Republican lawmakers in a Senate hearing Monday recommended Tina Descovich, co-founder of Moms for Liberty, cited by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-government extremist group, for an appointment for the Florida Commission on Ethics. The full Senate must approve the executive appointment.
Florida
The Controversial Concept of ‘Fetal Personhood’ Is Creeping Up on Florida
If fetuses have legal personhood, abortion-rights activists argue it would infringe the rights of pregnant women and have serious implications for medical procedures like in vitro fertilization and the treatment of ectopic pregnancies and miscarriages. For all practical matters, the Florida Constitution is silent on the issue of fetal personhood, despite Chief Justice Muniz’s suggestion that fetal personhood rights might already exist.
Stunningly, Florida’s Ladapo Tells Parents It’s Fine to Send Unvaccinated Kids to School with Measles Outbreak
With a brief memo, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has subverted a public health standard that’s long kept measles outbreaks under control. On Feb. 20, as measles spread through Manatee Bay Elementary in South Florida, Ladapo sent parents a letter granting them permission to send unvaccinated children to school amid the outbreak. Ladapo’s move contradicts advice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Audit Reveals ‘Urgent Need’ to Improve Florida’s Prison System, But State Budget May Balk
Concerned about dilapidated buildings in Florida’s statewide prison system, the state Senate has set aside $100 million a year for 30 years to address repairs and new construction, a total of $3 billion. But the state House hasn’t following suit. That sets up a fiscal clash as House and Senate lawmakers craft Florida’s 2024-25 budget.
Bill Banning Children Younger Than 16 From Social Media Passes and Heads for a Skeptical DeSantis
Florida lawmakers Thursday gave final approval to a bill that seeks to keep children under age 16 off social-media platforms, as Gov. Ron DeSantis continued to raise concerns about the measure. The House voted 108-7 to pass the bill (HB 1), which has been a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast. That came after the Senate voted 23-14 earlier in the day to approve the measure.
Vacation Rental Bill Scaling Back Local Control, Opposed by Flagler County Government, Heads to House Floor
The House Commerce Committee today approved a bill on a 10-4 vote pre-empting most vacation-rental authorities to the state. The bill heads to the House floor for a vote and reconciliation with the Senate’s version. It is the closest a pre-emption proposal has come to enactment in the dozen years that the vacation rental industry has pushed them.
Controversial Bill Allowing Lawsuits Over Wrongful Death of an ‘Unborn Child’ Advances
The proposal, now ready to go to the full House, would add “unborn child” to a law that allows family members to seek damages when a person’s death is caused by such things as wrongful acts or negligence. The bill (HB 651) has drawn intense pushback from abortion-rights advocates, who argue the proposed changes could put abortion providers and people who help women obtain abortions at risk of being sued.
Florida Moving To Ban References to Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Florida lawmakers are moving toward approving an overhaul of state energy laws, including eliminating references to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and imposing a ban on offshore wind-energy generation.
Proposal to Allow Chaplains in Florida Schools Advances
A proposal continued advancing Tuesday in the Senate to allow school districts to authorize chaplains to provide services for students. Under the bill (SB 1044), districts and charter schools could adopt policies to allow volunteer school chaplains “to provide supports, services and programs to students as assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board.”
Moms for Liberty’s Book of Morons
The moms of Moms for “Liberty” are feeling a little touchy, put-upon, even diminished. Their do-boy DeSantis crashed out of the presidential race. They’re losing school board elections. They’re making idiots of themselves in the national media, as when Moms co-founder Tiffany Justice simultaneously defends taking books off school library shelves while denying that Moms want books taken off school library shelves, unless they’re by Black writers or gay writers, or ones dealing with the Holocaust, racism, or any sex.