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Tag: Political Connections Full Episode CTV

  • DeSantis vetoes social media restrictions

    DeSantis vetoes social media restrictions

    Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a social media restriction bill, and lawmakers in Washington tackle microplastics.


    Gov. DeSantis vetoes social media restrictions bill

    Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the social media restrictions bill, House Bill 1, on Friday.

    In a statement on X, DeSantis said that he expected the Florida Legislature to approve a new bill that he feels would be superior.

    “Protecting children from harms associated with social media is important, as is supporting parents’ rights and maintaining the ability of adults to engage in anonymous speech,” DeSantis said.

    After days of backdoor negotiations, lawmakers are set to reveal the new and improved social media bill to replace the recently vetoed HB 1. The legislative session is scheduled to end March 8.

    The original bill would have prevented anyone under 16 from using social media, but DeSantis was a skeptic of the plan.

    Members of the House, the Senate and the governor’s office all made compromises to get to this point.

    “We’re happy. We believe we started out with a very good bill, and this bill is even better,” Florida House Speaker Paul Renner said.

    The bill still bans those 15 and younger from social media. However, it now allows parents to opt in, a point that was a major concern for DeSantis.

    “Parents need to have a role in this, so we’re working to make sure there’s a role for parents,” DeSantis said. “You can say it’s disfavored or not allowed for a 14-, 15-year-old, but a parent has the right to opt in.”

    Still, there are constitutional concerns. Social media bans have failed in other states, but Florida leaders said they believe this one is different.

    “I think ya’ll know me,” Rep. Michele Rayner said. “You know I’m a lawyer. You know that I’m not putting my name on something that I feel would not survive any constitutional scrutiny, and I think the product we’re going to end up with actually does that.”

    In his veto letter, the governor made two main points:

    • He believed parents deserve the right to allow their children to use social media.
    • He had concerns about data privacy and the process of verifying a user’s age.

    Judge to set court date in Trump records trial

    A federal judge in Florida heard arguments on when to hold former President Donald Trump’s trial on charges of mishandling classified documents.

    The decision, which is expected soon, could have enormous consequences for the case, and the presidential race.

    Judge Aileen Cannon is deciding when to re-schedule Trump’s May 20 trial on charges of keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate, and hiding them from government investigators.

    Special Counsel Jack Smith requested a July 8 start, but Trump’s legal team pushed for a later date as part of a delay strategy his lawyers have employed in the four criminal cases against him.

    Some polling suggests that one or more guilty verdicts could damage Trump with voters. Delaying the trials puts off such a possibility. And if Trump wins the Republican nomination and defeats President Joe Biden, he could force the Justice Department to drop its two cases against him altogether.

    Trump has so far used the 91 total felony charges against him as a rallying cry for supporters.

    Lawmakers consider limiting microplastics

    Science and sustainability experts are sounding the alarm on micro and nano plastics found in drinking water, urging lawmakers on Capitol Hill to take action to limit their prevalence.

    A Senate Environment and Public Works Joint Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday comes after a recent study by Rutgers and Columbia University researchers found 240,000 pieces of microplastic in an average liter of bottled water.

    “Those invisible plastics are why we’re here today. Like people shed skin cells, plastics shed particles of plastics. These can be big micro plastics, which range from half a centimeter down to a micrometer, a micrometer being less than 170th the size of human hair, or they can be as small as nanoplastics, which are even smaller than a micrometer,” Sen. Jeff Merkley said. 

    Experts warn the tiny plastics may have harmful health effects.

    “There are about 13,000 different chemicals used during the manufacture of various plastic products,” said Penn State Behrend Director of Sustainability, Dr. Sherri Mason. “Many of these are known to be carcinogens or endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which means that they mimic hormones and the chemical messengers of the body by affecting the endocrine system,.” 

    Experts also say the tiny particles are pervasive, and many come from an unexpected source, the clothes we wear.

    “Potential solutions include requiring microfiber filters on washing machines, as has been bill has been introduced in Oregon and in California as well,”  Oregon State University Professor Susanne Brander said. “Also, catches for rain gardens can significantly reduce plastic pollution from stormwater runoff.”

    The last major federal initiative against micro plastics was in 2015, when then-President Barack Obama signed a ban on microbead plastics in personal care and cosmetic products.

    This October, Democrats introduced legislation called the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act to encourage corporations to shift away from plastic use.

    But, in a divided Congress with Democrats controlling the Senate, and Republicans controlling the House, it’s not likely to get through.

    Republicans on the committee thanked the witnesses for their research, but cautioned about placing regulatory burdens.

    “As we’re moving forward looking at microplastics, we have to be careful that we’re not getting ahead of, as we would say, the science and do an undue burden or burdens,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin said. 

    Senate Democrats have also sponsored legislation to research the effects of microplastics in farming. 

    Gary Darling

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  • Biden, Trump visit border; antisemitism gets attention

    Biden, Trump visit border; antisemitism gets attention

    Both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited the border on Thursday, and lawmakers in Tallahassee passed a bill to combat antisemitism. 


    Trump and Biden visit the border

    Former President Donald Trump spoke alongside Texas and border patrol officials near the U.S.-Mexico border on Thursday, describing the humanitarian crisis there as a “war” and spouted false conspiracy theories that the flow of migrants into the country was an “invasion” orchestrated by President Joe Biden to import “entire columns of fighting-age men.”

    Biden is “allowing thousands and thousands of people to come in from China, Iran, Yemen, the Congo, Syria and a lot of other nations. Many that nations are not very friendly to us,” Trump baselessly charged. “He’s transported the entire columns of fighting-age men and they’re all at a certain age and you look at them, and I said, ‘They look like warriors to me, something’s going on.’ It’s bad.”

    The baseless claims and insinuations echo the white supremacist conspiracy theory known as “The Great Replacement.” The theory, which posits Democrats and other elites are intentionally bringing nonwhite migrants into the country to “replace” white Americans and sow chaos, has inspired racist mass shootings with death tolls in the hundreds in the U.S. and across the world in the last decade.

    “I think they’re looking for votes, they’re looking for something, nobody’s really been able to tell me how anybody could want it,” Trump charged, before stumbling through a commentary on non-English speaking migrants. “Allowing millions of people from places unknown, from countries unknown, who don’t speak languages — we have languages coming into our country, we have nobody that even speaks those languages. They’re, they’re truly foreign languages. Nobody speaks them.”

    Trump and his campaign have pledged that his second administration will orchestrate the largest deportation operations in U.S. history, attempt to end the constitutional right to birthright citizenship and bring troops home from abroad to be deployed at the southern border — including using the U.S. Navy to “impose a full naval embargo on the cartels,” as his campaign said this week.

    The 2024 GOP frontrunner’s visit to the border came simultaneously to Biden’s visit to Brownsville, Texas, where he also addressed border and immigration issues and appealed to Republicans — including Trump — to embrace bipartisan solutions. Trump opposed a bipartisan border deal and helped convince Republicans, including some negotiators, to abandon it earlier this month.

    “Here’s what I would say to Mr. Trump: Instead of playing politics with this issue, instead of telling members of Congress to block this legislation, join me, or I’ll join you, in telling the Congress to pass this bipartisan border security bill,” Biden said Thursday. “We can do it together.”

    “Let’s remember who the heck we work for. We work for the American people. Not the Democratic Party, the Republican Party. The American people,” the president added.

    The proposed deal would have given Biden the authority to shut down the border if the number of migrant crossings in a given day crossed 8,500, or an average of 5,000 over a seven-day period. It also would have provided $20 billion in funding to facilitate the hiring of an additional 1,500 border patrol personnel, 4,300 asylum officers and 100 immigration judges, as well as allocated funds for 100 machines to help detect fentanyl and around $1.4 billion for cities and municipalities struggling to address their community’s ballooning migrant populations, per the White House.

    “Trump said, ‘Blame it on me.’ And so I will. Trump’s need to boost his own fragile political ego has gotten us here with another manufactured logjam,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on a press call organized by the Biden campaign on Wednesday, quoting Trump directly. “A few weeks ago, there was a chance for a real breakthrough on immigration policy. President Biden and congressional Democrats did what voters say they want from leaders: They sat down at a table with Republicans and negotiated a bipartisan compromise.”

    “But the same Republicans who helped write and were prepared to vote for it suddenly opposed it. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to because Donald Trump doesn’t want a solution,” Pritzker continued.

    Trump spoke at Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas, a park on the Rio Grande where migrants — including children — have died attempting to reach since Gov. Greg Abbott seized it, kicked out U.S. Border Patrol and set up miles of razor wire. The federal government successfully sued to regain access and cut the wire, but Abbott’s administration has continued to defy the Supreme Court order and challenge Biden’s authority. While in Eagle Pass, Trump met with Abbott, border patrol agents and state and local law enforcement officials.

    “Biden is using every tool that he can to tear down the borders that Texas is putting up in our state,” Abbott said on Thursday. “What our National Guard has done, they have sealed off this entire park and taken it over, because this area was being used by the Biden administration to violate the laws of the United States of America.”

    Abbott, Texas National Guard Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer and border patrol union president Brandon Judd spoke alongside Trump when he addressed the media after touring the heavily fortified park. Judd described his members, federal employees who answer to Biden administration appointees, as “your agents” to Trump, who has not been president for over three years.

    “Your agents, Mr. President, are pissed. Border Patrol agents are upset that we cannot get the proper policy,” Judd said. “Thank goodness we have a governor like Gov. Abbott. Thank goodness we have somebody that’s willing to run for president of the United States, forgo everything else that he’s been doing to serve the American people.”

    Abbott and Trump both played up the menace of crime from migrants, with the Texas Republican also claiming his state was the subject of an “invasion.” Both referenced rapes, assaults and murders by undocumented immigrants, though the high-profile cases do not reflect years of data and analyses that conclude migrants, regardless of their legal status, commit less crimes than natural-born U.S. citizens.

    “Immigrants are 30% less likely to be incarcerated than are U.S.-born individuals who are white,” a Stanford University report from last year found. The right-wing Cato Institute reported in 2020 that immigrants, regardless of their legal status, were less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

    “This immigrant crime narrative is racist. It’s not true,” California Rep. Robert Garcia said on the Wednesday press call. “Trump is out here saying that we’re poisoning the blood of this country. And the facts actually don’t bear that out.”

    Trump directly addressed the murder of University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley last week. Police have arrested a Venezuelan migrant who entered the country illegally, but was allowed to stay as his immigration case was processed. Trump and other Republicans have seized on the case as an example of the dangers migrants pose to U.S. citizens. 

    On Thursday, Trump said he had spoken to Riley’s parents.

    “She was a beautiful young woman. She was a great person, best nursing student there was. I spoke to her parents yesterday. They’re incredible people that are devastated beyond belief,” Trump said. “The monster that was charged in the death is an illegal alien migrant who was let into our country and released into our communities by crooked Joe Biden. He’s crooked — I took the name away from Hillary [Clinton]. Because she’s no longer relevant, I guess.”

    According to an AP-NORC poll in January, the share of voters concerned about immigration rose to 35% from 27% last year. Fifty-five percent of Republicans say the government needs to focus on immigration in 2024, while 22% of Democrats listed immigration as a priority. That’s up from 45% and 14%, respectively, from December 2022.

    The number of people who are illegally crossing the U.S. border has been rising for years for complicated reasons that include climate change, war and unrest in other nations, the economy, and cartels that see migration as a cash cow.

    The administration’s approach has been to pair crackdowns at the border with increasing legal pathways for migrants designed to steer people into arriving by plane with sponsors, not illegally on foot to the border.

    Arrests for illegal crossings fell by half in January, but there were record highs in December. The numbers of migrants flowing across the U.S-Mexico border have far outpaced the capacity of an immigration system that has not been substantially updated in decades. Trump and Republicans claim Biden is refusing to act, but absent a law change from Congress, any major policies are likely to be challenged or held up in court.

    “I am an immigrant myself, I came to the U.S. when I was a young kid. I know how difficult it is to go through the immigration process, to become a citizen, to to struggle with poverty and to struggle through the process,” said Garcia, the California Democrat who came to the U.S. from Peru as a young child. “We actually could fix our system, but Donald Trump is not interested in it, so I personally take great offense to the way he characterizes people like myself and my family. And the way he is essentially characterizing essentially going back to a system where he would forcibly remove people like me, like my family from our homes and neighborhoods into detention or to be deported.”

    “It is sick,” Garcia added. 

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    Lawmakers pass antisemitism bill in Tallahassee

    The Florida Legislature unanimously approved legislation Thursday adopting a new definition of antisemitism. 

    The final version of the bill was passed by the House during the first-ever “Israel Day” at the Florida Capitol. The Senate passed its version of the bill on Wednesday.

    The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance drafted the definition Florida is adopting. If approved, Florida would become the 13th state to do so.

    The legislation’s definition of antisemitism is as follows:

    “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”

    More information on the IHRA definition is available online.

    Supporters say Florida’s legislation empowers prosecutors and police to address hate crimes more effectively.

    The bill, House Bill 148, now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ consideration. 

    “We will continue this fight to tempt down inequality in the State of Florida and raise up those who need to be raised,” said the bill sponsor, Democratic State Rep. Mike Gotlieb.

    Antisemitism nationwide is on the rise, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

    “When conflict erupts in Israel, antisemitic incidents soon follow in the U.S. and globally,” said ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt.

    “You can use the definition when there is a hate crime,” said Boynton Beach Democratic State Sen. Lori Berman. “You can use the definition when there’s discrimination.” 

    Despite bipartisan support, at least one lawmaker voiced concern.

    Palm Bay Republican Rep. Randy Fine said he supports the bill, but fears that some local leaders may not utilize it.

    “It will not matter if we don’t demand that they act on these laws as we pass them,” said Fine, a Jewish lawmaker. 

    DeSantis often touts Florida as the “most pro-Israel state” in the nation. 

    To date, he’s embarked upon two Israeli trade missions and provided logistical support to Israel after the Oct. 7 attack. 

    “Florida is doing everything right, and it should be done across the country and across the world,” said Consul General of Israel to Florida, Maor Elbaz-Starinsky. 

    Other pro-Israel legislation this session includes policy boosting security at Jewish schools and a new state holiday — Holocaust Remembrance Day.

    The 2024 Legislative Session ends March 8.

    Short-term spending bill passes both chambers of Congress

    The Senate and the House have both passed another short-term spending measure Thursday that would keep one set of federal agencies operating through March 8 and another set through March 22, narrowly avoiding a shutdown for parts of the federal government that would otherwise kick in Saturday.

    The measure now heads to President Joe Biden’s desk, where he is expected to sign it quickly.

    In a 320 to 99 vote, the House passed a short-term funding agreement to avoid a partial government shutdown Friday. Florida Republicans were divided on the measure. 

    Twelve of the 20 Florida Republicans in the House voted against the short-term spending bill, including Reps. Anna Paulina Luna and Matt Gaetz.

    “If it were up to me, if I was a speaker, I’d say look, we need those 12 standalone appropriations bills, we need to determine exactly where we can make some of those cuts,” Luna said. “And frankly, remember, it’s been a really long time since we’ve balanced the budget.”

    The short-term deal followed a meeting between congressional leaders of both parties with President Joe Biden at the White House earlier this week. It sets new funding deadlines for March 8 and March 22.

    It does not include the $95 billion foreign aid package for wartime funding to Ukraine and Israel that passed the Senate earlier this month.

    The funding agreement also does not include any new border provisions as both Biden and former President Donald Trump took dueling visits to the U.S. Southern Border Thursday.

    House Freedom Caucus members, including Luna, had sought a 1% across the board cut to discretionary spending.

    House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the deal opposed by many in his own party Thursday.

    “The appropriations process is ugly. Democracy is ugly. This is the way it works every year, always has, except that we’ve instituted some new innovations,” Johnson said. “We broke the omnibus fever, right? That’s how Washington has been run for years. We’re trying to turn the aircraft carrier back to real budgeting and spending reform. This was an important thing to break it up into smaller pieces.”

    This is the fourth extension of the government funding deadline since September. Lawmakers say they are hopeful a fifth won’t be needed, and that funding for the full budget year that began five months ago will soon be approved.

    Joseph Konig

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  • McConnell to step down; gender bill dies in Senate

    McConnell to step down; gender bill dies in Senate

    Lawmakers in Tallahassee work on final bills to leave committee, and few surprises expected in Michigan primary.


    McConnell announces he’ll step down as Senate leader

    Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday that he will step down in November as the leader of the Senate Republican conference, capping off his tenure as the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history.

    McConnell’s announcement not only marks a milestone for the Kentucky Republican, but also signals a changing of the guard in the Senate Republican caucus — a departure from the brand of conservatism founded by Ronald Reagan in favor of the populism of Donald Trump.

    It was a point that he acknowledged in his remarks on Wednesday afternoon as he prepared to bid farewell to the power he’s wielded for nearly two decades. He reflected on his early time in the Senate, which “helped shape my view of the world,” particularly noting “the irreplaceable role we play as the leader of the free world.”

    “It’s why I worked so hard to get the national security package passed earlier this month — Believe me, I know the politics within my party at this particular moment in time. I have many faults. Misunderstanding politics is not one of them,” he joked. “That said, I believe more strongly than ever that America’s global leadership is a central to preserving the shining city on a hill that Ronald Reagan discussed. As long as I’m drawing breath on this earth, I will defend American exceptionalism.”

    McConnell, who turned 82 last week, acknowledged that a recent family tragedy — the recent death of his wife Elaine Chao’s younger sister, Angela — offered him a moment of introspection.

    “When you lose a loved one, particularly at a young age, there’s a certain introspection that accompanies the grieving process,” he said. “Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding you of your own life’s journey, to reprioritize the impact of the world that we will all inevitably leave behind. I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I prefer.”

    He also expressed his gratitude toward his wife, who served in the last two Republican administrations as labor secretary under George W. Bush and transportation secretary under Trump, as well as to Reagan, whose virtues and leadership he extolled.

    “For 31 years, Elaine has been the love of my life,” he said. “And I’m eternally grateful to have her by my side.”

    “My career in the United States Senate began amidst the Reagan Revolution,” he said. “Truth is when I got here, I was just happy everybody remembered my name. President Reagan called me Mitch O’Donnell. Close enough, I thought. My wife Elaine and I got married on President Reagan’s birthday, Feb. 6. It’s probably not the most romantic thing to admit, but Reagan meant a lot to both of us.”

    Gender ID bill dies in Senate

    HB 1639 is a bill that would have required that someone’s biological sex, not gender, be listed on state IDs and health insurance plans. But the head of the Florida’s Department of Motor Vehicles beat lawmakers by sending out a memo that says Florida residents can only identify by their sex at birth on their driver’s license. 

    The LGBTQ community calls these moves discriminatory, and they were out in full force today to make their voices heard. 

    They say the move is unfriendly to the LGBTQ community.

    “We’re in a really volatile time and a really unstable time so it’s just really hard to exist as a trans person in Florida,” Ame Leon said.

    Several Democrats joined Leon on the capitol steps. Together they’re raising issue with several Republican-led bills.

    “It’s not just an issue of equality. It’s also in issue of economics. If we want to attract talent to this state, then we have to be welcoming to every type of family,” Rep. Anna Eskamani said.

    Wednesday’s rally happened in the closing days of legislative session.

    “We’ve noticed that there’s a lot of confusion in the land apparently of what is a woman and what is a man,” Rep. Dean Black said.

    There is good news for advocates. After weeks of debate in the House and Senate, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo confirmed Wednesday that the bill is dead in her chamber.

    “That bill is still stuck in committee. Per Senate rules, we don’t take bills out of committee,” she said.

    The session is slated to end on March 8.

    Lawmakers address the short-term rental industry in Florida

    Visit Florida estimates that the vacation rental market in Florida is worth more than $1 billion per year. It’s an industry that affects many in our communities, either as a property owner, or a vacationer, perhaps staying at a gulf coast beach.

    But a bill passed by the state Senate this legislative session is focused on giving more regulatory power to the state when it comes to vacation rentals.

    The bill’s sponsor says it will help cut down on rowdy renters, while local leaders say it’s simply government overreach, and that the cities can regulate themselves.

    “The reason why this place is so fantastic is that we have a solid 5 blocks of main street with parks all around it. The main street is full of bars, restaurants, all kinds of offerings,” Jason Patino said.

    He like to talk up the city of Gulf Port   

    “Where else in Florida do you have a beautiful downtown strip and a beautiful beach right next to it?” He asked.

    He’s a real estate agent, and it’s part of his job. But he’s also heavily invested in short-term rentals of his own.

    “All of the people here, they aren’t residents. This money that’s transacting right now, that couldn’t be happening without a vacation rental market.

    He says the city is changing all the time. He’s starting to see younger families move in or rent here for a vacation.  

    Short-term rentals are regulated by the city they are in, but SB 280 would push regulating short-term rentals like Airbnb and VRBO to the state level.  

    It could regulate how many people can stay in a property, rental registration and impose fines if an owner is in violation.  

    Patino sees this as the state government overstepping its power.  

    “So you have to ask yourself, is the state going to identify what best for this vacation home market? Do you think anyone in Tallahassee knows what’s happening here right now?” He said.

    Republican Sen. Nick Diceglie is a sponsor of the bill.  

    “When our founding fathers enshrined these ideals in our form of government almost 250 years ago, they couldn’t possibly have imagined how innovations like VRBO or Airbnb would lead modern day communities to question the proper role of government in regulating the use of private property. I doubt they envisioned endless streams of drug and alcohol-infused ragers, loud music, and trash disturbing quaint beachfront streets, either. So here we are,” he said.

    Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Joanne Kennedy said several cities are concerned about the bill.  

    “We don’t think this is a one size fits all issue. And we do have designations in all of the communities. For example, in Indian Rock Springs, we have commercial tourism, we have mixed use,” Kennedy said.

    Patino said the bill favors the hotel industry, and this is state government overreach.

    “Why do they want to take over something they couldn’t understand? Tallahassee has no idea what the local populace of Gulf Port Beach needs, but the council here does,” he said.

    Gary Darling

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  • Artificial Intelligence bill in Tallahassee

    Artificial Intelligence bill in Tallahassee

    Lawmakers in Tallahassee work on final bills to leave committee, and few surprises expected in Michigan primary.


    Lawmakers address AI in political campaigns

    More than 1,800 bills were filed for consideration during this year’s legislative session. In the seven weeks since, some of those bills are on the cusp of becoming laws.

    Others hit stumbling blocks.

    Today was the final day of scheduled committee meetings, giving lawmakers one last chance to move legislation for a potential floor vote.

    Any bills unable to garner approval are now all but doomed for this year.

    One proposal set for a house vote is HB 919, which would regulate the use of artificial intelligence in political ads.

    With election season already picking up, lawmakers are working to put guard rails on artificial intelligence.

    This legislation is the first of its kind and it comes just months before the next election cycle.

    House Bill 919 focuses on emerging AI technology. The bill would require political ads generated by AI to come with a public notice.

    “The increasing access to sophisticated AI-generated content threatens the integrity of elections by facilitating the dissemination of misleading or completely fabricated information that appears more realistic than ever,” Rep. Alex Rizzo said.

    The Florida house is expected to deliver a final vote on the bill Tuesday. The goal, supporters say, is to make political ads more honest

    “Cs for HB 919 seeks to address the rising concern of deceptive campaign advertising by mandating disclaimers on political ads that contain certain content generated by artificial intelligence,” Rizzo said.

    Democrats are on the board with the bill. The measure thus far is advancing with bipartisan support.

    But even then, there are some lingering questions.

    “If someone manipulates their own picture to make them have no wrinkles and that type of stuff using AI, you know, I’m 40. I got I got a little line right there. I don’t want it in my pictures. So I would have to use that disclaimer?” Rep. Angie Nixon said.

    Biden and Trump expected to win Michigan primary

    With the South Carolina Republican primary in the rearview mirror, the race for the Democratic and GOP presidential nominations now heads to the first battleground state in November’s election: Michigan.

    The Wolverine State is a crucial one for both parties. Narrowly winning the reliably blue state helped give Donald Trump the presidency in 2016, the first Republican to do so since 1988, but Joe Biden won it back in 2020 by more than 150,000 votes.

    While both Biden and Trump lead in recent polling, both frontrunners face major questions in Michigan’s primary, which is the last before Super Tuesday on March 5, when more than a dozen states — accounting for roughly a third of all delegates to the nominating conventions — are up for grabs.

    For Trump, it will be another test of the strength of his last remaining challenger, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — and if a power struggle between competing factions of the state’s Republican Party will have any impact.

    On the other side of the spectrum, Biden faces a challenge not from a particular candidate — though his last remaining challenger for the Democratic nomination, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips will be on the ballot — but from a push by progressive activists to get voters to pick “uncommitted” as a form of protest to push the incumbent to back a permanent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

    As of Monday, more than 1 million people have already voted in the primary — 927,000 by mail and 78,000 in person early — a 13% higher pre-Election Day turnout than the state saw in 2020, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

    Marijuana bill leaves hemp shop owner uncertain about future

    Senate Bill 1698 would limit THC and other cannabinoids recently passed and a similar House Bill is expected to do the same. Some hemp shop owners say it could spell disaster for their industry in Florida.

    In Clearwater Beach, Matthew Wetzel has run LGH Dispensary for the past four years. He has worked in the industry for longer and says hemp shops bring billions in revenue to the Sunshine State. However, as he looks over all the products in his display case, he doesn’t have a rosy outlook on the future.

    “Everything is going to be above the 2-milligram mark or 10-milligrams per package and we’re definitely going to be losing the flower as well,” Wetzel said.

    Senate Bill 1698 would prohibit businesses from manufacturing or selling products that contain more than .3% Delta-9 and limit other cannabinoids. Senate Health Policy Chair Republican Colleen Burton sponsored the bill. She wants to cap the levels of THC and change packaging that she says is geared towards kids.

    “I have a real concern for the health and safety for Floridians with these items on the market,” Burton said.

    For Wetzel, it’s about more than just keeping his doors open for him. He’s worried about his 12-year-old son who uses CBD for seizures. He said once his son started using CBD, it was life changing. He says he worries about others who use it as a medication.

    “You may have some family members that have debilitative issues, whether they are children or not (…) that have chosen this holistic plant. Think about them,” Wetzel said.

    He is not sure what the future might bring if the bills are put into law. If passed, the law would be implemented in October. However, Wetzel said he plans to fight the legislation and possibly file a lawsuit against the state.

    Gary Darling

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  • Haley stays in GOP race; civil liablities bill pulled

    Haley stays in GOP race; civil liablities bill pulled

    Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is staying in the Republican primary for president, and lawmakers debate a bill that would increase civil liabilities in Florida.


    Haley stays in race ahead of Michigan’s primary

    There’s been a number of developments on the presidential campaign trail.

    Starting with a shakeup at the Republican National Committee. The party’s chair, Ronna McDaniel, announced she will officially relinquish that role next month.

    She said she will allow the party to select a new chair of their choosing, following the tradition of letting a party’s presidential nominee pick a new chair.

    Former President Donald Trump has already suggested North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley for the job.

    Meanwhile, Trump is leading the Republican primary field, with 110 bound delegates compared to former Gov. Nikki Haley’s 20.

    Michigan’s primary election takes place Tuesday, where Trump and Haley remain on the Republican ballot alongside several candidates who have dropped out, including Gov. Ron DeSantis

    Michigan has been a crucial battleground state in the last two presidential elections and candidates will be looking not just to win the primary, but to see where they stand for the November general election as well.

    After Saturday’s loss in her home state of South Carolina, Haley is facing growing calls from fellow Republicans to end her presidential candidacy.

    “The sooner we come together, the better. There’s really no pathway for her after tonight,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said.

    Haley trails in the delegate count and in the polls, and late Sunday, Americans for Prosperity announced it will no longer spend money on behalf of her campaign.

    But Haley is vowing to stay in the race, both in Michigan on Tuesday and through March 5, Super Tuesday.

    She says her ability to win four out of 10 voters in the South Carolina primary Saturday is a danger sign for Trump’s campaign.

    “You can’t win a general election if you don’t acknowledge the 40% of Republicans who are saying we don’t want Donald Trump,” Haley said.

    There are 874 delegates at stake on Super Tuesday, when 15 states and one U.S. territory hold primaries, but experts say it will be nearly impossible for Haley to catch up.

    “They’ve redesigned the rules in a lot of these states. Trump and his team have been working on this for a couple of years. Most of them are now winner-take-all, or winner-take almost all, delegates,” University of Virginia professor Larry Sabato said.

    President Joe Biden is expected to easily win Michigan’s Democratic primary, but some left-wing Democrats are urging votes for uncommitted delegates, to protest Biden not being more critical of Israel’s tactics in its war against Hamas. Because Michigan has a large concentration of Arab-American voters, the protest vote could be significant. Some of Biden’s supporters are pushing back.

    “I think the progressives always had trouble with the perfect being the enemy of the good,” former DNC charman Howard Dean said.

    The results on Tuesday will be closely watched for any clues about where Michigan is trending before the November election. The state was critical to Trump winning the White House in 2016 and then Biden winning it in 2020. 

    Civil liabilities bill gets pulled from Committee

    A controversial bill concerning wrongful death lawsuits and the unborn could see big changes before it reaches the Senate floor, if it gets there at all.

    Lawmakers in Tallahassee Monday are busy renegotiating a bill that would give liability protections to Florida’s unborn with only one day left to advance bills in committee.

    Senate bill 476 would empower parents sue over the wrongful death of their unborn child. 

    For Florida Democrats, though, this is a veiled threat against access to abortion. 

    “We’ve been working with the sponsor but she doesn’t seem interested in taking some of the suggestions we have so again it begs the question… what are you actually doing?” Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book said.

    Under the bill, pregnant mothers would get immunity against civil lawsuits. Plus, a proposed amendment seemed to offer at least some protections to abortion providers too. 

    But after some outspoken skepticism, the bill sponsor pulled the bill out of committee.

    “Although I have worked diligently to respond to questions and concerns, I understand there is still work that needs to be done,” State. Sen. Erin Grall said.

    Meanwhile, in the house, Republicans are dismissive about those concerns.

    “This bill is narrowly tailored. It only applies to the wrongful death statute so while I’m happen to discuss personhood and whether a child should be a person, this is not that bigger conversation,” State Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka said.

    It’s unclear as of now what changes could be on the horizon for this bill, if any.

    New bill would increase penalties for youth gun crimes

    A bill that would toughen penalties for kids caught with guns is one step closer to becoming law.

    The Florida House of Representatives approved HB 1181 Thursday with a vote of 83-29. Under the bill, minors who illegally possess guns would be charged with a third-degree felony.

    That’s up from a first-degree misdemeanor. They’d also be detained longer — five days for a first offense and 21 days for a second offense. For third and subsequent offenses, they could be adjudicated delinquent and committed to a residential program. 

    Florida Rep. Berny Jacques sponsors the bill. He pointed to a Christmas Eve shooting in Pinellas County as an example of why it’s needed. A 14-year-old boy shot and killed his sister after an argument with his 15-year-old brother about Christmas presents. That 15-year-old then shot the 14-year-old.

    “It’s tragic, because now a young man is charged with first degree murder and the other is charged with attempted first degree murder, and it’s tragic because this could have been prevented,” Jacques said during debate. “It could have been prevented because these youth were known not only to carry their firearms, but they had multiple run-ins with the law, including on firearm offenses — one of them at 12 years old. Had a charge with minor in possession of a firearm, but at the time and at this current time, it’s only a misdemeanor, and there was no real mechanism to hold that child accountable. And who knows, if there were mechanisms in place, who knows what could have been prevented?”

    Those against the bill said they’re concerned the extended time teens can be detained is too harsh. According to the bill, if an adjudicatory hearing doesn’t take place after a young person has been detained for 60 days, the court must hold a review hearing within each successive seven-day review period until the hearing is held or the child is placed on supervised release.

    “If law enforcement is investigating what has happened in a matter, we get to hold a child basically until law enforcement and the state attorney can make a charging decision,” said Florida Rep. Michele Rayner. “That flies in the face of the Constitution, that flies in the face of human decency, that flies in the face of protecting our children.”

    Freddy Barton, executive director of Safe & Sound Hillsborough, said he and his team reviewed the bill Thursday with teens in its youth gun offender program.

    “I think that the bill does give a little bit more teeth to the existing language that’s out there, but I don’t think that it answers all of the concerns,” Barton said. “We still need to have parents to come to the forefront and make sure that they have a role and responsibility in keeping guns out of the hands of kids, and we need to look at more prevention-based programming.”

    Safe and Sound works with young people facing charges to help get them back on the right track.

    “Here in the pink and in the blue, those are kids that either are on probation or they’ve got some type of gun charge,” Barton said, referring to a map of Hillsborough County with colored stickers on it, representing teens currently taking part in the group’s programming.

    According to Barton, they were all court-ordered to work with Safe and Sound in the last month.

    “Unfortunately, the numbers are growing, and so we’re trying to do as much as we can early because we’re getting ready to go into spring break. We already know if we don’t have active programming in place for kids and they’re out of school, we see the numbers increase,” Barton said.

    He said it was important to talk with teens in the youth gun offender program about the bill to give them a better idea of the impact their actions today could have on their lives going forward.

    “You need to understand there are going to be deeper consequences for making some of these choices. So, let’s make better choices now so you don’t find yourself on the other end of that,” Barton said.

    Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that’s the point of the bill — toughening consequences to stop kids from committing gun crimes.

    “It’s probably the worst that it’s ever been,” Gualtieri said of gun-related crime involving teens. “I think what it’s being caused by is all these kids are out in the middle of the night, breaking into all these cars, and there’s a lot more guns out there. There’s a lot more guns in cars.”

    Gualtieri helped work on the bill and said it’s about making sure the consequences match the crime.

    “Everything in 1181 focuses on gun crimes and also being reasonable about it and making sure that we give kids the opportunity to get on the right side of it. We’re using detention centers as a place those kids would be incarcerated for a minimum period of time to get the message across,” Gualtieri said. “Kids at 14, 15, 16 years old, 2 to 3 in the morning, standing on the street corner, should not have a gun sitting in their waistband.”

    Barton said he does share the concerns of critics about the length of time teens could be detained, saying it could set them far back when it comes to school.

    “If you can imagine when you were in high school and you were sick two, three days, you were already behind when you went back to school. Now, you’re being securely confined for 21, 30 days for the state to come back or someone to come back and say that, ‘Hey, this kid needs to be detained for another 21 days,’” said Barton. “Well, it’s almost a death sentence for the kids when we try to get them back in their school environment.”

    Gualtieri said the proposed new detention times are reasonable.

    “At the end of the day, there’s an easy solution to the problem for young kids: don’t commit gun crimes. If you don’t commit gun crimes, you don’t have to worry about it,” Gualtieri said. 

    Gary Darling

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  • DeSantis sends more troops to border; GOP primary heats up

    DeSantis sends more troops to border; GOP primary heats up

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has started to send additional troops to the Texas border, with the offer of a thousand more, and Republicans in South Carolina prepare for the state presidential primary. 


    DeSantis begins to send additional Florida troops to Texas border

    It’s been an eventful week for Gov. Ron DeSantis. Several bills are now on his desk, and despite broad support from the legislature, the governor’s recent comments have cast doubt whether he’ll actually sign them.

    While they wait for a signature or a veto, DeSantis is sending more troops and troopers to the southern border.

    As many as 50 Florida National Guard members will leave from Plant City Friday and dozens of state troopers from Pensacola are going with them.

    “This is part of a years-long effort for us to help do what the federal government has refused to do, which is to actually defend this country’s borders,” DeSantis said.

    In February, DeSantis said Florida will help Texas build barricades or lay down more border wire.

    “We wanna be a part of that,” he said. “We think this is an American issue — partially because we should have a secure country, and partially the effects of this border invasion go to all 50 states.”

    The governor is offering Texas up to 1,000 troops. The offer comes as border crossings in the U.S. near a record high. Border Patrol in December reported roughly 250,000 migrant encounters.

    But back in Florida, Democrats are calling the move a wasteful political stunt.

    This mission, they say, is all about DeSantis and his dream of running for the White House.

    “There’s so much to focus on here at home,” Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said. “We don’t need a governor who is continuing to focus on his own ambitions and just leaving Floridians behind.”

    Not only that, Florida Democrats say no state should send their troops down south. The border, they say, is federal business. 

    South Carolina GOP primary could reveal clear winner

    Saturday is the Republican Presidential Primary in South Carolina.

    And even though Nikki Haley is a former governor of the state, she is not expected to beat former President Donald Trump.

    Nevertheless, she is pledging to stay in the race for the foreseeable future.

    Hundreds of people lined up for hours in Rock Hill to hear Trump speak. Even as the former president faces a laundry list of legal troubles, his support remains strong going into the primary.

    “He’s been through a lot and he keeps going,” South Carolina resident Joe Kilpatrick said. “He’s a true patriot. Best president in my lifetime.” 

    “When he was president in 2020, he made everything better,” resident Katie Henson claimed. “And now, Biden, it’s going down the toilet.”

    Haley has been criss-crossing the state, arguing Trump and Biden are too old and that Trump is too chaotic to run the country, but Trump fans disagree.

    “I’ve always known the older, the wiser,” Latosha Parker said. “Age is nothing but a number. We need Nikki Haley to say what she’s going to bring,” 

    Something Haley does have is a pitch that is appealing to former Trump supporters who are exhausted by his unending legal troubles.

    In a call with reporters Friday, Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney cited a Marquette Law School poll that found Haley would beat Biden by 16 percentage points but Trump would beat him by 2 points, within the margin of error. Ankney also rattled off the lengthy list of Republican election defeats since, she said, the “luster wore off” of Trump following his 2016 victory.

    “We know that the math is challenging,” Ankney said. “This has never just been about who can win a Republican primary. This battle is about who can win in November, defeat the Democrats and finally get our country back on track. And the reality is, no matter what all-caps rants Trump goes on on Twitter about the polls, he will not defeat Joe Biden in November, and he will drag the entire Republican ticket down with him.”

    Haley has shown no sign of being on the verge of bowing out. This week, her campaign announced its leadership teams in Super Tuesday primary states Michigan and Texas, and Ankney announced Friday a seven-figure TV and digital ad buy leading up to Super Tuesday, which is March 5.

    Haley and the super PAC supporting her had $15 million cash on hand at the end of January, according to Federal Election Commission.

    The former South Carolina governor has been attacking Trump on a number of fronts, including his court trials, his comments that he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries that do not meet their financial obligations and his refusal to condemn Russia for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

    The Trump campaign, meanwhile, has been trying to paint Haley as someone who is weak on immigration and relations with China, and who would raise taxes.

    Republican strategist Rina Shah said it’s important for Haley to avoid an ugly blowout Saturday.

    “The delta can’t be so vast,” Shah said. “Because if it is, then it’s almost like a repudiation of her candidacy.”

    Shah added that Haley has “had her eye on the long game for months now” after receiving an influx of support from big-money donors and Americans for Prosperity Action, the political network founded by the influential billionaire Koch Brothers.

    USF students volunteer in South Carolina primary

    Students at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg headed to South Carolina this week to volunteer ahead of the Republican presidential primary.

    The trip is part of a course called “The Road to the White House 2024.” The students applied to be in the class. Each student chose to intern with Republican candidates Donald Trump, Nikki Haley or with the South Carolina Democratic Party.

    “The Democrats had their election, but now what?” asked USF St. Pete professor Judithanne McLauchlan. “They’re going to be doing their delegate selections, so these students will get the behind the scenes look at all of that process.”

    The students left for South Carolina on Friday and will stay for 10 days.

    “I really have no idea what the campaign is going to look like,” said student Dante Rubino, who will intern with former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.

    “I’m looking at getting on the inside track and furthering my career,” said student and veteran Steven Brown. Brown, who already works with veterans, said he plans to intern with Trump’s campaign.

    While they’re in South Carolina, each student will blog about their experience.

    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Florida social media restrictions passed; vape shops on bill

    Florida social media restrictions passed; vape shops on bill

    Lawmakers in Tallahassee passed a revised version of the social media restriction bill. President Joe Biden reacts to the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision that frozen embryos are babies. 


    Social media restriction bill passes both chambers

    Both chambers in the Florida legislature passed a bill Thursday that would keep children under the age of 16 off popular platforms regardless of parental approval.

    The measure passed 108-7 in the House and 23-14 in the Senate.

    The measure will now go to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has expressed displeasure in the wording of the bill.

    In Orlando, DeSantis told reporters the proposal still needed work. The bill would ban minors younger than 16 from social media with no parental exception to the rule.

    “I’m a critic of social media, but I have to look at this from a parent’s perspective, so we’re working through this,” DeSantis said. “I don’t think it’s there yet. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get there in a way that I think answers a lot of the concerns that a lot of folks have.”

    That warning came just hours after House Bill 1 passed in the Senate.

    The bill targets any social media site that tracks user activity, allows children to upload material and interact with others, and uses addictive features designed to cause excessive or compulsive use. Supporters point to rising suicide rates among children, cyberbullying and predators using social media to prey on kids.

    “We’re talking about businesses that are using addictive features to engage in mass manipulation of our children to cause them harm,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican state Sen. Erin Grall.

    Other states have considered similar legislation, but most have not proposed a total ban. In Arkansas, a federal judge blocked enforcement of a law in August that required parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.

    Supporters in Florida hope that if the bill becomes law, it would withstand legal challenges because it would ban social media formats based on addictive features such as notification alerts and auto-play videos, rather than the content on their sites.

    But opponents say it blatantly violates the First Amendment and that it should be left to parents, not the government, to monitor children’s social media use.

    “This isn’t 1850,” said Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo. “While parents show up at school board meetings to ban books, their kids are on their iPads looking at really bad stuff.”

    Some parents also have mixed feelings.

    Central Florida mother Angela Perry said she understands the rationale behind the bill, and noted that she and her husband didn’t let their daughter onto any major platforms until she turned 15. But Perry said she believes it should be up to every parent to make that decision based on the maturity of their children.

    “Whatever happened to parental rights?” Perry asked. “You are already selecting books my child can read at school. That is fine to a certain extent. But now you are also moving into their private life as well. It’s becoming intrusive.”

    The Florida bill would require social media companies to close any accounts it believes to be used by minors and to cancel accounts at the request of a minor or parents. Per the bill, any information pertaining to the account must also be deleted.

    Biden reacts to Alabama Supreme Court decision

    The Alabama Supreme Court’s recent decision that frozen embryos can be considered children is beginning to enter the fracas of the 2024 presidential campaign, becoming another flashpoint in the battle over reproductive health with the issue of abortion likely to remain a salient issue in November. 

    In an interview released Wednesday afternoon, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley responded to the ruling in an interview with NBC News, saying “Embryos, to me, are babies.”

    “When you talk about an embryo, you are talking about, to me — that’s a life, and so I do see where that’s coming from when they talk about that,” she added later in the interview. 

    Haley herself used artificial insemination to have her son, which is a different procedure from IVF. 

    By nightfall, the former U.N. Ambassador sought to clarify that her comment about considering embryos babies was not an endorsement of the Alabama Supreme Court’s controversial ruling. 

    “I didn’t say that I agreed with the Alabama ruling,” Haley said in a CNN interview on Wednesday night. “The question that I was asked is: do I believe an embryo is a baby? I do think that if you look in the definition an embryo is considered an unborn baby.”

    The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor went on to emphasize that the “goal” when it comes to frozen embryos should be to “always do what parents want.”

    “So any physician that is in control of those embryos, they owe it to those people to make sure they protect that embryo,” she added. 

    The former South Carolina governor’s comments came as Haley has sought to position herself as more realistic than her former GOP rivals when it comes to abortion, arguing for a “consensus” on the issue that can get enough support in Congress to actually pass. Haley, however, has said she would sign a national abortion ban as president. 

    The Alabama Supreme Court – which is completely Republican-dominated – sparked attention around the country when it ruled that a state law giving parents the ability to sue over the death of a child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” That, according to the court, included embryos. 

    “Unborn children are ‘children,’” one justice wrote in the unanimous ruling. 

    Experts are now warning the decision could have major implications for in-vitro fertilization as Alabama’s largest hospital on Wednesday said it is halting the practice for now as it looks into the legal implications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 4 million births annually in the U.S., or 1-2%, are from IVF. The treatment can be a costly one, with the average cost of a single IVF cycle costing between $10,000-15,000, per Penn Medicine, and experts are concerned that the Alabama ruling could raise those costs further.  

    Democrats have sought to tie the Alabama high court’s ruling to the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 to overturn the nearly 50-year-old decision in Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the right to an abortion.

    In a statement on Thursday, President Joe Biden made it clear that he thinks the two issues are connected: “Make no mistake: this is a direct result of the overturning of Roe v. Wade.”

    “Today, in 2024 in America, women are being turned away from emergency rooms and forced to travel hundreds of miles for health care, while doctors fear prosecution for providing an abortion,” Biden said. “And now, a court in Alabama put access to some fertility treatments at risk for families who are desperately trying to get pregnant. The disregard for women’s ability to make these decisions for themselves and their families is outrageous and unacceptable.”

    “I know that folks are worried about what they’re seeing happening to women all across America,” he added. “I am too. I hear about it everywhere I go. My message is: The Vice President and I are fighting for your rights. We’re fighting for the freedom of women, for families, and for doctors who care for these women. And we won’t stop until we restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law for all women in every state.”

    Since the decision in the summer of 2022, abortion rights advocates have seen major wins in states nationwide, including traditionally red ones like Kansas, Kentucky and Montana. 

    Democrats, who have credited their full-throated defense of abortion for helping the party have strong showings in the 2022 midterm and 2023 off-year elections, have shown no signs of easing up on highlighting the issue on the trail. 

    Biden held a major reelection rally with all four White House principals last month focused specifically on the topic and “restoring Roe.” 

    Biden’s reelection team also seized on Alabama’s ruling, calling it “MAGA” Republicans’ “latest attack on reproductive freedom” and seeking to put the blame directly on Biden’s potential 2024 opponent former President Donald Trump. 

    The campaign responded to reports that the University of Alabama at Birmingham health system, which includes the state’s largest hospital, was pausing IVF treatments as it figured out how to respond to the ruling.

    “What is happening in Alabama right now is only possible because Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justices overturned Roe v. Wade. Across the nation, MAGA Republicans are inserting themselves into the most personal decisions a family can make, from contraception to IVF,” Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. 

    “If Donald Trump is elected, there is no question that he will impose his extreme anti-freedom agenda on the entire country,” she added. 

    Trump appointed three of the Supreme Court justices who were in the majority that overturned Roe. 

    Despite often boasting about his role in Roe’s end, for his part, publicly, Trump has not given details about what he would support if elected in terms of a national abortion ban. Instead, he has held that he would “sit down with both sides and negotiate a deal,” as Trump campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated in a statement last week. 

    However, a report from the New York Times sparked headlines last week after the outlet reported Trump privately supports a ban on abortion after 16 weeks of pregnancy. 

    When asked about the ruling on Thursday, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a former GOP candidate for president-turned-Trump booster, declined to address it, saying instead: “I haven’t studied the issue so I’m going to let Nikki Haley continue to go back and forth on that issue.”

    While polling has shown abortion is extremely popular in the United States, there is less data surveying IVF specifically. The Pew Research Center found 61% of adults say health insurance should cover fertility treatments and 42% say someone they know or they themselves have received such treatments.

    Spectrum News’ Justin Tasolides contributed to this report

    Vape shop owners concerned over new proposal

    Florida Senate Bill 1006 and its counterpart House Bill 1007 are heading toward a floor vote. The bills would limit all vape shops to only carry FDA approved products.

    Florida State Sen. Keith Perry is a sponsor of SB 1006 and says the move is meant to protect children and consumers from unsafe products.

    “Florida now has the dubious distinction of being the number one state in the country for illegal and illicit vapes,” Perry said.

    Perry says illegal vape product sales are more than 360 million a year in Florida alone. The Bill would create a state registry and only FDA products will be eligible.

    Some vape shop owners oppose the legislation, including Nick Orlando. He owns four different stores, including Vapors Depot in Largo. Orlando is also President of Florida Smoke Free Association, and advocates for the vape industry at the state capital. He says the proposals will hurt shop owners.

    “Over 10,000 mom and pop businesses would shut down. Over 50,000 Floridians would lose their jobs and we would have a huge gap in our economy of $1.2 billion,” Orlando said.

    Orlando says the Food and Drug Administration is very tough when it comes to approving products.

    “What I mean is these people in our industry that have been around for years helping people get off combustible tobacco, who have filed these applications with our FDA, 99% of those companies have been denied market orders and cannot sell their product if this bill goes into effect,” Orlando said.

    He has been traveling to the state capital and trying to work with lawmakers to produce a compromise.

    SB 1006 now will head to the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee, then off to a floor vote. Its counterpart, HB 1007, is also heading toward a full vote.

    Gary Darling

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  • Civil liability and abortions; ‘momnibus’ considered

    Civil liability and abortions; ‘momnibus’ considered

    Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined a list of five others as potential VP contenders for former President Donald Trump’s run for the White House. In Tallahassee, lawmakers advanced a bill that would provide for civil liabilities involving the death of a fetus. 


    DeSantis joins list of potential VP candidates for Trump

    The latest developments in the Republican presidential primary, and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ latest actions.

    About a month after he ended his presidential campaign, DeSantis traveled to South Carolina.

    Tuesday’s visit was official state business for the governor, but it also didn’t stop him from commenting on the race for president.

    “And there’s no question that South Carolina is going to be a big victory for Donald Trump because he appeals to core Republicans in a way that Nikki Haley just does not or is not trying to,” DeSantis said in South Carolina.

    Former President Donald Trump was also in South Carolina last night. He participated in a town hall event with Fox News.

    During this, Trump confirmed a list of names floated to be on his shortlist for vice president. The list includes three former GOP candidates, including DeSantis.

    Laura Ingraham asked Trump if the rumored names were true, and the former president said that the list was full of good people.

    “You would like to get someone who could help you from the voter’s standpoint. And honestly, all of those people are good. They are all good, all solid,” Trump said.

    A civil liabilities bill advances despite opposition

    Negligence can land someone in some serious legal trouble. But Florida doesn’t recognize negligence against an unborn child in civil court.

    House Bill 651 is trying to change that. Or at least, that’s what the bill sponsor is saying.

    What is House Bill 651? Is it an abortion bill? Or is this about the law and grieving families?

    That’s a question that divided Florida lawmakers Wednesday.

    “This bill is about giving parents the opportunity to seek recovery when a wrong has been committed that took away their child and that child has value,” Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulika said.

    Proponents say this bill makes grieving parents whole.

    After the wrongful death of an unborn child, the bill empowers parents to sue for damages. As of now, Florida is just one of six states without such protections.

    “If you commit a negligent act or a wrongful act, you should be liable. We are protecting the very most vulnerable and those that should be able to recover from those situations,” Rep. Will Robinson Jr. said.

    Indeed, it sounds good on the surface. But for Democrats, this bill is a concern.

    They say it’s too broad and too vague. Critics also say the bill is dangerous to abortion providers in Florida.

    “The most dangerous 60 days in the state of Florida is a legislative session for creating fear in the hearts and minds of the people in Florida. I’m so tired of it. If you really want to stop abortions, get a vasectomy,” Rep. Yvonna Hinson said.

    Under the bill, mothers are immune to any sort of prosecution. That comes as good news to critics.

    But it’s not enough for those who want Florida to rethink its laws on abortion, sex and much more.

    This bill passed Wednesday along party lines. It goes next to the House floor.

    “Momnibus” package seeks to bolster parents

    Studies have found that Black women in the U.S. are far more likely than white women to die during or soon after childbirth. Several members of Congress are seeking to pass more than a dozen bills to address this disparity. A package of bills in Congress is normally called an “Omnibus.” The maternal health legislation is being called the “momnibus.”

    Giving birth to a child is supposed to be one of the happiest moments in a parent’s life, but for some women, and especially Black women in America, it can be a different story.

    “It has actively gotten more dangerous in the United States for women to give birth in our country. And that should never be the case,” Rep. Lauren Underwood said.

    According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1,205 women died from pregnancy-related complications in the United States in 2021, up from 861 in 2020. The problem is especially acute for Black women, who are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.

    “There’s no genetic issue or there’s something about Black women where we can’t survive childbirth, absolutely not. This is about, you know, what’s going on with our health care system and the lack of providers,” Underwood said.

    Reps. Underwood and Alma Adams launched the Black Maternal Health Caucus four years ago to address the problem.

    “We have a lot of insensitivity toward women who look like me. I recall my daughter telling me that she was having, experiencing some difficulty. This was before she even wanted to give birth. And so they said, well go home and lie down on your side,” Adams said.

    Experts blame the racial disparity in maternal death rates on everything from bias in the health care system to a lack of equal access to quality care.

    Adams and Underwood have created a package of 13 bills they call the “momnibus.” They collectively aim to address every aspect of maternal health.

    One of those bills would provide funding to community-based organizations like Mamatoto Village in Washington, D.C.

    “We found ourselves on this motherhood journey, pretty lonely and needing community meeting women who were navigating motherhood in similar ways. And so this space for us became a sanctuary and a refuge,” Mamatoto Village co-founder Aza Nedhari said.

    Mamatoto Village supports women during their pregnancies and into postpartum with a range of services from childbirth education to lactation consultations.

    “We have to address the root causes of what is leading to maternal death, whether that is housing, whether that is safety, education, economics, all of these things that intersect and culminate into the maternal health crisis that we are seeing today,” Nedhari said.

    Many of the “momnibus” bills have bipartisan support. But so far, only one has passed.

    “We’re looking for legislative vehicles that are moving right. Let’s get this attached to a federal funding package or another must pass bill. So we can get this signed into law this year,” Underwood said.

    For community organizations working with women every day, the “momnibus” is a measure that can’t wait.

    “We can’t compel congress anymore. We can no longer beg for our lives, or beg for our futures. But there has to be that same urgency and will and desire to make it right for Black women,” Nedhari said.

    Underwood and Adams are also encouraging people to contact their representatives in Congress to urge them to support the momnibus package.

    Gary Darling

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  • Election law change; requiring communist history in schools

    Election law change; requiring communist history in schools

    A bill that could change how elections are run in Florida advances in Tallahassee and lawmakers consider a requirement to teach the history of communism in schools. 


    A potential change to Florida elections

    A proposed committee bill in the State House could re-institute runoff elections.

    This would force candidates to run in what’s called a double primary system.

    Under that format, the first and second place candidates in the first primary would be placed on the ballot in the second primary election.

    Lawmakers consider mandatory communism education in schools

    State lawmakers are considering legislation that would require K-12 schools to teach what they consider the history of communism.

    The lessons would have to be both age appropriate and developmentally appropriate.

    The courses include:

    • The history of communism in the United States
    • Atrocities committed in foreign countries, the philosophy and lineages of communistic thoughts
    • What supporters view as the increasing threat of communism in the U.S
    • The events that led up to communist revolutions

    Each school would have to provide evidence these classes are being taught and the material would be recommended for a state “Communism Education Task Force”

    The Senate version of the bill is sponsored by Tampa State Sen. Jay Collins, and he spoke about it today in a committee meeting.

    “Thirty to 38% of our youth feel that communism or socialism could be better than what we have,” Collins said. “But stop and think about that. That’s pretty frightening … If we fail in this generation to teach our children about the horrors of socialism, communism, or anything else that strives to strip freedom and liberty from our persons and our people, we’re failing.”

    Today, the Appropriations Committee on Education advanced the Senate bill unanimously. 

    Haley announced she’s staying in the race against Trump

    Four days before she faces former President Donald Trump in a primary in her home state — a race that, per polling, she is expected to lose — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley insisted she’s not on the verge of dropping out of the race.

    “I’m not going anywhere,” the former United Nations ambassador said during a speech Tuesday in Greenville, S.C.. “I’m campaigning every day until the last person votes.”

    Haley clarified her intentions during what her campaign called a “state of the race” speech. The scheduled address stirred some speculation that she might announce her exit from the race days ahead of the primary in the Palmetto State. 

    “Some of you, perhaps a few of you in the media, came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race,” the former South Carolina governor said. “Well, I’m not. Far from it.”

    The rest of the speech largely included familiar talking points from Haley’s campaign events. She reiterated she’s running for president to address issues such as education, cost of living, crime and U.S.-Mexico border security.

    She attacked President Joe Biden on those issues as well as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Haley also criticized Trump for insulting military veterans, spending $50 million in campaign contributions on his legal fees, threatening donors who support Haley’s campaign and saying he would encourage Russia to attack NATO countries that did not meet their financial obligations to the alliance.

    According to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, Trump is leading Haley in South Carolina, 63.6%-33.2%. 

    Trump soundly defeated Haley in Iowa and New Hampshire. They competed in separate contests in Nevada — Trump won the caucuses while voters in the state’s primary picked “none of these candidates” over Haley.

    Ryan Chatelain

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  • Home insurance tax breaks; social media restriction reaction

    Home insurance tax breaks; social media restriction reaction

    Florida Governor Ron DeSantis joins Democrats in advocating for a home insurance tax breaks for consumers, and lawmakers advance a bill that would increase information for those with disabilities.


    Lawmakers tackle budget and proposed tax breaks

    This year’s legislative session has three weeks left. Lawmakers this week will dive into finalizing the state budget.

    The budget is the only thing that lawmakers are required to pass under the constitution.

    This year, the budget is anticipated to include roughly $115 billion in spending, plus a property insurance tax break. 

    The state can’t control insurance rates, but they can offer tax breaks.

    DeSantis wants to give a one-time, one-year property insurance tax break to consumers.

    “The state cannot control the different rates. A consumer has half a dozen options and then they compete for your business. That’s the only way you’re able to do it,” DeSantis said about insurance rates. 

    But in the House, they’re offering a similar break that would benefit companies instead.

    “You might wanna pause and think about it awhile about whether it will make sense. Unless you’re you’re just gonna say you’re gonna do that in perpetuity. Depending on how you structure it, it could be a lot of money,” House Speaker Paul Renner said.

    For Democrats, it’s a rare moment of solidarity. They, like DeSantis, want a consumer tax break. If passed, it would apply also to property insurance assessments. 

    All this comes as more than one million Floridians remain reliant upon state backed insurance plans.

    “We have to be very thoughtful as a legislature regarding the policy choices that we make when it comes to providing tax relief. If we can provide that sort of relief to large corporations, we certainly need to take into account the people,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said.

    Now lawmakers are optimistic that Florida avoided a market collapse. The problem is that they say consumer relief will take time. Meanwhile, at least six more home insurance companies entered Florida in the new year.

    That’s something leaders say is a very, very good sign.

    Bill to increase disability information advances

    Florida legislators are working on a bill that would require motor vehicle registrations to allow people to include information about specific disabilities or disorders.

    It’s called the Safeguarding American Families Everywhere (SAFE) Act, and advocates say one of the goals is to help first responders who may come in contact with that person.

    Holly Alexander, who has a disability with her spine, believes the bill would make details about her condition more accessible to people like her.

    “It would be nice to understand that somebody could be able to read or look up my profile and be able to see I am a person with a physical disability,” she said. “I am more frail than an average 30-year-old.”

    She would also not have to rely on a disability placard to relay information. The bill’s text says it would allow first responders to potentially get a heads up on who they are about to interact with and “will improve communication, reduce unnecessary adverse actions, and ensure that the person receives the specific response and care he or she requires.”

    Holly’s mother, Kandi, is a local volunteer advocate for special needs families and people with disabilities in Lake County.

    Kandi said the SAFE Act is a step in the right direction and hopes it’ll lead to first responders receiving more training on how to help people with disabilities.

    “It’s recognizing there’s more need for awareness, there’s more need for training, and fiscal budgeting,” she said.

    Holly is currently training a service dog, Zeus, to help her stand, and says making these distinctions about her condition more available to first responders could be the difference in life-or-death situations.

    “I lose stability with my legs so I can fall at any point in time,” she said. “Having that promptness availability to me could help me and potentially save my life.”

    Parent reacts to social media restriction bill

    The Florida Senate recently altered a bill to keep kids under 16 off of major social media platforms and it is now one step closer to the governor’s desk.

    Lawmakers included pornographic websites in the list of social media sites that minors would be barred from joining. All sites on the list will need users to verify that they are 18 or older.

    But the legality of the bill is still a primary concern for top lawmakers, including Gov. Ron DeSantis.

    For parents, their primary concern is their kids and how they are using the devices.

    “I’m afraid she won’t know what’s real anymore and try to make herself something she’s not,” Jaime Marco said about her 8-year-old daughter.

    To comply with the legislation as currently written, the platforms would be required to perform age verification of their users.

    “I think the concept is great,” Marco said. “It’s just for Florida, though, and Florida is just one state out of 50. It crosses over lines. It should be a federal bill if we are going to do that.”

    While she supports the idea, she doesn’t know if the restrictions are the right way to address social media and its impact on kids.

    “I don’t think it’s the government’s role to decide that, but I do think it’s the government’s role and responsibility to protect its citizens,” Marco said.

    Gary Darling

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  • Trump ordered to pay in fraud trial and Donalds seeks to rename press gallery

    Trump ordered to pay in fraud trial and Donalds seeks to rename press gallery

    Former President Donald Trump was ordered to pay $355 million in a civil fraud trial in New York City, and Rep. Byron Donalds discusses a push to rename the House Press Gallery for Frederick Douglass. 


    Trump fined $355 million in civil fraud trial

    A New York judge imposed $364 million in penalties in a civil fraud trial against former President Donald Trump accusing him of a scheme to dupe banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth.

    Trump himself was fined nearly $355 million and was barred from serving as an officer or director at a company in the state for three years.

    His adult sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., both officers with the company, were fined more than $4 million each and received a similar punishment for two years. Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was also fined $1 million.

    Weisselberg and former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney were permanently barred from serving in the financial control function of any New York corporation.

    The ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron is the culmination of a years-long effort from New York Attorney General Letitia James, who sued Trump in 2022 over what she said was years of deceptive practices as he built the multinational collection of skyscrapers, golf courses and other properties that catapulted him to wealth, fame and eventually the White House.

    Engoron determined that Trump was involved in a lengthy scheme to mislead banks and others with financial statements that inflated his wealth.

    “In order to borrow more and at lower rates, defendants submitted blatantly false financial data to the accountants, resulting in fraudulent financial statements,” Engoron wrote in his ruling. “When confronted at trial with the statements, defendants’ fact and expert witnesses simply denied reality, and defendants failed to accept responsibility or to impose internal controls to prevent future recurrences.”

    The suit accused Trump and his co-defendants of routinely puffing up his financial statements to create an illusion his properties were more valuable than they really were. State lawyers said Trump exaggerated his wealth by as much as $3.6 billion one year.

    Donalds discusses push to rename House press gallery

    The legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass is already celebrated with a statue and a plaque on capitol hill.

    A Florida representative is proposing one more honor for Douglass: Highlighting a part of his extraordinary career that most Americans know little about.

    Douglass was one of the most well-known abolitionists in American history.

    Born enslaved in Maryland in 1818, he escaped to New York City 20 years later and became a leader in the effort to end slavery.

    “Frederick Douglass is somebody in American history and Black history, who’s been a critical contributor to the fabric of our country, and even moving our country from, you know, the, one of the great sins in humanity, slavery, and moving us through from slavery to where we are right now,” Rep. Byron Donalds said.

    Although Douglass is well known as a skilled orator, it’s not as widely known that he was also a journalist.

    While living in Rochester,N.Y., Douglass founded the North Star in 1847, which later became Frederick Douglass’ paper in 1851. Both publications advocated against slavery.

    Then, in 1870, five years after the end of slavery, Douglass worked in the nation’s Capitol as part owner and editor-in-chief of the New National Era, a Black newspaper. He was the first Black reporter to become a member of the congressional press galleries, where journalists watch lawmakers on the floor of the Senate and House.

    Donalds is seeking to honor that work by designating the area where Douglass worked as the “Frederick Douglass Press Gallery”.

    “Frederick Douglass, obviously being born a slave, working his way into freedom, earning his freedom, I think it’s really a demonstration of what’s possible in his country,”Donalds said. “Especially going forward, considering all he did, all he provided, all he contributed to America.”

    A statue of Douglass stands in the capitol visitor center’s emancipation hall. And in 2007, the committee of reporters that controls access to the galleries dedicated a plaque and portrait to the abolitionist.

    Donalds’ resolution to name the galleries after Douglass was introduced in November, and it now has about a dozen co-sponsors, including fellow Florida Republican Cory Mills.

    “I think overall, this is something that every member can vote for with pride, something that can become really a part of the fabric of the House of Representatives going forward,” Donalds said.

    The resolution was referred to the House Committee on House Administration. A vote has not yet been scheduled. 

    Parent reacts to social media restriction bill

    The Florida Senate recently altered a bill to keep kids under 16 off of major social media platforms and it is now one step closer to the governor’s desk.

    Lawmakers included pornographic websites in the list of social media sites that minors would be barred from joining. All sites on the list will need users to verify that they are 18 or older.

    But the legality of the bill is still a primary concern for top lawmakers, including Gov. Ron DeSantis.

    For parents, their primary concern is their kids and how they are using the devices.

    “I’m afraid she won’t know what’s real anymore and try to make herself something she’s not,” Jaime Marco said about her 8-year-old daughter.

    To comply with the legislation as currently written, the platforms would be required to perform age verification of their users.

    “I think the concept is great,” Marco said. “It’s just for Florida, though, and Florida is just one state out of 50. It crosses over lines. It should be a federal bill if we are going to do that.”

    While she supports the idea, she doesn’t know if the restrictions are the right way to address social media and its impact on kids.

    “I don’t think it’s the government’s role to decide that, but I do think it’s the government’s role and responsibility to protect its citizens,” Marco said.

    Gary Darling

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  • Florida social media bill advances, DeSantis on book bans

    Florida social media bill advances, DeSantis on book bans

    Lawmakers in Tallahassee move forward with a proposal to remove minors from social media in the state while Gov. Ron DeSantis defends book removal policies. 


    Lawmakers advance social media proposal despite concerns from DeSantis

    State lawmakers are pushing forward with a bill to ban most minors from social media despite concerns about whether the proposal can withstand a court challenge.

    Republican state leaders, led by DeSantis, expressed concern about potential challenges to the proposal this week.

    “These things have huge legal hurdles, they’ve been held up in courts,” DeSantis said. “I don’t want to go down the road of doing something that is not gonna pass muster legally.”

    Senate President Kathleen Passidomo joined DeSantis in sharing her concerns.

    “I don’t know. I know that’s part of the discussion. I know there’s a lot of discussion, a lot of interest in that bill,” she said. “Either way, it has to go back to the house, so we’ll see how that goes.”

    Despite those concerns, Florida’s social media ban is now one step closer to the governor’s desk.

    Republicans in Tallahassee are muscling House Bill 1 closer and closer to the finish line. After a few tweaks, the bill is now up for a final Senate vote. The measure threatens to kick kids in Florida off social media unless they pass an age verification check from a third-party source.

    “These platforms are designed to employ features, including addictive algorithms and continuous scrolling, that are intentionally designed and used by the social media platforms in particular to hook kids and keep them on these platforms for an excessive amount of time,” Sen. Erin Grall said of the proposal.

    HB 1 would, in theory, bar kids 16 and younger from major social media platforms.

    Lawmakers agree that social media may pose risks, but not all agree that this is the best path forward.

    “A parent can choose to take a child to an R-rated movie if he or she so chooses, and censorship is not the role of government,” Sen. Geraldine Thompson said.

    Notably, HB 1 denies parents any option in giving permission to use the platforms — a provision that critics say violates the First Amendment.

    Meanwhile, even some supporters say they would prefer the bill allowed at least some parental control.

    “My concern is that the bill replaces the parent in that decision and replaces it with a far-reaching government edict,” Sen. Jay Trumbull said.

    DeSantis addresses book removal controversy during Orlando visit 

    DeSantis was in Orlando today to defend the state’s policy over controversial books in schools and a parent’s right to their own child’s education.

    The governor pushed back against the narrative that the state bans books. Instead, he claims the state gives parents the rights to object to classroom material they deem inappropriate.

    DeSantis is calling on lawmakers to tighten up the state’s book laws to prevent people who do not have a student enrolled in a school from calling for certain books to be banned. While state laws are designed to remove obscene material from the classroom, the governor also says some teachers are taking it a step too far and politicizing the issue by banning all books from classrooms.

    “I am proud to be able to direct the department of education to take appropriate action to deal with some of the bad actors who are intentionally depriving students of a rightful education by politicizing this process,” DeSantis said. “If you take a position as a teacher that no books are appropriate because the state is telling you this, first of all that is a lie, second of all you are depriving students of an ability to achieve what we are trying to do, which is to give them a good education.”

    There is a bill making its way through the legislature that looks to lessen the number of challenges people can make to books. The legislation would allow people to make five objections to books, and every complaint after that would result in a $100 fee.

    While many have objected to state policies concerning books and the process for their removal in schools, DeSantis has argued that there are no “book bans” in the state’s public schools. Instead, the governor insists his policies have empowered parents to decide which content their child will be exposed to and enforced Florida laws outlawing “pornography” and inappropriate content in schools. 

    “They say Florida doesn’t want books, they’re trying to censor books,” DeSantis said at a news event earlier this year. “Turned out that was a hoax.” 

    Under current rules, though, people can challenge whether a book is appropriate for Florida schools, and sometimes the book is immediately pulled from shelves until it can go through a review process. In some cases the book is allowed to stay on the shelf during the review process. 

    After the review, the book is either returned to the school library or permanently yanked off school shelves. 

    Lawmakers advance proposal to keep kids safer in water

    Drowning is a significant danger for kids in Florida year round, and the Florida Department of Children and Families says the state leads the nation in child drownings.

    Now, state lawmakers are looking to change that.

    Water safety advocates say the proposals being discussed in Tallahassee — like one to create a swim lesson voucher program, called Senate Bill 544 — are a step in the right direction, and they add education is key to fixing the problem.

    “Drowning is silent. Yore not hearing. You watch the movies where they scream but that not how it happens. It’s silent. A child fighting for his life is not yelling for his life,” Children’s Safety Village Executive Director Brent Moore said.

    Florida DCF data show nearly 100 kids drowned in 2023 — of those, 14 were in Central Florida. Water safety advocates are now calling state legislators to pass safety measures.

    “A lot of parents, like I said, don’t have the means to pay for one, let alone two or three children to get swim lessons,” he said.

    Several bills are being discussed in Tallahassee to address the issue.

    Senate Bill 544 calls for each county to have at least one swim lesson vendor.

    Other bills would do things like require parents to inform camps and school if their child cannot swim, or require homeowners to build barriers near pools.

    “With something like swimming, you have to be trained.,” Moore said. “You need to be taught my somebody who is certified.”

    Even if legislation isn’t passed, Moore said there are steps everyone can take on their own, like promoting supervision and education at pools, learning CPR, installing a fence and alarms near the pool.

    “Get your child skilled, that’s the biggest thing,” Moore said. “Get your child into swim lessons.”

    Christian Peña

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  • Florida gun control advocates oppose relaxing requirements

    Florida gun control advocates oppose relaxing requirements

    Wednesday marks six years since the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 dead and dozens wounded. Spectrum News examines a proposed bill that would lower the age required to purchase a rifle or long gun from 21 to 18.

    Civilian police review boards are also on the chopping block in Tallahassee, as state lawmakers consider a ban on the groups. And another bill under consideration in the Legislature would roll back local heat protections for workers and ban municipalities from requiring contractors pay a local minimum wage.


    Parkland survivors and victims’ families discuss Florida gun regulations

    Six years ago Wednesday, 17 people — a mixture of students and staff from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School — were gunned down by a teen assailant.

    More than a dozen others were injured on Feb. 14, 2018, and emotionally the state was grievously wounded.

    However, in the midst of tragedy, children became advocates for change, and survivors and victims’ families demanded state lawmakers enact stricter gun regulations to protect the lives of children.

    “We were formed by the families who had a loved one taken from us that terrible February day six years ago,” said We Stand With Parkland president Tony Montalto, whose daughter Gina was just a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas when she was killed. “Our families realized that the status quo wasn’t working, so we banded together.”

    By doing so, he said the Parkland mass shooting became a catalyst for change — sparking marches across the country that prompted lawmakers to reexamine gun regulations.

    Some that were enacted in the wake of the Parkland shooting included red flag laws, legislation to make school campuses more secure and raising the age to buy purchase a rifle or other long gun from 18 to 21.

    Recent legislation (House Bill 1223), however, would reverse the move and drop the legal age to purchase a rifle or long gun back to 18.

    Opponents of the proposed legislation say loosening gun regulations would be a step backward for Florida.

    “When we talk about the safety of our children and teachers at school, it’s a public safety issue,” Montalto said. “It’s not a personal rights issue. It’s not a constitutional rights issue. We believe in responsible firearms ownership.”

    Montalto said he believes that responsible gun ownership comes with a background check, age restrictions to purchase a gun and requirements to secure firearms safely.

    “We define that as a place where a child will not have access to it, and where it’s not likely to be stolen,” he said.

    According to the bills’ sponsor, Republican state Rep. Tylor Sirois of Brevard County, if an 18-year-old is recognized as being an adult — which includes the ability to serve in the military and vote — lowering the age to purchase a rifle or long gun to 18 is an appropriate step.

    Police review board ban 

    Florida lawmakers are considering a bill banning civilian police review boards created by local governments, with supporters of the move arguing that such committees are divisive and undermine internal police investigations.

    Senate Bill 576 is in the Florida Senate, while the House version of the bill (House Bill 601) has already gone through several panels.

    There are currently at least 21 citizen review boards in Florida. The cities of Tampa and St. Petersburg have some of the oldest police oversight committees in the state.

    The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, says that these police review boards undermine the investigative work of internal affairs.

    “In my opinion, when you’re going through an investigation, I.A. are the smartest people in the room when it comes to this, along with the state’s attorney’s office. So why are we having these boards that become that are basically political appointees reviewing and second-guessing some of the information is brought forward,” Ingoglia said.

    Pinellas County District 7 Commissioner Rene Flowers has stated that St. Petersburg’s board allows citizens to voice their concerns if they believe they have been treated unfairly or had a negative experience with the police.

    “I feel the continuation of the board is another check process. I think it’s worth keeping so we can have local control,” Flowers said.

    St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch believes that there are other pressing issues that need the attention of legislators, such as the lack of affordable housing, increased insurance costs, and flooding.

    If the bills are passed, any civilian oversight board currently in practice would be barred from meeting after the bill’s July 1 effective date.

    Local minimum wage rules for contractors

    For contractors, big changes are in the works in Tallahassee. House Bill 433 has been submitted and would ban local municipalities from requiring contractors to pay wages higher than the state minimum wage.

    Proponents of the bill, like state Rep. Tiffany Esposito, say the bill protects taxpayers and local businesses.

    “This bill preempts labor and wage to the state,” she said. “It will be up to the private employer of how much they choose to pay their employees based on market conditions.”

    Opponents of the move, though, call it a corporate giveaway.

    “We’re not allowing local governments to make the best decisions for their people,” Rep. Michele Rayner said. “We’re not allowing the people of those local governments, or cities or municipalities, to weigh in and say, ‘This is exactly what we need.’”

    HB 433 would also roll back heat protections for workers, which was a scary idea for Laura Munoz, who lost her father in 2014 to a workplace accident.

    “Imagine being told that your safety and your rights as a worker are being sacrificed at the alter or corporate profits,” she said. “That’s what HB 433 represents, a betrayal of our people.”

    State Rep. Rick Roth, who runs a farm in South Florida, argued that it wasn’t a local government’s place to place additional safety requirements on businesses.

    “I guarantee you, we do everything to do the best for our employees,” he said of his farm. “And this insinuation that we need more help from local government regulating heat exposure problems is insulting.”

    The proposed bill has to get through one more committee before it can be considered on the floor of the Florida House.

    Jaclyn Harold

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  • A bill to make condos more hurricane-proof, and an RNC leadership rift grows

    A bill to make condos more hurricane-proof, and an RNC leadership rift grows

    Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle prepare to increase access to hurricane preparedness funds and former President Donald Trump throws support behind one candidate for RNC chair. 


    Lawmakers plan to increase hurricane preparedeness

    Property insurance is a top concern for both Republicans and Democrats in Tallahassee. 

    While this session isn’t promising any big changes, there is at least one measure that would offer consumers some relief. 

    Condominium owners could be in luck if House Bill 1029 is passed. The proposal would expand the My Safe Florida Home Program. Previously, the program applied only to Florida homeowners. But under the bill, condo bosses might cash in too.

    Lawmakers have one big goal, to drive down rising home insurance premiums across the state.

    If passed, the state will expand matching grants to condo owners trying to harden their homes ahead of harsher tropical weather.

    “We were listening to the concerns of a lot of the 55 and older people who are on limited fixed incomes in older buildings. And the question came, why can’t they access this grant program? Because they’re homeowners, to Rep. Mooney’s point, like anybody else,” Rep. Christine Hunschofsky said. 

    The proposal would shift the current grant program to allow condo owners to have access to funds to prepare for hurricanes. 

    “The fact that they can now tap into what everybody else been tapping in to. They’re more resilient. They’re hardened. It should overall help the insurance rates in the state. Overall, great bill,” Rep. Jim Mooney said.

    The pitch comes as leaders triage a property insurance crisis. Rates in Florida are among the highest. What’s worse is another hurricane season in on the horizon.

    “A lot of condominiums have been placed on the coastal line. They’re the first line when a hurricane hits. Many of them are not hardened and so they’ve had a difficult time getting insurance, especially wind only,” Rep. Vicki Lopez said.

    Meanwhile, leaders are negotiating a property insurance dispute. In the budget, Gov. Ron DeSantis wants a one-year tax break on property insurance. But the House is offering that to commercial companies instead.

    In a statement, spokesperson for Speaker Paul Renner Andres Malave said, “At this stage in session, there are always differences between our initial proposal and what the senate and the governor each put forward, respectively.”

    The My Safe Florida Home Program isn’t new, but it’s gotten some renewed interest in recent years.

    This time around, lawmakers could inject the program with roughly $225 million.

    Trump throws weight behind potential new RNC Chair

    Former President Donald Trump is looking to shake-up the Republican National Committee.

    Trump endorsed North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley to succeed Ronna McDaniel as the RNC chair.

    And he wants his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to serve as co-chair.

    Lara Trump also happens to be from North Carolina.

    Whatley has served as the chair of the North Carolina Republican Party since 2019. He is also the general counsel for the RNC. He led the state party as Republicans retook supermajorities in the state House and Senate. 

    He is also a close ally of Trump, who won North Carolina in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. Whatley has been criticized for repeating the former president’s false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

    Whatley ran for co-chair of the RNC last year, but that effort failed despite an endorsement from Trump, according to the AP. South Carolina’s Drew McKissick won the seat for co-chair.

    Rep. Brian Mast discusses Israel trip

    Over the winter recess, Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast flew overseas to help about 40 new amputees in Israel with their recovery process. 

    He was invited by “The Next Step,” a project of the Israel Medical Fund.

    “They were looking for somebody to come in, speak to all of these new amputees, some of them from the military, and in military treatment centers, some of them civilians that were just in their home on the morning of Oct. 7, some of them that were at the concert,” Mast said. 

    Mast once volunteered for the Israel Defense Force in 2014. On his most recent visit to Israel, he visited a rehab ward for wounded IDF soldiers and border police officers with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

    He said the first advice he gives typically isn’t to the amputees themselves, but to their families.

    “I tell them, you gotta be a jerk, you gotta be a pain in their tush, as they say … because if you handle them with little soft gloves and don’t push them to sweat, and have blood, sweat, and tears during physical therapy, they’re never going to get strong enough to be to the point that they have the best possible mobility that they can to go forward in life for whatever the rest of their life is,” he said. 

    While they may be tough words, they came from someone who knows what it’s like to wear prosthetics himself. Mast lost both legs and a finger to a roadside bomb in 2010 while serving in the Army as a bomb technician in Afghanistan. 

    “I lost two limbs, serving my country, serving my brothers to my left and right in combat,” he said. “And because of that, I have no regrets.”

    Gary Darling

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  • Lawmakers react to Trump’s NATO remarks

    Lawmakers react to Trump’s NATO remarks

    Lawmakers across the state and country reacted to former President Donald Trump’s remarks on NATO and a proposal to limit THC content advances in Tallahassee.


    Florida lawmakers react to Trump’s NATO remarks

    Trump raised eyebrows during a rally in South Carolina on Saturday, when he recalled how as president he told an unidentified NATO member that he would “encourage” Russia to do as it wishes in cases of NATO allies who are “delinquent.”

    “You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’” Trump recounted saying. “‘No I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay. You gotta pay your bills.’”

    Trump’s comments sparked applause and cheers from the crowd in Conway, South Carolina.

    In a statement released by his reelection campaign, Biden hailed the efforts his administration has taken to bolster the treaty organization in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

    “Under my administration, the United States of America has stood shoulder to shoulder with our allies to build a NATO alliance that is bigger and stronger than ever and stands in defense of democracy against Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian aggression,” the Democratic president said. “America’s leadership on the world stage and support for our allies is critical to keeping the American people safe here at home.”

    “If my opponent, Donald Trump, is able to regain power, he is making it clear as day that he will abandon our NATO allies if Russia attacks and allow Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ with them,” Biden continued. “Serving as Commander-in-Chief is the ultimate responsibility and one that should weigh heavily on the individuals that hold this office.”

    “Donald Trump’s admission that he intends to give Putin a green light for more war and violence, to continue his brutal assault against a free Ukraine, and to expand his aggression to the people of Poland and the Baltic States are appalling and dangerous. Sadly, they are also predictable coming from a man who is promising to rule as a dictator like the ones he praises on day one if he returns to the oval office.”

    “What Donald Trump is doing is giving a green light to Russia,” Sen. Chris Murphy said.

    As president, Trump questioned the need for NATO, which was founded under the principle that an attack on any member country is considered an attack against all members. He pushed for member countries to commit more money to military spending.

    “I think that people should take everything he says seriously but not literally. That’s simply the president telling NATO countries they need to step up and pay their part. It’s that simple. I think everybody is overreacting,” Sen. Roger Marchall said.

    Despite Republicans shooting down a new foreign aid package tied with border security last week, senators are moving forward this week with new aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, this time without border security included.

    The response on social media to the former president’s comments ran the gamut on “X,” the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Holding your allies accountable for not investing in their own defense for decades is the responsible thing to do. Instead, the Biden admin keeps demanding American tax payers dig deeper into their pockets!” Rep. Michael Waltz said.

    Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded as well. “Trump sells out our NATO allies to Putin. This should be front-page news of every paper in the country. These are the stakes of 2024,” she said.

    THC limiting bill advances

    Step foot in enough gas stations and it won’t be long before you see Delta 8 or Delta 10 products. They’re part of a variety of THC products. And this year, they are getting the attention of lawmakers.

    Hemp restrictions are moving forward in the Florida House. HB 1613 would regulate Florida’s THC market if passed as currently written. The bill cracks down on popular THC products like Delta 8 and Delta 10.

    “Are we criminalizing the possession of non compliant hemp? No, this bill is not designed to criminalize behavior. This bill is designed to be a consumer protection tool,” Rep. Tommy Gregory said about the proposal.

    Further, the bill targets hemp marketing. It bans packaging that might attract children.

    Supporters and critics, meanwhile, agree that hemp products are like the wild west.

    “They come in gummies. You can buy them at convenience stores. You can buy them in vape shops. They come in vape pens. They come in smoakble flower. They come in a variety of different containers,” Hemp industry advocate Jeff Sharkey said.

    The measure cleared its second committee stop on Monday. It has one more committee stop, and then it’s ready for a final vote in the House.

    State could create rules for EV charging stations

    A proposed bill would put the state in control of creating rules for electric vehicle charging stations in Florida and prevent local cities from enacting their own laws.

    “It would cause our ordinance to be not in compliance,” Largo Mayor Woody Brown said. “We’d have to undo that.”

    House Bill 1071, sponsored by Rep. Danny Alvarez, R-Hillsborough, and Senate Bill 1084, sponsored by Sen. Jay Collins, R-Tampa, would have the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulate EV charging stations, which already oversees gas station pumps. The state lawmakers said they want to see one set of rules for Florida, instead of a patchwork in different counties that could stifle the EV market.

    Largo is one of 12 cities in Florida that already has established rules governing the minimum number of EV charging stations needed for new developments. The local ordinance passed in March 2022 and calls for one station for parking lots with 10-25 spaces, two stations for 26-50 spaces, four stations for 51-75 and 6 stations for 76-100 spaces.

    “We’ve already got an ordinance in place that was well thought out,” Brown said. “We decided that really we need to have charging at home for people and when they live in apartments…they should have that opportunity.”

    The mayor said a new EV charging station was recently installed at Largo City Hall. Brown said he wouldn’t have a problem with the state setting a minimum standard, but the law should not prevent cities from going further.

    “It’s basically a preemption that says cities can’t do something which is kind of a theme coming out of Tallahassee recently,” he said.  “I don’t mind the state minimum for cities like ours but it shouldn’t preempt for use from encouraging electrical vehicle charging stations in our new buildings.”

    The Florida building code currently requires two EV charging stations for new parking lots with at least 25 spaces.

    The EV charging station language in the proposed legislation is a small part of a much larger bill which includes banning the manufacture and sale of lab-grown meat. The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture held a hearing on Thursday about the proposed ordinance.

    Gary Darling

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  • Florida lawmakers react to Biden report

    Florida lawmakers react to Biden report


    Lawmakers around the state reacted to the Justice Department’s report on President Joe Biden’s classified documents case and a new bill could change how Floridians get their driver’s licenses.


    Florida lawmakers react to Biden report

    Democrats were on the offensive in the aftermath of the Justice Department’s report about President Joe Biden’s handling of classified documents after his vice presidency, taking particular umbrage with special counsel Robert Hur’s comments about his memory and mental acuity.

    Republicans, on the other hand, seized upon the opportunity to declare the Democratic president unfit for office as he seeks another term in the White House.

    They also used the opportunity to try and paint a picture of a double standard between Biden’s case, which Hur declared was not warranting of criminal charges, and that of former President Donald Trump, who faces 40 felony charges for alleged mishandling of classified documents — though there are key differences in the two cases, namely in that the Republican also faces charges for allegedly trying to hamper the government’s efforts to retrieve them.

    The report puts the president’s age into the spotlight, a concern among voters per recent polling, as he makes his case for reelection this fall in a likely rematch against Trump — who despite being only three years Biden’s junior and committing gaffes of his own, does not appear to have the same level of scrutiny from voters on that issue.

    Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report found that Biden willfully retained classified documents following his tenure as Vice President… but said Biden will not face criminal charges.

    Florida’s members of Congress are reacting to the special counsel’s report. Republicans are firing sharp criticism over the findings the report made about the president’s memory.

    Several Florida Republicans are now seizing on comments the report made about the President’s age and mental acuity.

    “Biden can’t withstand the intellectual rigor of a trial because he’s an ‘elderly man with a poor memory’ but he’s OK to be the commander-in-chief with the world on fire?” Rep. Mike Waltz said.

    Biden delivered remarks Thursday night after the report’s release drawing distinctions between how he cooperated with investigators versus the classified document case brought against Trump, his lead GOP rival for the White House.

    He also fired back against the findings made in the special counsel report about his memory.

    “I know there’s some attention paid to some language in the report about my recollection of events. There’s even a reference that I don’t remember when my son died. How in the hell dare he raise that? Frankly? When I was asked the question, I thought to myself it wasn’t any of their damn business,” Biden said.

    But, later in his remarks, the President raised more eyebrows when he referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico.

    Sen. Rick Scott suggested the President should be removed from office, posting, “In defending his mental sharpness, Biden just mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt. This train wreck of a press conference confirms the need for the 25th Amendment.”

    Florida’s Democrats have been largely quiet over the matter.

    But, on X, Rep. Jared Moskowitz posted a meme pondering how “MAGA Republicans” are reconciling talking points that Biden is “old” with false claims that he is a “mastermind” who stole the 2020 presidential election.

    Biden, who’s 81, is the oldest President in American history. Trump is 77.

    Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is trailing Trump, is 52. She’s called for Biden to take a mental acuity test.

    What’s next for the primaries

    Former President Donald Trump got nearly all the votes during the Nevada caucus last night with 99% of voters supporting him.

    His chief rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, chose not to compete. She took part in the state’s primary instead.

    So the only Republican on the ballot other than Trump was Ryan Binkley.

    The former president has now won all three Republican state contests so far.

    Nevada, Iowa and New Hampshire. The candidates are now turning their attention to South Carolina.

    But there are plenty of other events coming up as well.

    February 27 is the Michigan presidential primary for both parties. Michigan is once again expected to be a key swing state in the general election.

    Super Tuesday is coming up on March 5. More than a dozen states will hold contests that day.

    Bill would require biological sex on IDs

    A new piece of legislation, House Bill 1639, seeks to legally define the words of gender and sex in the state and for state IDs like to reflect a person’s sex at birth.

    “It removes it from that subjective issue that is going on socially to something concrete medically,” said Rep. Douglas Bankson, the bill’s sponsor. “If someone were to be incapacitated or unable to communicate, it’s important for first responders for when seconds matter to know the underlining characteristics of their physiology.”

    As the bill makes its way through committee meetings, the director of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles released a memo saying Floridians can no longer change or update their gender on Florida driver licenses. The memo says that gender change is not supported by current statutory authority and says in part, “The term gender does not refer to a persons internal sense or his or hers gender role or identification — but has historically and commonly been understood as a synonym for sex.”

    The memo and the bill are seen by some within the LGBTQ+ community as discriminatory. Ashley T. Brundage, a local advocate for the transgender community, says these steps are nothing more than an attack on the LGBTQ+ community.

    “Its not just a driver’s license — it’s correctly identifying someone’s actual identity,” Brundage said. “I mean, it is power to be able to know that you have a document that brings validity to your existence in this world.”

    Brundage says these measures are simply a tool to create fear in the LGBTQ+ community.

    “It just seems like another layer that we’re trying to scare people to not live in Florida and that’s the hard part for me,” Brundage said. “Living in Florida is what I’ve always known and I know it be a great place — it’s all about trying to get a marginalized identity groups to be scared to live in Florida and have them move somewhere else.” 

    Despite these measures, Brundage says that you can still get your name changed and that it’s important to reach out to organizations that can help like the Southern Legal Council and changemyname.org.

    Equality Florida put out a statement saying in part: “This cruel policy threatens transgender Floridians with civil and criminal penalties and blocks them from obtaining the critical government-issued identification necessary to continue their daily lives.”

    The bill has more one more committee stop before it makes it to the House floor.



    Gary Darling

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  • Trump’s lawyers argue at the Supreme Court, and Florida considers a dog registry

    Trump’s lawyers argue at the Supreme Court, and Florida considers a dog registry


    The Supreme Court appeared poised to allow former President Donald Trump on the ballot in Colorado, and a debate rages in Tallahassee on a monument protection proposal. 


    Supreme Court hears arguments in Trump ballot question

    It was a historic day at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.

    Justices heard arguments on whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from appearing on ballots this year due to his alleged involvement in the January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

    Trump was not present.

    The Supreme Court is reviewing a ruling by Colorado’s highest court that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on that state’s ballot under a Constitutional Amendment that bars insurrectionists from federal office.

    But during oral arguments Thursday, the high court’s liberal and conservative justices appeared unwilling to accept the Colorado decision.

    Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, worried that allowing one state to knock a presidential candidate from the ballot could trigger a series of tit-for-tat decisions by other states.

    “I would expect that a goodly number of states will say wherever the Democratic candidate is, you’re off the ballot and others for the Republican candidate, you’re off the ballot, it will come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election. That’s a pretty daunting consequence,” Roberts said.

    Justice Elena Kagan, one of the court’s liberals, said if the Colorado ruling stands, one state could decide for the rest of the country who is permitted to run.

    “Like what’s the state doing, deciding who gets to who other citizens get to vote for president?” Kagan said.

    The back and forth reflected a debate about whether individual states or congress should decide whether the 14th Amendment applies to presidential candidates.

    The justices indicated they believe such a determination only could be made by Congress.

    In knocking Trump from the ballot, Colorado’s top court cited his conduct before and during the riot by his supporters on January 6, 2021.

    But only a small part of Thursday’s hearing dealt with whether Trump should be considered an insurrectionist.

    Only Colorado and Maine have removed Trump from the ballot, although some other states appear to be waiting are waiting for the high court to rule.

    Debate rages on monument protection bill in committee hearing

    The Senate Community Affairs Committee in Tallahassee considered Senate Bill 1122, The Protection of Historical Monuments and Memorials.

    The debate, especially with public comment, was very heated, and went for an hour and 40 minutes, just on the one bill. We’re going beyond the soundbite tonight to give viewers a broader sense of the discussion between lawmakers and members of the public.

    The bill has one more scheduled committee stop, in fiscal policy, before it moves to the full Senate for a vote. The companion house bill, HB 395, has two more scheduled committee stops before heading to the house floor.

    A bill to keep track of dangerous dogs moves forward

    New restrictions and requirements could be coming for some dog owners in Florida.

    Proposed legislation in Tallahassee would create a registry for dangerous dogs where people can check on animals living in their neighborhood.

    The State Senate Agriculture Committee voted in favor of the bill last week.

    State Sen. Jay Collins discussed the potential registry, which is being named “The Pam Rock bill” in honor of a woman who was killed by five dogs in Putnam County.

    Rock’s brother, Tom, says it would give owners tougher penalties to prevent violent attacks.

    “This is sad. What’s worse is it’s preventable. So you can be on the good guy team and help us stop them. Hear the cries of the Florida victims and help us pass this legislation now,” Rock said.

    “Believe me when I tell you, it’s not something I’d ever want to do to take away someone’s dog rights or to grow government. It is one of those areas that I am diametrically opposed to. That being said, you’ve listened to the stories. It’s real,” Collins said. He sponsored the bill.

    The committee unanimously approved the bill. It would exclude police dogs and hunting dogs from the registry if passed.

    However, a dog expert we spoke to says he’d like to see an emphasis put on training and rehabilitation.

    Chris Meverden has been training dogs for years.

    “I’ve been doing this for 13 years, and this has been my dream is to have a facility like this,” Meverden said. He owns North Tampa Dog Training.

    In the last year, he moved his operation to nearly eight acres of land in New Port Richey, growing the real estate of his business and his home.

    “It just makes it great for, you know, the dogs as far as having all this, you know, resources for them to, you know, for training and stuff like that,” Meverden said.

    Doing what’s best for the betterment of the dogs he works with is always his primary goal.

    “Having a good relationship with their owners and the fact that the dog has a better quality of life, being able to experience the world, you know, instead of just being locked in the backyard or, you know, you know, in a crate or, you know, a kennel,” he said.

    He said it’s very rare to have a dog that can’t be rehabilitated from dangerous behavior like biting.

    So when Meverden sees state legislation like House Bill 873 and Senate Bill 1156 that would create a statewide registry for dogs deemed “dangerous,” he says it won’t get rid of the root issue.

    “I don’t think that the problem of dog bites, fatalities and stuff like that is going to be solved by legislatures in Tallahassee,” he said.

    According to the Senate bill, if a dog is declared dangerous, owners have to put them in a proper enclosure, get liability insurance, put permanent identification like a tattoo or microchip in the dog, and notify animal control if the dog is loose, sold, or moving to a new address.



    Gary Darling

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  • Florida Supreme Court considers abortion amendment

    Florida Supreme Court considers abortion amendment


    The Florida Supreme Court holds a hearing on a proposed abortion amendment to the state Constitution, and the economy is set to be a key issue in the 2024 presidential election.


    Florida Supreme Court considers abortion amendment

    Will an abortion rights amendment make it on the November ballot in Florida? That was the subject of arguments today in Florida’s Supreme Court.

    Floridians Protecting Freedom says it has the required signatures to place amendment 4 on the ballot.

    But Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody is arguing the language is too vague.

    The judges also are weighing a challenge to a 15-week abortion ban. And that ruling will also decide the fate of the six-week ban that was passed the following year.

    Abortion rights supporters and opponents gathered outside the Capitol today. State lawmakers on both sides of the debate spoke after the court hearing.

    “Look at all the people who are standing here behind me. There are folks who feel strongly on either side. But over a million Floridians signed these ballot petitions. This is the voice and the will of the people of Florida to protect a woman’s right to choose. And it would be wrong for the court to override that. Especially given that the language and the summary are so clear,” State Rep. Fentrice Driskell said.

    “The earth is the Lord’s. It does not belong to these baby killers. We’re here because we’re humans. Welcome to planet Earth, where we love people, from the womb to the tomb. And as lawmakers, we are doing everything possible to defend life,” State Rep. Webster Barnaby said about the proposal.

    Chair of the Florida Democratic Party Nikki Fried discussed whether she was worried about the proposal getting denied by the court.

    “Their job was again to examine it through the lens of a single subject and make sure it’s not confusing to the electorate. Every other argument or going into other parts of our constitution is not relevant. It is very simple, the people of the state are asking for an opportunity to vote on this issue, and the people deserve that chance,” Fried said.

    The court must rule by April 1.

    If the Supreme Court approves the wording in the amendment, it would appear on the November ballot where voters would have the final say.

    According to Florida law, it would need at least 60% approval to pass.

    Floridians struggle to afford food as economy takes center stage in 2024

    As we move closer to the 2024 election, it’s important to understand issues important to voters up and down the I-4 corridor, an area that could be key to who wins in November in Florida and the nation.

    The economy, and concerns about inflation, remain a top concern among voters.

    A recent government report shows inflation is slowing down, and a University of Michigan survey shows consumer sentiment jumped up in the last two months by 29%, the most it has since 1991.

    But some in Central Florida continue to struggle to with costs of living, including covering the cost of food, which could have an impact on how people vote.

    By the time this truck rolled in, there were already about 100 cars lined up waiting

    Some drivers lined up just after midnight to be first in line for the first-come first serve food drive.

    Amey Wilkins is in the fourth line of cars from the front, and she’s ready to wait as long as she needs to.

    “It’s cold when you come in the morning time, but later on it gets warm,” Wilkins said.

    She says with higher grocery prices she can no longer afford the food she needs.

    “I try to add up in my head how much it costs for the groceries, and whatever is there and I don’t think I can take it, I have to put it back,” she said.

    Wilkins isn’t alone. Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida says searches for food assistance have doubled in the last year. So the cost of living is on the minds of many Central Floridians heading into the 2024 election.

    “It’s the economy, the economy’s got to get better, because the prices are going up. It’s hard when you have a fixed income,” Wilkins said.

    About two years ago she began coming to this twice-monthly food drive at Patmos Chapel in Apopka.

    Church volunteers load up trunks full of several boxes of fresh produce and frozen meat, enough food for a couple of weeks.

    Arnel Smalley says demand picked up during the pandemic, and has only grown since.

    “When God said when they were hungry we gave them food, when they were thirsty we gave them something to drink, that’s what we’re trying to do here. If people are hungry, people are thirsty, we want to make sure we’re giving them ample opportunity to come through the line,” Smalley said.

    He says the church went from serving about 200 families to 600 families. Most drivers here aren’t picking up food for just themselves. Wilkins shares her food with several other families.

    “Even when I’m ready to deliver food I’m like, Amey you’ve got to this, get up let’s go, they need this just as much as you need it,” Wilkins said.

    Wilkins says because of health problems, she could no longer work as a caretaker in a hospital. But she never lost her urge to help others.

    “I care about people. I try to help whoever needs help. Friends who eat meat, whatever meat I have, I give it to them, and whatever food I don’t use, I give it to them. So, it’s a helping hand, just like I’m getting a helping hand,” she said.

    She stocked up with food to last for about two weeks. But with the fluctuating cost of gas, it’s still a struggle. She can’t do this forever. She says prices need to come down.

    “So many times when I fill my car up with gas, $50 worth of gas, and I have to take my runs to take food to other people, I’m like, God you’ve got to send me a blessing,” she said.

    The organizers of that food drive report they used to allow people to pick up food for five or six families, but they’re having to limit that now to food for two to three families, so they make sure there’s enough food to go around.

    Stories like Wilkins’ throughout Central Florida could have an impact on the presidential election. Despite some strong economic numbers, it’s really the public and the voters’ perception of the economy.

    Biden’s approval is at an all-time low.

    But a University of Michigan poll shows consumer sentiment is improving. That could be a sign that voters are having more faith in President Joe Biden to handle the economy, which could bode well for him in November.

    Harris prepares for abortion to be key issue in election

    Democrats have plotted a full-court press on the issue in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health in June of 2022, which overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion. Since the ruling, the abortion rights movement has seen major victories when the issue has been on the ballot, including in traditionally red states like Kansas and Ohio, and Democrats credited their stance on abortion with stronger-than-expected results in the 2022 midterms, which saw Democrats expand their margin in the U.S. Senate and only narrowly lose the House of Representatives.

    “When we’ve seen it on the ballot … since this case came down over a year ago, from Kansas to California, Ohio to Virginia, red states, blue states, the American people voted in favor of freedom,” Harris said in Thursday’s interview. “I think that a lot of people who are now coming to realize the harm that has actually resulted from this ruling, do feel a level of compassion and don’t believe it’s right that people are suffering the way they are.”

    “The highest court in our land took a constitutional right that had been recognized from the people of America, from the women of America, which is the ability and the freedom that a woman should have have to make decisions about her own body,” the vice president said. 

    The interview comes as Harris — who has been the Biden administration’s point person on the issue since the Dobbs decision — has been criss-crossing the country on a tour aimed at promoting abortion rights, a key issue for Democrats ahead of November’s election. Harris’ “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour kicked off in the battleground state of Wisconsin last month and brought her to San Jose, Calif., earlier this week as the administration — and the president and vice president’s reelection campaign — seek to keep the issue of abortion at the forefront of Americans’ minds before they head to the ballot box.

    “So many women have been suffering, and many, most, silently suffering,” Harris said Thursday. “I’ve met women who’ve had miscarriages in toilets. There are women who have been denied emergency medical care during a miscarriage because the the people who worked at the hospital were so afraid that they might be sent to jail. And do you know why? Because around our country laws are being proposed and passed that include providing prison time for doctors or nurses that give emergency or even give any kind of reproductive health care.”

    “It is a big issue that is happening every day,” Harris said.  

    Abortion was also the topic of Biden and Harris’ first joint campaign event of the year, a rally in northern Virginia one day after the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade last month.

    “Former President Trump hand-picked three Supreme Court justices because he intended for them to overturn Roe,” Harris said at the event in Manassas, Va., last month. “He intended for them to take your freedoms. He is the architect of this healthcare crisis. And he is not done.”

    The choice to focus their first 2024 rally on abortion rights signaled the president’s reelection campaign is counting on the issue remaining salient in 2024 as Biden faces low approval ratings, struggles to convince voters the economy is doing well under his leadership — despite several recent indicators of Americans’ growing satisfaction with financial conditions — and navigates multiple global crises, including escalating conflicts with Iran-backed militant groups in the Middle East and tensions at the U.S.-Mexico border.

    While Democrats have employed this full-court press on abortion, any measure to restore the provisions of Roe v. Wade face an uphill battle, thanks in part to the Senate’s 60-vote legislative filibuster threshold. (It’s a similar reason why former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, one of the top contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, said last year it was “not honest” for her then-rivals to promise a national abortion ban, telling CBS’ “Face the Nation” that “Nothing’s gonna happen if we don’t get 60 votes in the Senate.”)

    Harris acknowledged that Democrats need to have a stronger majority in both chambers of Congress to codify abortion protections.

    “What the Supreme Court took away, Congress can put back in place,” Harris said. “But we do need a majority in Congress who will agree that … the government shouldn’t be telling her what to do.”

    “We’ve got to trust women to know what’s in their own best interest and to consult who they deem right to help them navigate a very difficult decision,” she said. “But the government shouldn’t be telling them what to do. It’s 2024. We’ve got laws on the books that don’t let women make decisions about their own bodies, so we need to have a majority in Congress who just agree with that point.”

    Harris’ tour continues next week in Savannah, Ga., another crucial battleground state that Biden narrowly won over Trump in 2020. 



    Gary Darling

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  • Biden urges lawmakers to pass border bill

    Biden urges lawmakers to pass border bill

    President Joe Biden is urging lawmakers to pass a sweeping bipartisan border policy proposal that Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, oppose. Meanwhile, some Republicans in Tallahassee are looking for ways to ensure control over marijuana potency in the state.


    Biden urges lawmakers to pass border deal as Democrats slam DeSantis for State Guard deployment

    President Joe Biden is urging Congress to pass the bipartisan border proposal that appears all but dead.

    A deal struck by members of the Senate this weekend has quickly fallen apart amid opposition from Republicans, including former President Donald Trump.

    If passed into law, it would provide aid to Ukraine, Israel, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and give the president money and tools to help secure the border and speed up asylum claims.

    “With the new policies in this bill and the additional 4,300 asylum officers, who spend hours, I might add, with each immigrant to consider their claims whether they qualify. We’ll be able to reduce that process to six months, not five to seven years,” Biden said about the proposal.

    The bill was deemed dead on arrival by House Republican Leadership.

    The southern border came up in a Senate committee meeting Monday in Tallahassee during confirmation questioning of Mark Thieme, who Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed to lead the Florida State Guard.

    Central Florida Sen. Victor Torres laid out his concerns over sending the Florida Guard to Texas to assist with border enforcement.

    “Being deployed from this state, what we do we’re covered, and I want our men and women who are deployed to make sure that they are — the legality of the circumstance of being sent to another state — that they are protected,” Torres said. “I don’t want them to go over to another state and be caught in something that could be dangerous for them, or involved in some kind of shooting.”

    Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried posted on X, saying:

    “Republicans are an existential threat to our national security. They care more about using the fear of migrants coming into our country to help trump than actually solving the problem. It’s like a 2 yo who has been screaming for his pacifier & once he gets it he still screams because he just wants to scream.”

    On Jan. 31, DeSantis called on the Florida National Guard plus the Florida State Guard to, “Stop the invasion.”

    “Let’s all band together as states,” he said. “Let’s say that our borders matter. Let’s say that we’re going to support Texas in making sure we can stop what is happening to our country.”

    The governor is offering up to 1,000 members of the National Guard to support Operation Lone Star. He is mobilizing the Florida State Guard, too, making this the organization’s first deployment in state history.

    DeSantis said the forces will build barriers, throw down wire and establish barricades along the southern border.

    “The federal government is no longer protecting the states,” State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia said. “Not the state of Texas, but all the states. The states have a right to protect their citizens.”

    Lawmakers tackle marijuana potency ahead of amendment vote

    A new proposal can be seen as Florida’s first effort to get ahead of the potential legalization of recreational marijuana in the state.

    It’s no secret that some Republicans are opposed to legalized recreational marijuana in Florida, but others say while they can’t necessarily stop it, they can try to contain it.

    Before a vote is cast in November on a potential amendment, some Republicans are trying to a put caps on marijuana potency with Senate Bill 7050.

    State Sen. Gayle Harrell was worried about the possibility of marijuana soon hitting Florida markets.

    “There is no doubt that this high-potency cannabis has a real risk of psychosis for many, many people, especially young people,” Harrell said.

    Voters in November will probably decide the fate of recreational marijuana, as the amendment on the ballot, if approved, would let Floridians to freely posses and smoke marijuana.

    But under Tuesday’s Republican bill, lawmakers could limit just how strong that marijuana is.

    “The problem is, it feels like a preemptive strike to regulate a future ballot initiative,” said Will Clark of the Libertarian Party of Florida. “Is that really what we want to do? Gov. DeSantis says this is the free state of Florida.”

    There is, however, bipartisan concern. Some lawmakers are calling these caps arbitrary. Others, meanwhile, feel it may promote a black market.

    “With a cap, now maybe we push a consumer to push to go in a different direction to find something higher on a market that is not safe or legal,” State Sen. Tracie Davis said.

    This effort comes as the Florida Supreme Court considers whether recreational marijuana will appear on the November ballot. Attorney General Ashley Moody is trying to kill the amendment, saying it’s confusing to voters.

    Immigration backlog grows in Florida

    Florida ranks No. 1 in the backlog of immigration cases, according to federal data collected by Syracuse University. 

    The data show the U.S. court backlog of cases involving immigrants and asylum seekers is more than 3 million — 481,000 of which are in Florida.

    Tampa immigration attorney Milton Toro Marquez has worked with immigrants for the past seven years and handles more than 100 clients, with a case list growing fast — especially over the last couple of years.

    “It’s something that’s very stressful, and at the same time very rewarding,” Marquez said.

    Marquez believes the immigration system is broken and that cases can take years to get resolved because of backlogs.

    He said each case is unique, and that each has a story of escaping a rough life.

    “People are sexually violated on their way here, people are robbed, people are beaten on their way here,” Marquez said.

    However, Marquez said despite the growing caseload, the work is important since most of his clients fear returning to their home country.

    Gary Darling

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  • Border Security considered in Washington

    Border Security considered in Washington

    Lawmakers in Florida reacted to a border security proposal in Washington that also provides funding for Ukraine and Israel. Meanwhile, legislators in Tallahassee considered how to alter a social media restrictions proposal.  


    Florida lawmakers react to border security bill

    The Senate eyes a test vote for Wednesday on the long-awaited budget security bill.

    Senate negotiators released the legislation yesterday. It was put together by a bipartisan group of lawmakers to try to curb the flow of migrants while also passing funding for the wars in Ukraine and Israel.

    But House Republicans already say this bill is going nowhere. The bill would give President Joe Biden more power to restrict migrant crossings during surges, allowing the Department of Homeland Security to restrict border crossings if migrant encounters reach more than 4,000 in a one week span.

    The bill also changes the asylum system by raising the standard for who can apply and also speeds up the process.

    The bill would also mean billions of dollars in funding for both foreign aid and border security.

    The current proposal would allocate $60 billion in aid for the war-torn country of Ukraine, and $14 billion for aid to Israel.

    “We have a huge issue in this country on our southern border. You can’t be a country if you can’t maintain control of your own territory. And really, this has been going on for many, many years, but it’s never been this bad,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said about the proposal. “They have now unveiled a piece of legislation, and I think people are seeing what a farce it is. To say that you only shut the border down once 5,000 people a day come in illegally, which is about 2 million a year. That’s basically legalizing illegal immigration. And there are so many other things wrong with it, but I just think it’s taking a step back. This shows me the contempt these people in D.C. have for American taxpayers,”

    Both of Florida’s Republican Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have come out against the legislation.

    Rubio called the legislation “an easy no.” He argued that Biden doesn’t need new laws to stop the migrant crisis.

    Scott criticized the bill for allowing some migrants to receive work permits more easily.

    Nationally, there’s division among Republicans in the Senate on this even as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is supporting it.

    There’s been more unity among Democrats supporting the proposal, but not all are on board.

    New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez says the bill would make it harder for asylum seekers to have their claims heard. He also said that Senate leaders haven’t provided enough time to review the 400 page package.

    Social media restrictions up for debate in the Florida Senate

    Florida lawmakers are working out how a proposed social media bill should be written to ensure that it can pass.

    A Senate subcommittee considered House Bill 1 Monday. If passed, the bill would require social media companies to verify how old people using their platforms are, and bans people under the age of 16 from using them.

    Florida House Speaker Paul Renner discussed the bill, and where the defining line is between allowing parents to regulate their children, and where the government steps in.

    “The vast majority of things, we want the parents to make those decisions,” he said. “It’s time to act. We can’t allow to lose our kids, or to have kids engage in self harm or spend their childhood in depression.”

    He also discussed proposed changes to the legislation so that it can be stronger and stand up to court challenges.

    “They have to meet certain criteria,” he said. “They are really not interested in pulling away from what would be a lucrative business.”

    Last week Gov. Ron DeSantis said he wants a pathway for the bill to withstand any legal challenges in court. But he also understands that could be an issue as the bill gets crafted in the state legislature.

    “Anything I do. I want a pathway for this to actually stick. So we’re going to look through that. So what I would say is I’m sympathetic to, as a parent, what’s going on with our youth,” DeSantis said. “But I also understand that to just say that, you know, someone that’s 15 just cannot have it no matter what, that may create some some legal issues. And so I told the speaker I’d work with them on it.

    “So I would say that, you know, this is something that’s likely going to evolve as it gets through the House and makes its way through the Senate. And we’ll see if we get a product that is going to be something that’s good. But I, I am concerned about the breadth of it, and I want to empower parents. I want to give parents tools to to be able to do this. And so I just think you got to be smart about how you do it.”

    Immigration bill could change some standards in Florida

    The clock is ticking for a bill being referred to as the “Welcoming Florida Act.” The bill was sponsored by State Sen. Victor Torres and is aimed at overturning some of the strict immigration laws put into place last session, but it needs to be heard before several committees before it can advance.

    Julia Aguayo de Hassler is no stranger to politics. Five years ago, she created the group known as the Libertad Club Hispano Republicano of Pasco County, which is a club aimed at educating people about the values of the Republican Party.

    “We meet the third Monday of every month, and we always invite people from our community,” she said.

    Members of the group also discuss legislation that they might not support. That’s the case with Senate Bill 1598.

    “It is important to realize there is a difference between the people that have been here for years and those people that this administration has let come by the thousands without properly being vetted,” she said.

    Bills like SB 1598 don’t help to strengthen the immigration system in the state, according to her.

    The bill would repeal provisions relating to patient status data collected by hospitals. It could also delete the requirement that an employer discontinues employing a person after learning that the person has no legal status in the state. 

    Those in favor of the bill say it is legislation that helps to combat last year’s immigration law, Senate Bill 1718.

    “What it does is it seems to clear up some misconceptions and probably some things that would have been challenged with SB 1718,” said Danielle Hernandez, founder of the DVH Law Group.

    Hernandez said last year’s law led the way to a town hall meeting to help educate the undocumented community about SB 1718.

    She said if SB 1598 is passed, it would be a is a step in the right direction toward protecting the immigrant community she serves.

    “This is an election year,” Hernandez said. “It’s also very important for people to understand what is coming in our laws.”

    SB 1598 is still in committee in the Florida Senate and has yet to see a vote that would advance it to the floor. 

    Gary Darling

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