Staff Reports
Sixty Days — A prime-time look at the 2021 Legislative Session:
The Last 24
Legislative leaders probably didn’t expect they would need to unequivocally denounce Nazis this morning, but a quizzical tweet from the Governor’s press secretary put them in that position. In a since-deleted tweet, Christina Pushaw questioned whether people who hanged a Nazi flag from an Orange County bridge were actual Nazis and insinuated they may have been “Dem staffers.” House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate President Wilton Simpson each condemned the demonstration without any hedging. The Governor, meanwhile, was more combative. During a stop in Palm Beach County, he blasted Democrats for “trying to use this as some type of political issue to try to smear me” and asserted the Party has “elevated antisemites to the halls of Congress.” Here’s your nightly rundown.
Bigtime savings. State economists said House bills (HB 1451/HB 1163/HB 751) cutting taxes on beer, hydrogen-fueled machinery and heavy equipment rented for construction would save Floridians millions.
Sideshow. Democrats say the priority bills (HB 7/SB 148) taking aim at “woke” instruction are distractions from discussions about jobs, health care, rent and child care.
Uphill battle. House Minority Leader Evan Jenne said Democratic opposition to the 15-week abortion ban (HB 5) would remain firm, but he doesn’t expect Republicans to cede any ground.
Good move. A bill (SB 1928) that would protect consumers from price-gouging scams set up by moving companies was packed, loaded and shipped onto its next committee without a scratch.
Double discount. A proposal (HJR 1) to create another homestead exemption for police, firefighters, prison guards, teachers, child welfare officials and active-duty military personnel advanced in the House.
Rainy day fund. The House Appropriations Committee OK’d two measures (HB 7023/HB 7025) that would provide the Governor with a rainy day fund in the event of an emergency.
All rise. The federal trial challenging Florida’s voting reform laws kicked off, with those suing to overturn it portraying the bill as the death of voting rights by a thousand cuts.
Quote of the Day
“Yesterday’s disgusting display of antisemitism in Orlando does not reflect the values of Floridians. These thugs and their hateful messaging are not welcome in this state.”
— House Speaker Chris Sprowls, condemning pro-Nazi demonstrations in Central Florida.
Bill Day’s Latest
3 Questions
Last Thursday, the Senate passed SB 254, a bill that would allow religious events and activities to continue during emergency orders as long as any other entities are permitted to operate. Its house companion, HB 215, is going in front of its final committee Tuesday.
While the bill passed the Senate with little opposition, the house version has received some pushback in committee for concerns that its definition of religious activity is too broad.
Republican Rep. Nick DiCeglie, HB 215’s sponsor, spoke with Florida Politics about his bill and its criticism.
Q: Why are you sponsoring this bill? Why is this issue important to you?
DiCeglie: Go back in time to the early part of 2020, where not only here in the state of Florida, but across the country, we had these emergency orders in place during the early stages of this pandemic. And we had situations where big box stores were able to remain open with no restrictions, as far as how many people were able to go into the stores, there were restrictions for religious institutions. For churches, synagogues, where they had a limit on the number of people that were able to congregate. And so it’s my view that it’s a violation of First Amendment rights. There’s plenty of case law on this. The United States Supreme Court had a ruling last year about a similar case in California, that those restrictions on religious institutions were unconstitutional. And so we want to codify that into Florida Statutes. This is just protecting our First Amendment rights.
Q: The bill would ban the closing except when there is a uniform order. Can you explain how that works and why it is included in the bill?
DiCeglie: The beautiful part of this is basically you cannot treat a religious institution more restrictive than in this case, a box store. Right. So if, for example, there was an actual compelling governmental interest to restrict that first amendment right it would have to be uniformly applied. But I think the important thing to point out here is that, that compelling governmental interest is an incredibly high bar to meet. Courts could essentially rule that compelling governmental interest is not high enough, and the scrutiny has not been met for the first amendment to be violated. We put that in the bill so it is consistent with other parts of Florida Statute, and case law in regards to violations of the First Amendment.
Q: There have been some concerns from lawmakers in committee that what constitutes a regular religious activity is too vague, leading to many activities being permitted outside of the intent of the law. What is your response to that concern?
DiCeglie: Religious activity is actually a term that is used in case law. While it might appear to be broad, I think that is appropriate. Because, you know, anyone at any time they want to has the right to exercise their freedom of religion. It’s meant to meet broad. I think (the bill language) is very consistent with case law, and it’s consistent with our Constitution. That is what is informing the language of the bill.
Lobby Up
The Legislature has taken an interest in tech and social media companies in recent years, and there’s little doubt that the trend will continue in the 2022 Legislative Session.
Last year, lawmakers passed a data privacy bill to crack down on social media censorship by levying fines as high as $250,000 a day for deplatforming — or banning — candidates for public office. It also opened the door for users to use companies over deplatforming and other perceived wrongdoings. Though it was signed into law, a court challenge has halted its implementation.
The Legislature also flirted with a proposal that would put strictures on how tech companies share or sell consumer data. It died over concerns it would lead to a massive number of lawsuits against tech companies.
TikTok, a booming social media network, has a vested interest in both issues. It’s also drawing attention from state and federal lawmakers over its alleged negative effects on the well-being of younger users.
But, unlike the U.S.-based businesses also under the microscope, it faces additional scrutiny for its ties to China. CFO Jimmy Patronis banned the app from being installed on phones issued to Department of Financial Services employees and, last year, the Trump administration floated a national ban if the company didn’t sell itself to an American company — Microsoft came close to acquiring the company but the deal fell through and TikTok remains in the hands of Beijing-based tech company ByteDance.
To help it manage the multi-front defense, the company hired the team at Metz Husband & Daughton, who will work alongside in-housers Eric Ebenstein and Andrew Kingman to assuage concerns and keep the videos flowing.
Breakthrough Insights
The Next 24
— The House Judiciary Committee will take up a bill (HJR 1127) that places an amendment on the 2022 ballot that would limit the scope of future constitutional amendments. The committee meets at 9 a.m. in Room 404 of the House Office Building.
— The House State Affairs Committee will consider a bill (HB 7) that would restrict classroom and workplace training on topics such as race and gender identity when it meets at 9 a.m. in Room 212 of the Knott Building.
— The Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee will hear a bill (SB 1534) that would enhance criminal penalties for serial retail theft when it meets at 10:30 a.m. in Room 37 of the Senate Office Building.
— The House Commerce Committee will consider a bill (HB 1439) that would prohibit hotels from offering hourly rates when it meets at 12:30 p.m. in Room 212 of the Knott Building.
— The House Health & Human Services Committee will take up a bill (HB 357) adding regulations for pharmacy benefit managers when it meets at 12:30 p.m. in Morris Hall.
— The Senate Criminal Justice Committee will consider a bill (SB 876) to curb “stunt driving” when it meets at 1 p.m. in Room 110 of the Senate Office Building.
— The Senate Education Committee will take up a proposal (SB 1690) that would create a loan program for charter school construction needs when it meets at 1 p.m. in Room 412 of the Knott Building.
— A bill (SB 1702) requiring condo building inspections, filed in the wake of the Surfside collapse, will go before the Senate Regulated Industries Committee when it meets at 3:30 p.m. in Room 412 of the Knott Building.
Also, the following committees will meet.
— The House Agriculture & Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee meets at 8 a.m. in Morris Hall.
— The House Education & Employment Committee meets at 10 a.m. in Morris Hall.
— The Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee meets at 1 p.m. in Room 37 of the Senate Office Building.
— The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee meets at 3:30 p.m. in Room 110 of the Senate Office Building.
— The House will consider legislative maps (SJR 100) and a bill (HB 159) that would shield the names of lottery winners when it convenes for a floor session at 3 p.m.
— The Senate Military and Veterans Affairs, Space and Domestic Security Committee meets at 3:30 p.m. in Room 37 of the Senate Office Building.
Full committee agendas, including bills to be considered, are available on the House and Senate websites.
