Dear Friend,
Every Monday we’ll be sending you an email review of what we’ve been up to during Florida’s 2021 Legislative Session. (Click here for last week’s review.)
Also, if you’re not doing so already, please consider keeping up to date with us through our social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can also watch Committee Meetings and Floor Sessions live on the Florida Channel.
Onward together,
Rep. Anna V. Eskamani
UPDATED COVID19 GUIDE
First, as always, here’s our latest COVID-19 Guide (español), along with our Unemployment Issues blog post and our guidance for renters. If you are facing issues with your unemployment claim, please fill out our DEO escalation form here.
COVID-19 Vaccine News and Updates
Big news last week! President Joe Biden announced his plan to make all adults vaccine-eligible by May 1st. We all have to keep following public health guidelines in order to keep everyone safe, but we’re so close now to a return to normalcy.
Also two quick new Florida specific updates for vaccine access: age eligibility has been expanded to include anyone over the age off 60 years old and seniors who are homebound will now be able to sign up to have the vaccine come to them by emailing a request to HomeboundVaccine@em.myflorida.com. We have requested that a phone number be made available for this service too.
Also last week, President Biden and Congress passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, a sweeping plan to end the public health crisis, rebuild our economy as quickly as possible — and finally address structural economic inequality and generational poverty.
There’s so much important, transformational policy in this bill. Here’s a good Q&A from the Washington Post. Here’s another good one from Rep. Val Demings (D-Orlando). And here’s a guide specifically focused on health insurance options by the New York Times.
Meanwhile, in Florida, we now have proof that Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies are trying to use control of COVID-19 for personal political gain.
Tax Increases for People, Tax Breaks for Businesses
This week, the Republican leadership of the House and Senate announced a so-called “grand bargain” that will make everyday Floridians pay higher taxes so that businesses can pay lower taxes.
Under the deal, the Legislature would pass a bill that would require Internet retailers and online marketplaces — like Amazon — to charge sales tax on all purchases made by Floridians. That is expected to raise more than $1 billion in annual revenue for the state.
But rather than using that money on help for working Floridians, the Legislature wants to spend it instead on a tax break for businesses. They would do that using the extra sales tax revenue to replenish the state’s unemployment compensation trust fund — that would cut the tax that businesses themselves are supposed to pay to refill the unemployment fund.
This is part of the Florida Legislature’s continuing effort to shift more of Florida’s tax burden off of corporations and wealthy people — and onto working Floridians, particularly low- and middle-income folks.
While big-business front groups like the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Associated Industries of Florida giddily cheered this bad idea on, I opposed this bill when it came before the House Ways & Means Committee on Thursday.
I tried twice to change it. My first amendment would have taken the extra sales tax revenue and, instead of spending it on tax breaks for businesses, spent it on more affordable and attainable housing so that front-line workers across our state could actually afford to rent and buy homes.
My second amendment would have made sure workers benefitted as much of businesses from this new plan by raising Florida’s inhumanely low Weekly Benefit Amount — lifting the minimum payment from $32 a week to $100 a week and boosting the maximum payment from $275 a week to $375 a week.
The Republican-majority committee voted down one of my amendments and refused to even consider the second one.
But this bill still has a long way to go before it becomes law. And I promise you: This fight is not over.
The Legislature is Trying to Ban Abortions — Again
Unfortunately, the Florida Legislature is continuing its never-ending assault on abortion access this session.
On Thursday, the House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee passed an abortion ban that attempts to pit disability rights against abortion rights — while shaming people who choose to end a pregnancy.
I voted against the bill in committee and I will continue to stand and battle against it as it continues to move through the process. Abortion is healthcare, period. I will never stop fighting to ensure that everyone has safe and legal access to an abortion.
You can watch my debate against this awful bill here.
We Passed a Bill!
It wasn’t all bad news this week: On Friday, I passed my first ever bill out of committee!
HB 409 would allow courts to give leftover and undistributable funds from class-action lawsuits to charities that provide civil legal aid to Floridians.
Everyone has the right to an attorney in criminal cases. But access to an attorney in civil cases — like evictions and foreclosures or child-custody cases — is so important, too. And civil-legal aid groups help ensure that it’s not just businesses and wealthy people who have lawyers to represent them.
I want to say a special thank you to Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville), the chairman of the House Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee, who agreed to hear this bill and help us with an amendment to make it even stronger.
You can watch my bill presentation starting at 40:18 of this video.
Fighting to Protect Access to Medical Cannabis
On Tuesday, the House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee passed a bill that would impose unnecessary and harmful limits on the levels of THC that can be in medical cannabis.
I voted against HB 1455, which would harm patients for ideological reasons and further undermine the 2016 medical cannabis constitutional amendment that Florida voters overwhelmingly approved. This is not a Republican vs. Democrat issue: In House District 47, we have a community of veterans suffering from PTSD from across the political spectrum who asked me to oppose this bad ball.
My Democratic colleagues and I tried to make the bill better. I offered two amendments: One would have made medical cannabis available to Floridians struggling with opioid addiction and would have eased burdensome rules on the identification cards that medical cannabis patients must get. My amendments were voted down, although I was encouraged to see that a few of my Republican colleagues supported them.
You can watch my debate against the bill at 2:03:59 of this video. We’ll keep fighting this session to strengthen Florida’s medical cannabis law — and against attempts to weaken it.
Unconstitutional Anti-Protest Bill Headed to House Floor
The Florida House continues to fast-track Gov. Ron DeSantis’ ridiculous and offensive anti-protest bill. HB 5 passed its final committee last week and is now headed for the House floor.
This bill is, to put it simply, utter trash. It is anti-free speech, anti-civil-rights and anti-democracy, and it would send people to jail simply for exercising their Constitutional rights to free speech and assembly. Gov. DeSantis and Republican legislative leaders are trying to further enflame racial tensions for political profit and trying to preserve an unjust “justice” where how you are treated depends on the color of your skin.
We will fight this awful idea every inch of the way.
During the House Judiciary Committee’s debate over this bill, my colleague, Rep. Ramon Alexander (D-Tallahassee), delivered a powerful speech against it.
It was an emotional moment. I encourage you to watch it, as Rep. Alexander makes clear just how much is at stake with this bad bill.
It starts at 2:15:24 of this video.
Protecting Consumers’ Data Privacy
On Wednesday, the House Regulatory Reform Committee passed a bipartisan bill to protect consumers from having their personal data exploited by tech companies and other big businesses.
Modeled after a law in California, HB 969 would strengthen privacy protections for consumers. For instance, the bill requires businesses to publish their privacy policies, allow customers to access any personal information that the business has collected, and let customers opt out of sharing their personal information at all. The bill would also allow the attorney general to take action against businesses who violate these requirements and allow consumers to file lawsuits against businesses if their personal information is hacked and stolen.
I voted for this bill — and I hope we make it even stronger. I want us to make sure that a business can’t discriminate or provide lesser service to consumers who aren’t comfortable sharing their personal information.
As I told my colleagues, I also really hope we won’t see any carveouts for select politically influential business added to this bill as it moves through the process. We need to make sure that everyone is treated the same.
You can watch my remarks on the bill starting at 55:07 of this video.
The Legislature’s Voter Suppression Plan
Republican lawmakers across the country have launched a systematic campaign to block Black, brown, young and low-income people from voting in a brazenly anti-democratic attempt to cling to power. And it’s happening in Tallahassee, too.
This week, the Florida Senate advanced a bill (SB 90) that would, among other things, outlaw ballot drop boxes and add new obstacles to voting by mail — allegedly to stop voter fraud but really just to stop voters from voting.
It’s not just Democrats who think this is a gross abuse of power by Tallahassee Republicans, either. Last week, none other than former state Sen. Alan Hays — the ultra conservative Republican who is now the Supervisor of Elections in Lake County — told his former Senate colleagues that this legislation is “a travesty.”
He’s right.
The Fossil Fuel Industry is Lobbying to Prevent Progress
Pushed by lobbyists for the monopoly utilities like Florida Power & Light, the Florida Legislature is advancing a package of bills that make it harder for cities and counties to combat climate change.
I encourage you to read this Miami Herald expose about the bills, which were written by industry lobbyists. Among other things, these would prevent local governments from banning fracking, undo local solar-panel permitting laws, wipe out renewable energy grants and even prevent counties from regulating pipelines along roadways.
Meanwhile, I have a bill (HB 283) that would transition Florida to 100 percent renewable energy by 2040 and complete carbon neutrality by 2050. But the Legislature’s Republican leaders haven’t allowed that bill to have a hearing yet.
The 407 in the 850
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has meant fewer in-person meetings, we do continue to meet with folks this session — though we always keep public health safety in mind when we do.
This week, for instance, I was honored to meet with Legislative Scholars from the University of Central Florida (my alma mater!). Meanwhile, House District 47’s own Dr. Dominique Dilorenzo was the Florida House’s Doctor of the Day last week!
Celebrating International Women’s Day
Last week was International Women’s Day, a day where we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women — and a day that marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Click here for a message from my twin sister, Ida, and I, to all the queens across the globe!
Saved by a HD 47 Small Businesses!
Lastly, I wanted to say thank you to Fournier’s Performance Automotive for saving my Honda hatchback!
Those of you follow me on Twitter know this, but Team Anna ran into some car trouble getting to Tallahassee last week. After four hours trying to replace the alternator ourselves — with the help of several neighbors and friends — we had to abandon my car and use another one to get to the Capitol.
But my car was towed to Fournier’s, who had her fixed and ready to go by the time I got back home. She has a new alternator — and they found the 12mm bit we lost inside the engine. 😬
ANNA IN THE NEWS
‘Still a long way to go’: Florida’s race disparity in COVID-19 vaccinations remains, but shrinks
Legislation would ban trans-athletes from women’s sports in Florida
A Look at the Push to Reform Florida’s Unemployment System
State legislation seeks to limit local control over vacation rentals
Florida bill could prioritize Bright Futures Scholarship money to certain fields
Central Florida leaders ensure language barriers will not prevent access to COVID-19 vaccine
REMINDER: UPCOMING EVENTS
Virtual Norouz Celebration w/Rep. Eskamani & IACC
I am proud to be the first Iranian-American elected to any public office in Florida and TONIGHT — for the first time ever — we are partnering with the Iranian-American Community Center of Central Florida (IACC) to host a virtual celebration of the Persian New Year! Click here for more details.
Women’s History Month Virtual Panel
In honor of Women’s History Month, join elected officials from across Central Florida for a virtual panel to honor the successes we have made and discuss the progress still to come. The evening will be livestreamed at facebook.com/AnnaForFlorida tonight at 7:30pm. This event will be moderated by Vanessa Echols of WFTV Channel 9 News.
World Water Day Panel w/Rep. Eskamani
March 22nd is World Water Day and we are a committed voice for the environment in the state of Florida. Join us and the Democratic Environmental Caucus for a virtual event focused on supporting Florida’s environment and our waterways! RSVP here.
