Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
If you’re looking for the best way to get lawmakers’ attention, CATECOMM’s 2021 Florida Legislative Aide Survey has some answers.
The survey, released Wednesday, provides a window into how members of the Legislature use social media and how best to reach out to members of the Legislature.
“When I started CATECOMM in 2010, I was shocked with private and nonprofit sector advocacy efforts — they spent so much time and money on things that made absolutely no difference with state lawmakers,” said CATECOMM founder Kevin Cate.
“To this day, everywhere I look, there are coalitions with no people, form email-only advocacy campaigns, rudderless TV spending, and don’t even get me started on social media or ‘grasstops’ campaigns.”
Instead of TV and emails, Legislative aides say a constituent visit or phone call is the most effective way to sway a Representative or Senator, assuming the lawmaker doesn’t already have a firm opinion on an issue.
When it comes to social media, Facebook is king — 63% of legislative aides said it’s a “very important” platform for touching base with voters, while 33% say it’s at least somewhat important. Twitter follows with a 43%/43% split. Snapchat is “very important” to about three in 10 lawmakers, followed by YouTube at 11%.
Also, there’s little risk of a cat filter meme-ifying their virtual meetings, as 93% of lawmakers are familiar with Zoom.
For advocacy efforts, the survey suggests public polling is the quickest way to get noticed, with 62% saying their lawmaker or committee chair was either “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to take it into consideration. Private polling was only a point behind.
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A coalition of law professors sent a letter to Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls to express their “grave concerns” on the anti-protest bill being fast-tracked through the Legislature.
The letter, penned by Loyola University law professor William P. Quigley and signed by dozens more, says the “proposed legislation interferes directly with the constitutional rights of Floridians and is drawn too broadly to survive judicial scrutiny if challenged in court.”
The bills, HB 1 and SB 484, are a priority of Gov. Ron DeSantis. They would enhance legal penalties against rioters, vandals and looters. It would also require a person arrested for unlawful assembly to remain in custody until their first appearance.
The letter says the bill language for “committing a riot” and “aggravated rioting” is too broad and would “sweep in persons merely present at protests who do not themselves engage in violent conduct.”
Additionally, the legislation would create a new “mob intimidation” offense, the definition of which Quigley writes “is so capacious that any number of commonplace activities fall under it.”
The letter concludes, “Law enforcement officials have more than enough existing laws at their disposal to prosecute individuals who engage in violent behavior. The only solution to political unrest, in the long run, will be those which reckon with the stranglehold of wealthy interests on government, racial injustice, the decline of civic and community life, and the other serious structural problems preventing Floridians from enjoying full equality and dignity.”
Coronavirus Numbers
Positive cases:
— 1,765,659 FL residents (+7,405 since Tuesday)
— 32,621 Non-FL residents (+132 since Tuesday)
Origin:
— 14,282 Travel related
— 669,657 Contact with a confirmed case
— 19,477 Both
— 1,062,243 Under investigation
Hospitalizations:
— 75,162 in FL
Deaths:
— 28,691 in FL
Vaccinations:
— 2,933,920 Doses administered
— 2,110,794 Total people vaccinated
— 1,287,668 First dose
— 823,126 Series completed (+66,792 since Tuesday)
Evening Reads
“White House looks at domestic travel restrictions as COVID-19 mutation surges in Florida” via Michael Wilner, Ben Conarck and Nicholas Nehamas of the Miami Herald
“‘It was inciting,’ ‘provoked by the president’: What GOP senators said before about Donald Trump’s culpability for The Capitol riot” via Aaron Blake of The Washington Post
“Marco Rubio says ‘criminal justice’ system, not Senate, should litigate Capitol riots” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
“Was Byron Donalds chillin’ with insurrectionists before the Capitol riots?” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“Georgia prosecutors open criminal investigation of Trump phone call” via Richard Fausset and Danny Hakim of The New York Times
“Ron DeSantis brushes off concerns about maskless Bucs fans: ‘I’m damn proud’” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“Legislator profile: Anna Eskamani wants to be the next Governor of Florida” via Karen Murphy of The Capitolist
“Florida Democrats mired in division, debt ahead of 2022” via Max Greenwood of The Hill
“House Republicans announce 47 Democrats they hope to unseat” via Reid Epstein of The New York Times
“Controversial union dues bill backed in Senate” via News Service of Florida
“In return to its roots, Tallahassee Democrat moving downtown to City Centre” via TaMaryn Waters of the Tallahassee Democrat
Quote of the Day
“You don’t care as much if it’s a quote ‘peaceful protest,’ then it’s fine. You don’t care as much if they’re celebrating a [Joe] Biden election. You only care about it if it’s people that you don’t like. So, I’m a Bucs fan, I’m damn proud of what they did.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, on ‘the media’ criticizing Super Bowl celebrations.
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