Dear Friend,

We won’t sugarcoat it, this was a tough week in Tallahassee but we know we’re building power across the state and new leaders at Team Anna. Back in Orlando, we came together this weekend with 50 volunteers for our New Year canvass on the 49th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. We not only left information for our district about our work and re-election campaign, but also gave next steps to fight back against HB 5, a bill seeking to ban abortion after 15 weeks.

We saw this dangerous abortion ban fly through its first committee but not without a fight. See my full remarks in staunch opposition to ANY abortion ban from the Professions & Public Health Committee here.

We also took some time last week to amplify the harm of judicial bypass in Florida — this is a process a minor must go through to access an abortion if they don’t receive consent from their parent or guardian. A judge who attempted to deny an abortion on appeal cited the grade-point average and grammar of a 17-year-old girl, leading to universal outrage. As I told the Lakeland Ledger, there is no GPA requirement to access an abortion, but this is what happens in states like Florida where minors are forced to go through an inherently humiliating and stressful process of begging for permission to end their pregnancies. Read more here.

Later in the week while serving as Ex Officio for a member unable to attend, I sat in on the Education and Employment Committee where two bills impacting our schools and kids were presented. HB 1557 (what we call the “Don’t Say Gay” bill) passed its first stop; it’s a dangerous bill that seeks to erase #LGBTQ identity within Florida schools. Listen to my debate here and ask your Representative to vote NO on HB 1557.

This week in the Senate, our bill that would require the instruction of Asian American and Pacific Islander history in Florida schools passed unanimously out of its first committee! You can help it move in the House by contacting Chair McClain and asking him to add HB 281 to the next Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee agenda.

We’re back in Tallahassee for Week 3 of Legislative Session. Catch us on thefloridachannel.org to keep up with our committees and scroll down for your update from Week 2 of Florida’s Legislative Session.

Onward,

Team Anna

COVID19 UPDATES 

Florida has reported nearly 1.5 million COVID-19 infections since the first case of the omicron variant was identified in the state six weeks ago. Last week the state hit a record 61,500 infections a day. But the true number of infections is likely much higher.

“Throughout the pandemic we’ve never really known the true rate of spread of the infection,” said Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida. “It was horrible at the beginning of the pandemic, because we had no tests, then it got better during the course of the pandemic, but omicron is just a different beast.” Read more from the Tampa Bay Times here.

Some promising news: on Friday, the CDC reported nearly 23,000 new cases in Florida, one of the lowest totals the state has seen in two months. However, while new cases decreased, the number of new deaths recorded by the FDOH showed more COVID-19 fatalities, compared to the week before.

In more shocking news, last week Orange County Health Director Dr. Raul Pino has been placed on administrative leave by the DeSantis Administration. Sources tell WFTV Pino was placed on paid administrative leave after he sent an email on Jan. 4 to Orange County Department of Health staff about employee COVID-19 vaccination rate.

As noted by Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the Maryland-based de Beaumont Foundation: “This is a pretty blatant move to silence a state employee,” he said. “They are preventing him from doing his job. They are preventing him from protecting the public. And they’re doing it to advance a political agenda. This is chilling for any public health leader in the state of Florida.”

We could not agree more.

We also wanted to remind folks of two new updates from the Biden Administration:

  1. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order #4 free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests. The tests are completely free. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days. Click here to order yours.
  2. The Biden administration will make 400 million N95 masks available to Americans for free, a White House official told CNN, the latest federal step aimed at reining in the US’ Covid-19 surge. Click here to learn more.

REDISTRICTING UPDATE

This past week some some major redistricting updates:

  1. The Florida Senate passed bills creating a new Florida congressional map and redrawing of state Senate districts with some bipartisan support. Four Democrats opposed the congressional map the chamber approved Thursday, and three voted against the Senate districts. The congressional map creates a new 28th district in central Florida that should favor Republicans. Read more here.
  2. A new map for the Florida State House seats was presented and passed along a party line vote on Friday. Democrats could gain as many as seven seats in the Florida House of Representatives but the maps are designed for Republicans to potentially retain a solid majority. The proposal was criticized by Democrats who questioned several of the decisions made by staff, including why they did not maximize minority districts when it appeared shifts in population would allow for it. Read more here.
  3. Governor Ron DeSantis weighed into the redistricting fight in Florida by proposing his own controversial congressional redistricting maps that dilute minority voting power. Read more here.

POLITICAL TRANSPARENCY & FAKE CANDIDATE SCHEME

Florida Republicans are pushing legislation that would enact broad new layers of secrecy around nonprofit organizations’ corporate and individual donors, a move that would allow some political groups to shield sources of funding from local and state government scrutiny.

There are two versions of the so-called “Personal Privacy Protection Act” in the Florida Legislature, and records and interviews show the bill language was provided by a lobbyist who says he was working on behalf of two nonprofit organizations whose tax-exempt status allows them to engage in a restricted level of political activity and does not require them to disclose their donors.

Such groups, which often serve as vehicles for dark money spending because their sources are hidden, have come under increased scrutiny in the last year as a result of a Miami-Dade County “ghost” candidate investigation marked by dark money spending. Read more here.

Speaking of ghost candidates — The advertising campaign promoting spoiler “ghost” candidates in key state Senate races in 2020 was paid for by money from a nonprofit associated with some of Florida’s biggest businesses, according to records released Tuesday from that same criminal investigation in Miami.

The records show that the nonprofit, “Let’s Preserve the American Dream,” wired $600,000 on Sept. 29, 2020, to another nonprofit, “Grow United Inc.” Grow United then used that money to send $550,000 to a pair of political committees that paid for mailers touting independent candidates in three important Senate races, in what authorities say was a ploy to confuse voters and tilt the races to Republicans.

Ryan Tyson, a longtime Republican strategist (and leader with Associated Industries of Florida) in Tallahassee and the executive director of Let’s Preserve the American Dream, told investigators that he ordered the $600,000 contribution to Grow United, according to a transcript of an interview. Read more here.

It definitely seems like Ryan Tyson and Associated Industries of Florida (AIF) played a significant role in the fake candidate scheme, and are now trying to protect what is likely a corporate donor from having their information revealed via the legislature.

And if you think the shady funding of fake candidates couldn’t get worse, well it does! Records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel show an anti-net metering think tank — an organization known as “Energy Fairness” — has received extensive funding from entities controlled by FPL consultants.

Those consultants, who at the time worked for Alabama-based political consulting firm Matrix LLC, were involved in orchestrating the “ghost” candidate scheme.

Read more here. Looks like FPL has not only funded fake candidates but they are funding fake organizations and fake media outlets too.

BALLOT AMENDMENT FRUAD

Florida could be in the midst of one of the largest cases of election-related fraud in recent history. Across the state, elections supervisors say they have been sent thousands of fraudulent petition forms supporting a constitutional amendment to expand casino gaming in the state.

Although the forms are supposed to reflect real Floridians voicing support for a change to the state’s constitution, many include the names of dead people or the forged signatures of real voters. Opponents of the measure have also accused organizers of fueling their effort by paying petition gatherers by the signature, rather than by the hour, which DeSantis pushed the Legislature to make illegal in 2019.

DeSantis has not made much public mention of this suspected fraud, although his administration is aware of the issue. Read more here.

ATTEMPTS TO RESTRICT DIRECT DEMOCRACY (AGAIN)

In the latest chapter in years of battles about amending the Florida Constitution, a House panel last Tuesday backed a proposal that would limit the subjects that could be included in ballot initiatives. The proposal (HJR 1127) would limit citizens’ initiatives to “matters relating to procedural subjects or to the structure of the government or of this Constitution.”

Republican lawmakers and business groups have long supported efforts to make it harder to amend the Constitution. In 2006, for example, the Legislature successfully proposed a ballot measure that required 60 percent of voters to approve constitutional amendments, up from the previous simple majority. Read more here.

FIGHTING FOR CONSUMER PROTECTIONS

In both our Civil Justice & Property Rights Subcommittee and our Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, several bills came before us to improve consumer protections, including efforts to reduce robocalls. However, there was one bill that caused us some pause.

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel: “Startup companies are touting what they consider to be a helpful solution to hefty security deposits pricing Floridians out of apartments. Instead of forking over an upfront security deposit, tenants can agree to pay a monthly fee — typically about $25. But there’s a catch: The money isn’t refundable at the end of the lease like a traditional security deposit, and renters are still on the hook for damage beyond ordinary wear and tear.”

There are a lot of concerns we have about a bill that replaces security deposits with a never ending fee, especially if that means a tenant might lose their rights under Florida Statute Chapter 23 to dispute a claim by their landlord and there are no limits set to that fee. We voted against this bill in committee and have been working with legal aid advocates alongside the bill sponsor and stakeholder in an attempt to find a consumer centered solution.

THE CULTURE WARS CONTINUE

The Republican majority on the Senate Education Committee on Tuesday advanced a measure that attempts to tackle one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ top politically motivated and misleading legislative priorities: barring the influence of critical race theory in schools and businesses across Florida.

An interesting dynamic to keep in mind though: as lawmakers start work on the proposal, they have not yet included a key part of the governor’s election-year agenda — giving parents, students and workers the ability to sue if they feel they have been exposed to the influence of critical race theory at school or at work is not in the bill language. Read more here.

That same day, the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee backed a proposal (SB 1298) that would require Florida professional sports teams receiving government money to play the national anthem before every home game. When asked by Sen. Victor Torres, D-Kissimmee, if any teams don’t play the anthem, bill sponsor Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, acknowledged he didn’t know of cases in Florida where “The Star-Spangled Banner” wasn’t played before games and other events. Read more here.

Sadly, the culture wars have continued to be omnipresent throughout the legislative process. I served as the Ex-Officio member for the House Education and Employment Committee where two bills impacting our schools and kids were presented, and both were designed to feed into cultural divides.

The first bill was designed to nix school board members’ salaries and increase scrutiny on the way library books and other school materials are selected, opening up a process for any person (even those out of state) to challenge a school’s materials. Read more here.

The second bill specifically targeted LGBTQ+ identity. Read more here.

As Jon Harris Mauer, Public Policy Director for Equality Florida, said during public comment on the bill: “We are appalled by the bill’s provision to ban schools from discussing sexual orientation and gender identity in primary grades. Conversations about us aren’t something dangerous that should be banned. That’s deeply prejudicial, and it sends a terrible message to our young people, including LGBTQ young people or young people who have LGBTQ parents.”

I voted no on both bills. To keep up on these bills, please stay connected with us and Equality Florida.

CONTROVERSY & CORRUPTION AT DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Over the holidays, a scandal emerged at the highest levels of Florida’s education system — one state leaders now want to bury. Two top officials, including a former chairman of the State Board of Education, tried to score a $1.8 million contract off the very division they were helping run, a clear conflict of interest.

Both resigned — but the controversy doesn’t end there. Education advocate and former Polk County School Board Member Billy Townsend dived deep into this corruption at his Substack that you can read here.

You can also read Scott Maxwell’s Orlando Sentinel column for a good overview. It never ceases to amaze me how much grifting goes on in Florida politics.

WIN FOR ACADEMIC FREEDOM

In some positive news, a federal judge issued a strongly worded defense of academic freedom Friday, ordering the University of Florida not to enforce its conflict of interest policy against faculty or others participating in lawsuits against the state. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker granted, in part, a preliminary injunction sought by professors who argued that their First Amendment rights had been violated by the university’s actions.

Read more here — and know that this was a big win for academic freedom.

LACK OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENFORCEMENT

In PEER’s most recent annual report, the group concluded Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection “continues to be an agency that essentially exists to please industry, while leaving Florida’s residents and tourists to deal with the decaying environment that is left behind.” The Orlando Sentinel’s Scott Maxwell dives deeper into this, outlining how Florida’s Environmental Regulation Commission hasn’t met a single time in the past five years.

Environmental enforcement in Florida is a joke, and has led to not only the ongoing death of Florida manatees, but other serious environmental hazards too.

In fact, a task force appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to address the state’s algal bloom crisis concluded in a recent report that “without hard work and careful planning” adverse human health impacts and widespread wildlife mortality would most likely “worsen” because of climate change and the state’s growing population.

DESANTIS ATTACKING IMMIGRANT KIDS

More than 200 faith leaders across Florida are calling on Gov. Ron DeSantis to reverse an emergency order aimed at migrant children.

DeSantis signed a rule that directs the Florida Department of Children and Families to not renew or issue a license to federally funded shelters that care for unaccompanied children who make it across the border without their parents.

“This is something the church needs to be involved in,” lead pastor of the Melbourne First Church of the Nazarene, Joel Tooley, said. “We have to stand up and speak for those whose voices can’t be heard.” Read more here.

WORKERS RIGHTS & LOCAL CONTROL

Next week both the State Senate and State House will be hearing bills that pre-empt local governments being being able to pay their workers more than the minimum wage.

This is reflective of other preemptive bills the legislature is debating, including legislation to allow businesses from pill mills to puppy mills to sue local governments if they lose up to 15 percent of their profits or revenues because of a local ordinance attempting to regulate them. Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg was the only Republican to vote against the measure. Read more here.


We also heard HB 313 again this week, which appears designed to rob workers and consumers of the ability to press businesses to make positive changes.

Specifically, the bill would make it easier for a business to sue someone claiming they have interfered in a contractual relationship – and it would put the target of the business’ lawsuit at risk of far greater financial damage. This is designed to chill people from taking collective action on causes they care about – such as by urging the owners of office buildings to cancel contracts with a janitorial company that exploits its workers or calling on advertisers to stop advertising on a show that advocates for hatred or violence.

CORPORATE TAXES

It’s happening mostly out of sight right now, but the world’s biggest corporations have been pushing the Legislature to give them another massive tax cut. Their first attempt is SB 1090, which would be one of the biggest corporate tax giveaways in Florida’s history. State economists have tentatively projected it would cut Florida corporate income taxes by roughly $3 billion in the short term — and nearly $400 million a year permanently.

Remember: Florida’s corporate income tax is already one of the lowest and easiest-to-avoid corporate taxes in the country – so much so that only 1 percent of Florida businesses pay anything at all. And those that pay it are the giant multinational corporations like Disney and Amazon who are simply too big and too profitable to avoid the tax entirely.

And that means this enormous giveaway would *only* benefit those select few giant companies. They are the only ones who would save any money from this, while everyday working Floridians would either end up having to pay more taxes themselves to make up the difference or suffer the consequences of further cuts to education, healthcare, housing and more.

Not surprisingly, this giveaway is sponsored by Senator Joe Gruters – who just happens to be the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, which gets millions of dollars in campaign contributions from the same big corporations who are the only ones who would benefit from this tax cut.

And this would be on top of $3.5 billion in corporate tax giveaways that Tallahassee Republicans have passed in just the past three years. This will be one of the biggest battles of session. We stand ready to fight against corporate tax giveaways – and for everyday folks.

SCENES FROM THE WEEK