Last Call for 9.2.21 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

House Speaker Chris Sprowls is shaking up a few committee chairs in advance of the 2022 Legislative Session.

Leading off the announcements in a series of Thursday afternoon tweets was Rep. Daniel Perez’s selection to lead the Pandemics & Public Emergencies Committee and the Public Integrity & Elections Committee. Sprowls said the Miami Republican and future House Speaker was “uniquely suited” for the job.

Further announcements included Vero Beach Republican Rep. Erin Grall as House Judiciary Committee Chair and Macclenny Republican Rep. Chuck Brannan as Criminal Justice & Property Subcommittee Chair.

The big headline, though, was Sprowls’ selections for the redistricting subcommittees.

Heading the State Legislative Redistricting Subcommittee is Neptune Beach Republican Rep. Cord Byrd.

“A once-in-a-decade event, redistricting requires seriousness of purpose and translation of complicated concepts to common-sense language. I can’t think of anyone better suited than Cord Byrd,” Sprowls tweeted.

Meanwhile, Merritt Island Republican Rep. Tyler Sirois will helm the Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee, responsible for carving out the new 28th Congressional District rather than simply reapportioning the current 27 in the state.

“As the (Health & Human Services Committee) Whip, Tyler Sirois embodied qualities of hard work, thoughtfulness, and a positive attitude,” the House Speaker said. “They will serve him well in the challenge of drawing Fla.’s new Congressional maps.”

Ormond Beach Republican Rep. Tom Leek was previously named chair of the full Redistricting Committee.

Sprowls rounded out the wave of announcements by naming Newberry Republican Rep. Chuck Clemons to the House leadership team. The third-term Representative will serve as Deputy Majority Leader & Majority Whip this Session, with Sprowls extolling “his commitment to relationships and Member education is unmatched.”

The Speaker’s Office will follow up with midterm committee assignments on Friday, he said.

Evening Reads

“Why are Floridians lining up for hours to get antibody treatments?” via Melody Schreiber of Slate

“Ivermectin, the crate challenge, and the danger of runaway memes” via Kyle Chayka of The New Yorker

“Returning to offices, rethinking commutes” via Katherine Shaver, Luz Lazo and Justin George of The Washington Post

The Surfside condo was flawed and failing. Here’s a look inside.” via Anjali Singhvi, Mike Baker, Weiyi Cai, Mika Gröndahl and Karthik Patanjali of The New York Times

“Phosphate pollution reports give Florida residents déjà vu” via Craig Pittman of the Florida Phoenix

“Gangs now run Haiti, filling a vacuum left by years of collapse” via Jim Wyss of Bloomberg

“You can buy stuff online, but getting it is another story” via Terry Nguyen of Vox

“Texas Republicans got what they wanted. They might regret it.” via David Frum of The Atlantic

“It’s high time we messed with Texas” via Michael Tomasky of The New Republic

“How Beanie Feldstein became Monica Lewinsky” via Julie Miller of Vanity Fair

“Ticketed Spaces is a risk Twitter has to take” via Heidi Chung of Variety

“The harms of masking young students are real” via Vinay Prasad of The Atlantic

Quote of the Day

“It’s something we’re already working on.” — Senate President Wilton Simpson, on whether the Legislature will consider a Texas-style abortion heartbeat bill.

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