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The hard work of some hard working state employees saved Floridians 300 million tax dollars this year according to that state’s lead tax watch dog.

Florida TaxWatch honored some of those state employees in a virtual award ceremony Thursday.

There were 179 TaxWatch Productivity Awards handed out this year spanning 19 state agencies and four universities.

The four top awards went to the Department of Elder Affairs for a program that partnered with restaurants to deliver fresh meals to disabled senior citizens and the Department of Transportation for creating a new strategy for detecting wrong way drivers and improving the speed and lowering the cost of building street lighting.

The Department of Environmental Protection was also honored for its creation of a water quality dashboard.

“After this incredibly challenging year, Florida TaxWatch is so proud to recognize the good work of so, so many public servants as we often say are unsung heroes,” said TaxWatch President Dominic Calabro.

Because awards are awarded to both individuals and also teams, Florida TaxWatch says the total number of state employees honored this year is likely in the thousands.

After sitting on the sidelines for eight months, the Florida Legislature met for a one-day session Tuesday, but nine of the 160 lawmakers were absent because they tested positive or were exposed to COVID.

Both the human and financial toll of the virus will be front and center when lawmakers begin meeting in January.

The nine absent members, seven from the House and two Senators, hail from one end of the state to the other.

None came in contact with anyone who entered either chamber.

“I want to pause to recognize those who lost their lives as a result of COVID-19. Join me in a moment of silence,” said Senate President Wilton Simpson during the Tuesday organizational Session.

Both the House and Senate will have COVID related committees.

House Speaker Chris Sprowls said the virus and related issues will occupy the majority of lawmakers 60-day session that starts in March.

“Making it easier to start a business out of their home. Many Floridians have now worked from home where they have never done that before. Making opportunities for barriers go down, such as occupational licensing,” said Sprowls.

The budget is going to get most of the attention when lawmakers come back.

They expect to cut up to $5 billion.

“What we’re going to do is review what the 08-09 Great Recession did through 2010. We’re going to review what is important to our budget to this current Legislature,” said Simpson.

But the co-leaders of House Democrats took aim at what they called a lack of specifics.

“I would say Coronavirus was pretty much glossed over in the House Chamber. The reality of the situation,” said Representative Evan Jenne.

Masks were not required for members or the several hundred visitors.

Afterwards few were paying attention to social distancing.

We have been told that everyone in the crowd had tested negative before entering, lessening the possibility of spreading COVID.

Only one of the nine lawmakers who were out Tuesday has been hospitalized, newly elected State Senator Ray Rodriguez of Ft. Myers.

A spokesperson said he is improving.

Parents can soon expect more clarity about how Florida schools will operate in January.

The current emergency order is set to expire at the end of the year, but the question on administrators minds is whether the new order will still give districts full funding for virtual students.

The State Board of Education opened its Wednesday meeting with a presentation from Florida’s First Lady, who emphasized the need for in-person learning.

“It is invaluable for our students’ development and wellbeing,” said Casey DeSantis.

Shortly after, Florida’s Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran addressed the elephant in the room: His emergency order set to expire at the end of the year.

“The Governor will take nothing less than full parental choice,” said Corcoran.

The current order allows districts to receive the same level of funding for students who opt for distance learning as those attending in person, as long as they also provide brick and mortar options.

Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar said that flexibility has been critical.

“If that funding goes away there’s no way districts can offer that option and parents will either have to use a traditional virtual platform such as Florida Virtual School or what districts have in their own virtual programs. Or they will have to send them back to brick and mortar,” said Spar.

The Commissioner said his next emergency order will still provide parents the option of virtual learning, but he didn’t commit to continue funding virtual students the same as those attending class in person.

“We’re going through that right now and working with the districts,” said Corcoran.

That lack of commitment troubles the teachers union.

“Districts need the flexibility. Parents need the flexibility,” said Spar.

Corcoran did mention he wants to ensure students who fall behind in virtual learning can easily transition to in-person classes, or at the very least get additional help.

“If they’re going to stay for medical reasons in that modality. What are the interventions? And we want to see them and know them,” said Corcoran.

The Commissioner also said standardized testing will go forward next semester to identify achievement gaps the pandemic may have widened.

How or whether those test scores will impact school funding is still an open question.

The Commissioner said he hopes to have the order finalized before Thanksgiving, or at the latest by the end of the month.

Governor Ron DeSantis made his first public appearance in thirteen days on Tuesday.

It has been more than two weeks since he has answered reporters’ questions and he didn’t end that streak during the Legislature’s organizational session.

The Governor last appeared before reporters on the Wednesday after the election.

“We’re now being looked at as the state that did it right,” said DeSantis during the November 4th press conference.

He also criticized the national media for calling some states and not others.

He didn’t take questions, but promised he would soon.

“I’ll be back to take questions probably sometime before the week ends,” said DeSantis.

It didn’t happen.

Fast forward 13 days, a major tropical storm and still nothing.

But Tuesday he first appeared in the Florida Senate where he watched new Senators and officers sworn in.

“I am convinced your early actions to protect our elderly and our our most vulnerable populations helped avoid thousands of deaths. Governor we thank you,” said Senate President Wilton Simpson.

As he walked across the Capitol’s fourth floor to the House chamber, we tried to ask what he’s been doing.

He didn’t answer, again promising more later.
“After. On the way back,” said DeSantis.

But he was another no show, seen leaving the chamber through a back entrance.

Democrats were happy to fill the void on why he’s been avoiding questions.

“The Governor has not made one public appearance to talk about COVID-19 or unemployment in weeks and I feel like he’s trying to avoid the press. He doesn’t want to address the fact that Vice President Joe Biden will be the next President of the United States, and he’s tying to avoid any type of conversation about that,” said State Representative Anna Eskamani.

While the Governor was praised during Tuesday’s session, he was also rebuffed by lawmakers.

He had hoped lawmakers would have taken up his tough anti-rioting package, but he was told that will have to wait until next year.

The Governor also chose to meet via phone to certify this year’s election results instead of in person Tuesday morning.

178 have been charged in a major human trafficking bust in the state’s capital city.

The arrests are part of a two year long investigation between local, state and federal agencies.

106 have been charged with felonies and 72 with misdemeanors in this case, including a grade school PE teacher.

Police say others charged come from all walks of life.

“All economic levels and backgrounds. It’s very widespread,” said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

Shockingly all of the arrests are connected to a single victim who was just 13 years old when the investigation began.

Hundreds of pages of arrest records detail grotesque communications between the victim and alleged offenders.

TPD Investigator Elizabeth Bascom first uncovered the victim being sold online.

“The sheer number. The all day, every day, all the time solicitation and sexual activity and talk about cash for money and clearly meeting. I had never seen something just that prolific,” said Bascom.

She says she believes these arrests only scratch the surface of the human trafficking industry in Florida.

“When you can go online and order a pizza and a girl at the same time and the girl shows up to your door before the pizza, our society is in trouble. Okay, that’s where we are. It is unbelievably accessible,” said Bascom.

While identifying information about the victim is confidential, officials told us she is on the road to recovery and doing well given the situation.

We were also told the prosecution phase of this case will likely take many months.

Florida ranks among the top five in the nation for human trafficking.

In 2019 alone 1,887 victims, 427 traffickers and 243 trafficking businesses were identified in Florida in 2019 by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Florida lawmakers return to the State Capitol Tuesday after an eight month hiatus.

The constitution requires they return to organize and select new leadership, but nothing else is on their agenda.

The Senate President and the House Speaker are the two most powerful people in Florida behind the Governor.

Both exercise total control in their chambers.

Prior to the mid 1960’s most presiding officers were from north and north central Florida.

Because of a poorly apportioned Legislature, which was fixed by a court in the mid 1960’s, the majority of votes lived in north Florida’s rural areas.

This time, they both hail from the Tampa Bay Area.

The last time lawmakers were paired geographically was in 2011.

Before that, 1983, which may have lead to agreement on the Moffit Cancer Center.

That both presiding officers come from the same area of the state is very rare, but so is legislators being tested for COVID before they can enter the building.

No lobbyists will be allowed in the Capitol Tuesday.

Reporters who enter must also be tested.

At 36, former prosecutor Chris Sprowls will be handed the House Gavel on Tuesday knowing it is on of the most difficult times in state history.

“So we are going to have significant budget challenges that we are going to have to work through to get Florida back on her feet. And a priority is going to be making the the tough choices now so we can recover faster than the rest of the country,” said Sprowls.

54 -year-old Senate President Designate Wilton Simpson hails from Pasco County.

Simpson is a successful egg farmer with a net worth of $25 million.

“People say, you’re so nice, how are your going to be a legislator, because you have to be mean or sometimes you have to be tough, so I tell them that..don’t mistake my kindness for weakness,” said Simpson.

What lawmakers won’t do while at the Capitol Tuesday is look at Florida’s unemployment system or the state’s COVID response.

The next time you get an AMBER Alert on your phone, it will look a little different.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is rolling out upgrades to the system that will hopefully lead to more children returning home safely.

When you get an AMBER Alert on your phone, it normally includes a brief description of the missing child, where they were last seen and a few bits of information about the suspect.

Chad Brown is the Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Missing Endangered Persons Information Center at FDLE.

“It’s limited to 90 characters. So the information that is provided in that alert is an abbreviated version of all the information that law enforcement currently has and is able to include,” said Brown.

In hopes of better informing the public, FDLE is making upgrades to its AMBER and Missing Child Alert systems.

Now, when an alert comes through it will include a link that will take you to a more detailed summary of the case with photos of both the child and suspected perpetrator.

“And so now we’re able to provide them with all the details through this clickable link that is provided,” said Brown.

This year alone there have already been 18 Florida AMBER and 28 Missing Child Alerts.

Since its inception in 2000 AMBER Alerts have led to the safe recovery of 77 children.

And since 2003, 65 have been recovered thanks to Missing Child Alerts.

“We appreciate everybody taking the time and not ignoring those alerts. When they come across your phone take the time, take a look at it and you never know, you could be responsible for saving a life,” said Brown.

In addition to the AMBER Alerts sent to your phone, FDLE is also encouraging Floridians to sign up to receive e-mail alerts by going to missingchildalerts.com.

Mike Freed, a business attorney with Gunster Shareholder, began a 160 mile journey from the Florida Supreme Court to the Duval County Court House Monday morning as part of an effort to raise money to pay legal bills for low income and vulnerable patients.

This is the fourth year Freed has made the run and by the time he completes this year’s six day journey he will have run the equivalent of 24 marathons.

In that time Freed has raise more than $1 million for the Jacksonville Area Legal Aid’s Northeast Florida Medial Legal Partnership.

He’s hoping to get to $2.25 million.

“People that are dealing with these challenges have a lot of problems as well. Physical, financial and others, so for me it’s just a manifestation of what they experience and the little bit of sacrifice that I do to run for six days straight is nothing compared to the challenges they have to suffer. So I’m happy to do my part and it gets peoples’ attention and instead of having people give a little bit, they give a lot,” said Freed.

You can donate at freedtorun.com.

All donations will be matched at 125 percent by Baptist Health up to $1.25 million.

Florida voters overwhelming rejected a plan to make it harder to amend the state constitution this year, but the near record turnout means it will still be harder to get an amendment on the ballot in the coming years.

The number of signatures a citizen initiative needs to collect to make it on the ballot is equal to eight percent of voter turn out in the last presidential election.

Citizen initiative guru John Sowinski with Consensus Communications said historically, the number goes up, not down.

“Every time we have a Presidential Election we have A, more population. B, as of late much higher turnout. So that drives up the number that’s required,” said Sowinski.

Since 1970, the signature requirement for citizen initiatives has risen by an average of 12 percent every four years.

Citizen initiatives had to collect 766,200 signatures in order to make it on the 2020 ballot.

After this election, the requirement will rise by roughly 15 percent.

Early calculations suggest campaigns will have to collect in the ball park of 880,000 signatures to get amendments on the 2022 ballot.

Make It Legal Florida’s proposed amendment to legalize recreational marijuana is best positioned to make it on the 2022 ballot, having already collected more than 550,000 signatures.

“Obviously we knew going into 2020 that this was going to be a high turnout year,” said Make It Legal Florida Chairman Nick Hansen.

Hansen said he’s confident they’ll be able to meet the new threshold.

“It is our hope to be done with this by mid-2021,” said Hansen.

But more signatures means more money.

Sowinski estimates the projected signature increase will cost campaigns about $1 million extra.

“For a campaign that would already be spending three to five million dollars to gather the signatures,” said Sowinski.

On top of the increased signature threshold, recent laws also limit signatures’ validity to two years and require paid petition gatherers to register with the state, making direct democracy in Florida harder and more expensive than ever before.

When veterans come home from from battle, transitioning back into civilian life can be a daunting task.

On average, 20 veterans die from suicide each day according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, but groups like K9s for Warriors are working to bring that number down by training service dogs to help veterans cope with the physical and mental scars from service.

“You know I’m a graduate of the program in 2015 and I came back and I started working here and I can see how this program affects the warrior and their family,” said Greg Wells, Manager of Programs with K9s for Warriors.

The program has been able to continue its work through the pandemic, training 90 dogs and pairing them with veterans.

“We were in a state where we could keep going. The doors were still open. And you can’t Zoom train a dog. You can’t Zoom train a warrior,” said K9s for Warriors CEO Rory Diamond.

Working at a limited capacity has come at a cost.

The program’s wait time has doubled from two to four years, with 391 veterans on the wait list.

“Our biggest fear is to lose a warrior on our wait list. Our warriors, 82 percent of them have attempted suicide before they come here and we have an almost perfect record in stopping it after a warrior comes here, but we’ve got to get them through our doors first,” said Diamond.

But the program has plans to expand to meet the growing need.

“We’re going to break ground next year on what we call a ‘Mega Kennel’. The world’s largest rescue dog training center. So we’ll get much more dogs like Angel here through our system,” said Diamond.

K9s for Warriors is 100 percent free to veterans and while the Florida Legislature approved $600,000 for the program this year, private donations provide most of the funding.

If you want to help their cause, you can donate at k9sforwarriors.org.

K9s for Warriors has a 10 year history of helping veterans and currently operates in 47 states.

In that time it has trained and paired 641 service dogs with veterans.

Governor Ron DeSantis and top Legislative leaders have thrown their support behind a bill to crack down on rioting and create harsher penalties for those who attack law enforcement officers, but Florida Democrats plan to file a competing bill that would do away with some protections for law enforcement officers.

The bill would open up individual officers to lawsuits if they violate citizens’ civil rights in the course of their duties.

Individual officers are shielded from civil lawsuits unless it can be proven they knowingly violated a statutory or constitutional right under what is known as qualified immunity.

“We have to deal with over policing,” said State Senator Shevrin Jones.

Jones believes qualified immunity protects officers who do wrong on the job.

“No one should be able to be shield from any liability when they’ve caused harm to individuals or an individual’s family,” said Jones.

Qualified immunity is a federal doctrine.

Jones said he’s looking at a law passed in Colorado this year, which allows civil suits against officers to be brought in state court.

However, Pinellas Country Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said as it stands now, law enforcement agencies can still be held liable for civil damages.

“If you don’t act maliciously, if you just acted negligently and you just made a mistake, then you can’t be sued so you’re not reaching into your own pocket,” said Gualtieri. “But if you cross the line and you do act maliciously, you do act intentionally, you do under federal law violate clearly established law then you own it and you should.”

He argued doing away with qualified immunity would leave officers without any protection from frivolous lawsuits.

“Why should a cop making $45,000 a year have to worry every single time you’re making a split second decision that you might have to do something that affects your family and you personally and that you’re going to have to pay personal damages?” said Gualtieri.

The Senator said he has not yet drafted the bill and noted he is speaking with law enforcement groups to find some common ground in hopes of putting a product forward that could increase police accountability.

On the federal level there have also been bills filed to do away with or reform qualified immunity.

In the House 65 Democrats and one Republican are cosponsoring a bill that would end qualified immunity.

In the Senate, Kamala Harris sponsored a resolution calling for the elimination of qualified immunity back in June.

Over the weekend, Florida recorded the highest daily COVID case numbers since September 1st.

The increase comes despite testing facilities in South Florida closing due to now-Tropical Storm Eta.

Infectious disease experts expect trends to continue getting worse.

With more than 6,600 cases reported Sunday, Florida’s cases continue to trend upward.

Dr. John Lednicky, a global health researcher at the University of Florida expects things to get worse, before they get better.

“Lower humidity allows those virus particles to stay suspended in air for a longer period of time and if it’s cold, the virus particles survive,” said Dr. Lednicky.

While cases may be ticking up across the state, visitation and other protocols at nursing homes are likely to stay the same.

“Visitors, their temperatures are taken, they’re screened,” said Kristen Knapp with the Florida Health Care Association.

The association reports infection rates at eldercare facilities remain low.

“99 percent of our residents are COVID free. A lot of that is a testament again, to the protocols that are in place,” said Knapp.

We reached out to the Governor’s Office and Department of Health and asked if the upward trend would change any state policies or recommendations, but did not receive a response.

Dr. Ron Saff with the Florida Chapter of the Physicians for Social Responsibility hopes a Biden administration will do a better job at encouraging mask wearing and social distancing.

“He’s frequently wearing a mask. When you see President Trump, he’s frequently not wearing a mask and I think people learn by watching the behavior of our leaders,” said Dr. Saff.

But Dr. Lednicky said messaging from the top aside, he anticipates little change in pandemic response efforts.

“I’m a scientist and I listen to their message and what they say they’re going to be doing and it’s really not very different,” said Dr. Lednicky.

And while scientists expect the winter to bring more cases, promising news on the vaccine front does paint some hope for optimism on the horizon.

Both doctors we spoke with emphasized the need to wear masks and social distance in the absence of a vaccine, arguing it remains the most effective way to protect yourself and slow the spread.

Despite the pandemic and unemployment, voters in 17 out of 18 Florida counties voted higher taxes for themselves this week.

They ranged from funding a hospital to protecting children, but the majority of the hikes will to to fund schools.

Voters in ten counties voted to continue or raise property and sales taxes to fund schools.

Combined, the measures passed with 62.8 percent of the vote.

Political Scientist Susan MacManus said it should come as no surprise.

“I think its a message about education being a high priority, particularly to people with children. There’s a lot of frustration,” said MacManus.

The successful referendums follow 2018, when 21 of 21 counties voted to tax themselves for schools.

“You want to understand this suburban moms everyone talks about? Look no further than what’s affecting her children,” said MacManus.

But this year wasn’t unanimous.

In rural Liberty County a half cent tax referendum lost by 17 votes.

“It’s a front porch to our community, our schools are,” said Donnie Read, Liberty County GOP Chair.

Administrators there committed the cardinal sin of local tax referendums.

“We should have let them know what it was for. We should have had a campaign of some kind. You know, I just don’t think we did a very good job of doing that, you know,” said Read.

MacManus and the Florida School Boards Association have suggested the successful referendums should be taken by lawmakers as a message to provide more school funding from the state level.

Ten counties also raised taxes for Children’s services, protecting the environment and law enforcement.

Combined the 20 referendums averaged 65 percent of the vote, so it’s clear Floridians are not tax adverse, as long as they know where the money is going.

Voters also approved business tax breaks for new jobs in nine counties, and voters in Gilchrist County ended the last Sunday ban on alcohol sales in the state.

One of the biggest games of college football takes place Saturday, with the Florida Gators taking on the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville.

But because of the ongoing pandemic the game won’t look the same.

A new report from Florida TaxWatch says the pandemic hampered college football season paints a bleak picture for the economy.

College football games generate billions for local economies and over $141 million in state and local tax revenue each year in Florida.

“You know, we know locally here in Tallahassee that in 2018-2019, football brought in $51 million in spending in the community,” said Florida TaxWatch Vice President Kyle Baltuch.

Baltuch expects anywhere from ten to 25 fewer college football games to be played in Florida this year due to a shortened season and possible COVID cancellations.

“And without those games and without that ability to generate that revenue there are some businesses that are going to be in real trouble,” said Baltuch.

Even a one percent drop in leisure and hospitality spending could put more than 5,000 Florida jobs at risk.

On the high end, a ten percent drop could impact more than 50,000 jobs.

“And really you look at the hospitality sector and a little bit of the retail sector that are going to be most at risk,” said Baltuch. “You go to town for a big game. You’re going to be going out to dinner at your favorite local restaurant. You’re going to be hitting up, at least here in Tallahassee, a Garnet and Gold to pick up your shirt for the year. Those jobs are going to be impacted significantly.”

In addition to the economy, universities could also take a huge hit.

A 25 percent reduction in revenues could cost teams as much as $70 million, leaving universities strapped for cash.

“You already see universities that are making strifes to protect against it. You look at Florida State boosters. They’ve already reduced jobs and so has the athletic department and many universities around the state are doing exactly the same,” said Baltuch.

Baltuch suggested to make up the money, power conference teams like FSU and UF may decide to forgo costly games against smaller schools in the future.

Athletic scholarships for lower revenue generating sports could also be reduced or cut completely.

And Baltuch estimates the limited crowd and tailgating restrictions for the Florida Georgia game this weekend could reduce local revenues by about $10 million compared to previous years.

Democrats lost Florida by nearly four points.

It’s considered by some to be a huge margin in what has traditionally been a swing state.

They also took a beating in the state Legislature, even though tens of millions from out of state went to down ballot races.

Now there are calls for new party leadership.

Florida Democrats had high hopes that crashed on Election Day.

They lost three incumbents in the state House and lost two open seats vacated by Democrats running for the Senate.

Those who survived have had enough.

“The direction of our current leadership is not putting us on a path of building collective power. It’s transactional, it doesn’t address policies or issues that impact everyday people,” said State Representative Anna Eskamani.

The party also bet heavily on picking up open Senate Seats in Tampa and Seminole County.

It lost both.

Now it’s facing a recount in what was supposed to be a safe seat in Miami.

The margin is 21 votes.

The incoming Senate President expects the GOP to prevail.

“And if she wins, it will be 24, which would be one pick up in the Florida Senate,” said Senate President Designate Wilton Simpson.

Surviving Democrats blame the party for its tepid, almost non endorsement, endorsement of the minimum wage amendment, which got 6.3 million votes.

John Morgan, the man who bankrolled the minimum wage amendment, has been critical of the lone statewide elected Democrat, Nikki Fried, for not supporting the raise in wages.

A widely circulated tweet shows the corporate cash that flowed to the party.

“But, we are fearful of really amplifying because of threatening corporate donors,” said Eskamani.

Political Scientist Susan MacManus said the party put too much stock in out of touch consultants.

“You know, you can have the most money in the world but if you don’t spend it smarty, then you can lose. And there’s a lot of evidence of that here,” said MacManus.

In a statement, Democrats are taking credit for winning 225 local races.

The release makes no mention of their losses.