Staff Reports
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2019 Legislative Session:
The Last 24
Legislation that would expand the scope of practice of nurses and physician assistants is ready for a House vote. The bill, a top priority of House Speaker José Oliva, would allow APRNs and physician assistants to practice without physician supervision. The concept has been kicked around in the Legislature for quite a while. Avon Park Rep. Cary Pigman, a medical doctor, has championed the issue since he took office in 2012. While the House is poised to pass the plan, the Senate outcome is uncertain, but not impossible — similar legislation cleared its final Senate committee on Monday. Here’s your nightly rundown.
Voice of the people? The House is poised to pass a bill adding procedural roadblocks for constitutional amendments seeking a spot on the ballot.
Research interference. The House will consider an amendment to the chamber’s higher education package aimed at curbing Chinese interference into research at state universities.
Panic alarms. Legislation requiring panic alarms in public and charter schools throughout the state underwent major changes after a strike-all amendment in the House.
Cap lives. An amendment setting a 10% cap on THC prescribed to patients under 21 was added on to a House health care bill. The Senate isn’t a fan, but it could be a bargaining chip.
Fee cut. The House passed a bill that would put an end to contingency risk multiplier fees on property insurance claims, except in rare and exceptional circumstances.
Age of arrest. An amendment setting a minimum age of arrest for kids still has a chance — Sen. Randolph Bracy says he has the support of Senate President Bill Galvano, and Speaker Oliva indicated his support Wednesday evening.
Elder law. The Senate voted unanimously in favor of a bill strengthening protections for incapacitated seniors.
Smoking statutes. The Senate is ready to vote on legislation raising the smoking age to 21 and distinguishing vaping and combustible tobacco products after settling on language separating two controversial measures.
Water power. The House and Senate are set to vote on their chamber’s water bills, but they differ on how future Department of Environmental Protection secretaries would be selected.
Sea-level studies. The Senate advanced a bill that would create the Statewide Office of Resiliency and the Statewide Sea-Level Rise Task Force and put the state’s Chief Resilience Officer in charge of them.
Hunter-seekers. A bill allowing the use of drones to mitigate wildfires and eradicate invasive plants and animals earned preliminary approval in the Senate.
High-speed plan. The House gave initial approval to a bill that would create the Florida Office of Broadband and make it the lead agency on high-speed internet installation.
Conflict of interest? Rep. Anthony Sabatini filed an amendment to a growth management bill that would benefit one of his legal clients, though he says it is a “moral issue,” not a conflict of interest.
Condemnation cleared. The Senate passed a resolution that condemns white nationalism and white supremacy. House Speaker Oliva has said he’s confident his chamber would take up the bill.
Quote of the Day
“This amendment is MAGA, MAGA, making amendments great again.” — Rep. Evan Jenne, near the end of a daylong floor session.
Your Metz Husband Daughton-sponsored question of the day is: Florida man tried to “run” to Bermuda in what?
As always, click here to tweet your answer to @MHDFirm. The first person with the correct answer will get a shoutout in Monday’s 60 Days!
Last time, we asked: What is the name of the jolly headhunter who shows up near the end of the Jungle Cruise?
Answer: Trader Sam.
Congrats to Sen. Joe Gruters (@JoeGruters), who was the first to tweet the correct answer!
Thanks to everyone for participating — remember, the more you play, the better your chances of winning!
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Issues like parental consent divided the House Democratic caucus early in Session. But the blue team banded together to voice unanimous opposition to four bills up for consideration this week. “We are a broad caucus with different ideas, viewpoints and beliefs,” said House Democratic Leader Kionne McGhee. “This is a moment where we have to inform the world the caucus is unified on this even though we have a huge tent.”
Florida Politics: This is the first time the caucus has announced opposition to four bills simultaneously. Why mount this opposition all at once?
McGhee: I can’t quite speculate what they are doing at the end of Session, but these bills are not friendly to the people of Florida. They don’t support the vision, the mission, or the reality we face in this great state. For instance, E-Verify. it is simply scoring political points in order to make your base excited. There is no basis to have E-Verify here. No one is calling for E-Verify. Why would you bring up E-Verify at the end of Session and during an election year? There is no basis to be a part of the discussion as it relates to Floridians.
FP: You also called out HB1, which has been labeled a union-busting bill. Why is there concern about whether employees are compelled to support unions?
McGhee: HB1 is unnecessary and an additional burden on teachers, police, firefighters and school support staff. It’s a heavy-handed response to a problem they haven’t proven exists. This opens the door to worker intimidation and abuse. Unions protect members and protect nonmembers. This sets up barriers for the working class and the opportunity to participate in an economy that will provide for them a fair opportunity to move up the ladder of life.
FP: Democrats have consistently pushed back on restrictions on constitutional amendments and you spotlight two bills up now. Why is the petition process important to Democratic lawmakers?
McGhee: The only thing we have to do is look at what citizens did as it relates to Amendment 4. When policymakers and elected officials are slow to act, it’s only fair to allow the people to act. HB 7093 and HB 7037 interfered with citizens’ right to change their Constitution. The Constitution is not owned by elected officials and politicians. Requiring petitions from a certain voter percentage in all Congressional districts, this gives an effective veto to any single district over the will of Floridians. It’s fundamentally wrong to even suggest such a thing, and I would venture to say the probability of it being found unconstitutional is high. Now all members are on notice that these four bills are not going to be friendly to the people of the state of Florida, and our 47-member body will be voting against them.
Lobby Up
The PGA Tour’s swing through the Sunshine State started today with the opening round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
As an invitational, fewer players will hit the links than typical PGA Tour events. Most of the roster is made up of golfers who’ve won major tournaments in the past few years, but the rules were bent this go around to include Brandon Matthews, thanks to his compassion toward a fan with Down syndrome at the Open Championship.
The family of the late great Arnold Palmer said it embodied what “The King” was all about.
Anyone familiar with the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation would agree. The organization is devoted to improving the lives of children, especially those with medical needs — not far from the Bay Hill Club & Lodge, where the tournament is played, is the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.
“Arnie’s Army” has been successful in maintaining Palmer’s legacy, but they haven’t gone it alone.
As the Legislative Session enters its final days, the foundation has hired a team of lobbyists to help them out in the Legislature.
On Wednesday, the foundation retained Chris Carmody, Chris Dawson, Katie Flury, Robert Stuart and Jason Unger of GrayRobinson.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation will host an event titled “Celebrating Women in Business” in recognition of Women’s History Month. Speakers include Secretary Halsey Beshears, Chicken Salad Chick Carolyn Gosselin, Golden Lightning President Yuh-Mei Hutt and Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers. It begins at 9 a.m. at the FSU Turnbull Conference Center.
Florida TaxWatch will present J.E.B. Stuart Middle School principal Sadie Milliner-Smith with the 2019-20 Principal Leadership Award. The award ceremony will be held at the school, 4815 Wesconnett Blvd., in Jacksonville. It begins at 9:45 a.m.
The Senate will hold a floor session at 10 a.m.
The House will hold a floor session at 10:30 a.m.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will hold an “out of this world” school breakfast celebration at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in recognition of National School Breakfast Week. It begins at 10:30 a.m., 207 San Marco Avenue, in St. Augustine.
Rep. David Silvers will hold a press availability to discuss his bill (HB 945) allowing school districts to use Mobile Response Units and Crisis Stabilization Services as the first line of assistance to children in need of mental health care. It begins at 1 p.m. on the 4th-floor Rotunda of The Capitol.
The House Rules Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. in Room 404 of the House Office Building.
The Senate Special Order Calendar Group will meet in Room 401 of the Senate Office Building to set the special-order calendar. The meeting begins 15 minutes after the floor session ends.
