| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | | | |  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivers his State of the State address during a joint session of the Florida legislature at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 9, 2024. Also seen, from top to bottom, are State Rep. Chuck Clemons, State House Speaker Paul Renner, State Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and State Sen. Dennis Baxley. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP | | Good morning from Iowa and welcome to Wednesday. Gov. Ron DeSantis touched down quickly into Florida yesterday to deliver what he called a “simple” message to lawmakers in his State of the State address. “Stay the course,” he said. “The state of our state is strong. Let’s keep doing what works. Let’s continue to make Florida the envy of the nation.” Unlike past years, DeSantis didn’t make lofty demands during his 35-minute speech. He instead proposed to hold another round of tax holidays, increase environmental spending, recruit more police officers and hike teacher salaries. He predicted 2024 would be a “banner year for the free state of Florida.” State Rep. Sam Garrison, a top House Republican, told POLITICO’s Gary Fineout that the speech was a recognition that this year’s session would be more “member driven” instead of the 2023 session, which was dominated by DeSantis’ legislative agenda. His speech appeared to be aimed at broader audience than Florida. DeSantis spent much of his remarks boasting about his accomplishments, at one point listing them in succession. Among the highlights were bucking the federal government on Covid policies, banning China from buying land, expanding gun rights and prohibiting abortion as well as environmental, social and governance policies. "Let’s see some other state match that list of achievements," he said. He also led the speech with his greatest hits. DeSantis criticized President Joe Biden on immigration, drug overdoses, federal debt and border security, reports Gary, and also tore into blue states and cities over crime, homelessness and spending. He again called Florida a “refuge for freedom and sanity.” The day was a juggling act as DeSantis and Legislative leaders refused to let storms in the Panhandle, including tornadoes, to derail the events. Tornado warnings hit people’s cell phones just as House Speaker Paul Renner made his remarks. The damage in the region led the governor to declare a state of emergency for 49 Florida counties, as POLITICO’s Arek Sarkissian reported, and he held a press conference to brief the state on the emergency response. Tuesday’s speech was delayed by about 30 minutes as the governor’s office finished publishing the emergency order. By Tuesday afternoon, the governor made it safely back to Iowa, where he took questions at a Fox News town hall and then held a press conference with reporters. He’ll face Caucus Day five days from now. Democrats accused DeSantis of talking to Iowans instead of Floridians, saying during their rebuttal speeches that they wanted to hear him talk about the property insurance and housing affordability crisis. “Let’s focus on pocketbook issues, not book bans; affordability solutions instead of abortion restrictions; and create affordable housing, not tax breaks for DeSantis donors,” said House minority leader Fentrice Driskell, per Florida Politics. — WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the Associated Contractors of America conference in Iowa at 10 a.m. central time. At 9 p.m. he’ll debate rival GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on CNN. (What to watch for in the debate, per Semafor’s David Weigel.) Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | A message from CVS Health: Learn how we’re delivering the future of health care. More here. | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | |  Florida House Speaker Paul Renner and Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo are seen during a joint session of the Florida legislature at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., Jan. 9, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP | FORGET ABOUT IT — Florida’s two Republican legislative leaders on Tuesday voiced opposition to a plan by a Republican state senator to sharply curtail the use of mail-in ballots — a strong signal that the legislation is unlikely to pass during the 60-day session. State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) filed a bill late last week that would prohibit voters from using mail-in ballots unless they were out of the country, ill, or physically disabled — a move that would eliminate most mail-in voting in the state. Ingoglia said he wanted to make the change to cut down on potential voter fraud. But Senate President Kathleen Passidomo said she did not support the change, adding that a majority of senators are confident Florida’s current voting systems are safe and secure. House Speaker Paul Renner also said he did not see any need to cut back on mail in voting. “We have a lot of elderly people who like the vote-by-mail process and they’re more comfortable, they feel their vote was counted — it obviously was, the people they voted for won,” Passidomo told reporters. Ingoglia’s bill had already drawn the ire of Democrats and election supervisors who railed against the measure as “foolish” and unnecessary. — Gary Fineout ALSO NOT HAPPENING — “Florida Senate president shuts down Medicaid expansion in Florida,” reports Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. “I want to be clear. I’m not going to spend the next 60 days re-litigating Medicaid expansion. I understand the arguments both for and against,” Passidomo said. “We have had the debate several times over the last decade. Medicaid expansion is not going to happen. It is not a quick fix. It is not a panacea. In fact, if you cannot actually schedule an appointment with a health care provider, Medicaid expansion is nothing more than a false government promise.” GUN BILL — “‘Open carry’ of firearms proposed on first day of Florida legislative session,” reports News Service of Florida. “The bill (HB 1619), filed by Rep. Mike Beltran, R-Riverview, came after lawmakers last year dropped a requirement that people have concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns.” TIME FOR A PAY BUMP? — “After three decades, should Florida legislators — even millionaire lawmakers — get a raise or not?” asks Florida Phoenix’s Mitch Perry and Diane Rado. “The annual salary of $29,697 hasn’t changed in more than three decades, with exceptions for the Senate President and House Speaker. Nowadays, about half the House and Senate lawmakers in Florida have a net worth exceeding $1 million and higher … raising questions about whether there’s enough incentive for certain lawmakers to move the current salary structure. However, the paltry salary can limit working-class Floridians from participating in the Legislature.” CONDO MEASURE — “Bill would give condo owners more rights and crack down on board misconduct,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s David Fleshler. “The bills cover a wide range of issues that have embroiled the state’s condos, including corruption, election fraud, attempts by residents to obtain records and the ability of boards to use defamation law to stifle dissent … The legislation, whose sponsors in the Senate are Sen. Jennifer Bradley and Sen. Jason Pizzo, comes during a stormy period for Florida community associations, where rising insurance costs have driven a sharp increase in monthly dues.” NEW DOCS — “Florida’s top attorney sought more control over drug trafficking cases, draft bill shows,” by the Miami Herald’s Ana Ceballos, the Tampa Bay Times’ Romy Ellenboger and Florida Keys News’ David Goodhue. “The draft proposal, as written, suggests that certain crimes related to trafficking narcotics are statewide crimes, even if the physical crime never actually crossed circuit lines. Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office has been discussing the proposal with prosecutors for months and the proposal has gone through several iterations. The idea was deemed ‘unacceptable’ and potentially unconstitutional by the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association executive board, which provided feedback to Moody’s office, emails show. Moody also met with several state attorneys on Monday morning in St. Augustine to go over the feedback.” EMERGENCY ORDER — “DeSantis invites Jewish students fearing antisemitism to Florida universities,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Divya Kumar. “Hours after DeSantis said Tuesday that Florida would welcome Jewish out-of-state university students ‘with open arms,’ the state’s university system chancellor issued an emergency order waiving various fees and deadlines for potential transfer students.” CUSTODY BILL — “The Florida House is moving forward with a bill that would allow courts to require that parents who share custody of children use ‘safe exchange’ locations at county sheriff's offices,” reports Ryan Daily of News Service of Florida. “The measure (HB 385) is named the ‘Cassie Carli law,’ after a mother who in 2022 disappeared — and was later found dead — after meeting with the father of her child in Northwest Florida to make what is known as a timeshare exchange.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | |
BIG TEST — “DeSantis PAC flexes ground game ahead of Iowa Caucuses. Is it enough to beat Trump?” asks the Des Moines Registers’ Katie Akin. “Never Back Down, a PAC supporting DeSantis but not directly affiliated with the DeSantis campaign, led the bulk of Iowa organizing for the Florida governor. PAC officials say they've recruited more than 1,600 precinct captains for Caucus Day, spanning nearly every caucus site in the state … Although the former president has made far fewer Iowa appearances than DeSantis, his campaign said it had appointed more than 2,000 precinct captains by late December, tasking each captain with recruiting ten more supporters for Trump.”
— “DeSantis says he would ‘respect the decisions that states make’ on marijuana legalization, despite personal opposition,” reports Marijuana Moment’s Kyle Jaeger
| | | | A message from CVS Health:   | | |
|  Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) speaks during a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing on gun violence on Capitol Hill on June 8, 2022 in Washington, DC. | Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images | | | DATELINE D.C. | | DELEGATION TRIP — “Debbie Wasserman Schultz pushes for hostage releases on Middle East trip, details evidence of atrocities she saw in Israel,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Anthony Man. She and other lawmakers “met with families of Hamas-held hostages and toured Kibbutz Nir Oz, a scene of carnage where people were killed, abducted and wounded by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attacks … The overall objective of the trip: ‘Making sure that we can keep laser focused on releasing the hostages and bringing the conflict to an end when Hamas is eradicated.’” FUNDING FIGHT — “U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds of FL isn’t happy with budget deal made by GOP House Speaker,” reports the Florida Phoenix’s Mitch Perry. The conservative congressman said a partial government shutdown may come, and that he’s fine with that as he wants to see more border security funding. | | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | |
BIRTHDAYS: Jared Kushner ... State Rep. James Buchanan
| | A message from CVS Health: Whether in the community, at home or virtually, consumers want health care that is convenient, personalized and affordable. And we’re delivering. By connecting each step of your care – from a medical appointment to a trip to the pharmacy to ongoing check-ins with your care team – we’re making healthier happen together.
Learn more. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
