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Kimberly Leonard's must-read briefing on what's hot, crazy or shady about politics in the Sunshine State | | | | |  | | By Kimberly Leonard | |  President Joe Biden greets lawmakers after delivering the State of the Union address in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol March 7, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. President Joe Biden’s $7.3 trillion budget — a messaging document that’s especially meaningful in an election year — has a few takeaways for Floridians. Biden’s leaning into the playbook he used against Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in 2022, hammering the GOP over Social Security and Medicare, especially after former President Donald Trump suggested yesterday that he was open to "cutting" waste in the programs and curbing "tremendous bad management." Biden wants Congress to pay for Medicare’s hospital benefits by increasing taxes on people making more than $400,000 a year, but he doesn’t say how to make Social Security solvent. In the House, most Democrats cosponsored a bill that would raise taxes on high-income households to pay for the program, including all eight in Florida’s delegation. The president knows how potent saving such entitlements is during an election year. He did the same thing in the midterms when he criticized Scott’s plan that would have required all federal programs to be reapproved every five years. Scott, who’s up for reelection this year, insisted he’d never intended it to apply to Social Security and Medicare and later edited his plan. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young will answer questions about the budget during a Senate Budget panel this morning. Scott, a member of the committee, said he would press the director on “Biden’s disastrous budget record and expose the lies this administration tells every single day about the economy while families struggle just to get by.” (Tune in.) Biden’s budget also reveals he’ll put Republicans on the spot over taxes. Specifically, Biden wants to restore the child tax credit from his Covid relief bill in 2021. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) had already successfully pushed for the doubling of the credit to $2,000 with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) as part of Trump’s tax law — and that’s the plan that’s in effect now — but Biden’s proposal would provide families with $3,600 dolled out via checks every month instead of after taxes are filed, and just for a year. Rubio called Biden’s budget “dead on arrival” in a statement to Playbook and said Biden’s priorities had been “detrimental to our nation.” He supports increasing the child tax credit to $2,500 due to inflation, but wants to keep the timing as is and, for the benefit, to have job requirements. Finally, there’s a reminder in Biden’s budget about a deadline that could be weaponized against all Florida Republicans up for reelection both in 2024 and 2026. The federal subsidies for people who don’t get health insurance through work, which make private health insurance more affordable for as many as 4.2 million Floridians, are set to expire at the end of 2025. They were made larger through Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and he wants to extend them permanently. Republicans would be loath to extend the payments for a law they’ve opposed for nearly 15 years. But without a deal to extend the payments in the next Congress, the cost of private health insurance under the Obamacare marketplaces would soar for middle-class Floridians. Besides messaging, Biden adds one concrete benefit for Florida: He requests $444 million for Everglades restoration. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget for Playbook? Get in touch at: kleonard@politico.com | | | | DON’T MISS POLITICO’S HEALTH CARE SUMMIT: The stakes are high as America's health care community strives to meet the evolving needs of patients and practitioners, adopt new technologies and navigate skeptical public attitudes toward science. Join POLITICO’s annual Health Care Summit on March 13 where we will discuss the future of medicine, including the latest in health tech, new drugs and brain treatments, diagnostics, health equity, workforce strains and more. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | |  | ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... | | | 
Ron DeSantis. | Steve Cannon/AP Photo | POST SESSION — Trump-endorsing Florida lawmakers fear DeSantis will seek retribution, reports POLITICO’s Kimberly Leonard. Florida GOP lawmakers are about to find out whether Gov. Ron DeSantis will punish them for endorsing former President Donald Trump. More than a dozen legislators are now waiting to see if DeSantis cuts their favored hometown projects from the annual budget after they formally backed Trump over the governor during the deeply bitter GOP presidential primary. SAY ‘SETTLEMENT’ — Florida must clarify parental rights law under settlement in 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit, reports POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury. The DeSantis administration and a group of LGBTQ+ advocates both claimed victory in the settlement, which resolves a two-year-old federal lawsuit that alleged the measure “is an unlawful attempt to stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools.” Under the agreement, the state must clarify the law’s scope to schools across the state, ensuring that, among other things, it does not prohibit references to LGBTQ+ persons, couples, families, or issues in literature or classroom discussions. 'CHOOSE WISELY' — “NAACP calls on Black student-athletes to boycott Florida public colleges over anti-DEI policy,” reports NBC News’ Daniel Arkin. “The head of the NAACP is calling on Black student-athletes to reconsider their decisions to attend public colleges and universities in Florida, challenging a new state policy that bars those institutions from using government funds on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. In a letter sent Monday to current and future student-athletes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NAACP leader Derrick Johnson implored college-bound Black athletes to ‘choose wisely.’” FOCUS ON FLORIDA — “How the UnitedHealth cyberattack is affecting Florida patients and hospitals,” by Gabriella Pinos of WUSF. “On Feb. 21, Change Healthcare, owned by insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, said it suffered a cyberattack. The company is an important part of the U.S. health care system, processing billions of transactions annually and matching up bills with insurance coverage. The attack has paralyzed health care payments, impacting hospitals and patients in Florida and the U.S. The American Hospital Association called it the most significant cyberattack against the country’s health care system in history.” SCOTUS APPEAL — “Florida rivals ask courts to stop online sports gambling off tribal lands,” by the Associated Press’ Mike Schneider. “A decision by the nation’s highest court would be of ‘massive importance’ for the future of online gaming across the U.S., since leaving in place an appellate ruling in the tribe’s favor would set a precedent for other end-runs around state prohibitions against gaming off tribal lands, said the firms, West Flagler Associates and Bonita-Fort Myers Corporation, which operate racetracks and poker rooms in Florida.” FREE SPEECH ASSESMENT — “What happened and what's to come: A First Amendment recap of Florida's legislative session,” reports Douglas Soule of USA Today Network - Florida. “A number of bills were passed in the session that ended Friday. They intersect — and maybe clash — with the values and five freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights: speech, religion, press, assembly and petitioning the government.” — “10 high-profile issues that died in Florida’s 2024 legislative session,” from gun laws to defamation changes, by News Service of Florida | | PENINSULA AND BEYOND | |
JULY 25 — “Fight between Disney and DeSantis appointees over district control gets a July court hearing,” reports the Associated Press’ Mike Schneider. “The court fight between Disney and DeSantis’ appointees over control of Walt Disney World’s government won’t be decided until at least this summer, provided the two sides don’t reach a settlement beforehand. A hearing over whether the state court case should move forward or be decided without the need for a full trial was set last week for July 25 in Orlando.”
SPEAKING OF DISNEY … “DeSantis recommends key adviser to replace Gilzean at Disney district,” reports Jeffrey Schweers of the Orlando Sentinel. “DeSantis’ administration on Monday recommended that Stephanie Kopelousos, a top adviser who most recently served on his campaign for president, replace Glen Gilzean as administrator of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that oversees Walt Disney World. The board, appointed entirely by DeSantis, still must approve it, but the governor’s office on Monday was already calling it a done deal.” BUDGET UNPACKED — “Tallahassee, capital region economy could get $200 million boost from state budget,” reports James Call of USA Today Network - Florida. “The $117 billion state budget Florida lawmakers approved Friday to end their annual session boosts the capital region with a major construction project and provides tens of millions of dollars for social services, health care and environmental protection programs. There’s $201 million in state spending for Senate District 3, which includes Tallahassee, Leon County and 12 rural, sparsely populated counties, taking in much of the Big Bend. A big chunk of that total includes $80 million to build a new headquarters for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and another $50 million for school construction, leaving the rest to go towards local projects.”
|  Reflection of sky is seen in the water with small grass islands in Everglades wetlands in Everglades National Park, Florida on September 30, 2021. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images | $740 MILLION IN BUDGET — “‘Bypass surgery for the Everglades’: Scientists detail latest on restoration efforts,” reports the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Abigail Hasebroock. “Beyond replenishing the parched swamplands, the project, which will store nearly 80-billion gallons of water, will provide marsh habitats for fish and birds, a trail for bikers and hikers and keep water levels low in Lake Okeechobee. Lower lake levels mean fewer discharges of polluted algae-laden lake water, which causes seagrass die-offs inside the Saint Lucie Inlet, in the Indian River Lagoon and near Sanibel Island on the west coast.” LOSING STEAM? — “Miami’s office market was red-hot. Now its tallest planned tower can’t fill its space,” by Deborah Acosta of the Wall Street Journal. “Rising interest rates and hybrid work have punished the U.S. office market. Miami for years weathered such headwinds better than most cities, thanks in part to a steady stream of corporate relocations and limited supply of office buildings. Now, Miami’s exceptionalism appears to be fading. Leasing activity in the Miami office market was down 25 percent last year from 2022, according to commercial real-estate services firm JLL. Sublease vacancy increased by 66 percent through the end of the year, a sign that existing tenants want to cut back on space.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | | | 
Nikki Fried visits the Versaille restaurant on August 22, 2022, in Miami. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | MARCH 24 — “State Democrats set date for final action on suspended county party chairs,” reports Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried set a date Monday for the party’s state committee to consider her suspensions of three Democratic county chairs. The Democratic State Central Committee will meet, virtually, on March 24. The date, which Fried set exactly one week after she suspended the county Democratic chairs in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Franklin counties, shows Fried doesn’t want uncertainty to linger over who will lead the county parties. It also gives the suspended county party leaders little time to try to convince members of the central committee that their suspensions are unwarranted.” STATUS UPDATE — The Associated Press updated its guidance on when President Joe Biden is widely expected to secure the Democratic nomination in part because Florida won't hold a Democratic primary on March 19. The AP updated its delegate count for Biden on Monday since Florida — and Delaware — canceled state Democratic primaries. Biden needs 1,968 delegates to clinch the nomination and is now 102 short of that after Florida and Delaware's delegates were awarded to him. Florida canceled its Democratic primary after the state party only submitted Biden's name as a candidate up for the nomination. The Republican primary is still scheduled for March 19. — David Kihara | | | | JOIN US ON 3/21 FOR A TALK ON FINANCIAL LITERACY: Americans from all communities should be able to save, build wealth, and escape generational poverty, but doing so requires financial literacy. How can government and industry ensure access to digital financial tools to help all Americans achieve this? Join POLITICO on March 21 as we explore how Congress, regulators, financial institutions and nonprofits are working to improve financial literacy education for all. REGISTER HERE. | | | | | | | DATELINE D.C. | |
MARCH 23 — Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, to meet with families of those killed in the 2018 mass shooting.
PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE — “Cherfilus-McCormick recounts horrors facing her own family members in Haiti, offers possible solutions to gang-fueled crisis,” reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Anthony Man. “Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick urged the creation of a multinational force to wrest control of Haiti from gangs and the creation of a transitional government, using funding but not troops from the U.S. The only Haitian American member of Congress, Cherfilus-McCormick also called on the embattled prime minister, Ariel Henry, to step down … [The situation] has forced many in Haiti to consider awful choices: attempting a perilous and uncertain exit from the country, via land to the Dominican Republic or via sea to the U.S. or elsewhere.” | | ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN | |
— “How Tampa’s Beer Can Island, a naked man’s paradise, came to be for sale,” by the Tampa Bay Times’ Paul Guzzo. “That’s one of the things I am going to miss the most,” Cole Weaver, one of four partners who own Pine Key, said of being naked on the island.
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