| | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  People walk together during a “Rally to Stop the Six-Week Abortion Ban” held at Lake Eola Park on April 13 in Orlando, Florida. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | Good morning and welcome to Wednesday. Florida’s abortion laws have changed overnight. It’s now illegal, in most cases, to have an abortion after six weeks into a pregnancy. The current law will reduce access to abortion, but not eliminate the procedure entirely in the state. In the last five years, about 41 percent of abortions in Florida were performed at or before six weeks of pregnancy, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Others who don’t fall within this limit — or under the rape, incest and human trafficking exceptions before 15 weeks — will have to opt for parenthood or adoption, or travel far out of state to get an abortion. The law also has exceptions for life-threatening complications or to prevent serious impairment. The law isn’t final. Over the next six months, voters will have the chance to evaluate Florida’s new abortion limit and decide whether they want to reverse it in November through a constitutional amendment. If 60 percent of voters favor the amendment, then most restrictions on the procedure will be struck down. A huge messaging effort will soon be underway by both sides, but Democrats especially are seizing on overturning the law’s restrictions. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s advocacy group will spend $500,000 toward the effort to get Floridians to vote in favor of the abortion amendment, reported NBC News. Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking in Jacksonville today, about a week after President Joe Biden gave a short speech in Tampa about abortion rights. A preview of her remarks shows she’ll refer to abortion restrictions as “Trump abortion bans.” Democrats are blaming former President Donald Trump for making the new law possible, given that he appointed the deciding Supreme Court justices that overturned Roe v. Wade. The Democratic National Committee is running billboards advertising that abortion is available hundreds of miles away, and the party is tying the ban to Republicans all the way down the ticket. In a statement provided first to Playbook, members of Florida’s congressional Democratic delegation slammed the new law as “draconian,” “outrageous” and “suffocating.” “This extreme ban not only hurts vulnerable Floridians, it threatens doctors and nurses, and drives away residents from our great state,” they said. “Floridians face a crisis under this tyranny, but they have an opportunity to make their voices heard come November.” Though Democrats are throwing themselves into the fight, it’ll be an uphill battle. Gov. Ron DeSantis has promised he’ll be involved in urging voters to oppose the referendum, and Biden is behind Trump by double digits in Florida. Asked during a stop in Tampa about Democrats’ contention that Florida was “in play,” DeSantis laughed and said he would “welcome Biden-Harris to spend a lot of money in Florida,” per POLITICO’s Gary Fineout. He predicted Democrats would struggle in Florida given voter dissatisfaction with immigration and the economy. He even praised past policies under Trump, something he hasn’t done in a while. “Light up the airwaves — do it, light it on fire,” DeSantis said of Democratic messaging in Florida. “We are fine with you doing that here. But I can confidently predict that you’ll see Republican victories not just at the top of the ticket, but up and down the ballot.” Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com.
| | | | THE GOLD STANDARD OF POLICY REPORTING & INTELLIGENCE: POLITICO has more than 500 journalists delivering unrivaled reporting and illuminating the policy and regulatory landscape for those who need to know what’s next. Throughout the election and the legislative and regulatory pushes that will follow, POLITICO Pro is indispensable to those who need to make informed decisions fast. The Pro platform dives deeper into critical and quickly evolving sectors and industries—finance, defense, technology, healthcare, energy—equipping policymakers and those who shape legislation and regulation with essential news and intelligence from the world’s best politics and policy journalists.
Our newsroom is deeper, more experienced, and better sourced than any other—with teams embedded in the world’s most active legislative and regulatory power centers. From Brussels to Washington, New York to London, Sacramento to Paris, we bring subscribers inside the conversations that determine policy outcomes and the future of industries, providing insight that cannot be found anywhere else. Get the premier news and policy intelligence service, SUBSCRIBE TO POLITICO PRO TODAY. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | TELEMEDICINE ABORTIONS — “Will Florida’s strict six-week ban be bypassed by abortion by mail?” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Sam Ogozalek and Christopher O’Donnell. “Abortion-by-mail providers say they will continue sending pills to women in Florida — even those beyond six weeks pregnant … Several states, including California, Illinois and New York, have passed ‘shield laws’ to protect telehealth providers from out-of-state civil and criminal investigations if they send abortion pills into states like Florida.” PROJECTION — “Florida in 50 years: Study says land conservation can buffer destructive force of climate change,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Bill Kearney. “Florida’s population is booming. Climate change is making temperatures and sea levels rise. And the state is also trying to protect animals and open land with the Florida Wildlife Corridor. As the state grows hotter and more crowded in the future, it looks like a three-way collision. But according to a new report by scientists from four major Florida universities, the wildlife corridor — if completed — will not only allow wildlife to survive in the coming decades, it will make climate change less destructive to humans.” GOV WEIGHS IN ON PROTESTS — “DeSantis on campuses after arrests: ‘They turn the sprinklers on. So that’s just how it’s gonna be,’” by Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. “To Gov. Ron DeSantis, Florida universities’ handling of the demonstrations against Israel’s attack on Gaza is the ‘right way to go. You have a right to support or not support Israel, that’s the First Amendment. You don’t have a right to pitch a tent in the middle of campus and commandeer some of the property,’ DeSantis said during a press conference Tuesday morning in Naples.” — “Gov. DeSantis announces in Jupiter a record $2.2 billion toward people with disabilities,” reports the Palm Beach Post’s Maya Washburn. NEW LAW — “DeSantis signs law approving ‘Hope Cards’ for victims of domestic violence,” reports Florida Phoenix’s Mitch Perry. “Such wallet-sized cards are expected to facilitate law enforcement’s response to a violation of the order [of protection].” CLOSING ITS DOORS — “Walmart to close 51 health centers in U.S. including 23 in Florida. Here's why,” by C.A. Bridges of USA Today Network — Florida. “The network of 51 health clinics in five states has provided low-cost medical care for the last five years but the retailer announced Tuesday that they would be shut down, along with its telehealth business, due to escalating operation costs and ‘challenging reimbursement environment.’” SEASON ONE MONTH AWAY — “National Hurricane Center plans more outreach in preparing for ‘extremely active’ storm season,” by WLRN’s Julia Cooper. “Meteorologists with the [National Hurricane Center] are warning that those storms could undergo a process scientists are seeing more and more of: rapid intensification. It occurs when a storm’s wind speed increases by at least 35 miles per hour over a 24-hour period. Several significant storms that have hit Florida have rapidly intensified, including Hurricanes Irma, Ian and Idalia. Even Hurricane Andrew, which hit South Florida in 1992, rapidly intensified before making landfall.”
| | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | | NEW LEADERSHIP — “Haiti presidential council picks leader, next prime minister to head transition,” reports the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles. “A former presidential candidate and head of the Senate was selected Tuesday to head Haiti’s new nine-member transitional presidential council in a deal that also designated a former minister of public works as Haiti’s next prime minister. Edgard Leblanc Fils, 68, was named president of the transitional presidential council shortly before noon and nearly two hours behind a scheduled vote, following an agreement between the majority of the panel’s seven voting members. The same majority then selected Fritz Bélizaire, a one-time minister of public works, as prime minister to replace the outgoing Ariel Henry.” FINAL DAYS — “Inside an abortion clinic days before Florida’s six-week ban takes effect,” by The New York Times’ Patricia Mazzei. “[Candace] Dye, 67, opened her independent clinic in Fort Pierce, about 130 miles north of Miami on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, in 1991. Now she wondered if she would have to lay off two people from her modest staff or possibly close her doors. She hopes to carry on until November, at least, when Florida voters will decide whether to amend the State Constitution to guarantee access to abortion ‘before viability,’ or about 24 weeks.” — “Police use tear gas on pro-Palestinian protesters at USF in Tampa,” reports the Tampa Bay Times’ Divya Kumar, Justin Garcia and Sam Ogozalek. REVISION COMING — “New law signed by DeSantis could dismantle Fort Lauderdale’s police oversight board,” reports the Miami Herald’s Raisa Habersham. “Fort Lauderdale commissioners will discuss the fate of the city’s Citizens’ Police Review Board at a May 21 commission conference, City Attorney Thomas J. Ansbro wrote Monday in a memorandum to the board that was shared with the Miami Herald. Ansbro wrote that the city will have to revise its legislation for the review board, which has been in existence for three decades. The new Florida law, Ansbro noted, does allow a police chief to establish a civilian oversight board to review the department’s policies and procedures.” POLICY IMPLEMENTATION — “‘Bad for business’: Homeless hot spots in Fort Lauderdale not a good look, critics say,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Susannah Bryan. “The complaints take on a new urgency in light of a new state law that bans homeless people from sleeping in public. The new law, which goes into effect in October, also paves the way for critics to file lawsuits against local governments starting next year if they fail to enforce the ban.”
| | CAMPAIGN MODE | | |  US Senator John Fetterman arrives for the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2024. (Photo by Drew ANGERER / AFP) (Photo by DREW ANGERER/AFP via Getty Images) | Drew Angere/AFP via Getty Images | HEADLINER — The Florida Democratic Party announced Tuesday that Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) will deliver the keynote address at the party’s Leadership Blue Gala in Orlando on Saturday. “Sen. John Fetterman is not your traditional politician,” Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement. “He is a powerful voice for the Democratic Party and embodies the spirit of Florida Democrats — never backing down from a fight. His grassroots victory to defend the Senate majority in 2022 is a blueprint for battleground states like Florida to combat extremism and win one of the most important Senate races in the nation in 2024.” YOUTH VOTE — “Florida Democrats hope abortion and marijuana questions draw young voters despite low enthusiasm,” reports The Associated Press’ Stephany Matat. “In Florida and across the nation [young voters] could prove pivotal in the 2024 election, from the presidency to ballot amendments and down ballot races that will determine who controls Congress … More than 8 million new voters [will be] eligible to vote this November since the 2022 elections … While some of those voters share … priorities of gun violence prevention and abortion rights, recent protests on college campuses about the war between Israel and Hamas, including at some Florida campuses, have thrown a new element of uncertainty into the mix. In Florida and elsewhere, observers across the political spectrum are looking on with intense interest.” TROLLING — The Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) reelection campaign just bought the rights to websites with the name of his last-minute challenger, Republican Aaron Dimmock, as a way to drag him in the primary race for Florida’s 1st Congressional District. The links will now re-route to a site that says “Make America Woke” and shows a Daily Caller story outlining his support for Black Lives Matter and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as well as a link back to the Gaetz campaign. FLORIDA INFLUENCE — “The Trump factor looms over Miami-Dade races — and Democrats are on defense,” reports the Miami Herald’s Douglas Hanks. “The former president’s April 24 endorsement of the assistant director of the Miami-Dade Police Department was his first in a county race this year. But it’s only the beginning of a political cycle where Trump’s name, and all of the devotion and repulsion that comes with it, will be a wild card for local races through November — and beyond.” — “In Orlando’s District 5, four candidates rake in substantial campaign cash,” by the Orlando Sentinel’s Ryan Gillespie.
| | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S ENERGY SUMMIT: The future of energy faces a crossroads in 2024 as policymakers and industry leaders shape new rules, investments and technologies. Join POLITICO’s Energy Summit on June 5 as we convene top voices to examine the shifting global policy environment in a year of major elections in the U.S. and around the world. POLITICO will examine how governments are writing and rewriting new rules for the energy future and America’s own role as a major exporter. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | | AMENDMENT 3 SHAKEUP — “Biden administration poised to weaken weed restrictions, a seismic shift from decades of harsh policies,” reports POLITICO’s Natalie Fertig. “The Department of Justice will significantly loosen federal cannabis restrictions, marking the biggest shift in drug laws in more than half a century. The change follows a decade of seismic changes in cannabis policies across the country, with 24 states legalizing possession for adults — representing more than half of the U.S. population — and 38 states establishing medical marijuana programs.” The decision comes as Florida voters head to the ballot in November to decide whether to make cannabis legally available for adults who want to use it recreationally. LETTER TO AG — “GOP senator suggests DOJ prosecute pro-Palestine student protesters,” reports Axios’ Stephen Neukam. “Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) is suggesting that the Department of Justice should prosecute pro-Palestine student groups that have committed acts of violence as protests intensify, Axios has learned. … Scott said in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday that pro-Palestine student groups ‘are conspiring to violate the civil rights of a religious minority.’” — “Pensacola & Perdido Bays have long dealt with pollution. How a federal designation can help,” by Mollye Barrows of the Pensacola News Journal.
| | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | | — State park access will be free on Memorial Day weekend, Gov. Ron DeSantis just announced, per Florida Politics BIRTHDAYS: Sarah Rumpf, freelance writer and contributing editor at Mediaite. | | | | 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 | | | | |
