Special session surprise, surgeon general offends, and elections officials plea for sanity

It’s Monday, Oct. 25, and autumn in Tallahassee is a beautiful time of the year. Florida’s Republican legislative leaders evidently agree.

They’ve signed onto Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call to bring the Republican-controlled Legislature back for a special session in November. The details have not been spelled out, but the governor last week said he wants to protect employees from overreaching employers who want people to take the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

No ban on mandates: But here’s the catch. The rule of thumb for every special session is that if you’re going to call one, you first make sure there is consensus over the goal of the session and the votes to get it done.

Although the governor said he would like to outlaw employers from requiring vaccinations —which is about the same as telling businesses how to run their business — it’s not clear Republicans will go along with passing that kind of government edict into law.

So, in the face of what appears to be some quiet pushback from the business lobby, the Republican governor announced that instead of banning mandates he wants to make things more difficult for businesses that require vaccines or weekly COVID tests.

“If anyone has been forced to do an injection and has an adverse reaction, that business should be liable for any damages,” he declared at a news conference last week.

Shifting rhetoric: As the governor increasingly shifted his focus to deride vaccines, he has also changed his jargon. He rarely uses the word “vaccine” anymore, and now increasingly just denigrates them as “these injections” and “those shots.”

“I will not let the heavy hand of government force Floridians to take a shot,’’ the governor declared on Twitter on Sunday. “That violates their constitutional rights, infringes on their medical freedom, and threatens their livelihoods. We will hold a Special Session to fight for Floridians’ freedom. #DontTreadOnFlorida.”

During the governor’s press conference Thursday, supporters were holding signs with a Florida version of the Gadsden “Don’t Tread on Me” Flag. Shortly after the event ended, his political committee started promoting the “Dont tread” swag for sale, featuring an alligator instead of a coiled snake in the picture.

The governor’s spokesperson Taryn Fenske defended the absence of apostrophe in some versions of the logo, saying: “Spelling and grammar were not standardized in the 18th century the way they are today. Apostrophes were not used in the strict manner we use them now.”

Expanding the wish list: The presiding officers of the Florida House and Senate, who initially appeared surprised at the governor’s impromptu call for a special session, indicated last week that they may want to add to the special session agenda. They suggested having the state “withdraw” from the “onerous federal regulations” placed on Floridians by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration “and establish our own state-controlled safety program.”

Turns out, some legislators have a history with OSHA. Seven years ago, the environmental cleanup company owned by Senate President Wilton Simpson was fined $18,000 by the agency after a worker fell and died.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Ladapo gets bipartisan rebuke: Meanwhile, Senate President Wilton Simpson called the state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo “unprofessional” over the weekend for refusing to wear a mask while visiting the office of a state Tina Polsky, who is being treated for breast cancer. In a letter to senators and staff, Simpson suggested that visitors in the future who “fail to respect these requests will be asked to leave.”

Polsky, a Boca Raton Democrat who came forward first with news of her breast cancer and then with news of her encounter with Ladapo, said she “didn’t ask for the attention.” But, she said, she was “shaken” by his treatment of her and both stories are important. “I don’t want to see this man as surgeon general,’’ Polsky said.

Elections supervisors deliver warning: In an extraordinary memo released last week, the Florida Association of Supervisors of Elections delivered a plaintive plea to elected officials at all levels of government to “tone down” the rhetoric over claims of elections fraud.

They urged officials to reject baseless conspiracy theories “and stand up for our democracy.” Left unsaid was the increasing movement toward making false claims involving a “stolen-election” part of the litmus test to seek approval within the Republican Party.

On the same day the memo went out, the governor’s political committee was sending out a fundraising email that implied that Democrats committed election fraud in other states last year and “used the pandemic as an excuse to change election laws in ways that are unconstitutional and ripe for fraud and abuse in our elections.”

School boards in the crosshairs: Rhetoric remains tense as schools continued to be the front line of the political battle in many communities. After the National School Boards Association sent a letter to President Biden raising concerns about “domestic terrorism” targeting school boards, DeSantis accused federal officials of trying to intimidate parents. He then issued a new threat, calling for legislation aimed at punishing school boards if they attempt to curtail parent rights.

Grady charged: Thomas Grady, chair of the Florida State Board of Education turned himself in on a federal misdemeanor charge earlier this month, after being accused of illegally excavating the property of his Florida Keys oceanfront home in 2017, according to court documents.

Lawyers for Grady say he is innocent and he received the proper approval from the local, state and federal government, “including from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.”

Dated redistricting exemption: Although Florida prides itself on its open records laws, a 28-year-old law exempts legislators from any obligation to produce records of redistricting-related conversations, correspondence and proposed maps. Two legislators, Sen. Annette Taddeo and Rep. Joe Geller, filed bills last week to end the legislative exemption on redistricting records. They argue that it is an important step to assuring the public that lawmakers are following the law.

Records on trial: Several news organizations are scheduled to go to court Nov. 9 and 10 before Leon District Court Judge John C. Cooper in their public records lawsuit against the state. They are seeking COVID-related data that the state is collecting but is refusing to make available to the public.

Social service executives getting scrutiny: Executive pay at Florida’s welfare agencies is under scrutiny in the wake of the Tiffany Carr scandal at the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Florida’s chief inspector general told the House Public Integrity and Ethics Committee last week. Among the findings: Eckerd Youth Alternatives and Family Support Services of North Florida enhanced their executive’s annual pay beyond what is allowed by statute.

Other social service agencies avoided the salary cap using deferred compensation or paying an additional salary through a contract with a subsidiary of a state-funded agency.

Empty pockets in open race: Donors aren’t opening their wallets in a Democratic primary that will decide who replaces U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings. So six of the nine Democratic candidates in Florida’s 20th Congressional District have loaned their campaigns thousands, and in one case millions of dollars, according to federal campaign filings made public on Friday.

State wins first battle over sports betting: A federal judge dismissed one lawsuit against DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe over the gaming compact last week, giving the state an early victory in what is the first of three legal battles for sports betting in Florida. The parimutuels still have another avenue to challenge the deal and that hearing is set for Nov. 5.

Colin Powell remembered: Former Secretary of State Colin Powell died last week from complications from COVID-19 and cancer, his family said. Notable in Florida was the different approaches to his death between the governor and former President Donald Trump.

DeSantis called Powell a “a trailblazing soldier, leader, and public servant” and ordered flags at half-staff. Trump called Powell “a classic RINO” who made “big mistakes” and said he hoped to be treated one day as well “by the Fake News Media.”

Stay well and we’d love to hear from you. 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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