Staff Reports
Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The Legislature adjourned Sine Die at 1:03 p.m. after passing a $112 billion budget … but what about the $500 grand prize for #CateSineDie?
Hosted by CATECOMM founder Kevin Cate, the contest is simple. Participants guess the date and time of the hankie drop that marks the end of Session and tweet it out with the hashtag #CateSineDie and the name of the charity of their choice. The guess that’s closest — without being early — wins.
This year’s winner is Angela Bonds, a government affairs manager at Dean Mead. She predicted the 2022 Legislative Session would end Tuesday at noon, which was quite a bit later than the average player.
After the deadline to get guesses in, Cate crunched the data and found most people in The Process thought Session would end on time — the median guess was Friday at 8:15 p.m., and the mode was Friday at 9:43 p.m.
But the Legislature went into overtime, which has become commonplace in recent years. Session was extended in 2020, 2019 and 2018, when lawmakers didn’t pass a budget until two days after the 60-day Session was scheduled to end. Lawmakers adjourned on time last year, breaking the streak.
Evening Reads
“Florida lawmakers approve $112 billion budget, largest in state history” via Ana Ceballos of the Tampa Bay Times
“Democrats reflect as Session closes: ‘I don’t think people realize how bad it would have been’” via Anne Geggis of Florida Politics
“Florida Legislature wraps up combative culture-war Session” via Skyler Swisher and Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel
“Insurance reform died last week. Will lawmakers come back to address it in Special Session?” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
“At Sine Die, Ron DeSantis touts culture war victories on education” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics
“Joseph Ladapo ‘cherry-picking’ studies to back no COVID vaccines for kids, researchers say” via Ian Hodgson of the Tampa Bay Times
“Closing time: Jeff Brandes — integrity, bucking trends and ‘running to the fight’” via Andrew Meacham of Florida Politics
“Joint Legislative Auditing Committee publishes 2021 lobbying firm audit list” via Jason Delgado of Florida Politics
“Redistricting litigation now being waged on two fronts — state and federal court” via Michael Moline of the Florida Phoenix
“America’s hesitation is heartbreaking” via Eliot A. Cohen of The Atlantic
“Evictions are back. Black renters are suffering the most — again.” via Lori Teresa Yearwood of The New Republic
“Have Chinese spies infiltrated American campuses?” via Gideon Lewis-Kraus of The New Yorker
“Why climate resilience strategies won’t save Florida” via John Morales of The Washington Post
“These schools did less to contain COVID-19. Their students flourished.” via Perry Stein of The Washington Post
Quote of the Day
“As the parent of three kids that are age five and under, thank you for letting me and my wife be able to send our kids to kindergarten without them being sexualized.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, touting this Session’s culture war victories on education.
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