New rules, just right.

Speaker Sprowls is wasting no time in shaking up the Florida House as his administration announced several impactful rule changes for the upcoming legislative session aimed at increasing efficiency and transparency. With respect to policy bills, for the first time in many years, House Members will be getting an additional bill slot, going from six to seven slots for potential bills. Additionally, the rules will allow more time to get bills filed and extend the amount of time bills have to make it out of subcommittees, which is the factor that ultimately kills most bills. In the appropriations world, new rules will prohibit funding an appropriations project in the House GAA in an amount less than 50% of the original request and require a sworn attestation as to the need for the state dollars. Appropriations projects will also now move forward on a consent agenda, rather than require an individual vote for each project, and will be submitted on an updated, easier to use form.

A political fight and a legal fight are two very different things, right?

Leading up to and immediately following the major news outlets’ calling of the election last weekend for Joe Biden, social and mainstream media have been dominated by President Trump’s assertions of election fraud. Trump’s legal team has filed lawsuits in swing states from Pennsylvania to Arizona in the hopes of delaying those states’ election certifications while the various legal challenges play out. The states in question represent a combined margin of nearly 275,000 votes in favor of President-elect Biden. In Pennsylvania, six separate suits have been filed challenging the actions of state and local election administrators. Of those, Trump’s legal team has won or partially won three and lost one outright. The most significant unresolved case alleges the PA Supreme Court infringed on the state legislature’s authority by allowing election officials to count mail-in votes which were postmarked by Election Day but received later. Even if it’s successful, the suit isn’t expected to affect enough ballots to change the state’s electoral outcome. Still, a handful of Republican state attorneys general have joined Trump’s legal team in petitioning the US Supreme Court to take up the case. Trump team lawsuits filed in Georgia, Michigan and Nevada have all lost on the merits, and a case in Arizona alleging voter disenfranchisement due to faulty technology remains pending.

Failure to launch.

Before a presidential transition can officially begin, the (usually boring) Government Services Administration makes the (usually routine) designation of the winner of the election. However, since President Trump is disputing the outcome of the election the federal agency has been slow to make that designation, frustrating the Biden team and delaying the transfer of power. Without the designation, the Biden team is blocked from viewing classified information, embedding its staff within the agencies, reviewing transition briefing documents, and using the State Department to reach out to foreign leaders. In past elections, the GSA has certified the winner within hours or days following the media calling the election. The Biden team has announced they are considering legal action to try to force the GSA’s hand.

852,174
FL Case Count

1.0% GROWTH SINCE 11/9
17,460 DEATHS
as reported by FL DOH

10,205,207
US Case Count

1.6% GROWTH SINCE 11/9
239,274 DEATHS
as reported by Johns Hopkins

51,277,817
Global Case Count

1.0% GROWTH SINCE 11/9
1,268,890 DEATHS
as reported by Johns Hopkins

Tallahassee
Okaloosa County to Consider Ban on Feeding Wildlife
Read more here →

Tampa Bay
Polk County will Lease Last Two Remaining Adult Day Care Centers to Local Agencies
Read more here →

Jacksonville
The Verdict on Remote Jury Trials: Mixed Results
Read more here →

Miami
The Frenzy Over South Florida Real Estate Continues – With No Sign of Cooling
Read more here →

Orlando
Starter Studio’s Community Impact
Read more here →

Florida Keys
Inquiry Questions Election Winner’s Residency
Read more here →

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