Sixty Days for 4.1.19 — A prime-time look at the 2019 Legislative Session

Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2019 Legislative Session

The Last 24

Good Monday evening. The War on Drugs is back, but this time in a good way. Gov. Ron DeSantis laid out the beginnings of his program to attack the opioid epidemic Monday by announcing the re-creation of the Office of Drug Control. He also debuted a task force led by Attorney General Ashley Moody as well as naming a pediatric endocrinologist — the physician-in-chief at Shands in Gainesville — to be the state’s top health officer. You can believe us: Sixty Days never pulls an April Fool’s Day prank. Here’s your nightly rundown.

Staffing up: DeSantis, besides naming a new Surgeon General, also appointed a chief state science officer.

‘CON’ repeal: A move to repeal the regulatory scheme that determines if and where new health care facilities get built is on the move.

Canadian “drugs?” A Tampa pharmacist explains why the so-called benefits of Canadian medicines aren’t worth the risks.

Separating the good from the bad: A bill pre-empting local regulation of vacation rental homes promises to change again after complaints.

Cutoffs for criminals: New language in a legislative proposal would allow the convicted to automatically benefit from legally revised sentences.

Learning about trafficking: A bill to add human trafficking education to Florida’s public school curriculum is moving on to its final panel.

Early college: A bill to rename the “collegiate high school program” to the “early college acceleration program” and expand it from 1 to 2 years was OK’d unanimously.

Quote of the Day

“There will be retribution.” — Chris Latvala, after getting April Fool’s pranked at the House PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee meeting with speaker cards for “Marcia Brady,” “Jan Brady” and “Greg Brady.”

Your Metz Husband Daughton-sponsored question of the day is:

Which Florida Governor announced that he was calling a special session of the Legislature on the day he was inaugurated?

As always, click here to tweet your answer to @MHDFirm. The first person with the correct answer will get a shout-out in tomorrow’s 60 Days!

Last Thursday, we asked: In what year did Florida become a state?

Answer: “Florida became the 27th state on March 3, 1845.”

Congrats to Koby Adams (@gators1983) first to tweet the correct answer!

Bill Day’s Latest

3 Questions

Attorney Matt Ginder is ‘of counsel’ to the Greenspoon Marder law firm’s Government Law & Policy practice in Tallahassee. He has closely watched hemp legislation evolve nationwide. Now he’s monitoring how Florida lawmakers weave together a state hemp program. He spoke about what matters most as bills by Sen. Rob Bradley (SB 1020) and Rep. Ralph Massullo (HB 333) advance. “I’m just curious about what the final bill is going to contain,” he told us in a recent interview. (Questions and answers were edited for brevity and clarity.)

Florida Politics: How do the bills in the House and Senate compare to the policy we’ve seen other states pass?

Ginder: It’s hard to compare, because what a lot of what several other states have done in the past with hemp laws and bills was pursuant to the 2014 Farm Bill, which was silent on the issue of commercialization of hemp. It contemplated or specified for research and marketing purposes. What certain states did, in turn, was passed laws pursuant to that 2014 bill that allowed for the commercialization of hemp in their states.

Florida was one of those states that passed a hemp pilot program that wasn’t as progressive as these other states. Now, this is the second bite at the apple for Florida to pass a law. And rightfully so because under the 2018 Farm Bill, it does allow for commercialization immediately. A lot of states are in a similar position, in the sense they’re all reacting to the 2018 bill and analyzing their laws and regulations, trying to figure out a pathway forward within their state.

But states like Oregon, Colorado and Kentucky have been operating commercially. Operators [in those states] are complying with state law, similar to the cannabis industry where there’s a federal budget rider that defunded a process and prohibited the Department of Justice from prosecuting state operators compliant with state cannabis laws. To have a federal appropriations rider for hemp, that made sense as well.

FP: How will Florida’s medical cannabis statutes interacting with these hemp proposals?

Ginder: The current medical marijuana laws don’t contemplate hemp. On the flip side, the current proposals that have been filed for our hemp program don’t contemplate the medical marijuana industry. The question really becomes, How are these programs going to interact with each other? In certain states, like Oregon, there is some overlap in their laws and regulations between the two programs. But in Florida, right now, it doesn’t address that.

Oregon allows licensed cannabis businesses to acquire or purchase hemp from a permitted hemp grower. For example, they can process from a hemp handler for CBD products, but once they do that, it can only be used within the cannabis program. That is, once it gets into their cannabis program, it has to stay there, meaning they can only sell it through their dispensaries or retail outlets that allow it under their cannabis laws.

FP: How important is this program to the regulation of CBD? Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried made clear she does not think CBD can be sold without a hemp program in place.

Ginder: It’s important for there to be clarity at the state level. As to the legality of hemp within the state or hemp-derived products, including CBD, Nikki is right in her interpretation of the law. It is technically illegal if it’s not within the medical marijuana program, or within our pilot program. Those are the only two legal state avenues for hemp-derived CBD.

These bills could clarify those issues and remove and distinguish hemp from cannabis in general. I’d like to see some language clarifying that. It doesn’t mean these companies are in the clear. There are still FDA issues, which is a whole other conversation. But the primary enforcement is really local.

Lobby Up

Lobbyist Scott Dick, familiar in part for his role in the years-long battle against the “whiskey and Wheaties” push, now has registered to represent the American Society of Interior Designers, records show.

Linked bills on the “Deregulation of Professions and Occupations” now in the Legislature (SB 1640, HB 27) include a provision to deregulate “business organizations that provide architecture services and interior design.”

The issue is a priority for DeSantis. He held a ‘deregathon’ of Florida’s licensing boards earlier this year to push his message that Florida overregulates professions.

The bills, which have the strong backing of conservative business groups, also have garnered the opposition of individual professional associations.

The professionals have argued that licensure provides clear protection for consumers, and often provide liability protection for companies who hire licensed professionals. In particular, witnesses have argued against eliminating licensing for interior designers.

The House bill must only clear the Commerce Committee before being available for the floor. The Senate measure will be heard for the first time Tuesday by that chamber’s Innovation, Industry, and Technology Committee.

Breakthrough Insights

The Next 24

The Enterprise Florida Board of Directors will meet after holding an executive committee meeting. Executive committee at 8:30 a.m., with board of directors at 9:45 a.m., Florida A&M University, Al Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1800 Wahnish Way, Tallahassee.

DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet next week are slated to consider buying 5,534 acres in Hendry County through the Florida Forever conservation program. Under the proposal, the state would pay $14.775 million to Alico, Inc. for the land, which is part of what is known as the broader Devil’s Garden Florida Forever project. That’s at 9 a.m., Cabinet meeting room.

The Senate Education Committee will consider a proposal for more money to Northwest Florida school districts that lost enrollment because students were displaced by Hurricane Michael. The bill would apply to Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and Washington counties. That’s at 10 a.m., 412 Knott Building.

The Florida Public Service Commission will hold a regular meeting and a hearing on a proposal by Duke Energy Florida to pass along costs to customers for solar-energy projects in Hamilton and Columbia counties. Regular meeting at 9:30 a.m., followed by Duke solar hearing, Betty Easley Conference Center, 4075 Esplanade Way, Tallahassee.

The Senate Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee will take up a bill that would create a public-records exemption for information about 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds who pre-register to vote. The information would become available when they turn 18. That’s at 10 a.m., 301 Senate Office Building.

The Senate Innovation, Industry and Technology Committee will hold confirmation hearings for Public Service Commission members Julie Brown and Gary Clark. Brown and Clark were reappointed to the utility-regulatory panel last year, with their terms taking effect in January. That’s at 10 a.m., 110 Senate Office Building.

Sen. Lauren Book will host a news conference to launch an advocacy walk by the group she leads, “Lauren’s Kids,” which works on issues related to child sexual abuse. A news conference is at 11:45 a.m., Plaza level.

The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider a bill that would create a state hemp program. That’s at 1 p.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.

The House Justice Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider a bill to revise the requirements governing when and how law enforcement can search cellular phones and other electronic devices such as the Google Home and Amazon Echo “smart speakers.” That’s at 1 p.m., 306 House Office Building.

The House Transportation & Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee meets to consider a number of bills, including one on the Alligator Alley Toll Road. That’s at 1 p.m., Reed Hall, House Office Building.

The Senate Community Affairs Committee will take up a bill that would prevent the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from raising rates in Monroe County by more than 5 percent a year. That’s at 2 p.m., 301 Senate Office Building.

The Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee will receive an update about a legal battle between Florida and Georgia about the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system. That’s at 2 p.m., 37 Senate Office Building.

The Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee will consider a proposal to repeal laws allowing the use of red-light cameras. Critics contend the cameras have become an excessive source of revenue for local governments, while supporters say they help improve traffic safety. That’s at 2 p.m., 110 Senate Office Building.

The House Appropriations Committee meets at 3:30 p.m., 212 Knott Building.