Peter Schorsch
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2019 Legislative Session
The Last 24
Good Wednesday evening. You had one job, lawmakers. The Legislature will run late this year, having to extend Session to Saturday after a delay in putting together the final proposed state budget for 2019-20. “A few of us on the House and Senate sides worked past midnight on Good Friday but did break for the (Easter) weekend to be with our families,” House Appropriations chair Travis Cummings said Wednesday. “It just takes a while to … build a responsible budget that meets the needs of 21 million Floridians.” The $91 billion budget was electronically made available to legislators at 1:32 p.m. That means, under a constitutionally mandated 72-hour “cooling off” period, the earliest vote to approve the budget and send it to Gov. Ron DeSantis will be 1:32 p.m. Saturday. Sixty Days will have to change its name. Here’s your nightly rundown.
Guns in the classroom: The House OK’d allowing armed teachers in classrooms in a major school safety vote.
Build, baby, build: Lawmakers gave final approval of Senate President Bill Galvano’s priority to build a network of new toll roads.
Scott Israel sues, loses: Now, the Senate will resume its review of his suspension, with a final hearing set for June 18.
Safer surgeries: The Legislature unanimously approved legislation to better regulate cosmetic surgery centers and doctors who operate them.
Heroes for hemp: Bills that protect front yard veggie gardens from local regulation, and create a state hemp program, cleared the House.
Lottery labels: The Senate shortened a potential warning label on Florida Lottery tickets.
Fast one: Sen. Dennis Baxley withdrew a late-filed amendment that would have forced Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings off Orlando International Airport’s governing board.
Quote of the Day
“Gov. (Ron) DeSantis has veto authority and I am sure he will exercise it appropriately. With that said, I feel that we extensively delivered on the Governor’s budget priorities.” — House Appropriations chair Travis Cummings, a Fleming Island Republican.
Your Metz Husband Daughton-sponsored question of the day is:
What current Florida sheriff’s cousin was inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2002?
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 time, we asked: Which Florida Governor’s inauguration was the first to be televised?
Answer: “Gov. LeRoy Collins‘ second inauguration on Jan. 8, 1957.”
Congrats to Jeremy Smith (@JeremySmith850) who was the first to tweet the correct answer!
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Lawmakers are could make some major changes to the chiropractic profession this year. One would allow them to inject patients with nutritional supplements, which some studies show is helpful in treating chronic diseases such as cancer. Another would move Florida off the national standard for chiropractic education. The state’s three chiropractic trade groups are split — the Florida Chiropractic Physician Association wants the former and is hoping to block the later. Florida Politics talked with FCPA lobbyist Ron Watson to get the association’s take on the bills under consideration.
Florida Politics: How would allowing chiropractors to give nutritional injections help patients?
Watson: One of the things that we’re proud of is that they included chiropractors in the direct primary care bill. one of the things we want to do is provide full nutritional care for patients. Right now an M.D. or D.O. can write us a prescription for these injections and after a couple of minutes of training, we’re expected to give the injection to ourselves.
I’d much rather have a chiropractor give these injections than give them to myself. For those who think this is the wrong thing to do, they don’t have to do it. To me, it’s just one more opportunity for delivery, and chiropractors are very well trained in nutrition.
FP: Chiropractors used to be able to give nutritional injections. What changed?
Watson: Chiropractors used to be able to give nutritional injections in the 80s, but they’re no longer allowed to do “legend drugs.” We’re not asking to do legend drugs. The problem is if you put water in a sterile environment, it actually becomes a legend drug. We believe that if you can buy these nutritional supplements over the counter, then a chiropractor should be able to administer them too.
Chiropractors can draw blood, so my joke is they can pull it out but they can’t put anything in. HB 1078 is a simple bill that would clear up the confusion of the past and would allow the changes (former state lawmaker Dennis) Jones and the legislature clearly wanted in the ‘80s to come to light.
FP: What impact would changing chiropractic education requirements have on the profession?
Watson: The requirements for licensed D. C.s have improved drastically over the years; enough so they are legally considered primary care physicians in Florida and most states. The problem is if the requirements for D. C.s are relaxed and allow for substandard education the public will be at risk as they were 50 years ago.
There are some in our profession that want to see D. C.s as they were 50 years ago with no clinical experience and very little evidence-based knowledge. The FCPA does not support any bill or amendment that will reduce any educational requirements for D.C.s.
Lobby Up
Scratch-offs account for 70 percent of the Florida Lottery’s sales, and of the $1.7 billion deposited into the Education Enhancement Trust Fund last fiscal year, $900 million of it came from instant game sales. Whether it’s Monopoly, Wheel of Fortune or good ol’ Bingo, all scratch-off tickets in Florida come from one vendor: Scientific Games International.
The Las Vegas-based company has been with the Florida Lottery from day one, and it’s considered one of the best in the biz — this year it earned the “Lottery Supplier of the Year Award” at a major gaming trade show in London. But Scientific Games’ winning streak could hit a snag if lawmakers follow through with slapping warning labels on lottery tickets. Economists say HB 629 could decimate sales, causing education payouts to dip between $64 million and $240 million depending on their effectiveness.
The ticket supplier has had lobbyists Marc Dunbar of Dean Mead and Daniel Russell of Jones Walker on retainer for a few years, and this week they brought David Griffin back on board for a late-game assist in the Legislature. The trio seems to be making progress, too.
On Wednesday the Senate chopped the proposed 25-word warning label down to six: “WARNING: LOTTERY GAMES MAY BE ADDICTIVE.” If the House consents to the new language, that’s a jackpot for Scientific Games.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Florida Transportation Commission is scheduled to hold a conference call at 10 a.m. Call-in number: 1-888-585-9008. Code: 837653349.
The Senate is scheduled to hold a floor Session at 10 a.m., Senate Chamber.
The House is scheduled to hold a floor Session at 10:30 a.m., House Chamber.
The Florida Supreme Court is scheduled to release its weekly opinions at 11 a.m.
Gov. DeSantis, First Lady Casey DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, Cabinet officials and others will mark the National Day of Prayer. That’s at 11:30 a.m., 22nd floor.
The Senate Special Order Calendar Group will set a special-order calendar, which lists bills that will be heard on the Senate floor. That’s 15 minutes after the Senate floor session, 401 Senate Office Building.
A fundraising event will be held for former Rep. Jason Brodeur, a Sanford Republican who is running next year in Central Florida’s Senate District 9. That’s at 5:30 p.m., Liam Fitzpatrick’s Irish Restaurant, 951 Market Promenade Ave., Lake Mary.
