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Legislation seeking to put in place a means of providing restitution for victims of the infamous Dozier school for boy in Marianna has hit a snag in both chambers.

Victims of the reform school came to the State Capitol Wednesday in hopes of drumming up support for the effort.

The state has already formally apologized for the atrocities that occurred at the Dozier School for Boys, a reform school run by the state for a century.

Now the victims are asking the state to back its words up with action.

“We’re not giving up,” said Pastor Johnny Lee Gaddy, who attended Dozier from 1967 to 1971.

Gaddy has a simple request for restitution.

“If I can get the boat and a truck, then I can go fishing,” said Gaddy.

He isn’t surprised legislation that would create a pathway for victims to make a claim has hit roadblocks in both chambers.

“13 years later, I ain’t got it yet,” said Gaddy.

Survivor Roy Conerly has also spent more than a decade fighting for compensation.

“I don’t have a number, but if one were offered to us we would consider it whatever the number is,” said Conerly, who attended the school in 1961 and 1962.

In 2013 an excavation of the reform school led to the discovery of the remains of 40 boys.

Survivors suspect they died from abuse.

In the Senate, the bill is being blocked by one Senator who represents the area where Dozier is located.

He told us early in the session he doesn’t believe the alleged abuse occurred.

“I don’t believe for a minute that 500 people were mistreated there,” said Senator George Gainer in January.

But Senate sponsor Darryl Rouson believes the bill is too important to quit fighting for.

“Certainly in the greatest state of the union we can come up with a fair method of moving beyond just words of apology to real action,” said Rouson.

The legislation’s future is uncertain, but what is certain is that as long as the victims are alive, they’ll continue coming to the Capitol year after year to fight for their cause.

Florida would be banned from executing people with a severe mental illness under legislation approved by a Senate Committee in the state Capitol.

It has the support of death row’s former medical director.

Dr. Joe Thornton is a psychiatrist and former death row medical director.

He told us the state has executed the mentally ill in the past.

“Oh, absolutely. We’ve done that knowingly,” said Thornton.

Florida has executed at least three known mentally ill men.

Thomas Provenzano, John Ferguson and Bobby Joe Long.

There are likely many more, and Doctor Thornton said many are veterans.

“Eighteen percent of people on death row are veterans. Twenty percent of the people executed in 2016 and 2017 were veterans. Generally, in almost each instance, their behavior started after they were released from military service,” said Thornton.

To qualify to be executed in Florida, a mentally ill inmate must know they did something wrong, that they are being punished for it and they must understand the punishment.

“It’s a very low bar,” said Senator Jeff Brandes.

Brandes is behind the effort to prevent executions of the mentally ill.

“If we’re going to have the death penalty, them let’s at least have a policy that recognizes people have significant mental illnesses, Schizophrenia and other types of mental illnesses, then those sorts of people shouldn’t be there, exposed to the death penalty when the reason they committed their crime is they had a significant mental illness,” said Brandes.

Thornton said it’s about time.

“If you do not have that awareness, you’re basically doing euthanasia,” said Thornton.

Under the legislation, the mentally ill don’t get a free pass.

They can still be sentenced to life without parole.

Doctor Thornton added more drug and veterans courts could identify and treat mental problems, resulting in fewer violent crimes.

Legislation revamping the state retirement system is scheduled to be heard both Wednesday and Thursday, setting it up for a Senate floor vote.

The bill is undergoing significant changes.

It will no longer require all new hires to go into a 401(k)-style investment plan.

Amendments offered Wednesday strip out law enforcement and other first responders who are in what is known as the ‘special risk’ class.

Senate Sponsor Ray Rodrigues said keeping them in the plan is good for the first responders and the plan.

“Their careers are physically and mentally more demanding than regular class employees, which leads to shorter careers, which gives them less time to build up the savings in a defined contribution plan. And the second part of that, according to the actuary, they have shorter lives post retirement. So what we want to do is have a plan that is fair to our special risk employees,” said Rodrigues.

With the change, new hires that are not special risk will only be allowed to join the state investment plan, which is also known as a defined contribution plan.

Legislation that would require transgender athletes to have been in the process of transitioning for at least a year and meet certain testosterone level requirements to compete in women’s only sports passed its second Senate committee Wednesday morning.

Democrats and trans-advocates argued the legislation is discriminatory and could come at a financial cost to the state.

At least 50 companies have vowed to refuse to do business in states that pass similar legislation.

The NCAA has also threatened to pull championship games from other states that have passed similar restrictions on trans athletes.

Senate Sponsor Kelli Stargel said the threats aren’t swaying her.

“The bill is very simple and I’m not trying to be discriminatory to anybody, but I think it’s common knowledge amongst most people that men generally are stronger than women. That’s why we have women’s sports. That’s why we have the separation. So in sports, where the gender is separated and it’s a women’s sport, we’re trying to make sure that women who are competing are competing with someone at the same level athletically, strength-wise,” said Stargel.

The bill has one more committee stop in the Senate.

A more restrictive bill that would require athletes to compete as their sex assigned at birth has one more stop in the House.

The legislative effort to cap medical marijuana potency at ten percent THC appears to be dead this year.

The Governor has said he’s not endorsing the caps and the Senate committee scheduled to hear the bill has already had its last meeting.

Sponsor Ray Rodrigues said it was never about a dislike of the drug but what science is telling him.

“The things it’s supposed to be helping, the two most common recommendations are pain and PTSD. Studies have been done that show when you get to THC levels greater than ten percent, you don’t make pain better, you make pain worse,” said Senator Rodrigues.

The House version is still moving, so there is a chance the legislation can still be heard, but with the Governor saying he won’t sign it, it would be a waste of lawmakers’ time.

After an hour long workshop on grandparents rights, the message from Florida lawmakers to grandparents being denied access to their grandchildren is “we sympathize”.

But lawmakers say grandparents will have to wait at least another year for legislation that could allow them to see their grandchildren.

FSU Law Professor Dan Markel was murdered in his garage seven years ago this July.

For Ruth Markel, Dan’s mother, one tragedy sparked another.

“Our son’s ex-wife cut off contact between us and his two children,” said Markel.

In video testimony before a Senate committee, Ruth called the separation painful.

“But unlike in most other states, Florida law doesn’t allow us to petition the courts for visitation,” said Markel.

Florida law says grandparents have a right to see their grandchildren only if both parents are dead or if one parent is dead and the other has been convicted of a felony.
Neither is the case for Phil and Ruth Markel.

Jeremy Cohen was Dan’s best friend.

“Ben and Lincoln’s mother even went to court to legally change the boys’ family name from Markel to Adelson,” said Cohen.

The family just wants a judge to hear the case.

But a legal expert told the committee any law interfering with a parent’s right would have to be very narrow.

“It can’t be a grandparents’ rights bill only. Because I think it will be struck down as an equal protection violation,” said Abigail Beebe with the Florida BAR Family Law Section.

The message after the workshop: This is going to have to wait until next year’s session.

“Don’t give up hope. There’s always an opportunity to file bills, debate them and get good policy passed,” said Senator Darryl Rouson.

Three have been charged in Dan’s murder.

Two have convicted, and the investigation that names the ex-wife’s family as persons of interest remains open.

The children are now living in South Florida with their mother and maternal grandparents.

Legislation approved by a Senate committee Tuesday seeks to protect schools and universities from being held liable for decisions made during the pandemic.

The bill has bipartisan support and would prevent lawsuits related to schools and universities going virtual.

There have been multiple class action lawsuits filed against Florida colleges and universities, seeking the return of tuition and other costs and fees for semesters during the pandemic.

But legislation moving in the State Capitol would stop those suits in their tracks.

“These colleges did the best job that they could,” said Senator Joe Gruters, who is sponsoring the education liability bill.

Some expressed concerns the language is too broad and would prevent students from recovering money spent on meal plans and housing.

“These are products that were never delivered that were paid for,” said Jacksonville Trial Attorney Curry Pajcic.

Gruters said his intent is to protect tuition.

“Unfortunately there’s people that wanted the virtual instruction and they don’t want to pay. So this will hopefully clear things up,” said Gruters.

The Governor has expressed frustration with universities not returning to full in person learning.

We asked if Gruters felt the liability protections may disincentivize universities from getting back in the classroom.

“If I was a university administrator I would certainly be listening to whatever the Governor had to say,” said Gruters.

Democrats added an amendment to the bill, allowing parents of K-5th grade students the option of holding their child back.

“Because parents were the ones over the past year who were really administering a lot of the child’s education,” said Senator Shevrin Jones.

And while the bill will still require standardized testing for K-12 students to gauge their academic progress, neither schools or students will be penalized for the results.

The legislation passed unanimously, but the bill sponsor said changes will likely be made before final passage to clarify some of the concerns raised during the committee.

A House committee approved a one two punch to the citizen initiative process Monday, making it more difficult to amend the state constitution.

Republicans contend it’s too easy to change the state’s founding document, but voter groups argue it’s just the opposite.

Republican lawmakers believe too much policy is making its way into the state constitution.

“It should not be easier to put an amendment in our constitution than it is to pass the same law through the legislative process,” said Representative Rick Roth.

Roth wants to raise the current 60 percent approval threshold for amendments to pass to a 66 and 2/3’s percent supermajority.

It would apply to amendments put on the ballot through citizen initiatives and those put on the ballot by the Legislature.

“It’s better to limit ourselves trying to pass good amendments in a time when we’re more in danger from bad amendments,” said Roth.

Voters groups argue the proposed bar is too high.

“What this bill does is put the power of the initiative process squarely in the hands of a super minority of voters, which I don’t think is what anyone thinks of when they think about democracy,” said Jonathan Webber with the Florida Conservation Voters.

Another bill would cap contributions to citizen initiative campaigns at $3,000 during the signature gathering phase.

“It makes sure that we’re not overly influenced by those that have the wherewithal to do that, millionaires, billionaires and those outside our state,” said House sponsor Representative Bobby Payne.

The contribution limit legislation is being called the anti-John Morgan bill.

Morgan bankrolled the medical marijuana amendment and the minimum wage amendment.

But Ida Eskamani with Florida Rising argued the Legislature’s attempts at restricting the citizen initiative process is the blame for the big-money donors.

“The issue here is not that we have people like John Morgan. The issue is that the Legislature has made the ballot initiative process so expensive that we have to go find donors to make it work,” said Eskamani.

Both proposals were approved along party lines and have one more committee stop before reaching the House floor.

Voters will have the final say on whether to raise the threshold for passing constitutional amendments, but it would only take the current 60 percent voter approval to raise the bar.

There is fallout at the State Capitol over the plan to start collecting the tax due on internet sales.

Florida’s labor unions argue working people will pay the tax, while businesses will reap the benefit.

The 30-10 vote was bipartisan.

Seven Democrats joined Republicans to begin collecting the sales tax on internet purchases from out of state merchants.

But many of the votes came with an unwritten string attached.

A commitment to look at unemployment benefits.

“I’m going to hold everyone to their commitment that we are going to get something really good done. Because guess what? If the benefit amount goes up and the number of weeks is more reasonable, our claimants and out constituents get more money,” said State Senator Jason Pizzo.

Florida and Missouri are the only two states with a sales tax that does not actively collect the tax from out of state merchants.

The AFL-CIO is angry because the $1.3 billion a year will be paid by working families, but it will be used to lower premiums businesses pay for unemployment.

“It is the responsibility of the businesses to fund unemployment insurance,” said Rich Templin with the Florida AFL-CIO.

Senate Democratic Leader Gary Farmer voted no.

“That was a tax giveaway to Florida’s largest, wealthiest corporations,” said Farmer.

But House Speaker Chris Sprowls believes that lowering what businesses will pay will help workers.

“And yesterday they paid seven dollars per employee for unemployment. Now they are looking at eight-seven dollars. That could be the difference between staying open and closing,” said Sprowls.

Without the new money being used to offset another tax already collected, the legislation will likely face a veto from the Governor.

A House committee is expected to take the first action to raise the weekly unemployment benefits by a hundred dollars a week Monday evening.

The Florida House has approved HB 1, the controversial legislation seeking to increase penalties for crimes committed during a riot.

Roughly five hours of debate brought cries for law and order and racial justice.

Republicans say HB 1 is about public safety, cracking down on protests that escalate to violent riots.

“The First Amendment does not protect violence,” said Representative Cord Byrd, the bill’s prime cosponsor.

Democrats opened their remarks with a symbolic gesture, speaking for the same length of time as George Floyd laid with a knee on his neck.

“Where’s the caring? The empathy? The humanity? Because it’s not in this bill,” said Representative Evan Jenne.

The bill defines a riot, raises penalties for crimes committed during a riot and creates a process for state attorneys to challenge budget reductions to law enforcement.

“We can act before it’s too late. We do not need to have Miami or Orlando or Jacksonville become Kenosha or Seattle or Portland,” said Byrd.

Democrats asserted the bill will be applied unequally, and used to crack down on peaceful protests for racial justice.

“This is not a bill that has any other group in mind other than Black lives. This bill will legalize racism by hindering freedom of speech for a select few,” said Representative Angela Nixon.

Representative Barnaby Webster, the only Black Republican Florida lawmaker fired back, arguing there is no discriminatory language in the bill.

“Brothers and sisters, you’ve got to use your intelligence a lot better. It’s time to stop this constant refrain of about racism. It’s crazy,” said Webster.

The final vote in the House was 76-39 in favor of HB 1 straight down party lines.

Three Democrats and two Republicans didn’t vote at all.

The vote marks the legislation reaching the halfway point.

It still must clear the Senate, in which it’s yet to be scheduled for even a single hearing.

But procedural maneuvering may still leave open a pathway for the bill to make its way to the Senate floor.

At nearly the halfway point of session the Florida House has sent the first bill to the Governor’s desk.

The legislation provides liability protections for both businesses and health care institutions, like nursing homes and hospitals, from pandemic-related lawsuits.

Democrats have consistently expressed concerns that the protections set too high a standard and would even block legitimate claims, but House Speaker Chris Sprowls argues it’s not blanket immunity.

“So I think this is a shot in the arm for those businesses to say let’s bring our employees back, let’s really lean back into commerce. You know, we’re going to be safe, but as long as we’re doing the right thing, we’ll be protected from not being blindsided by frivolous lawsuits,” said Sprowls.

The legislation passed 83 to 31.

The Governor is expected to sign the bill into law.

Florida’s unemployment rate remained relatively stable in February, dropping just one tenth of a percent to 4.7 percent, according to the latest jobless report released by the state.

The rate is just 1.4 percent higher than it was a year ago, a month before pandemic job losses started mounting.

Adrienne Johnston, the state’s top labor economist said the job outlook will likely continue improving as more people are vaccinated.

“As more people become vaccinated, then certainly they’re going to feel more comfortable to go back and connect into the labor market, to go back into purchasing goods and services, and engage in economic activity, and as that happens, it certainly going to drive employment up and reduce our unemployment overall. So, as that continues to be widespread, and more people are vaccinated, that’s going to be a positive for employment in the state,” said Johnston.

Johnston also said the unemployment rate may see small increases, which is not necessarily a bad thing, as more people return to the labor market and seek jobs.

Drama continued to build over the State Senate District 37 race in South Florida Friday.

A former State Senator has been charged with illegally recruiting and funding a straw candidate who has the same last name as the Democrat who lost the race by 32 votes.

In a news conference, Senate Democratic Leader Gary Farmer called for the winner to resign and for a State Senate investigation, in which witnesses would be put under oath.

He’s also calling for a Federal investigation.

“These allegations and the facts revealed in the Artiles affidavit and arrest warrant, go to the very heart of our electoral process and they undermine the very integrity of our elections. We cannot sit by and let this go without a full investigation,” said Farmer.

Before the end of the news conference, the Senate President texted there would be no Senate Committee investigation of the election, saying he did not want to interfere with the on going criminal investigation.

The investigation by the Miami-Dade State Attorney remains open.

The arrest warrant does mention unindicted co-conspirators.

The Florida House approved legislation Friday that would allow churches to permit patrons to carry concealed firearms on their premises even if they have a school on their grounds.

The legislation was created in response to the Sutherland Springs church mass shooting in 2017, where 26 were killed.

Democrats expressed concerns that the bill isn’t clear on whether concealed firearms would be permitted only in the church, or also allowed inside the schools.

“If the law that we adopt is that guns should be not present on school campuses, members don’t discriminate against children who go to religious schools,” said Representative Joe Geller.

The bill was approved 76 to 37.

It still has one more committee stop in the Senate before reaching the floor.

Republican state lawmakers are putting pressure on the University of Florida after it suspended three conservative student organizations for allegedly violating COVID rules at an on campus event.

Lawmakers argue the punishment doesn’t fit the crime and the rules aren’t being applied evenly.

In an official statement, the University of Florida said the three conservative student organizations were suspended because they failed to register an on campus barbecue and violated face mask and social distancing guidelines.

“Some people had taken their masks off. We did have to eat,” said Philip Smith, who is the President of the UF chapter of Young Americans for Freedom.

YAF along with the Network of Enlightened Women and Turning Point USA were the three organizations suspended by the university.

“Whether we think they’re discriminating against conservatives specifically, we’re not sure,” said Smith.

But Representative Randy Fine doesn’t have any doubts a double standard is at play.

“Yeah there’s no question and it gets worse. When I asked UF why this group got in trouble, they said that they’ve employed a Stasi-like East German policy, where they ask students to rat on other students,” said Fine.

He’s tweeted photos of other UF students as evidence the rules aren’t being uniformly applied.

“The only other groups that have had these issues are four fraternities and sororities, which apparently had some sort of raging parties where they may have actually violated the rules,” said Fine. “The issue we have at the University of Florida is their statement implies that there’s been no Black Lives Matter protests where people didn’t fill out a permit, there have been no other groups. It looks so bad.”

Fine said the incident supports the need for legislation already moving through the legislature, which seeks to protect diversity of thought on college campuses.

Sponsor Representative Spencer Roach said the bill creates protections for students and students government officials facing disciplinary action.

“One thing that we did not envision was that these groups would be targeted,” said Roach.

Fine has suggested cutting UF’s funding over the incident.

Roach went one step further.

“The university President owes the taxpayers an explanation and if he can’t provide one, he needs to resign,” said Roach.

The student groups told us they hope they’ll be able to work with UF to resolve the issue soon.

We reached out to the University Tuesday morning for further comment on this story in hopes of receiving photos and evidence showing the alleged offenses.

We have still not received a response.