Good morning and happy early Thanksgiving. A new bill targeting how people can use pronouns and identify in the workplace is stirring up backlash ahead of Florida’s legislative session. The bill (HB 599), sponsored by freshman Rep. Ryan Chamberlin (R-Belleview), would block state and local governments — as well as nonprofits and contractors who get money from the state — from forcing employees to use preferred pronouns for transgender and nonbinary colleagues. Workplaces also wouldn’t be allowed to retaliate against workers who misgender others, including for religious or “biology-based beliefs,” a term the bill doesn't define. It’s not clear whether local governments have any of these policies in place now, but under the legislation if workers were to be penalized then they could complain to the Florida Commission on Human Relations. Similar to another measure the Legislature has passed on racial relations in the workplace, the bill would block employers from requiring training on gender identity and sexual orientation as a condition of employment. It also says employees “may not” provide employers their personal titles or pronouns if they don’t match their sex assigned at birth. “It is the policy of the state that a person's sex is an immutable biological trait and that it is false to ascribe to a person a pronoun that does not correspond to such person's sex,” the bill says. The measure would effectively expand other contentious Florida laws that restrict how schools can talk about gender, sexual orientation and race and how workplaces can address diversity, equity and inclusion. Last session, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ rights bills into law — including on health care, bathroom use and pronouns in schools — as he prepared to mount a presidential run to rival former President Donald Trump for the GOP nomination. In the face of such laws, some localities have embraced LGBTQ+ measures, such as through all-gender restrooms or providing trans-inclusive health benefits. Chamberlin, who just took office this year, didn’t respond to questions about the legislation, including whether other Florida lawmakers would get onboard or what he'd heard from constituents that made him push for the new workplace restrictions. The governor’s office also didn’t reply to a request for comment. If the bill is approved, it would go into effect July 1, 2024. With DeSantis’ presidential campaign struggling, it’s not clear whether state legislative leaders have an appetite for so-called “culture war” measures in the forthcoming session that starts Jan. 9. No similar legislation has been introduced in the state Senate so far, and DeSantis has used the term “woke” less frequently in public remarks than he used to. Chamberlin was elected this year to fill the seat left vacant after former GOP Rep. Joe Harding went to prison for fraud related to a federal Covid-relief loan. Harding had introduced the Parental Rights in Education Act, the bill opponents derided as “Don’t Say Gay” because it restricted how LGBTQ+ topics are discussed in public schools. Chamberlin ran for office without Democratic opposition and represents a seat that encompasses parts of Marion County, which has nearly twice the number of registered Republicans as it does Democrats. “I would hope that this is not a part of their agenda moving into the next legislative session,” said state Rep. Shevrin Jones (D-Miami Gardens), who’s Florida’s first openly gay state senator. He called the bill “unconstitutional” and “tone deaf and insensitive to the current climate in Florida.” Carlos Guillermo Smith, senior policy adviser at the LGBTQ+ rights organization Equality Florida, called the bill an “escalation of right-wing extremism” that would prevent transgender or nonbinary government employees to “live as their authentic selves at work” with their preferred names and pronouns, regardless of whether they’d gone through a legal process of transitioning such as changing their licenses or birth certificates. The organization is also concerned for its mission to fight discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, given that language in the bill limits nonprofits’ “activity.” “It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that Florida Republicans are willing to use the power of government to retaliate against those who speak out against their extreme agenda — ask Disney,” Smith said. — WHERE’S RON? Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis. PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 27. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | 
