Culture wars 2.0, Ron DeSantis goes to Iowa, Careful growth or careless sprawl?

It’s Monday, March 6, and Florida’s annual 60-day legislative session starts tomorrow. The nation will be watching.

At least, that’s what Florida Republicans hope will happen. A stream of national reporters is arriving in Tallahassee to cover the opening day of the session and, particularly, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ state-of-the-state speech. We expect the House Press Gallery to be a crowded place on Tuesday.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

State speech, national audience: The annual speech is designed to be a summary of the issues facing the state, and what the governor plans to do about it. But this year, we don’t expect to hear much about the rising costs of housing, property insurance, utility rates or the teacher shortage. We haven’t heard much yet about the 1.75 million Floridians who will lose health insurance starting this month or the predictions of another summer of toxic algae blooms. But we do expect the governor to provide an updated highlights reel of the issues he has been talking about for months, with his eye on a national GOP audience.

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Culture war agenda: The Legislature’s agenda for the session is intended to give DeSantis months of headlines for him to declare that Florida will be a model for the nation. Passing bills aimed at a culture-heavy agenda is one of the final boxes in the checklist of things to do before his anticipated 2024 presidential run.

The themes include: Ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs as well as gender studies at state universities and colleges; expand school vouchers; allow tenure reviews of faculty members; extend the classroom ban on discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity to eighth grade; ban treatment for transgender minors; use state resources to relocate illegal migrants; weaken laws protecting journalists from lawsuits; allow a death sentence without a unanimous jury; allow people to carry concealed guns without a permit or training.

Book launched, tour begun: Last week, DeSantis checked the “launch a book tour” box. With the release of his book, “The Courage to Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint for America’s Revival,” the governor began a multi-city tour across the state and nation. Over the weekend, he was the headliner at two Republican fundraisers in Texas on Saturday and a book event and fundraiser in California on Sunday, where the event drew protesters.

The governor heads to Brandon on Wednesday, Alabama on Thursday and makes his first foray into GOP primary states with visits to Des Moines and Davenport, Iowa, on Friday.

Inching toward Iowa: DeSantis is the last of the top-tier presidential prospects who have yet to visit Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina to court GOP voters in the states hosting the opening presidential primary contests. The governor will appear alongside GOP Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at two events on March 10 and he is reportedly also planning trips to Nevada and New Hampshire.

Selective recounting: DeSantis used his second book to describe what he thinks it takes to govern America in an era of grievance politics and partisan polarization. But what the Florida governor omits from his 256-page political biography is often as interesting as what he includes. There is a bit of new information for his origin story but, as with most mini-memoirs, the book is also a selective recounting of his experience, absent much of the context, (with no index or citations for his many claims.)

Keeping his distance: Reviews have been mixed but sales have been good, as the book rocketed to No. 1 on Amazon’s charts. The governor has kept a distance from reporters, banning them Sunday from a GOP event normally open to the media, the Washington Post reported. The Times of London, which is owned by Fox News Network’s Rupert Murdoch, however, was granted rare access to the governor for a profile. But, noted Times U.S. editor David Charter, when DeSantis was asked how his policy on the war in Ukraine differed from President Joe Biden’s, he attacked Biden but didn’t answer the question. Charter persisted and then DeSantis “showed a flash of temper,” telling him: “Perhaps you should cover some other ground? I think I’ve said enough.”

Setting stage to control water, growth: As Florida’s Legislature plans to tee up a host of culture war issues that DeSantis can use as his “blueprint” for America’s future, another list of proposals is getting less attention but is being quietly cheered by powerful industries. Dozens of local government preemption bills have been introduced to stifle municipal authority over water quality and quantity, restrict citizen opposition to development plans, give businesses new avenues to sue, and repeal long-standing environmental rules. Many are on the fast-track. Opponents predict a “session of sprawl.”

No push for open carry of guns: One of the first orders of business this week is the expected passage of legislation allowing people to carry concealed guns in public without a permit or training. At the urging of law enforcement, lawmakers have resisted a push from gun rights activists who want the state to go further and allow people to openly carry guns, and when the Florida director of Gun Owners of America, Luis Valdes, asked the governor if he supported open carry at a book-signing in Jacksonville on Thursday, the governor responded:“Yeah, absolutely,” according to the recording by Valdes. “I don’t think they’re going to do it, but I would absolutely.”

Will this follow the pattern that’s occurred throughout the governor’s term? DeSantis voices support for a position popular with voters on the right. The Legislature waters it down. The governor declares victory.

More death sentences: Acting on a proposal from DeSantis, Florida lawmakers filed legislation last week to allow the death penalty for adults who sexually abuse children younger than 12. The bills are the latest in a series of measures that would put Florida at odds with U.S. Supreme Court precedent and continue the effort to allow the conservative court majority to overturn prior rulings.

Disney district’s new board: Declaring “there’s a new sheriff in town,” DeSantis last week signed the bill that would allow his appointments to control the board of the Reedy Creek Improvement District instead of Walt Disney Co. The appointees are all close allies of the governor whose background allows him to claim they will have a role in shaping the ideological future of Disney’s multibillion dollar message.

Not what you think: But last month, the New York Times picked up on a fact that has been lost on many — that the board oversees infrastructure and maintenance over a nearly completely built-out parcel of land, the board can’t touch the $1 billion in bond debt, and future growth is locked by a comprehensive plan that has already been approved. So how much that leaves Florida’s governor in terms of ideological leverage is still a question.

New College cuts diversity programs: New College of Florida leaders have done what they promised to do: eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the Sarasota honors college. The school’s new president, Richard Corcoran, and its board of trustees banned mandatory diversity training and ended “political coercion” in the form of diversity statements. They also prohibited “identity-based preferences” in admissions, hiring and promotions.

School boards speak up: Some of the school board members targeted for ouster by DeSantis are starting to speak out. They are talking about the unprecedented level of micromanagement coming from the state Department of Education and warn that as Floridians worry about school issues like high-quality teachers in classrooms and keeping schools safe from guns and drugs, state officials are focused on politics.

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

Trump-loving conservatives convene: Meanwhile, the 2024 GOP primary heated up last week with the Trump v. DeSantis rivalry revealing an increasingly divided party. The annual Conservative Political Action Conference convened near the nation’s capital with 2024 candidates Mike Pompeo, Nikki Haley and former President Donald Trump among those to address the crowd. DeSantis was a notable no-show. In a Saturday speech, Trump depicted the GOP primary as a fight between populist conservatives like himself and the self-interested Republican establishment.

Rick Scott remains defiant: But Trump wasn’t the only one who criticized the party establishment at the CPAC event. In a defiant speech to an audience of rank-and-file conservatives, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott defended his failed attempt last year to unseat Mitch McConnell as the U.S. Senate GOP leader, arguing that McConnell and other longtime Republicans in Washington too often “caved” to Democrats.

Suarez is coy about ambitions: Republican Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Friday that he was still considering a run for president but indicated that time was running out for him to make a final decision. “As you know, the due diligence related to that is extensive, and it’s obviously a big decision,” he told us, after a speech at CPAC “So I’m going to continue to go through the process, and when I’m ready, I’ll make the decision.”

Messy blame: DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott last week used the death of a 9-year-old girl, a journalist, and a 38-year-old woman to criticize what they are calling “woke” prosecutors for not doing more to hold the suspect accountable in previous cases.

Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Democrat, charged Keith Moses with two misdemeanor marijuana-related charges. But those charges were dropped when the Florida Department of Law Enforcement — which reports to DeSantis — was unable to determine whether the substance was marijuana or hemp, records show.

Levine Cava launches re-election: Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava launched her 2024 reelection campaign last week, formally starting an already well-funded bid to keep Florida’s most populous county under Democratic leadership after DeSantis flipped it red in last year’s gubernatorial race. But can she withstand a challenge from a DeSantis-backed candidate, such as Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez? Here’s a list of possible challengers.

Lessons from Miami’s city election? The District 2 special election for Miami city commissioner was a sprint that drew 13 candidates, sparked more than $1 million in fundraising and, in the end, voters chose Sabina Covo. She’s a former Spanish-language television journalist, a former spokeswoman for former Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, and a Democrat. She is also a Colombian-American and the first woman to be elected in District 2 since the city created single-member districts more than 20 years ago. Here are our takeaways.

Everglades project begins, questions persist: The massive $4 billion restoration project for the Everglades Agricultural Area reservoir finally got underway last month with the ceremonial flinging of shovelfuls of dirt and celebration from federal agencies, state water managers and many environmental groups. It’s a rare undertaking with bipartisan support. But the reservoir also ranks among the most controversial and politically fraught projects in more than two decades of Everglades restoration efforts. And there are still questions whether it can restore the flow of clean water to the southern Everglades. We break it down with this subscriber exclusive.

The insurance solution ignored: In 2006, a potential solution emerged for fixing Florida’s persistent property insurance mess. There was wide expert agreement it could work. But no elected official would touch it. Why? It has to do with profit, and salaries.

Lobbying ban halted: Remember that newly enacted ban on paid lobbying by elected officials that resulted in state agency heads quitting and some local officials resigning so they could lobby before the law took effect? A federal judge struck it down last week, ruling the amendment to the state Constitution was too broad and poorly defined to comply with federal protections for free speech. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom sided with a Miami-Dade County commissioner and a local mayor and issued an injunction that temporarily suspends enforcement of a portion of the amendment Florida voters approved in 2018.

Gelber warning on casinos: Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber last week asked the federal government to reject a proposed rule that he fears could make it easier for Indian tribes to buy land in his city and turn it into a resort casino, leapfrogging over the local opposition that has traditionally been the bulwark against gaming expansion in his town. Supporters of the rule say the U.S. Department of the Interior is just streamlining existing rulings and the rule won’t change the city’s ability to reject casinos.

‘Woke Wars’ podcast coming soon: DeSantis has proclaimed that “Florida is where woke goes to die.” But why is fighting ‘woke’ such a powerful political tool in Florida? Check out Woke Wars, a new opinion podcast by the Miami Herald Editorial Board. The deep dive into the culture wars happening in Florida and across the nation will tackle issues from Florida’s 2023 legislative session, including immigration policy, LGBTQ+ issues and the reshaping of our public education system. Listen to the first episode premiering Thursday, March 9, on your favorite audio streaming platform. Subscribe to the Miami Herald opinion newsletter for more information.

Thank you for reading! The Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State newsletter was curated this week by Tallahassee Bureau Chief Mary Ellen Klas. We appreciate our readers, and if you have any ideas or suggestions, please drop me a note at meklas@miamiherald.com.

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