Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
More Surfside-inspired condo safety measures are coming to Florida, along with much-needed funding relief for owners and associations, through legislation Gov. Ron DeSantis just signed.
At an event in Clearwater, DeSantis approved HB 913, a sweeping condo regulation and financial reform bill, marking another significant step in Florida’s ongoing response to the Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 90 people in June 2021.
The legislation, which passed unanimously in both chambers of the Legislature last month, aims to strike a balance between structural safety and the financial realities that unit owners face.
DeSantis previously praised the measure, sponsored by Fleming Island Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Miami Rep. Vicki Lopez, after it underwent numerous amendments in committee and on the floors of both chambers.
But he sharply criticized lawmakers for not passing the bill sooner, when he called for a Special Session on the issue and others in mid-January. He also noted that he would have vetoed the original House version had it reached his desk unchanged.
“It ended up in a good spot,” DeSantis said during a May 6 stop in Miami. In its original form, HB 913 would have blocked Citizens Property Insurance from covering condo owners and associations that didn’t comply with state-mandated inspection and reserve study. Bradley and Lopez removed that portion from the final bill.
Instead, the measure includes provisions that allow condo associations to take out lines of credit for expensive structural integrity reserve studies (SIRS) and clarifies that only buildings with three or more habitable stories are required to comply with those requirements.
It also permits associations to invest reserves in certificates of deposit and bank accounts, so long as boards act prudently to balance risk and return.
Read more on Florida Politics.
Evening Reads
—“Aboard Marine One, a phone call and the decision to strike Iran” via Tarini Parti, Josh Dawsey, Siobhan Hughes and Alex Leary of The Wall Street Journal
—“Donald Trump wants to take out Iran’s nuclear program. His attacks may backfire.” via Michelle Bentley of Vox
—”White House faces risk of economic fallout from Iran strike” via Tony Romm of The New York Times
—”How Israel deceived the United States about its nuclear weapons program” via Glenn Kessler of The Washington Post
—”What satellite images reveal about the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites” via Brian Barrett, Lily Hay Newman and Andrew Couts of WIRED
—”The MTV reality star in Trump’s Cabinet who wants you to have more kids” via Caroline Kitchener of The New York Times
—”FBI Director Kash Patel scheduled to address sheriffs at national conference in Fort Lauderdale” via David Lyons of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
—“Ron DeSantis says Joe Biden’s policies could lead to Iranian attacks” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”Florida asks Supreme Court to reinstate immigration law as lower courts weigh constitutionality” via Safiyah Riddle of The Associated Press
—”FBI arrests Leo Govoni after probe into missing $100 million” via Christopher O’Donnell of the Tampa Bay Times
Quote of the Day
“Who knows who they sent across the Southern border during Biden’s administration?”
– Gov. Ron DeSantis, suggesting Iran has assets in the U.S.
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.
DeSantis is way behind Vice President J.D. Vance in too-early polls of the 2028 Republican Presidential Primary, but with 10% support, he still gets a So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance.
Florida’s economy gets a Going Steady after the latest monthly unemployment report shows no change from April’s 3.7% jobless rate.
We won’t know if it was enough until polls close tomorrow evening, but LaVon Bracy Davis gets a Last Spritz for an impressive three-day, $50K fundraising tally.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Messi, Inter Miami on verge of advancing in Club World Cup
Leo Messi and Inter Miami continue to play in the FIFA Club World Cup tonight when they face Brazilian side Palmeiras in group stage play (9 p.m. ET, TBS).
The match will be played at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and is Inter Miami’s last match in the group stage.
After beating Portuguese side FC Porto, Miami can advance as group stage winners if they win tonight. If that happens, Inter Miami would face the second-place team in Group B in the knockout round in Philadelphia on Saturday. If Miami were to draw with Palmeiras, they would clinch the second-place spot in the group and would advance to the round of 16.
Miami can also advance with a loss if Porto wins or draws against Al Ahly. In that case, Miami would earn the second-place spot and would face the winner of Group B in Atlanta on Sunday.
There is also a scenario in which Inter Miami would advance with a loss and an Al Ahly win, but it would ultimately come down to a tiebreaker.
Messi authored one of the signature moments of the competition when he scored on a free kick in the 54th minute, providing the winning margin. Miami opened the competition with a 0-0 draw against Al Ahly.
This is the first time in the 25-year history of the FIFA Club World Cup (previously known as the Club World Championship and later the Intercontinental Cup) that it has been contested in the United States.
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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.
