Peter Schorsch
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2019 Legislative Session
The Last 24
Good Tuesday evening. “Hey, Alexa, can you look up my Fourth Amendment right against search and seizure?” Bills moving in the Legislature focuses on the smart-device era for wiretaps and tracking. To get information from an Amazon Echo or Google Home device, police would need a warrant under legislation now under consideration, just as they would if they were tapping a phone. The question these bills ask is, “Is a communication recorded by a microphone-enabled device considered ‘protected oral communication’ for the purposes of wiretapping?” Some lawmakers say ‘yes.’ And you made fun of Sixty Days for wanting to cover the camera in a laptop with a piece of tape. Here’s your nightly rundown.
Searching smart speakers: “OK Google, tell me …” “I’m sorry but you’ll need a warrant first.”
Back to school: Sales tax holidays are part of a House tax cut plan — for now.
Deregulate this: A Senate bill seeking to deregulate scores of professions in Florida is on the move.
Brimstone and bibles: A bill that would require every public high school in the state to offer Bible literacy electives looks doomed.
Cannabis cousin: Another House panel approved a bill to create a state hemp program.
Of schools and cyclones: Lawmakers are eyeing temporary changes to help K-12 schools and colleges in Northwest Florida recover from Hurricane Michael.
Fire station funding: Money to pay for an Alligator Alley fire station is getting closer to reality.
No fireworks: A review panel OK’d the renomination of two members of the Public Service Commission, Julie I. Brown and Gary Clark.
DNA do’s and don’ts: Sen. Aaron Bean postponed a proposal to ban life insurers from using genetic testing information.
“Simply not enough”: Florida nursing home staff are heading to the Capitol to press their case to keep a funding boost.
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Editor’s note — Last night’s “3 Questions” interview was improperly credited. The interview was with Matthew Ginder of Greenspoon Marder. We regret the error.
Quote of the Day
“I can tell you that if there’s merit to the allegations, this is the guy that’s going to clean it up.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, referring to incoming Florida Adjutant General James O. Eifert, on an ongoing sexual misconduct investigation at the state’s National Guard.
Your Metz Husband Daughton-sponsored question of the day is:
Which governor talked about “BHAGs — big, hairy, audacious goals” for changing how state government operates?
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!
Yesterday, we asked: Which Florida Governor announced he was calling a Special Session of the Legislature on the day he was inaugurated?
Answer: “Gov. Claude Kirk, who took office on Jan. 3, 1967.”
Congrats to Johnny Hawkins Jr (@JohnnyH12003424) first to tweet the correct answer — and our first two-time winner!
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
As lawmakers again look to pre-empt specific regulations to the state, more than 200 local and municipal officials made the trek to Tallahassee last week to advocate for home rule alongside the Florida League of Cities.
In today’s “3Q,” League President Leo Longworth elaborates on his organization’s efforts. The group’s mission is to protect the right to local self-government. The Bartow mayor talks outreach, this year’s pre-emption bills and more.
Florida Politics: So, what’s up with the “We Live Local” slogan?
Longworth: We felt it was important to remind Florida lawmakers that Florida’s cities are not an abstract concept of government or something merely found in statute. We felt it was vital to remind them that when they pass new laws — especially those that directly impact our cities — that they are impacting local communities and they are affecting us where we live. These are our roads, our neighborhoods, our communities that they are impacting. We serve our neighbors and we work side by side together with our citizens, civic groups and businesses to build the kinds of communities we all want, and the proof is in the pudding: We love our local communities. These are our homes that Florida lawmakers are impacting and so we felt “We Live Local” best embodied that spirit.
FP: Can you give us an example?
Longworth: Short-term rentals. These are our neighbors. These are our neighborhoods. We have developed balanced approaches that take our neighbors and those who engage in short-term rentals into account. When a foreign investment company buys up homes and turns them into commercial centers, we need the tools to manage their impact. Yes, we love the local investment. Yes, we love those who want to rent out their homes, but we must retain the ability to protect and safeguard our neighborhoods. These one-size-fits-all rules mandated by the state are not good for our communities and they harm our neighbors. We live in these neighborhoods and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my street turned into Animal House Row.
FP: What do you see for the future of the Florida League of Cities?
Longworth: I am optimistic that as our cities grow, the Florida Legislature will hear our message and begin respecting Florida’s constitutional provision which protects home rule. It’s a simple notion put into the state’s charter document by citizens and it says the Legislature should not muscle in on local communities and the right of municipal residents to govern themselves. We know what’s best and we know how to run our local cities because, if I haven’t mentioned it enough already (smile) we live here. These are our communities; these are our neighbors, so please let us work.
Lobby Up
St. Louis-based Centene Corporation announced last week that it was acquiring WellCare Health Plans in a $17 billion deal.
The post-acquisition company will be one of the largest managed-care providers in the country, with an estimated 22 million members nationwide, including 12 million Medicaid members and 5 million Medicare members.
WellCare should be familiar among those that follow Florida health care or business. The Florida-grown company was the most valuable publicly traded company in the greater Tampa Bay area — it employs thousands and its value has more than tripled in the past five years.
WellCare and Centene should also be familiar among the Florida lobbying corps. Centene, WellCare and their subsidiaries — Sunshine Health and Staywell Health Plan, respectively — have more than two-dozen advocates in Tallahassee, not including their in-house teams.
Centene’s lobbyist roster includes James Daughton, Douglas Bell, Patricia Greene, Warren Husband, Allison Liby-Schoonover, Amy Lyon, Andrew Palmer and Pierce Schuessler of Metz Husband & Daughton; Dean Cannon, Jessica Love and Kirk Pepper of GrayRobinson; Yolanda Cash Jackson of Becker & Poliakoff; and Charles Liem of CLA Consultants.
WellCare’s got Al Cardenas, Slater Bayliss, Chris Chaney, Stephen Shiver and Sarah Suskey of The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners; Fred Karlinsky of Greenberg Traurig; and Jodi Davidson, Nicole Graganella and Katherine Webb of Colodny Fass.
Hopefully, everyone gets to stay on Centene’s post-acquisition team. But there’s at least one lobbyist whose job stands to get streamlined: Trevor Mask. The Colodny Fass lobbyist is the only guy in the Capitol registered for both companies.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments in three cases, including an appeal by a Death Row inmate convicted in the 2011 murder of his estranged wife in St. Johns County. That’s at 9 a.m., Florida Supreme Court, 500 S. Duval St., Tallahassee.
The Senate will hold a floor session and take up a proposed $90.3 billion budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. Approval of the proposal will help set the stage for Senate and House leaders to negotiate a final spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1. That’s at 10 a.m., Senate chamber.
Pace Center for Girls is hosting its annual “Pace Day at the Capitol” to “raise awareness and advocate for girls’ opportunities statewide.” A news conference has been set, to include remarks from Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Simone Marstiller and Pace CEO Mary Marx. That’s at 12:30 p.m., 22nd floor.
Later in the day, the House will also hold a floor session and consider an $89.9 billion budget proposal for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. The House spending plan is smaller than a $91.3 billion proposal offered by Gov. DeSantis. That’s at 1:30 p.m., House chamber.
In other scheduled meetings:
— House Education Committee, 9 a.m., Reed Hall, House Office Building.
— House Health & Human Services Committee, 9 a.m., Morris Hall, House Office Building.
— House Judiciary Committee, 9 a.m., 404 House Office Building.
— Senate Military and Veterans Affairs and Space Committee, 4 p.m., 37 Senate Office Building.
— Senate Rules Committee, 4 p.m., 110 Senate Office Building.
