The GOP’s redistricting problem, signature fraud, abortion ban, and FIU’s shocker

It’s Monday, Jan. 24, and Florida’s 60-day session is on full throttle.

A Republican-backed bill to ban on abortion after 15 weeks cleared its first House committee last week along party lines. A Senate committee got to work on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ priority bill aimed at barring the influence of critical race theory in schools and businesses in Florida. And although Republican leaders thought they had avoided the intraparty tension that traditionally scars Florida’s redistricting battles, last week the governor launched a grenade.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

DeSantis map: The governor’s general counsel Ryan Newman quietly submitted a congressional redistricting plan over MLK weekend that slashes the number of Black districts from four to two and gives Republicans in Congress an eight-seat advantage in Florida, two more seats than a map proposed by the state Senate and more aggressive than a draft map prepared by the House.

When the governor’s office explained some of the plan on Tuesday, it became clear they intended to bypass the legal guidelines adopted by Senate and House Republicans. They instead proposed five districts that appear to increase the number Hispanic districts in Congress but may in fact reduce representation, and they dismantled the Black district in North Florida because they consider it an “illegal gerrymander.”

Poking Biden? It’s unclear if the governor is attempting to burnish his GOP credentials and compete with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott by producing a heavily partisan map that would draw a legal challenge from the Biden Administration’s Justice Department for violating the Voting Rights Act. But the Senate didn’t take the bait.

Senate rebuffs governor: In a rare public rebuke of DeSantis, the Senate ignored his suggestions and passed its own map on a 31-4 bipartisan vote. The Senate’s congressional map leaves the GOP advantage in the Florida congressional delegation at 16, with Democrats in line to keep 12 seats, one more than the current map.

But it’s now up to the House to decide if it will incorporate the governor’s proposals into its congressional plan. To do that, it will have to ignore the legal guidance of the Legislature’s own lawyers, which have said that to protect minority voting strength, they have to draw districts that can actually elect a Black or Hispanic, not just produce voting age populations over 50%.

GOP controls, but Dems gain: Legislators moved closer to the finish line on their Senate and House maps by giving Democrats modest gains while securing a GOP majority for another decade. The state Senate passed a map, which the governor does not have veto authority over, that gives Republicans a likely 23-17 advantage over Democrats in the 40-member chamber — a one seat pickup for Democrats over the current map.

The House, which is about two weeks behind the Senate, has proposed a map that gives Democrats as many as seven additional seats in the 120-member House, potentially reducing the Republican majority to 71 from 79, and increasing the Democratic share to 49.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Challenges ahead for Dems: Democrats face increasing headwinds this year as redistricting leaves them vulnerable in the mid-terms and vacancies leave seats open. Democrat U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist and Val Demings are seeking higher office, and Stephanie Murphy is retiring.

Complicating their troubles is the challenge of finding candidates to run in the open seats, and the two South Florida congressional districts considered competitive. Democrats still haven’t found top-tier candidates to challenge Republican U.S. Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar and Carlos Gimenez for competitive congressional seats in the 2022 election.

Signs of widespread signature fraud: Florida’s Republican leaders spend a considerable amount of time talking about fraud and elections. But neither the governor nor attorney general would talk to us about what elections supervisors have been complaining about for two months: Hundreds of suspected fraudulent petitions have been submitted by more than a dozen petition gatherers across the state. The petitions are relating to a gambling initiative being financed by Las Vegas Sands, a company whose owners are big DeSantis backers. The fraudulent signatures have led to widespread delays and backlogs in petition validation efforts. At least one state attorney says they’re investigating.

Gaetz’s ex-girlfriend opens up: Speaking of investigations, we also learned last week that prosecutors granted immunity to an ex-girlfriend of U.S. Rep Matt Gaetz before she testified in front of a federal grand jury hearing evidence in the investigation of the congressman.

Education conflicts: The Florida Department of Education is facing its own turmoil following a Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times story that revealed top education officials tried to steer a contract to a politically connected company to help consult with Jefferson County’s schools. The bid to award the contract fell apart when a member of the State Board of Education and one of Education Secretary Richard Corcoran’s top deputies also applied for the contract, a move that was investigated for potential conflicts of interest and led to their resignations.

Legislating speech in schools: The House Education and Employment Committee advanced two bills last week that Republican advocates said would give parents more control over their children’s education while opponents say will stifle debate and discussion, and target LBGTQ students.

One bill will put new limits on instructional materials and school board members’ pay. Another prohibits schools from making decisions regarding students’ mental, emotional or physical health or well-being without involving parents. But a provision prohibiting schools from encouraging “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels,” and only if “age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students” has advocates concerned it will target LBGTQ and transgender students.

Could business damages raise taxes? Despite warnings from city and county officials that local governments will have to raise taxes on residents and businesses to pay damages for other businesses, a Senate committee advanced a controversial preemption bill, SB 620.

The measure would allow businesses to collect damages if a local ordinance costs them up to 15% of their profits. Local governments say it will undermine efforts to regulate local businesses that threaten public health, disrupt communities and cause nuisance problems. But the bill is a priority of Senate President Wilton Simpson and passed out of its last committee in a party-line vote last week. Sen. Travis Hutson, the Senate sponsor, said the bill is going to undergo some changes before it gets to the full Senate.

Kratom controls: A Florida Senate committee has advanced a proposal that could have major implications for the industry that sells and produces kratom, the plant-based product used as a stimulant and sedative. Senate Bill 1076, would ban the sale of kratom to Floridians younger than 21 and impose quality-control regulations around kratom products. It would also require kratom sellers to affix a label to any product with directions for suggested use.

Troubling developments amid FIU resignation: Mark Rosenberg, Florida International University’s fifth president, abruptly resigned Friday afternoon, effective immediately. He cited health issues for his departure after 45 years of service at the state’s second largest university. But the surprise announcement immediately raised questions, especially since an emergency meeting of the Board of Trustees included no commendations of praise or appreciation for Rosenberg’s 12 years at the helm.

Rosenberg told the Miami Herald in a cryptic statement on Sunday that he had “caused discomfort for a valued colleague,” acknowledging “I unintentionally created emotional [not physical] entanglement.” He cited the emotional and mental-health toll his wife’s prolonged illness has had on him, saying it led to the incident with the FIU employee. CBS Miami and the Herald subsequently reported that the resignation followed a sexual harassment investigation into Rosenberg’s treatment of a young, female colleague, and that prompted his resignation.

Historic Everglades infrastructure deal: In what will be the single largest investment in the Everglades in history, the White House announced last week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will spend $1.1 billion on restoring and preserving the Florida’s Everglades this current fiscal year. The money will come from the infrastructure law President Joe Biden signed in November, despite receiving no votes of support from Florida Republicans.

Making history in Congress: Florida’s newest congresswoman, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, officially took the oath of office at an evening ceremony last Tuesday, making her the first Haitian American to serve in Florida’s congressional delegation and only the second in history, following former Utah Republican Rep. Mia Love.

Shielding dark money donors: Just as Florida Power & Light, one of the largest contributors to Republican and Democratic political committees, is coming under fire for its links to dark money operations, a bill has emerged to shield donors to the secretive campaigns. The bill would prohibit government entities from requiring corporations, associations, and nonprofit organizations from providing information about their direct or indirect support to any entity.

Records obtained by the Orlando Sentinel showed that FPL consultants, working for Alabama-based political consulting firm, used a dark money group to orchestrate the “ghost” candidate scheme in which independent candidates in three battleground Florida Senate elections in 2020 were promoted as progressive outsiders in an apparent attempt to siphon votes away from the Democrats in each race.

Stifling ‘ghost candidate’ probe: Court records show that Tallahassee political consultant Ryan Tyson’s political committee, Let’s Preserve the American Dream, wired more than half a million dollars to a dark money group working with FPL’s consultants. Now, Tyson has asked a Miami circuit court judge to block the release of bank records that would disclose donors to his political nonprofit organization. The lobbyist who supplied the language, Jorge Chamizo, lobbies for utility interests as well as Americans for Prosperity, the non-profit that has pursued the bill language in Florida and other states.

Experts say if the proposed law were on the books today, it would have precluded the media and the public from learning many of the details about the ghost candidate scheme.

Shielding poison potion: Florida’s prison officials want legislators to enact more layers of secrecy around the state’s method of executing Death Row inmates. They are seeking legislation that would make confidential any records that “could reasonably lead to the identification of any person or entity participating in an execution” in an effort to obscure the supply chain behind the state’s unique cocktail of drugs used in its lethal injections.

Protocols canceled: Legislators this year have taken a cue from the governor and adopted such an insouciant approach to COVID-19 they have abandoned all health-related protocols intended to slow the spread of the virus. Few legislators or lobbyists wear masks. There is no routine testing this year, and the only COVID-related social distancing that seems to prevail is the distance Senate President Simpson has kept between himself and reporters, by standing behind a raised podium and limiting questions.

Capitol absences: In the first two weeks of the legislative session, there have been more legislators absent from committee meetings than there were a year ago, before most of the population was vaccinated.

State senators racked up 22 total excused absences last week, compared to just 12 absences a year ago. The House reported 38 absences last week, compared to 32 last year. It is unclear how many legislators are absent because of COVID exposure, however. At least three lawmakers have told our reporters they tested positive in the last two weeks.

Follow us for weekly updates. Miami Herald Capitol Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas curates the Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State newsletter. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a note at meklas@miamiherald.com.

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