Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Gray Rohrer

Published January 15, 2020

TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Ron DeSantis rides into his second legislative session with high approval ratings, universal support from the GOP-led Legislature and even grudging praise from some Democrats.
 

Teacher pay

DeSantis’ biggest stated priority this year is a boost in teacher pay in the form of permanent raises and bonuses, but it also comes with the largest price tag of $900 million.

The first part of DeSantis’ plan would set aside $603 million to establish a minimum $47,500 annual salary for all teachers. The second piece would put $300 million toward offering teachers a bonus of up to $3,750 if their school’s annual grade increases by 6 points. Principals would be eligible for a maximum bonus of $5,000.

There’s near-universal agreement among Republicans and Democrats that teacher pay should go up to address a teacher shortage that has plagued districts throughout the state. But the parties differ greatly on how much to give, meaning lawmakers could give DeSantis’ plan a makeover before it gets to his desk.

Some Republicans, such as House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, initially scoffed at the cost of the package. And Democrats and teachers unions said the raises, while welcome, would be unfair to veteran teachers who make just more than the $47,500 threshold and would miss out on a raise.

Abortion

The partisan battle over HB 265/SB 404 is already one of the bitterest contests of the legislative session. The bill would require girls under age 18 to receive permission from their parents or guardians before receiving an abortion. Current law only requires parental notification.

Opponents of the bill, which include most Democrats and abortion rights activists, argue it could carry implications for all of Florida’s abortion laws and even access to abortion itself. That’s because the measure will almost certainly spark a lawsuit, and if the newly installed conservative majority on the Florida Supreme Court upholds it, it would overturn a precedent and allow for more aggressive abortion restrictions.
Lawmakers passed a similar parental notification requirement for minors in 1988, but the Supreme Court struck it down, pointing to the state constitution’s expansive privacy rights provision. Abortion-rights opponents have argued ever since that ruling was made in error.

Republican sponsors of this year’s bill say it’s different than the one struck down by the court since it has an option for a minor to petition the courts for a waiver if she is the victim of rape or incest. The bill passed through the House last year but never gained traction in the Senate. This year, however, Galvano has signaled his support, and the bill is already moving in that chamber.

Budget

DeSantis’ budget recommendation calls for $91.4 billion in spending, about $418 million more than the current year. It includes $22.9 billion for K-12 schools, about $1 billion more than this year, with $100 million for mental health counseling in schools.

Another DeSantis’ priority is a hike in environmental spending, with his $625 million recommendation part of a planned $2.5 billion increase over three years. It includes $50 million for beach restoration, $50 million in springs restoration and $100 million for Florida Forever, a state lands conservation program.

Concerns over limited funds could lead lawmakers to scrimp on spending increases in critical areas, such as the Department of Corrections. DeSantis and Senate leaders have said they want to give prison guards raises to stop the department’s high turnover rate and reliance on overtime.

Visit Florida

Florida’s tourism marketing agency is once again on the chopping block. Oliva sees no use for the department, calling $30 million of its $50 million budget a “waste” in a recent op-ed in the Tampa Bay Times. He argued tourists would likely flock to Florida anyway, and local tourist development councils already use bed taxes for their own marketing efforts.

Visit Florida officials and its supporters, which include the tourism industry, DeSantis and Senate leaders, say the program is vital to the state’s economy and helped bring in more than 120 million visitors last year.
DeSantis is calling for extending Visit Florida for another eight years and keeping its funding level at $50 million, but the House’s stance means the agency is likely only to be extended for another year, if at all.

Guardianship

The case of Rebecca Fierle, a guardian for more than 400 elderly patients who signed a Do Not Resuscitate orders without her client’s permission in at least one case and allegedly double-billed AdventHealth hospitals for her services, has brought focus on the state’s entire guardianship program.

Fierle was routinely appointed as guardian to elderly patients by judges with little justification, taking advantage of loopholes in the system. Lawmakers will attempt to close those this year.

Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, is sponsoring SB 994, which would prevent guardians from signing DNR orders without specific court authority and require judges to ask potential guardians about conflicts of interest with prospective clients. Guardians also would be prevented from petitioning to become guardians of a specific ward themselves unless they were related to the client.

In addition, DeSantis included a $6.4 million increase for the Office of Public and Professional Guardians in his budget recommendation, which would nearly double its budget to $14.7 million.

School safety

A statewide grand jury investigating school safety wants the Legislature to get tough on districts that don’t follow the law.

In a scathing report, the grand jury found districts aren’t fully carrying out school-safety requirements. It also faulted districts for not accurately reporting campus crime data. The panel recommended that the Legislature give the Florida Department of Education more power to investigate and punish school officials who aren’t following the law. Penalties could span from withholding pay to removal from office and referral for criminal charges.

E-Verify

Republican state Sens. Joe Gruters and Tom Lee have filed a bill that would require businesses to run new hires through the federal E-Verify system to check if they are eligible to work. Making those checks mandatory was a key campaign promise made by DeSantis, a close ally of President Donald Trump.

But business groups oppose the requirement, saying it would hurt Florida’s economic growth and industries struggling to find workers. During the 2019 session, DeSantis scored a victory when the Legislature passed a bill banning sanctuary cities that offer protections to undocumented residents.

That measure, though, wasn’t as consequential as the E-Verify bill as Florida does not have any sanctuary jurisdictions, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Marijuana

Bills have been filed that would change how Florida’s medical marijuana market operates, ending the “vertical integration” model that caps the number of licenses and requires companies to handle cultivation, distribution and retail from seed to sale.

Other measures would waive the $75 fee for a medical marijuana card for service-disabled veterans, implement workplace protections for medical marijuana patients and add sickle cell anemia to the conditions eligible for medical marijuana treatment.

The biggest change to the state’s marijuana laws could come if an initiative to legalize recreational pot makes it on the ballot for the 2020 election. Make it Legal Florida has certified 251,319 of the 766,200 signatures it needs to get the item on the ballot. The question would also have to pass a review by the Florida Supreme Court.

Election security

As a crucial swing state, Florida is in the crosshairs of hackers looking to influence the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.