Capitol is closed to the public but open for session. Conservatives favor DeSantis. Sunshine tradition becomes COVID casualty

It’s Monday, March 1, and a year ago today Florida announced its first two cases of the novel coronavirus and declared a public health emergency.

Tomorrow, Florida embarks on the most unusual legislative session in its history as lawmakers return to a Capitol building that remains closed to the public because of a pandemic in a state that is open for business.

With Republicans feeling empowered in Florida after picking up seats in the state House and Senate, the next election is Florida’s chance to secure its place as the Trumpest state in America. The early line-up of legislation is intended to hit political buttons for the GOP base: new limits to vote-by-mail, increasing penalties for rioters, punishing communities that realign their police budgets, and restricting Big Tech.

Also Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his third State-of-the-State speech, having just been anointed by conservatives in Orlando the most popular successor to Donald Trump.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

First, let’s talk about what will be a historic legislative session.

Florida was one of only seven states where state legislative leaders chose not to meet to address pandemic-related needs in the last year. Lawmakers adjourned March 19, 2020, and they return March 2, 2021, for the 60-day session. There is a massive budget deficit that will be offset in part by a yet-to-be-determined allocation from additional federal COVID-relief funds.

Vaccination sprints: Legislators meet as the state is in a race against time, hoping to get people vaccinated fast enough to stave off the more-infectious “U.K. variant,” which accounts for about 15% to 20% of all infections. In Florida, the variant has so far matched the rate in other countries where it had caused an explosion in cases. But the strain is facing a tougher fight here, where nearly half of the state’s residents 65 and older have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine and nearly a third of the population may have already been infected by the virus, according to estimates.

Session agenda: With crisis comes opportunity, which could open the door to talk of new revenues in two key areas: bringing Florida in line with the rest of the nation and collect sales tax for all online purchases, and a long-sought gaming deal.

The practical obstacles to those long-discussed options is that the 2021 Legislature includes many newcomers, and legislative leaders have spent less time devoted to advancing their agenda than normal years. Here are the issues and people to watch.

Limited access: Mask mandates and social distancing protocols will be the rule this session. Easy public access will not be, especially in the Senate which is allowing only virtual testimony from the public. But there is a lot of energy going into making sure stuff still gets done. Who does this advantage?

Sea change for sea rise: House Speaker Chris Sprowls and Senate leaders launched an ambitious set of bills last week that attempts to mitigate flooding and sea-level rise. The announcement carefully avoided acknowledging the source of the climate change causing the rising seas. The programs mirror the initiatives endorsed by the governor and signal a departure for the Republican-led Legislature which for the last decade refused to address the impact of climate change.

Police reforms: On the politically-charged idea of “defunding” the police, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is behind a bill to lower the temperature over the hot-button issue. Under the measure, police officers would be required to undergo “de-escalation” training and intervene if a fellow cop is using excessive force.

K-12 gaps: Local school officials are hoping lawmakers will direct their attention to the myriad of financial, social and academic needs of the state’s K-12 schools. Some Republican leaders want to address academic gaps by enhancing literacy and early learning programs. Others are looking at continuing remote learning options without reducing district funding.

Favoritism pushback: DeSantis continued to get unwanted attention for his vaccine favoritism last week. The Daily Show riffed on it, producing a biting satire called “Ron DeSantis’ Club Vax.” The narrator announces, “Hey Florida, looking for the red-carpet treatment for your COVID vaccine?,’’ as video images of the South Beach club scene are shown. “Then come on down to Ron DeSantis’ Club Vax. Make the donations rain and cut to the front of the line to get vaccinated...Putting the play in pay to play.”

Baugh apologies: Manatee Commissioner Vanessa Baugh publicly apologized for her role in organizing a controversial state-run COVID-19 vaccination site with a VIP list of residents that included herself and top supporters. But she said again last week she was just following the governor’s request.

Expanding vaccine criteria: In an odd move for a Friday night, the governor quietly issued an executive order expanding the number of people authorized to get vaccines in Florida, adding people under age 65 who have prior conditions that put them at risk to the coronavirus.

Scattershot plan: DeSantis defended Florida’s haphazard coronavirus vaccine rollout last week, saying the state is a national leader in the effort and touting the lack of a detailed plan as a plus.

‘Oasis of freedom’: The Conservative Political Action Conference met in Orlando last week for its biggest event of the year. DeSantis welcomed them with a five-minute Trump-style speech on Friday in which he declared the state to be “an oasis of freedom in a nation that’s suffering from the yoke of oppressive lockdowns..” The governor did not mention Trump but did take a swipe at critics in the party. “We will not go back to the failed Republican establishment of yesteryear,” DeSantis said to cheers.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Straw poll leaders: And he was welcomed back with a straw poll of the audience that favored him over other GOP rivals to win the 2024 presidential nomination if former President Donald Trump decides not to run again.

It’s got to be a tantalizing prospect for the first-term governor and discouraging for other 2024 hopefuls, which include U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, who canceled his appearance at the event Saturday, and Rick Scott.

Trump successor? The poll found that if Donald Trump runs again in 2024, 55% would support him and 23% would favor DeSantis. But if Trump does not return, DeSantis outflanks South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who came in second with 11%, and Donald Trump Jr., who was in third place with 8% support. Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz both were at 7% in the poll. Fox host Tucker Carlson, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Ivanka Trump all received 3%.

Trump doesn’t rule out ‘24: The man who holds their fate in their hands, Donald Trump, rejected ideas that he would start a new party but didn’t rule out running again: “Who knows. I may even decide to beat them for a third time,” he said, as the crowd cheered. It was among the loudest applause lines of his 90-minute speech, next to criticizing transgender athletes. “Had we had a fair election, the results would’ve been much different and we would’ve had a deal with Iran,” Trump said, repeating the false claim the 2020 election was not free and fair. In the CPAC straw poll, 93% said voter fraud helped Biden win.

Also attending the event Friday was Florida Congressmen Matt Gaetz and Greg Steube, who were among the more than one dozens Republicans who skipped votes in Congress, instead signing letters saying they can’t attend “due to the ongoing public health emergency”.

Dark year for Florida Sunshine: It’s been a dark year for Florida’s Sunshine law as the governor has repeatedly shielded critical information about the crisis from the public. From DOH memos marked “confidential” that showed that more than 500 people in Florida were being monitoring for possible exposure to COVID-19 in February as the governor downlayed the risk to frequently withholding information until the state was either threatened with a lawsuit, or convinced the trend lines have improved. Here’s a timeline.

Detention center reopening: The Biden administration is planning to soon reopen the Homestead detention center for unaccompanied migrant teens, two Department of Homeland Security officials with knowledge of the facility’s operations confirmed to the Miami Herald Tuesday.

David Rivera fined: A federal judge ruled Tuesday that former Miami Republican Rep. David Rivera violated campaign finance law when he funneled $75,927 in campaign money to a novice political candidate running against Rivera’s likely Democratic challenger in Florida’s 26th Congressional District. In a scathing order, Judge Marcia Cooke said Rivera’s violations were knowing, willful and injured the public and ordered him to pay a $456,000 fine for devising a scheme he knew was illegal.

Sexual misconduct settlement: The Miami City Commission approved a $100,000 settlement for the family of a teen who accused Rene Pedrosa, the mayor’s former aide, of sexual misconduct at City Hall.

DeGrandy’s new gig: The Miami City Commission also agreed to pay attorney and former legislator Miguel De Grandy $100,000 to study 2020 U.S. Census data and determine if boundaries for the city’s voting districts should shift. The city also agreed to waive conflicts so his law firm can keep lobbying City Hall.

FIU bridge replacement: Nearly three years after a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University collapsed because of a flawed design, killing six people, the construction of a new bridge in the same location is officially moving forward.

Stay well and we’d love to hear from you. Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas curated this newsletter. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a note at meklas@miamiherald.com.

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