residents to be treated “courteously, fairly and with the fullest measure of dignity,” given “adequate and appropriate health care” and live in “a safe, clean, comfortable and homelike environment” with “reasonable precautions” against natural disasters and extreme climatic conditions.
“DEP tells BS Ranch to restore wetlands and reduce odors” via Jon Chambliss of the Lakeland Ledger –An industrial facility that recycles waste must restore 5 acres of wetlands, enclose areas at the plant likely to generate odors and change the way it processes waste, according to a letter from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The letter from Kirk White, assistant deputy general counsel for the DEP, to Ron Noble, a lawyer for BS Ranch & Farm, details changes the facility must make if its owners want to avoid court. “The Department views this effort as a final opportunity to avoid a third-party decision-maker,” White wrote Jan. 19. Noble wrote in a response Jan. 26 that the East Lakeland facility owners are pleased the DEP is willing to avoid a courtroom. “Thank you for the Department’s Jan. 19, 2018 correspondence which sets forth framework and path forward for resolution of the three remaining permitting and compliance matters for the BS Ranch & Farm organic recycling facility located in Polk County, Florida,” Noble wrote.
“Ex-assistant to city manager files lawsuit; city says it’s ‘grossly wrong’” via Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat – The former assistant to ousted City Manager Rick Fernandez is suing the city, alleging her former boss, his successor, Interim City Manager Reese Goad, and others took part in a variety of misdeeds, from hiring relatives to awarding contracts outside a competitive process. The lawsuit was filed originally last month in Leon Circuit Court by Patricia McCray, who was laid off last summer along with several dozen other city employees. An amended complaint was filed after the Tallahassee Democrat pointed out a number of factual errors in the original one. She’s among a number of former employees who have sued the city in the wake of their dismissals.
“Irma trash still fills Keys canals. One has 16 sunken RVs. Is cleanup finally coming?” via Alex Harris of the Miami Herald – A canal cleanup in the Keys could finally be near. Monroe County says it is close to reaching an agreement to start clearing canals, one of the final steps in picking up the massive amount of trash left behind by Irma. On land alone, more than 2.3 million cubic yards of waste have been removed, including over 19,000 large appliances. But four months later, it’s still unclear how much remains in the canals, some of which still look like the hurricane hit yesterday. Many visitors may not even notice the problem. The main highway is no longer lined with mountains of garbage, salt-soaked cars and fridges full of stinking, rotten food. Instead, bright red signs warning against illegal dumping dot the median. But for many residents along the canals, who picked up their yards and even gutted and repaired houses while junk rots in the waterways behind their homes, the clogged canals remain an ongoing frustration.
“With so many roofs to fix after Irma, crews short, waits long, prices high” via Greg Stanley and Laura Layden of the Naples Daily News – The day after Hurricane Irma passed, when water still shot up from broken mains and fallen trees covered most roads, Ken Kelly and a few of his roofers took a first peek around town. Now, after more than four months, 26,000 calls for service, thousands of estimates and who knows how many hours of back-and-forth with insurance companies, Kelly still thinks his first estimate is about right: It will be two years before the roofs of Southwest Florida are back to their pre-Irma state. The sheer amount of work to be done has led to higher prices and longer waits. Many local companies estimate it will take them about six weeks to schedule an estimate for a new client. More and more companies from the East Coast and northern Florida are sending roofers to capture some of the work.
“Climate change forcing Keys to raise roads” via The Associated Press – Monroe County will elevate the most flood-prone roads in two neighborhoods in Key Largo and Big Pine, while collecting and treating stormwater runoff as well. County sustainability program manager Rhonda Haag says half of the 300 miles (480 kilometers) of county roads are susceptible to rising sea levels in the next 20 years. Early estimates show raising one-third of a mile of road above sea level could cost $1 million in Key Largo and more than $2.5 million in Big Pine.
“Is Treasure Coast ready for 110 mph trains? Not even close” via Rich Campbell of TCPalm – It seems people who might have grown accustomed to beating freight trains traveling 35 to 45 mph are now falling prey to passenger trains traveling up to 79 mph. Now imagine trains traveling up to 110 mph … Why the high speeds on the Treasure Coast? Brightline officials have said the passenger trains will need to get from Miami to Orlando, and vice versa, within three hours and 15 minutes for the project to be financially viable. So, once again, the burden will fall to our region to help make this happen. The time the trains lose south of here will be made up by traveling up to 110 mph in our three-county area. Let’s put this into perspective: A child walking on the railroad tracks — something kids do from time to time — who sees a Brightline train 300 yards away will have less than six seconds to get out of the way. And that’s if he sees the train. If the train is approaching from the opposite direction, he likely will have even less reaction time. What is needed in our region, among other things, is fencing along the rail line to discourage trespassing, and pedestrian overpasses in places that get a lot of foot traffic. One of those places is the Golden Gate area in Martin County, where pedestrians routinely trek across the Florida East Coast Railway tracks to Walmart and back.
“UF claws back $302K payment to county” via Cleveland Tinker of the Gainesville Sun – The University of Florida reversed a bank draft for $302,000 that was mistakenly paid to Alachua County for security-related services provided during the appearance on campus last year by white nationalist Richard Spencer. UF President Kent Fuchs said he learned about the payment from media reports last weekend, and promptly ordered the wire transfer to be reversed so the money wouldn’t go into county coffers. “I was surprised when we received the bill because I wasn’t expecting it,” Fuchs said. “I wasn’t expecting any bills, much less from my own county.”
— D.C. MATTERS —
“Marco Rubio joins hands with Ivanka Trump on paid family leave” via Seung Min Kim of POLITICO Florida – Capitalizing on President Trump‘s endorsement of the idea in his State of the Union address, Rubio is trying to marshal Republicans behind a plan that would neither impose a mandate on employers nor raise taxes to pay for it — two hurdles that have long halted the GOP from embracing paid family leave. Rubio has barely started crafting a paid leave bill, much less a broader legislative strategy. But he envisions an idea that has recently gained traction in conservative circles: allowing people to draw Social Security benefits when they want to take time off for a new baby or other family-related matters, and then delay their checks when they hit retirement age. Rubio and Ivanka Trump have recently exchanged emails about paid family leave. And in his Senate office in late January, Mike Lee also privately pitched the concept to the president’s daughter, who gave it a warm reception, according to one person familiar with the meeting. Lee is a close ally of Rubio, and they jointly lobbied for expanding the child tax credit — an Ivanka-backed effort that prompted Rubio to nearly tank the tax bill, H.R. 1 (115), in the final days of the overhaul. He ultimately voted for it.
“Matt Gaetz returns fire at James Comey” via Eric Garcia of Roll Call – Gaetz blasted former FBI Director Comey, saying that Comey will not be remembered favorably if the memo Gaetz and other Republicans have been working to release is made public. Speaking on Fox News, the freshman Republican pushed back against Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who charged that the memo, which criticizes the FBI’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, was surreptitiously changed after the committee voted to release it and before it was sent to the White House. “You could about hold the both of them up to a lamp and they would look identical,” he said of the two versions of the memo. “I would remind Director Comey that I don’t know that too many schools or streets are going to be named after him once this memo is into the public square,” Gaetz said.
— OPINION —
“Jackie Toledo: Texting-while-driving bill will make Florida streets safer” via Florida Politics – According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there were more than 500,000 distracted driving crashes in Florida, resulting in more than 200 fatalities in 2016. As a mother of five children, these numbers are as frightening as they are compelling. As an engineer, the data is crystal clear. And as a legislator, my goal is safer streets and the rule of law. That is why I am sponsoring House Bill 33, along with Representative Emily Slosberg, and the more than 50 House members from around the state who have signed on as co-sponsors of this bipartisan bill to end texting and driving once and for all. I couldn’t be more proud of how far we’ve come in the Florida House with this good bill, especially with the support and encouragement from Speaker Corcoran. HB 33 is now ready for a floor vote by the full House, and I remain hopeful it will swiftly pass. I look forward to the day Gov. Scott signs this important policy into law and texting while driving becomes a thing of the past.
— MOVEMENTS —
Appointed – Joshua Kellam to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Appointed – Janelle Beruff to the Governor’s Mansion Commission.
Appointed – Mike Olenick to the State Board of Education.
Appointed – Danny Gaekwad to the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees.
Spotted – Lobbyist Brian Ballard in CTMirror.org. Ballard represents Nevada-based MGM Resorts International and met with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke last year before the agency announced it would have “no reason to accept or reject amendments” to gambling compacts with Connecticut’s Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. Previously, Zinke assured the tribes that the “project would not jeopardize their revenue sharing arrangement with Connecticut, part of a deal that gave them exclusive casino rights in the state.”
New and renewed lobbying registrations:
H. French Brown IV, Dean Mead: Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Brad Burleson, Ballard Partners: CSG Development Services II
Kevin Cabrera, Edgar Castro, Nelson Diaz, Southern Strategy Group: Florida Alliance for Consumers & Taxpayers
Michael Cantens, Flagler Strategies: PharmaCann
James Card, Larry J. Overton & Associates: CleanSlate Centers
Carver Chiu, Jason Kofender: Crown Castle NG East
Chris Dudley, Southern Strategy Group: National Rental Home Council
Nicole Graganella, Trevor Mask, Colodny Fass: Government Employees Insurance Company
Nic Iarossi, Andrew Ketchel, Daniel Newman, Capital City Consulting: Creative Core Group
Bill Rubin, Christopher Finkbeiner, The Rubin Group: Creative Core Group
Steadman Stahl: Florida Police Benevolent Association
— COUNTDOWN TO PYEONGCHANG —
“Winter Olympics has Florida flavor in speedskating, hockey” via Sharon Fink of the Tampa Bay Times – Florida’s ties to these Olympics go beyond the U.S. women’s hockey team training at Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. Some of the world’s best speed skaters are natives who started as inline skaters, and the men’s hockey team has tentacles that reach to both coasts and Central Florida. Speedskating: Brittany Bowe of Ocala; Erin Jackson of Ocala; Mia Manganello of Crestview; Joey Mantia of Ocala; Brandon Maxwell of Winter Park; Noah Welch, a former Lightning defenseman; Matt Gilroy, a former lightning defenseman.
“Mike Pence to stop North Korea ‘hijacking’ Winter Olympics, aide says” via Martin Pengelly of The Guardian – … by using his own presence at the Games to remind the world “everything the North Koreans do at the Olympics is a charade to cover up the fact that they are the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet.” Such rhetoric stands at odds with recent diplomatic exchanges between North and South Korea. The two countries will march under one flag at the Games, which begin in Pyeongchang Friday. They will also field a joint women’s ice hockey team. Diplomacy around the Games has been hailed as a success, at odds with confrontational and inflammatory rhetoric from the White House and Pyongyang since Trump became president last year.
“Winter Olympics won’t be #OlympicsSoWhite” via William Douglas of the Miami Herald – The XXIII Winter Olympics will have the largest contingent of black athletes and coaches in Winter Games history, helping to shatter the stereotype that blacks are averse to so-called nontraditional winter sports. Many experts, though, think the numbers should be higher. The United States this year will have its most diverse team ever. Ten black, 11 Asian-American, and two openly gay male athletes will be among the record 242-member U.S. team that will march into a PyeongChang Olympic Stadium for the opening ceremony … In addition, three Caribbean and Sub-Saharan African nations will join the U.S. in the diversity parade. Jamaica is back at the Winter Games, this time with its first women’s bobsled team and its first skeleton athlete. Nigeria will make its Winter Olympics debut with its own women’s bobsled team and a skeleton athlete. Ghana will have a lone Olympian in PyeongChang, the nation’s first skeleton racer.
“PyeongChang breaks record for most condoms ever distributed in Winter Olympics history” via NBC2 – A total of 110,000 condoms will be handed out to all 2,925 participants, which comes out to 37 condoms per athlete. The Games run from Feb. 9 to Feb. 25 (16 days), which means the pros will have to be getting busy more than once a day to go through their full personal stash … the total number of contraceptives bests the numbers provided at Vancouver in 2010 or Sochi in 2014 by a solid 10,000. But although this year’s number is reportedly the highest amount of condoms ever given at any Winter Games, it is not the most number of condoms handed out in Olympics history. SB Nation reported in July 2016 that the athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics were given 450,000 total condoms throughout the duration of the summer competition (but countries tend to send larger delegations to Summer Olympics, which skews the numbers in turn).
— ALOE —
See if you can spot Tallahassee — “A new trailer for Alex Garland’s annihilation shows off the weirdness of Area X” via Andrew Liptak of The Verge – The film is based on the 2014 novel by Jeff VanderMeer, about a team of scientists that enters the region and discovers a surreal world where nature has taken over in strange ways. We’ve seen a bit of this weirdness in prior trailers and featurettes, but in this new trailer, we see the team trying to comprehend the world they’re walking through. In this trailer, the team encounters strange creatures in the zone, and The Biologist (played by Natalie Portman’s) says that something is making “giant waves” in the gene pool. Whatever is going on in the zone, they discover that it’s also starting to infect and change them. What they can’t figure out is if it’s destroying the world as it expands — or if it’s making something new. Annihilation opens Feb. 23.
Happy birthday from the weekend to Dan Barrow, Tom Gallagher, and Jodi Stevens. Celebrating today are Rep. Clay Ingram and Christina Diamond.
