Dear Friend,
I am not going to lie — this wasn’t a good week in Tallahassee.
We arrived on Sunday for a Special Legislative Session that was called by Governor DeSantis to attack the Biden Administration on vaccine requirements, not only feeding into the politicalization of COVID-19 but giving oxygen to multiple conspiracy theories about the pandemic and vaccine efficacy that resulted in four bills passing both chambers late Wednesday and being sent to the Governor’s desk.
You can read more about those bills here and see my remarks in opposition to HB 1B via the video below.
There actually was one bill — a very broad public records exemption — that Democrats could have stopped if we held the line and voted together as a Caucus. But despite collective efforts by some of us, that ultimately did not happen and the bill still passed.
This entire Special Session was fast-tracked and as a result bill sponsors could not even answer basic questions about their bills. At some points during Q&A I was told that the bill “was silent on that” and my question(s) would just have to go unanswered.
In no other professional environment would that type of answer be acceptable. And it really should not be acceptable for legislators either.
Nonetheless: I want you to know that we fought hard for the people of Florida, for our community, for science, for the most marginalized and for our small businesses who could face $10,000 fines if they prioritize safety and require vaccines/testing for their employees.
The four bills that passed have not been signed into law yet but we will definitely keep you posted on what happens next. I am on my way home now and cannot wait to be back in House District 47.
We are working for you, and fighting for us.
Onward,
Representative Anna V. Eskamani