Dear Friend,
Well, the Tallahassee grind has begun again.
I just got home from the first week of interim committee hearings, which are being held in advance of the 2024 Legislative Session.
Session itself is only 60 days long and doesn’t begin until Jan. 9. But a lot of the work on bills will happen before then, during what we call “Committee Weeks.”
This week’s schedule included several hearings, as well as the designation ceremony for Rep. Danny Perez, a Republican from Miami who is set to become speaker of the House of Representatives after next year’s elections. We’re starting to see bills and budget requests filed, too.
Now, no bill can pass into law before the Legislative Session begins. But some of the most developments happen during these pre-session committee weeks.
These early hearings are often the best chance members of the public have to make their voices heard in the Capitol. They’re also when we can try to build momentum for good bills that deserve to be heard – and create obstacles to bad bills that must be blocked.
See below for a recap of Committee Week 1. And if you aren’t already, make sure you start following us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for updates in real-time.
The time to get involved is now.
Onward,
Rep. Eskamani
A bipartisan call for better oversight of Florida’s transportation agencies
One of the committees I serve on met this week: The Transportation & Modals Subcommittee, where we heard a presentation from the Florida Transportation Commission.
The Florida Transportation Commission is an independent board that is supposed to provide oversight of the Florida Department of Transportation and other transit agencies. Its job is to make sure that construction projects make fiscal sense and that our roads, bridges and transit systems are meeting their expected performance metrics.
After hearing this presentation, I think there was bipartisan agreement that this agency needs to become a stronger watchdog for the public. You can read more here: Legislature v. Executive? Lawmakers ask FDOT oversight board whether it actually does anything (Florida Politics)
If you want to learn more, you can also watch the meeting here.
Presentations on wetlands, mitigation banks and fatherhood
Two other committees also met this week.
The Water Quality, Supply & Treatment Subcommittee heard two presentations: One on wetlands by representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection, the other on mitigation banking by officials from the St. Johns River Water Management District.
You can watch that meeting here.
Meanwhile, the Children, Families & Seniors Subcommittee heard a presentation on the implementation of a bipartisan bill that passed during the 2022 Legislative Session that is meant to promote and support responsible fatherhood. Among other things, that legislation (HB 7065) created new grants for mentorships of at-risk boys, expanded state resources available to fathers, and added support for people having trouble paying child support.
You can watch that meeting here.
Speaking up in support of stronger antitrust enforcement
One of my roles in Tallahassee is Ranking Member of the House Ways & Means Committee. That’s the committee in charge of Florida’s tax structure – and it’s where lobbyists for big corporations are constantly trying to sneak selfish tax breaks into law. I make sure to call that behavior out, hold corporations accountable, and speak up for workers, consumers and small businesses instead.
Ways & Means didn’t meet this week. But I was proud to practice corporate accountability in another way: By joining more than 50 other state legislators from around the country in expressing support for stronger corporate merger rules that have been proposed by the Biden administration.
Stopping the proliferation of monopolies that can unfairly squeeze workers, consumers and smaller competitors is an important part of our corporate accountability work.
Working to stop radioactive roads in Florida
I was also proud to join more than 30 local and state elected officials from across Florida in urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reject a proposal by fertilizer giant Mosaic Co. to build a road using radioactive waste from the company’s chemical factories.
Mosaic strip mines phosphate rock out of the ground and then uses acid to turn that rock into fertilizer. That process leaves behind a radioactive byproduct known as phosphogypsum. Mosaic wants the EPA to let it try using that radioactive waste to build a new road.
This comes after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that Mosaic lobbied for authorizing the state Department of Transportation to test the use of phosphogypsum in road construction. I voted no on that bill, which will endanger everyone from road construction crews to our wildlife and waterways.
A gross bill would weaken Florida’s child-labor laws
Though the start of the Legislative Session is still more than three months away, bills are already being filed.
And, unfortunately, we’re already seeing some gross ideas – like the just-introduced House Bill 49, which, unbelievably, would undo basic child-labor protections and allow businesses to make teenagers work more days and longer hours.
Even on school nights!
This bill is also yet another attack from Tallahassee on home rule, as it would prevent cities and counties from enacting stronger labor protections for child workers.
This may be a big fight this session. It’s part of a nationwide campaign to roll back child-labor laws around the country, led by a conservative dark-money groups financed by big businesses and billionaires. These are the same groups that pushed an anti-worker union-busting bill through the Legislature during the 2023 Legislative Session.
For more, check out The conservative campaign to rewrite child labor laws (The Washington Post) and The billionaires financing union-busting in Florida (Seeking Rents).
In case you missed it…
I also wanted to flag a few important stories you might have missed.
First, if you are a customer of the state’s property insurance company – Citizens Property Insurance Corp.– make sure you check your mail: Citizens is sending out notices that will force people into much higher-priced private insurance if they don’t respond immediately.
Read more here: Florida Citizens customers: Check mail or face costly insurance switch (Tampa Bay Times)
Also, I recently wrote an editorial in the Orlando Sentinel outlining ways we could help Floridians struggling with the soaring cost of insurance – rather than just helping insurance companies and their shareholders.
You can read it here: Rep. Eskamani: DeSantis property-insurance plan isn’t enough | Commentary (Orlando Sentinel)
We’re starting to see some of the impact of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ assault on New College of Florida, where the governor and his lackeys are trying to turn this unique liberal arts university into a conservative indoctrination camp – and an employment agency for washed-up Republican politicians from Tallahassee.
There are two recent stories you should read:
New College of Florida plummets in national ranking amid DeSantis conservative overhaul (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
Lasty, we are finally seeing arrests of former executives at the now-defunct Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, who enriched themselves at the expense of services for survivors of domestic violence.
This was one of the first issues we went after when I was elected to the Florida House of Representatives back in 2018. And a big thank you to all the advocates who spoke out about these abuses, too.
State arrests former CFO of disgraced domestic violence coalition. More arrests expected (Miami Herald).