Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
House Democrats announced the lawmakers who will serve as ranking members on the nearly three-dozen House committees and subcommittees in the upcoming Legislative Session.
“The Florida House Democrats are ready to get back to work and help Floridians still struggling because of the pandemic. From keeping our schools safe to fixing our broken health care system, Floridians need us to come up with real solutions to the problems making life in the Sunshine State difficult for so many. We will continue to be strong advocates of the people on the critical health and safety policies that the people deserve,” House Democratic co-Leader Bobby DuBose said in a news release Tuesday.
Co-Leader Evan Jenne added: “I’m excited about our list of ranking members. The Florida House Democratic Caucus looks forward to advocating and fighting for all Floridians. This is yet another important session because of the ongoing COVID pandemic. We must help provide relief for so many Floridians that need it, ensure small businesses stay open, and continue to defend local governments’ autonomy.”
Rep. Nick Duran will serve as the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. The ranking members on the budget subcommittees will be Rep. Anika Omphroy for Agriculture & Natural Resources, Rep. Kamia Brown for Health Care, Rep. Geraldine Thompson for Higher Education, Rep. Dianne Hart for Infrastructure & Tourism, Rep. Michael Gottlieb for Justice, Rep. Matt Willhite for PreK-12 and Rep. Joy Goff-Marcil for State Administration & Technology.
Thompson will also serve as the ranking member on the Public Integrity & Elections Committee. Willhite will also hold the ranking member position on two panels — his second is the Rules Committee.
Rep. David Silvers will serve as the ranking member of the Commerce Committee. The top Democrats on its three subcommittees will be Matt Willhite for Insurance & Banking, Anna Eskamani for Regulatory Reform, and Emily Slosberg for Tourism Infrastructure & Energy.
Rep. Patricia Williams was named ranking member for the Education & Employment Committee. Leading the education subcommittees are Rep. Tracie Davis for Early Learning & Elementary Education, Rep. Ramon Alexander for Post-Secondary Education & Lifelong Learning, and Rep. James Bush III for Secondary Education & Career Development.
The Judiciary Committee ranking member is Rep. Fentrice Driskell. Leading the subs are Rep. Ben Diamond on the Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee and Rep. Michael Grieco on the Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee.
And Rep. Carlos Smith will be the lead Democrat for the State Affairs Committee. The ranking members on its subcommittees: Rep. Ramon Alexander for Environment, Agriculture & Flooding, Rep. Kevin Chambliss for Government Operations, and Goff-Marcil for Local Administration & Veterans Affairs.
Rep. Joe Geller is the ranking member for the overall Redistricting Committee while Reps. Kelly Skidmore and Dan Daley will hold the position on the Congressional and State Legislative subcommittees, respectively.
Finally, Rep. Anna Eskamani was named ranking member for the Ways & Means Committee.
Earlier Tuesday, Florida Politics reported the members who will serve as ranking members on various House health committees.
Evening Reads
“Americans are dying because no hospital will take them” via Dylan Scott of Vox
“The right’s war on COVID-19 vaccine mandates Is about to get scary” via Eric Lutz of Vanity Fair
“Colleges have a guy problem” via Derek Thompson of The Atlantic
“Teaching without mask and vaccine mandates” via Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker
“How today’s politics is a throwback — to the 1890s” via Stuart Rothenberg of Roll Call
“Gov. Ron DeSantis administration wants to reduce outdated state testing in FL but will the feds approve?” via Danielle J. Brown of the Florida Phoenix
“Florida’s openness on abortion is all but guaranteed to change drastically — and soon” via Lizette Alvarez of The Washington Post
“Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show” via Georgia Wells, Jeff Horwitz and Deepa Seetharaman of The Wall Street Journal
“Pioneering gene therapy freed her of sickle cell. is a cure at hand?” via Gina Kolata of The New York Times
“Greg LeMond and the amazing candy-colored dream bike” via Adrienne So of WIRED
“Mini rooms drive major controversy as creative community feels strain of TV’s vast expansion” via Joe Otterson of Variety
Quote of the Day
“The FSA is, quite frankly, outdated.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, announcing plans to replace standardized testing with progress monitoring.
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