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The 2020 election was once of the safest and securest in Florida history, but lawmakers are still looking to make changes to the state’s election laws.

Preventing ballot harvesting and increasing transparency and security of vote by mail are the focus of a bill approved by its first House committee Monday.

The sponsor of the House’s election reform legislation agrees, Florida’s 2020 election was a success.

“And we should never pass up an opportunity to make a good thing even better,” said Representative Blaise Ingoglia.

The bill would prevent election supervisors from taking private grants.

“Elections are a function of government and government should be paying for it,” said Ingoglia.

It would also require mail ballots be requested each election cycle instead of every other cycle, but requests made before July 1st 2021 would still be honored.

Mail ballot drop boxes would have to be monitored at all times and only family members or a roommate could drop off another person’s ballot.

Democrats worry those limitations don’t account for all situations.

“There’s no allowance for a guardian in here, there’s no allowance for a caregiver,” said Rep. Allison Tant.

The sponsor said the goal is to crack down on ballot harvesting.

“We just got to make sure that we’re not opening it up where any one just signs a piece of paper saying that I’m the caregiver for this person and they can return the ballot. We don’t want to turn it into the fireworks where people sign saying they’re not going to do it and they do it anyway,” said Ingoglia.

One major concern from election supervisors is that the bill would require all mail ballot signatures to be posted online so they could be reviewed and potentially challenged by other voters.

“I think that opens up great opportunities, very bad opportunities, for identity theft,” said Leon County Election Supervisor and Vice President of the Florida Supervisors of Elections Mark Earley.

The sponsor did say he’s willing and preparing to make changes to the bill to address concerns.

Democrats indicated if enough changes are made, they could potentially support the legislation.

The Senate version of the legislation is far more restrictive.

It would ban mail ballot drop boxes altogether.

It also doesn’t grandfather in outstanding mail ballot requests like the House version.

If you’ve been baking from home during the pandemic to help make some extra cash, Florida lawmakers want to make your life easier.

Legislation heard by a Senate Committee at the State Capitol Monday would raise the amount of money you can earn from $50,000 in sales, to $250,000 a year.

Sponsor Senator Jason Brodeur said it’s a recognition that pandemic has been challenging for many.

“One of the things we have seen during COVID is the amount of creativity that has happened with folks. And we already had a cottage foods bill on the books. The bill allowed entrepreneurs the ability to make products in your home that don’t require your normal business license because they were under a certain threshold. As we’ve seen folks continue to get creative and grow these businesses, we want to expand that threshold. So as there’s no increase to a public safety risk, we’re still seeing people able to work and earn out fo their home,” said Brodeur.

Refrigerated foods are not included in the legislation.

It does allow neighbors, or anyone, to file complaints with the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the cottage food industry.

The legislation also allows people to accept payment in a business name and ship the goods, rather than requiring in person sales.

Starting Monday Floridians aged 50 and up will be eligible to receive the COVID vaccine.

Part of that effort will be increasing outreach to underserved and minority communities.

Since the first pilot launched, the state’s faith based outreach program targeting minority communities has vaccinated 70,000 people at 215 houses of worship.

“Florida has been the model for how you partner with the faith based community and in fact they’re trying to roll that out in other places in other states,” said Jared Moskowitz, Director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Starting next week, nine more vaccination sites in minority communities will launch.

Within the next two weeks mobile units severing minority communities will increase from three buses to 15.

“All these different outreach efforts, all these different pockets, each one obviously helps try to increase shots in arms,” said Moskowitz.

Moskowitz said part of that state’s strategy is branching off smaller ‘spokes’ from main vaccine sites to penetrate deeper into communities.

He reported almost 50 percent of people using those sites are Black and brown Floridians.

The state has also knocked on 35,000 doors in minority communities, in some cases even offering a shot on the spot, but vaccine hesitancy remains an issue.

“We’re finding it’s about a ten percent conversion rate. And you know that’s why it’s hard to do these things as far as with speed,” said Moskowitz.

Reverend Dr. RB Holmes heads a statewide task force of pastors attempting to break through some of the barriers.

“The numbers not where I think they ought to be, but it’s not because we’re not trying,” said Holmes.

He believes persistence is key.

“We just gotta tell folks that these vaccines are safe, they will save lives, but we just can’t give up,” said Holmes.

Black Floridians make up only about 6 percent of those vaccinated so far.

The ultimate goal is to vaccinate 70 percent of Florida’s Black community, and while meeting that goal will be a challenge, Reverend Holmes said the state’s efforts are headed in the right direction.

The Florida Senate is poised to pass legislation walking back plans for three major road construction projects signed into law just two years ago.

The legislation would cancel plans to extend the turnpike to the west coast and a toll road from Collier County to the center of the state, but keep in place plans to extend the Sun Cost Parkway on a slightly different path.

Funds from the canceled projects would be redirected to the transportation trust fund to support improvements to existing roadways.

Bill sponsor Senator Gayle Harrell amended the bill in its last committee stop to add more environmental protections.

“And by revisioning what we are doing we can accomplish the goals of better transportation, improved safety and also look at the environmental impact of what we are doing when we build our roads,” said Harrell.

Environmental groups are split on the legislation.

While all that testified Thursday said the new proposal is better for the environment than the existing plan, some groups remain concerned the Sun Coast Parkway extension could result in negative environmental impacts.

The Governor’s top legislative priority, increasing penalties for violent protesters, continues to draw protesters to the Capitol, but the legislation may be in trouble because of a lack of support from law enforcement.

Three dozen people opposing tougher penalties for protesters who cross the line into violence were at the Capitol Thursday.

“DeSantis’ anti protest bill attempts threatens us into submission with ridiculous prison sentences. That’s what I call fear,” said FSU student Jalen Blocker.

But inside the building, the legislation is stalled.

With the session a third over, the Governor’s top priority has yet to get a hearing in the Senate.

Criminal Justice Chair Jason Pizzo won’t talk about it

“Stuff on my committee I don’t comment,” said Pizzo.

Governor Ron DeSantis laughed when we asked if he was worried.

“Are we going to be prepared to respond appropriately and protect our people? And I think the House believes that we will. I think the majority of the Senate believe that,” said DeSantis.

Senator Jeff Brandes, who is vice chair under Pizzo, isn’t so sure.

“I just don’t know they have the votes on that committee,” said Brandes. “They are either going to pare the bill down to something that is acceptable and they can get the votes for, or it will continue to be reviewed.”

We asked the Governor if he would let lawmakers go home without passing the legislation.

“Oh, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue. I think they know they are going to have to do it. So, it’s not a question if I let them go home. What would their voters do if they went home without doing it? I know our voters would be very upset,” said DeSantis.

Every session ends with the most important bills being horse traded.

For the Governor the question is how much political Capitol is he willing to spend.

The Democratic Caucus in the Florida House voted Thursday to oppose the House version of the bill.

That means all 42 Democrats will likely vote no.

There are 78 GOP members in the House.

The Governor brought back some of his favorite public health experts for a round table touting the success of the state’s COVID policies Thursday.

The roundtable was full of many of familiar talking points.

“The lock downs have led to many, many unnecessary deaths,” said Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Professor of Medicine at Stanford University.

Also the importance of opening of schools.

“It is really unconscionable that there are any schools that are not in person,” said Dr. Scott Atlas, the Robert Wesson Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University and former Member of the US Coronavirus Task Force.

The Governor also emphasized Florida won’t endorse vaccine passports.

“People don’t have to worry about it here in the State of Florida and if folks try to start doing it privately, you know we may have a role to play there as well,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

But there was a new critique of COVID policy lobbed during the meeting, with panelists questioning the effectiveness of masks.

“The people in the United States at a very high frequency have been wearing masks for months and the cases exploded,” said Atlas.

The Governor shied away when we asked if he planned to lift all local mask orders.

“I think the proper role for public health is to give people information to provide some guidance, but ultimately individuals should be able to make their own decisions and I don’t think it should be compulsory and I don’t think certainly it should come under penalty from the state,” said DeSantis.

The Governor also touted the state’s vaccine rollout, but outside the Capitol, a coalition of social justice groups repeated criticisms that the black community hasn’t gotten its fair share.

“How come brown people didn’t get it just like the white people got it? Let me tell you something, they all need the vaccine,” said Dr. Tracey Stallworth with Faith in Florida.

Medical doctors also joined with social justice advocates outside the Capitol calling into question the Governor’s rosy picture painted of the COVID situation.

“Florida has no expansion of Medicaid. Our Government run unemployment system is a failure,” said Dr. Armen Henderson with the University of Miami. “The rich have been given access to vaccines at alarming rates in comparison the the rest of the Florida population.”

Social justice advocates also took numerous shots at the Legislature, which they say is spending too much time on the Governor’s social agenda and not enough on COVID relief.

Of the 4.4 million vaccine doses administered in Florida so far, 67.6 percent have gone to white Floridans, while only 6 percent have gone to Black Floridans.

An additional 15.4 percent of recipients did not report their race or ethnicity at all.

Law Enforcement and others like state employees and 911 operators with access to the Driver Vehicle Information Database will face stiffer penalties for misusing the system to acquire personal information of members of the public under legislation passed by its final Senate committee Thursday morning.

Current misuse of the system results in a $500 fine, but the legislation would raise financial penalties as high as $2,000.

Sponsor Senator Ed Hooper said it wasn’t one, but many incidents that inspired the change.

“It turns out that there are multiple pages of inappropriate research on that database and I thought now is the time to address it and let’s see if we can encourage folks not to misuse this data system,” said Hooper.

The legislation also requires law enforcement agencies include training on the proper use of the DAVID system in initial and ongoing training for officers.

Governor Ron DeSantis wants to spend just less than half the roughly $10 billion Florida is getting from the Federal Government in stimulus money during the coming budget year and the plan is getting rave reviews from state lawmakers.

The Governor is asking lawmakers to spend $4.1 billion in coming federal money.

On top of the list, $1,000 bonuses for the state’s first responders.

Florida’s firefighters are surprised, and grateful.

“I’d be remiss if I did not recognize the other front line workers that are out there that are deserving of being recognized,” said Bernie Bernoska, President of the Professional Firefighters of Florida.

A billion to fight climate change makes up the biggest chunk of the federal windfall.

The money is on top of the Governor’s proposal to spend another billion on climate over the next four years.

“I think that will make a huge impact when you are talking about building infrastructure,” said DeSantis.

Even Florida’s top Democrat is calling it a good, but overdue idea.

“If we don’t spend the money now creating programs, creating ways to protect our state, its going to be a $75 billion hit in the future,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried.

In reality, the state doesn’t know how much cash it’s getting or what strings will be attached.

Senate Appropriations chair Kelli Stargel told us the Governor and Senate are on the same page.

What the state can’t do is spend one time money on expenses that come every year.

Some of the cash will likely strengthen the state’s already hefty reserves.

“I would hope we hold some of it in reserve. I think it would be pretty challenging actually, and impractical to spend $10 billion in one year anyhow,” said Stargel.

The Governor also wants to use the Federal cash to pay for the $73 million rebuild of the state’s failed unemployment system. but none of the one time money can be used to increase future benefits.

The Governor’s plan also sets aside $250 million to help Florida ports prepare for when cruise ships begin sailing again, as well as money to beef up the state’s national guard equipment.

A bill seeking to ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s only leagues associated with educational institutions was given initial approval by a House committee Wednesday.

Advocates for the transgender community came out in force to oppose what they consider a discriminatory piece of legislation.

Florida is one of 25 states considering legislation that would ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s only leagues.

Bill sponsor Rep. Kaylee Tuck said it’s about fairness.

“Nearly 50 years after Title IX all gains women have made athletically could be wiped away. The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act is intended to make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Tuck.

But in the bill’s first hearing, parents of trans-children said the legislation feels like discrimination.

“Do not deny her the rights that I had as a kid growing up,” said Jesse Jones, who has a transgender daughter.

Others went further.

“I have watched their pain and I have watched their suffering and this will bring more of that,” said Nathan Bruemmer, who is himself transgender and the former Executive Director of ALSO Youth in Sarasota.

The bill would allow trans athletes to compete in co-ed leagues or against men, but advocates said it’s not enough.

Gina Duncan with Equality Florida said the legislation is unconstitutional, pointing to a similar law blocked by a federal court in Idaho.

“They’re not really about sports. These bills are about marginalizing and demonizing transgender Americans,” said Duncan.

But Tuck said that case still has a long way to go and she believes protections for women in Title IX will ultimately uphold the law.

“We’re just asking that the biological differences are recognized between men and women and the sports teams reflect that,” said Tuck.

Tuck told us she’s willing to consider amending the bill, perhaps adopting language from a senate bill that does allow trans athletes to compete in women’s sports under certain circumstances.

The Senate legislation, which has not been scheduled for a hearing, would allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s leagues if they have maintained a specified level of testosterone for a year.

Transgender advocates argue even that proposal, would place an undo burden on the transgender community.

Nearly 100 teachers and school staff came to the state’s capital to testify against legislation that would establish new hurdles for them to join a union Wednesday

The bill would require teachers to reauthorize their union membership on an annual basis and prohibit them, from having union dues automatically withdrawn from their paychecks.

Andrew Spar, head of the Florida Education Association called the legislation an attack on educators.

“Our friends in law enforcement, our friends in fire fighting, our other front line workers, our friends who work in our cities and our counties who are also public employees are not the target of this bill. It is just the educators who literally give day in and day out for our kids, for our grandkids,” said Spar.

The legislation cleared its first Senate committee Wednesday morning.

Similar legislation in the House cleared its first committee last Monday.

State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried previewed legislation creating a greenhouse gas registry Wednesday.

It would require agricultural interests to report regularly on what they have done to decrease their carbon footprint.

Options include sequestering carbon in the soil, reducing methane emissions and producing renewable energy.

By reducing the footprint, Fried said farmers could be eligible for millions in Federal grants.

“Climate change impacts everybody. Impacts everybody differently, but it has an impact on every single element of our state. And so it is real. It is here. It is not a partisan issue. This can provide farmers with much needed financial help while saving our environment for generations to come,” said Fried.

The legislation, filed by Democrats in the House and Senate, has yet to get a hearing in either chamber from the GOP-led Legislature.

How much money a students receives from their bright futures scholarship may depend on what major they pick if a bill passed by its first Senate committee Tuesday becomes law.

The bill sponsor argues the goal is to ensure students have the best chance of getting a job after graduation.

Nearly three million Florida students have helped pay for college with a Bright Futures Scholarship.

But State Senator Dennis Baxley worries some degrees aren’t resulting in jobs.

“It’s not a bright future when you are there with a degree and a pile of debt of money you borrowed to get through college, you bought the promise that your life would be better if you went, but you can’t get a job,” said Baxley.

He’s sponsoring a bill that aims to ensure florida students are getting the best return on the state’s investment, $6.8 billion since the program’s inception.

It would establish a list of programs that aren’t likely to result in employment and reduce funding for scholarship recipients who pursue those degrees.

He said the goal is to better link college educations, to future economic prosperity.

“And I’m really trying to look for the longer good of bringing these two worlds closer together,” said Baxley.

An online petition against the bill has received more than 100,000 signatures.

Democrats like Senator Tina Polsky disagree with the state picking winners and losers.

“This bill is the opposite of freedom. It is dictating our choices when it comes to majors, parents’ choices, students’ choices,” said Polsky.

Baxley said it’s his hope the state won’t identify any programs that wouldn’t be eligible for full bright futures funding.

Instead, he hopes ending up on the list, would encourage universities to better tailor their programs’ curriculums to include skills that make a graduate more likely to get hired.

“I think almost all programs could have some ingredients that would allow you to do some type of work when you leave the college,” said Baxley.

If passed, the legislation wouldn’t affect current scholarship recipients.

The bill also would remove scholarship award amounts from state statute.

Starting as early as this year, lawmakers would set award amounts on an annual basis.

Late last year, a Tampa city councilman dropped plans for a resolution banning new gas stations after the year 2030, but the decision hasn’t stopped state lawmakers from moving legislation that would prohibit any local government in the state from banning any energy choice.

Climate activists believe that banning new gas stations will speed up the move to electric cars, but state lawmakers are having no part of it.

“What’s currently in place, you can’t change,” said State Senator Travis Hutson. “Local governments can continue their to appropriately site gas stations in their jurisdiction so long as the activity does not have the effect of prohibition.”

Two bills approved Tuesday morning stop local governments in their tracks.

The first says they can’t ban energy choices outside you home, like gas stations.

The second prohibits bans on energy choices inside your house, like natural gas.

“This bill undermines the power of Floridians. Floridians are problem solvers,” said Ida Eskamani with Florida Rising.

Environmentalists argued the legislation is limiting, not increasing consumer choices.

“We have to cut back on fossil fuels. If we don’t, getting to one percent renewable energy will be one hundred percent impossible,” said Dave Cullen with the Sierra Club.

Both were approved along near party lines.

State Senator Janet Cruz split her vote on the bills, but doesn’t really like either.

“I’ve never happy with anything that preempts local government. I’m a little sick and tired of it actually,” said Cruz.

Hutson, who is sponsoring both bills, said the original ban proposed in Tampa is what got his attention.

“The Tampa one was more of the eye opening one because that is a large city that could make some major implications when it comes to tourism, right. People that are coming in not knowing the rules,” said Hutson.

The measure would also not allow counties to restrict gas supplies arriving at local ports.

Originally, the legislation would have erased anti-fracking ordinances in 13 counties, but objections forced it out of the bill.

The number of Florida children being Baker Acted is on the rise according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In the 2018-19 fiscal year alone, more than 37,800 children were Baker Acted.

The rate of Baker Acts has more than doubled over the past two decades and Bacardi Jackson with the Southern Poverty Law Center said black students are even more at risk of being involuntary committed to a psychiatric facility.

“Some of these children are as young as five and six years old. Many have developmental disabilities and a disproportionate number of them, as we see in most of our negative circumstances, are black and brown. So we have effectively created a second pipeline to push out and police our most vulnerable children and put them at greater risk of harm,” said Jackson.

The SPLC report made recommendations to overhaul the Baker Act law by requiring mental health professionals to have the final say on initiating a Baker Act, not law enforcement.

It also called for better reporting and collection of statistics, along with better educating school staff and other stake holders of the traumatic effects of inappropriately Baker Acting children.

At any given time an abuser is stalking a woman who has sought refuge in a domestic violence center, but under Florida law, there is nothing law enforcement can do to stop the harassment.

New legislation may soon give them a tool to take action.

Florida is one of 19 states that require the location of domestic violence safe houses or shelters to be confidential, but it’s also one of 11 nationally with no penalties for disclosure by someone other than a shelter employee.

“We’ve had continuous problems over the years with abusers or their friends or their family finding out where the shelter is located, and then essentially stalking the victims outside the shelter, waiting for them to leave,” said Emily Mitchem, Executive Director of Refuge House.

But legislation would make it a misdemeanor for disclosing where a shelter is located.

A second offense would be a felony.

“Multiple domestic centers in Florida have reported drones flying over the confidential shelter, recording the video and publishing the confidential information on line,” said State Senator Ileana Garcia, who is sponsoring the bill.

The legislation has already gotten tentative approval in the Senate and final vote could come as early as this week.

A second bill would protect the staffs’ identity.

“And they stalked one of the staffers who work at the domestic violence staffer. Followed them to their car, and demanding information about their victims. This particular staffer was so just horrified about the entire incident, she actually quit,” said bill sponsor Representative David Borrero.

The legislation is a tool shelter directors are looking forward to having.

“I think it will be as really helpful tool for law enforcement because right now they have no way to discourage or stop that type of behavior,” said Mitchem.

The legislation could face a first amendment challenge.

If that happens, the state would have to prove there was a compelling interest in protecting victims.

A first offense for disclosing the information could land someone a year in jail and a thousand dollar fine.

A second offense jumps to as many as five years behind bars and a five thousand dollar fine.