Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
The past 60 days have been a rollercoaster ride, and it’s not over yet, but the 2025 Legislative Session provided a wealth of candidates for Florida Politics’ brand-new list of Winners & Losers — check it out here.
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A political committee pushing to get a Medicaid expansion initiative onto Florida’s 2026 ballot is suing state officials to block a new law that adds hurdles for citizen-led constitutional amendment drives.
Leaders of Florida Decides Healthcare warned that the stricter measures imposed by the law on citizen-led ballot initiatives could cost them millions of dollars and are meant to prevent future initiatives from reaching the ballot.
“We are standing up to an outrageous attack on democracy by filing a lawsuit to block HB 1205, a law that turns Florida’s citizen-led amendment process into a bureaucratic nightmare,” said co-Chair Holly Bullard during a virtual press conference.
“Let’s be clear, this isn’t about transparency or accountability. This is about control. This law was written by politicians who want to decide which voices get heard, which ideas make it to the ballot.”
The Legislature passed HB 1205 Friday, and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it hours later. Represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the group filed a federal lawsuit Sunday night in the Northern District of Florida.
Republicans pushed for the new legislation this Session after initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana and protect abortion rights failed in November’s election. GOP lawmakers said HB 1205 stops bad actors from fraudulently collecting petitions and using out-of-state petition circulators.
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—“Trump administration says it will pay immigrants in the U.S. illegally $1,000 to leave the country” via Rebecca Santana of The Associated Press
—“Trump keeps insisting kids can cut back on toys in response to tariffs” via Nikki McCann Ramirez of Rolling Stone
—“Why it took 20 years for the REAL ID deadline to be real” via Jonquilyn Hill of Vox
—”After pregnant USAID workers’ pleas, State Department postpones layoff dates” via Justine McDaniel of The Washington Post
—“The ‘significant risk’ that Republicans tank the economy” via Russell Berman of The Atlantic
—“Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida DOGE slam UWF program to train STEM teachers in high-needs schools” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics
—”Florida bill to slash utility profits dies after Duke Energy, FPL lobbying” via Emily L. Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times
—“Florida Republicans are eating their own” via Diane Roberts of the Florida Phoenix
—“Santa Ono named sole finalist for UF President” via Drew Wilson of Florida Politics
—”A USF student lost his visa over protests. Here’s what it was like.” via Divya Kumar of the Tampa Bay Times
Quote of the Day
“The DeSantis administration entered some buzzwords into a search engine and called it a day. They’re looking more and more like VEEP than House of Cards.”
— Rep. Alex Andrade, on Florida DOGE’s assessment of a UWF grant project.
Put it on the Tab
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
House Speaker Daniel Perez gets whatever he wants — that’s the prize for being the “Biggest Winner” on Florida Politics’ list of Winners and losers emerging from the 2025 Legislative Session.
Order a Roosevelt for Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who snagged the honor of “2025 Conservationist of the Year” from the International Order of T. Roosevelt.
The Governor told the University of West Florida to “buckle up,” and we’re telling them to order a Buckle Up, because the DeSantis administration is still digging.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Panthers, Leafs drop puck on playoff series
The Florida Panthers open a best-of-seven playoff series against the Maple Leafs tonight in Toronto (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The defending Stanley Cup champions, Florida, won the first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning four games to one. In the series, the Panthers averaged nearly four goals per game. Florida scored six goals in the series-clinching win, as they did in the series opener. Center Sam Reinhart, left winger Matthew Tkachuk, and defenseman Nate Schmidt scored three goals each in the series.
Panthers star Carter Verhaeghe has a history of playing well against Toronto. He scored three goals in five games as the Panthers eliminated the Leafs from the 2023 playoffs, and he scored two goals and two assists in four games against Toronto this season.
Toronto advanced to the second round by eliminating the Ottawa Senators in six games. Right-wingers William Nylander (three goals, six assists in the playoffs) and Mitch Marner (one goal, seven assists) have powered the Leafs’ attack.
The Panthers and Leafs played four times during the regular season, with Florida winning three times. The last meeting, April 8, saw the Panthers take a 3-1 win at home, which included an empty-net goal in the final minute.
The series winner will advance to the Eastern Conference finals against either the Washington Capitals or the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
