FNPN Weekly Legislative Report- April 26, 2019

The second to last week of the Legislative session has come to an end with more bills passing and dying as they go through the legislative process. The House and Senate are coming closer to finalizing a budget, as all of the unresolved issues in the Appropriations Subcommittees have been bumped up to the full Appropriations Chairs.

This week, HB 375, Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, passed unanimously and has now been passed over to the Senate for voting in Health Policy. Also, HB 961, Health Innovation Commission, passed in the House and has now been sent over to the Senate for voting in Innovation, Industry, and Technology.

It has been reported this week by the U.S. Census Bureau that Florida attracts more residents from Puerto Rico and foreign countries than any other state. In 2018, the number of people moving to Florida from Puerto Rico and other foreign countries was larger than the number of people moving into Florida from other states. A main cause for this phenomenon is presumed to be the storm that ravaged large parts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with individuals fleeing from Venezuela and other countries.

The Florida Senate approved the proposed SB 7078 which would pave out the beginning steps of establishing a toll road that would extend the Suncoast Parkway up to Georgia. The bill would establish forces to evaluate the economic and environmental implications of establishing such a road extension through Florida. The projections are estimated to be complete by October 2020. Construction is set to begin at the end of 2022 and is projected to be complete and open for travel before the end of 2030.

Visit Florida is likely to end its operations at the end of September. While the Senate Bill passed to extend Visit Florida past October 1st, the House is reluctant and in no hurry to take up the proposal. With little time left in session to vote on the proposal, it is not likely that the House version of the bill will be discussed in detail. While House Speaker Jose Oliva did not discount the hearing of the bill, he pointed out that the state’s economy, good weather, and attractions have a larger influence on tourism to Florida than the costs put towards the funding for Visit Florida.

The Florida House passed a bill in a 69-47 vote to ban sanctuary cities in Florida. The bill would also mandate that local authorities must follow the jurisdiction of federal immigration authorities. Local authorities failing to comply with federal immigration authorities would be subject to fines up to $5,000 per day. The bill has been sent over to the Senate where there is a similar bill waiting. As a result, the American Civil Liberties Union warned immigrants against travel to Florida.

This week, Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz joined to push a new legislation this week that would permanently ban gas and oil drilling on Florida’s coastlines. 64 percent of Florida voters oppose the drilling off the coast. This comes at a time where the Trump administration is looking to auction off Florida’s coastal waters to seach for oil and natural gas. It is emphasized that allowing/expanding offshore drilling could have unexpected consequences for Florida’s ecosystems and economy.

The final week of the 2019 Legislative Session will begin Monday, April 29th. As always, we will keep you updated as the final week of session comes to an end.