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Horse trading one issue for another is in full bloom at the state Capitol as lawmakers enter the final stretch of their 60-day session.

Rules allow the consideration of bills with little notice in the final days, and it’s not a coincidence when one bill comes up and another doesn’t.

Ending what are called certificates of need for new hospital beds is the top priority of House Speaker Jose Oliva.

Hours after the Senate approved the legislation, two bills to build new toll roads through the state, which is the top priority of the Senate President, showed up on the House’s Special Order calendar.

Longtime lobbyist Ron Book says it didn’t happen by accident.

“Well, I don’t believe in the tooth fairy any more than I believe in coincidences,” said Book.

State Senator Doug Broxson says it’s just how the process works.

“That’s just the way it’s always worked, and thats the way it always will be,” said Broxson.

He likens it to baking a cake.

“The cake is in the over,” said Broxson. “No more ingredients, we just move forward, right?”

“Maybe they just agreed to agree. Maybe thats what it was,” said Senator Ben Albritton.

But Senator Janet Cruz likens the horse trading to making sausage.

“Sausage tastes delicious, but if you saw the way they make it, it’s very, very ugly,” said Cruz.

Book argues that if we see it happen, it can’t be that bad.

“People can say its happening behind closed doors all they want, but the fact of the matter is, the sun is shining right in here, and it’s being done where everybody can see it, here it,” said Book.

The hesitance of one side not to act until the other side has done something is reminiscent of a former President.

He said trust, but verify.

The trading is the grease that will get lawmakers out of session on time.

In March, the Senate President told reporters that a delay in hearing the certificate of need legislation was not a result of the toll road bill not getting a hearing.

Shortly after that, both bills got committee hearings.

With a 33-6 vote, the Florida Senate passed legislation that would raise the age to purchase tobacco products and e-cigarettes in the state Tuesday.

It raises the age from 18 to 21, but blocking final passage are a number of side issues and time itself.

Despite only three days remaining in the 2019 session, lawmakers say there is still hope for passing the Tobacco 21 Act.

House sponsor Rep. Nicholas Duran says the Senate’s latest proposal is an improvement over previous versions.

“They worked on some preemption language which was troubling for many folks,” said Duran. “I think they also removed the cigar exemption, which is something we never had on our side.”

While bill sponsors are optimistic, health advocates are still unhappy with the current product, primarily because it doesn’t reclassify e-cigarettes as tobacco products.

Mark Landreth with the American Heart Association says that means vaping products wont be subject to the same regulations as traditional tobacco.

“It’s taxation and what you have to do in order to get a product approved by the FDA,” said Landreth.

Senate Sponsor David Simmons says reclassifying e-cigarettes as tobacco would impose new regulations on vape businesses, and would have to be in a stand alone bill.

“The only purpose for doing what we have done is to assure that this is going to meet constitutional standards,” said Simmons.

Health advocates also don’t like that the bill preempts local governments from setting their own age limits.

Rep. Duran say it comes down to consistency.

“If we go to 21 we want to make sure it’s 21. We don’t want to have local governments go tobacco 30 or tobacco 25 later,” said Duran.

Now all eyes turn to the House to see if it approves the Senate version of the bill before session ends Friday.

If signed into law, Florida would become the 13th state to raise the age to purchase tobacco to 21.

Florida’s tough new anti-hazing law will be called “Andrew’s law” in memory of an FSU Student, Andrew Coffey, who died following an off campus fraternity hazing event.

Coffey was forced to drink an entire bottle of bourbon.

Frat brothers left him to die and were at first reluctant to call for help when he was found dead.

The new legislation provides immunity to the first person who calls for help and it allows someone who organized a hazing but didn’t attend it to also be charged.

“And to make it known that hazing is completely unacceptable, and there will be consequences when you are found guilty of hazing,” said Rep. Susan Valdez.

The Coffey family has testified on behalf of the legislation and believes if it had been the law in 2017, their son might still be alive.

By a vote of 73-39, The Florida House has approved and sent to the Governor a massive education bill revamping teacher bonuses and instituting a new voucher program for 18,000 low income students.

Co-Sponsor Chris Latvala of Clearwater says data shows scholarship students our perform their public school peers.

“Scholarship students were eleven to twenty percent more likely than public school students to earn a bachelors degree. Those who were on the scholarship for at least four year were forty-five percent more likely to get a degree,” said Latvala.

Democrats tried but failed to require private schools to meet the same standards as public schools

“If we’re gonna do this, if we’re going to require our public schools to hold hold themselves to a level of accountability, then why can’t we do the same on the other side,” said Rep. Nicholas Duran.

Legislation making texting a primary offense will be phased in by the end of the year.

Motorists caught entering data on a phone can be stopped for no other reason and fined $30 for a first offense.

House Co-Sponsor Emily Slosberg believes it will save lives.

“It’s going to make a huge difference. I mean, every single day when we are out we see people texting and driving, every single day. And once a driver understands they can be pulled over and violated, for having a phone in their hands when they are driving, they’re going to put it down,” said Slosberg. “They’re going to comply with the law. It was the same thing with seat belts going from secondary to primary, it took us a few years, but compliance is
over ninety percent.”

Emily Slosberg survived a crash as a teenager that killed her twin sister.

“Its personal. I lost my twin sister in a car crash and I was almost killed and I don’t want another family to go through what we went through,” said Slosberg. “So what this legislation does is save lives. And its about preventing others from going through the same thing. And its what we do after a tragedy that determines whether it remains just a tragedy. I’m not letting my twin sisters death remain just a tragedy.”

She says her efforts are a desire to make her sister’s death mean something.

163 police officers lost their lives across the nation in 2018.

Florida’s top elected officials honored officers in the state that made the ultimate sacrifice Monday morning.

Hundreds of law enforcement officers from across the state marched on to the Capitol grounds.

They came to remember the 11 Florida officers who made the ultimate sacrifice in 2018.

“You’re taking an oath and dedicating yourselves to serving and protecting others, even at the expense of your own safety and indeed your own life,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Sergeant Carla Kmiotek was one of the first officers on the scene at the Parkland shooting.

It was the sacrifice of her own father that inspired her law enforcement career.

“To the families that are here, know that you have an extended family. We’re part of an unfortunate, but honorable bond,” said Kmiotek.

Families of fallen officers placed a red rose on memorial made of white roses in the shape of the state,

Each flower symbolized the one they lost.

As families placed their roses many were overcome with emotion.

The names of officers who lost their lives last year are now inscribed on the Law Enforcement Memorial in the State Capitol Courtyard.

They join the names of more than 800 fallen officers already engraved on the memorial.

A volley of three broke the silence before a rendition of Amazing Grace filled the courtyard, played by weeping bag pipes.

Florida’s top cop, Attorney General Ashley Moody, says holding the ceremony on the last week of the legislative session serves as an important reminder to lawmakers.

“Laws are being ironed out and people are coming together and trying to do what’s best for the state of Florida,” said Moody. “But if you think about it, if we did not have the men and women that are willing to step up and enforce those laws they would just be words on a paper.”

Last year, the Legislature approved PTSD coverage for first responders.

This year, stiffer penalties for killing police K-9s was signed into law.

The Florida House approved a criminal justice reform package that raises the amount someone must steal to be considered a felon Monday.

It also provides opportunities to put those who have served their time back to work, and it gives victims more time to report crimes and apply for help.

The sweeping legislation makes changes to more than 75 areas of Flordia statutes, but lawmakers are also send the message they are not getting soft on crime.

“This bill does noting to take away from our public safety. It does nothing to disturb the 50 year low in our crime rate,” said House Sponsor Rep. Paul Renner.

Democrats hope this is just the beginning of a multi-year effort.

“There are people sitting in prison cells, doing seven, eight, nine years for drivers license suspensions,” said Rep. Dianne Hart.

One of the differences between the House and the Senate is when is stealing something become a felony.

Right now, someone stealing $300 worth of merchandise can be charged with a felony.

The House bill raises the minimum level to a $1,000 dollars.

The Senate and Florida Retail Federation want it set at $750.

“Theft is wrong. We all realize that. The biggest questions is at what level is somebody going to be branded a felon for the rest of their lives,” said House Co-Sponsor Rep. Byron Donalds.

There is good news for victims.

Debbie Ortise of Tampa turned to drugs after being assaulted.

No one told her there was counseling available, but this legislation gives victims up to three years to seek help.

“I’m very lucky to be here today. And I am sure there are other survivors who have lost their lives or have ended up on the wrong side of the law because there were no services available to them because they had unresolved trauma,” said Ortise.

The law also gives crime victims five days to report a crime, up from three.

The legislation eases restrictions on felons applying for professional licenses.

Right now someone who cut hair in prison for five years would not be allowed to count those hours toward being a barber on the outside.

Under the legislation those hours would count.

Florida lawmakers had hoped to create a registry for pimps and johns involved in prostitution and require hospitality staff and law enforcement be trained to identify human trafficking, but time is running out in the legislative session to pass a bill.

The House a approved a significantly altered version of the bill that removed the prostitution registry and hospitality training, replacing it with new restrictions of massage parlors and continued education for law enforcement on human trafficking.

The Senate version is far apart and stuck in its last committee stop, but House sponsor Heather Fitzenhagen remains optimistic a deal can be struck.

“The registry I think had some privacy issues that we really couldn’t get comfortable with so we’re going to have to find another way to address the johns and pimps, which I think we did with the amendment from Rep. Overdorf that’s in my bill that has penalties for solicitation,” said Fitzenhagen.

The legislative session is scheduled to end Friday, but lawmakers could go into overtime if they don’t release their annual budget by midnight Tuesday.

A Rabbi prayed for the victims shot in a San Diego Synagogue over the weekend to open Monday’s session of the State Senate.

Senators stood for a moment of silence to honor those who were shot, but the Senate has bottled up a bill that would allow religious institutions to either hire armed guards or allow concealed carry during church services.

House Sponsor Rep. Erin Grall is asking the Senate to take action.

“We all want to have the ability to not only protect ourselves, but those that may be attacked while we are worshiping and so I believe that is one of the few ways to stop somebody who looks to harm with a weapon like a gun, is to respond in kind,” said Grall. And so that is the point of the bill and I am hopeful the Senate will see the real need for it. I believe we shouldn’t have a tragedy happen here in Flordia before we make this good policy happen.”

The legislation cleared the House on a vote of 79-35.

The Florida Senate passed legislation calling on the Federal Government to allow the state to import lower cost prescription drugs directly from other countries Monday.

It comes following a new poll by AARP that shows 70 percent of seniors support the idea.

It also comes on the heels of a $6 million ad buy against the bill.

Dave Bruns with AARP is hopeful consumers will see real change soon.

“This is sending shock waves through the pharmaceutical industry,” said Bruns. “As you can see from the very heavy spending they have been doing on their ends to try and stop this bill. As the Governor said the other day, they wouldn’t be doing that if this wasn’t a meaningful piece of legislation and we are one hundred percent behind it and we think this can really act to lower prescription drug prices. This is landmark piece of legislation.”

If approved by the House and signed by the Governor, the Federal Government would also have to okay the plan, something it hasn’t done since the law was passed 16 years ago.

Governor Ron DeSantis continues to have a honeymoon with state lawmakers.

The leadership of Florida House has sought to close Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency for the last three years, but it will survive at least one more year thanks to the Governor.

It was a million dollar video featuring the rapper Pit Bull funded by the state’s tourism agency that first raised legislative eyebrows.

Then there was a little watched cooking show costing hundreds of thousands and a fishing show.

After a two year fight, Visit Florida survived with the caveat that it would go out of business this coming October unless renewed by lawmakers.

Keeping it alive wasn’t something the Speaker of the House was willing to do, until Friday.

“The Governor’s office has expressed a desire to have it continue, go forward, ,so that he would have the opportunity to make an assessment of his own of how unnecessary it is,” said Oliva.

It is welcome news to the Senate tourism budget chairman Travis Hutson.

“If you want to run government like a business, you have to advertise. The Senate has always had a position of keeping Visit Florida and funding it,” said Hutson.

It is also welcome news to local tourism agencies that depend on it for a bulk of their funding.

“Every dollar that we spend has over a two dollar return on investment through Visit Florida, so its important we continue to fund Visit Florida,” said Carolyn Johnson with the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

“This year there was $75 million in the current budget for Visit Florida, but the Senate budget proposal only had 50.”

How much the agency gets will be the subject of negotiations over the weekend, but the full $75 million it got this year is probably a heavy lift, even for the Governor.

Speaker Oliva was asked if the agency would be fully funded, but he balked at saying it would.

Asked if he was okay with another year, he responded, ‘okay’ was a strong word.

The 2018 election saw multiple lawsuits after a close races caused manual recounts for three statewide offices.

Legislation teed up for a final vote in the House and Senate seeks to solve many of the problems surrounding mail ballots.

“We’re giving people more time, not less time,” said Ron Labasky with the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections.

It would extend the time voters have to cure signatures from one day before an election to two days after.

It also moves the date for primary elections from 10 weeks before an election to eleven weeks before.

Labasky says it will give voters an extra week to cast a ballot in the General Election and supervisors additional time to count them.

“That will give us an extra week to process ballots in the event there’s an issue, a contest, a legal challenge,” said Labasky.

Some changes are facing pushback, like increasing the solicitation distance around polling places from 100 feet to 150 feet.

“In some places 150 feet would be in the middle of the road,” said Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson.

Voters would also be allowed to photograph their ballots in the voting booth, which gives supervisors some pause.

“We’ve never wanted to have anyone circulating how they cast their ballot,” said Labasky. “Everyone has the right to a secret ballot.”

Despite the wide scope of the legislation, some Democratic lawmakers, including the bill’s own cosponsor Representative Geraldine Thompson, feel more could have been included to expand voting access overall.

“It helps with regard to being able to count the votes. I don’t think it goes far enough with people being able to cast the votes,” said Thompson.

Regardless of the concerns, supervisors and lawmakers say they hope and expect the end result of the legislation will be a less controversial 2020 election.

Elections Supervisors say they anticipate the Secretary of State to roll out an educational campaign ahead of the 2020 election if the bill becomes law to get voters up to date on all the deadline changes.

Every electric customer in the state can expect an increase between two and five dollars under a Senate bill that is designed to cover the costs of burying utility lines and paying for other hardening of the grid like cement poles.

Sponsor Joe Gruters told fellow Senators Friday that it’s a matter of paying now, or paying more later, which is what happened to panhandle customers following Hurricane Michael.

“If you look at what is happening right now as a result of Hurricane Michael, an $8.50 increase per user, per month, is what happens if we don’t take a proactive approach. What this is meant to do is yes, it may cost a little bit more, but long term in the future, everybody will be much better off,” said Gruters.

The legislation only applies to the states Investor owned utilities like Florida Power and Light, Duke, Gulf Power, Florida Public Utilities Corporation and TECO.

Floridians are one step closer to getting cheaper prescription drugs from other countries.

The Florida Senate defeated amendments that would have restricted who could buy the foreign drugs Friday.

The amendment sought to protect the states most vulnerable and prisoners who have no choice where their drugs originate, but sponsor Senator Aaron Bean of Fernandina Beach told fellow members the legislation requires any imported prescription to come from a country that cooperates with US inspectors.

“Part of our track and trace safety program is to only engage with countries that we only have agreements with. Agreements that let us come. Our inspectors can go to the manufacturing plants and take a tour and investigate and test. And all of our programs have, as I mentioned with the previous amendment, have a rigorous testing program in place,” said Bean.

The legislation is ready for a final vote early next week.

The program is a top priority of the Governor and AARP.

Florida’s House Speaker Jose Oliva says he believes this year’s effort to raise the age to purchase tobacco and e-cigarettes to 21 is dead.

“I don’t anticipate that coming back,” said Olivia.

Health advocates remain optimistic, as the Senate is anticipated to take up its version of the bill Monday.

It currently includes a carve out for cigars.

Matt Jordan with the American Cancer Society opposes the cigar exemption, but says if it’s removed there could be a path forward.

“The Senate version could be taken up in the House. I think the House is optimistic and they understand the public policy benefits of raising the age to 21. So optimistic the House could take it up,” said Jordan.

The House version of the bill includes preemption language that would prevent local governments from setting restrictions on tobacco marketing.

It’s of great concern to health advocates, because it doesn’t establish new restrictions on the state level.