Speaker Perez keeps cards close, but stresses collaboration
BY JESSE SCHECKNER
In a period marked by legislative assertiveness and inter-branch disagreements, House Speaker Daniel Perez is emphasizing a collaborative approach to governance, urging lawmakers to focus on policy issues that improve lives.
Perez doesn’t have — or is keeping mum about — his personal list of goals for the 2025 Session. He’s not a fan of “Speaker priorities,” he said, as they create unnecessary divisions between leadership and members.
Instead, he’s challenging members to “dig deeper, think bigger, and fight harder” to address the diverse challenges Floridians face.
He wants policies that advance Florida as “the best place in the country to live, to work, to go to school and to raise a family.” He wants to improve the impact of every tax dollar by prioritizing good public policy ideas and removing barriers that keep Floridians from realizing their potential.
After all, he said, that’s what residents and small businesses want. They want a government that keeps the roads paved, manages its financial books cleanly and efficiently, and promotes freedom of choice while ensuring they’re not priced out of the American dream.
What government can’t do, he
said, is solve society’s problems.
“But we can build the metaphorical bridges and ladders that help hardworking Floridians move forward (and) focus relentlessly on the issue of value,” he said. “When government chooses to engage on a problem, are we delivering real results to the people of our state? When we dedicate money to a program, are we ensuring the highest and best use of public funds? The taxpayers deserve a government that works and that works for them.”
Perez and his upper-chamber counterpart, Senate President Ben Albritton, are heading
into the regular Session with most of the debris from the dustup between them and Gov. Ron DeSantis over immigration policy — and the Legislature’s role in dictating it — settled.
In mid-January, after hinting at doing so for months, DeSantis called for a Special Session to enact stricter immigration law. Perez and Albritton opted instead to convene their own Session, resulting in a package called the TRUMP Act that the Legislature passed but the Governor sharply criticized.
Barbs flew back and forth. DeSantis called the legislation “weak” and full of “half-measures.” Perez
“But we can build the metaphorical bridges and ladders that help hardworking Floridians move forward (and) focus relentlessly on the issue of value.”
– DANIEL PEREZ
argued the Governor’s true problem was that the changes assigned key enforcement responsibilities to the Agriculture Commissioner, depriving DeSantis of opportunities to spend millions more in tax dollars on high-profile stunts like the 2022 migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard.
As Senate Democrats enter Session under new Leader Jason Pizzo, expect a back-to-basics focus
BY JESSE SCHECKNER
Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo isn’t looking to reinvent the wheel this Session. But he’d like a dependable vehicle.
The good news is, he has a plan. It’s simple, smart and actionable. And perhaps most im-
portant, it uses his party’s comparative weakness to highlight what he considers a contradiction between the Florida GOP’s underdog messaging and its decades-long dominance in Tallahassee.
“I keep hearing, ‘Fight, fight, fight.’ This party has been in power for 30 years. What the hell are you fighting?” he said.
“My colleagues on the other side of the aisle keep going for socially divisive, low-hangingfruit issues to high-five about. Meanwhile, my insurance has gone up. My neighborhood’s struggling. We need to get back to basics — lunch money, roofs
The two sides patched things up with a third Special Session in February that created an enforcement and oversight model that more evenly distributed authority between DeSantis, the Cabinet and the Legislature.
Perez rejected the notion of a deep rift with the Governor.
“I sincerely believe Gov. Ron DeSantis respects the Constitution and the American system of government,” he said. “We have three branches. We each have our role to play in governing, and we each have our own opinions. The Governor and the Legislature share the same conservative values. If we disagree, it’s more often disagreement about means, not ends. In those rare instances, we will work it out just as we did over the last month.”
Perez also described his re-
Speaker Daniel Perez applauds during organizational session at the Capitol in Tallahassee. Colin Hackley Photo
BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON
What is new Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier going to ask the Legislature during his first Session since replacing now U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody?
“Be nice to me,” Uthmeier recently told Florida Politics.
Uthmeier is stepping into a new office and launching a campaign to keep it after 2026, so he wants to get a feel for the job while continuing the mission established by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Moody.
“I’m not going to make any big asks right away. I’m going to get in and learn the lay of the land of our office,” he said. “The Legislature has been great to the office of the Attorney General in the past in delivering priorities and ensuring we have the staff we need to be successful. I don’t see anything glaring right out of the gate.”
As DeSantis’ Chief of Staff, Uthmeier worked closely with Moody’s office on their shared agenda.
“I was infinitely involved in the data privacy bill and some of the efforts to protect children from human trafficking — the social media bill — there have been many things that went through my office,” he said. “I’m fully aware of the tools we gave the Attorney General to go out and protect the public.”
One of his first actions after taking office was to sue Target over losses to the state’s pension fund after the consumer backlash over its marketing to LGBTQ customers. Uthmeier made it clear there will be other targets.
“You need to be in the business of doing business and making money, bringing in profit to then distribute to shareholders,” he said. “Being involved in politics and going after our children, trying to indoctrinate our kids, these are things that don’t necessarily make money and are not in the best interest of shareholders.”
Florida can expect similar lawsuits under his watch.
“We’re going to start looking at other companies that have a fiduciary duty, and if we believe somebody is not in the business of doing business and instead is pursuing some other radical political agenda, we will likely take action,” he said.
Uthmeier recognizes the state has been involved in numerous lawsuits defending DeSantis’ agenda and said he will continue using state resources defending administration policies.
New AG Uthmeier: ‘Ready to put legal hat back on’
“We’re going to do everything we can in a frugal way to stand by our duly enacted laws. We have a very successful win rate upon appeal, and most of the laws we’ve enacted have prevailed,” he said.
“We certainly believe in pushing the envelope when it comes to doing the right thing.”
Uthmeier said he also plans to be hands on with his office’s caseload. He reminds people that he got his start in courtrooms before moving on to public policy, government management and politics.
“I’m very excited to put the legal
hat back on and I look forward to getting into the courtroom a little bit in this new capacity and fighting alongside our team,” he said.
One thing you shouldn’t expect is Uthmeier taking sides in the political rivalry between DeSantis and President Donald Trump – one that’s sure to play a role in Florida’s Governor and Cabinet races next year.
“I’ve worked for both,” he said. “I’ve had the pleasure of supporting both and I’m excited about what both have done for our country.”
Above: After his swearing-in, James Uthmeier speaks to a crowd in the Historic Capitol. Below: Uthmeier and his family are welcomed to the Capitol Complex by the Univ. of Florida Marching Band.
Photo by The Workmans
A Q&A with Jeff Brandes:
State must rethink policy, not just throw money at problems
BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON
It’s the 2025 Florida Legislative Session. The House and Senate will spend 60 days debating, fighting and hopefully agreeing on the policies they think will make Florida great. Great again? No, just great. Florida is pretty good, but it has problems. Traffic is a mess, housing prices make some areas difficult to find the employment base needed to meet critical needs (police, education, health care, etc.), our prison system needs an overhaul and insurance in some parts of the state makes owning a home difficult, at best, and impossible, at worst.
So are we going to solve this all in 60-days? No.
But the Florida Policy Project is thinking long term and encouraging elected officials to do the same. Here we talk with founder and former Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes . Brandes was a
look for the solutions and where do you find them? It’s incredibly frustrating to a young lawmaker because, oftentimes, leadership doesn’t provide enough direction.
Of the issues the Florida Policy Project is championing, what will we see this Session?
Most of the time the solution that the Legislature pushes is financial. The general policy is, throw money at the problem. Unfortunately, most of these issues are not money solutions, they’re actually policy solutions. There has to be policy solutions that go along with the money, but we haven’t made those policy changes. When we finally made significant policy changes in insurance, we began to see the fruits of those results. But we have done virtually nothing of scale in housing, prisons and really even transportation, other than putting more money towards it.
“You have huge challenges for states like Florida and very few places to go to find the public policy solutions...”
rare politician who wouldn’t toe the party line if it didn’t make sense, and instead of becoming a lobbyist after he termed out, he is investing time and resources into four areas not getting nearly enough attention from the Legislature: affordable housing, transportation, criminal justice and insurance.
The following is a Q&A with Brandes about why he keeps pushing policy now that he’s no longer in the Senate, and how Florida can improve government efficiency and make the state better for people of any political party.
Brandes spoke with former Associated Press reporter Brendan Farrington about these goals. Here’s how it went:
Why do you think lawmakers have a problem thinking long term?
The first few years you’re in the Legislature, you’re just learning the problems. You don’t understand the depth of the problems. No one walks in and understands the challenges of the prison system or has virtually any understanding of how the Florida property insurance system works. They may have bought or sold a house in the past, but most of them don’t understand the challenges and complexities of zoning laws or why the housing issues are a challenge. It takes you years to get an understanding of the underlying problem, and then the question is, where do you even
we have no options.
Does FPP hope to make a difference this Session, or is it waiting for those windows to open?
There are some windows that are opening. In housing, we’re seeing windows opening. In corrections, you really need a champion to rise up. For us, part of what we try to do is develop those champions, identify and reinforce those champions with our best thinking.
Will some of these goals happen under Gov. Ron DeSantis?
You’re going to have to have a transition in Governor before you see major changes in most of these issues. You have to have a reservoir of ideas; you have to have a reservoir of solutions that actually work. These topics are so varied and so massive, it’s going to take years for us to develop all of these ideas … So for us, the key is, how do we keep relevant in each one of
these topics and how do we keep our best thinking at the top?
Can you still make a difference now that you’re out of office?
It’s never a cold conversation. Oftentimes we’re fighting the same battle over and over again, so the ability to walk in and understand where the Legislature historically has been and having that context for the conversation is very helpful. And it’s not just in the policy, sometimes it’s in the practice of how to get it done.
Is the state government simply spending money inefficiently to maintain what it’s been doing year after year and not thinking about the future?
Money is required always, but are we spending it on the right things, are we spending it in the right places? This to me is the underlying question that is not being addressed in Tallahassee … Do we need to rethink housing holistically in the state to put more units on line? On the prison systems, throwing money into rehab of 100-yearold, inefficient, outdated prisons may not be the best use of the resources. We may actually need to build new prisons in new locations, but nobody is having that conversation. You have huge challenges for states like Florida and very few places to go to find the public policy solutions. Oftentimes Legislators aren’t even asking the question.
How do you get Legislators to think long term when they immediately have to run for reelection?
That’s the question of when is the window open for these ideas to enter? And what we’ve found, historically, (is) the Legislature manages from crisis to crisis … There’s a great Milton Friedman quote that the government will do the right thing after it has exhausted all other options. Unfortunately, we consistently are putting ourselves in a place where
Sen. Jeff Brandes gives his farewell remarks during a Senate Session. Colin Hackley Photo
LAWMAKERS TO WATCH this Session ... and next
BY JACOB OGLES AND JESSE SCHECKNER
Session marks the arrival of 160 lawmakers who all fought to have a voice in The Process.
A select few ever leave Tallahassee with portraits hanging in the chamber, but a host of them will shape the tone of this year’s proceedings, driving the conversation around policies that are sometimes controversial, sometimes not, but often far-reaching.
While the next 60 days will surely include unexpected twists and turns, these are the legislators not already in top-ranking leadership roles — the spotlight will be on them by default — who the political class should keep an eye on between now and Sine Die.
SENATE
Jim Boyd
The Majority Leader stands next in line to lead the Senate when Ben Albritton’s time sunsets. He’s also the chamber expert on insurance policy, an issue voters hammered lawmakers about for most of the last two years. An insurance agent in his non-lawmaker life, the Bradenton Republican’s policies in the past sometimes drew fire for favoring providers while focusing too much on limiting litigation. But with Senate leadership promising accountability for carrier bad behavior, it will be curious to see Boyd’s role in any conversation.
Randy Fine
As all but a shoo-in for Congress, Fine has one foot out the door. But don’t expect a quiet exit. As he did in Sessions past, this Brevard County Republican is again carrying some incendiary bills. One would allow firearms on college campuses. Another would prohibit governments from flying flags with a “political viewpoint.” And he’s sure to raise the temperature in any room where a debate over an issue he’s passionate about is happening. But what makes Fine a vital player this Session is how he’ll navigate a chamber newly unafraid to defy the Governor, a man he was openly criticizing before it was cool for a Florida Republican to do so.
Don Gaetz
One of the great lions of the Florida Senate is roaring back into Tallahassee. The most experienced “freshman” in the upper chamber already has filed legislation to beef up regulatory powers over utilities, one of the most powerful lobbies in Tallahassee that could be embarrassed by a transparency requirement on compensation. The Panhandle leader has also already filed legislation on affordable housing, worker protections and insurance rates, showing every intention of reminding the Capitol he’s more than Matt Gaetz’s dad.
Ileana Garcia
Reading Garcia’s bill list is like perusing a cruise ship buffet. There are the classics, like her measure to redesignate Florida’s state bird, and generally pleasing proposals like her bill to improve boating safety. But there are some niche dishes too. Take SB 56, which would ban weather modification and require the state to investigate every complaint of strange-looking clouds or sightings of condensation streaks that planes sometimes leave behind. Suffice it to say that the Miami Republican has something for everyone.
Joe Gruters
During the Special Session war between Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature, it was Gruters who led the counter-offensive — largely because no one else boasts the same Donald Trump bona fides to carry the TRUMP Act. Now the Sarasota Republican heads into his final legislative term already filed to run for Chief Financial Officer and planning to challenge whomever DeSantis names to the post. Since sponsoring a sanctuary cities ban in his first Senate Session, Gruters has always championed high-profile legislation. Expect the Fiscal Policy Chair to continue spearheading hot proposals.
Shevrin Jones
The immediate past Chair of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, Jones joined his Senate Democratic colleagues two years ago in unanimously voting for Jason Pizzo to lead them in the current term. In doing so, the Miami Gardens resident and LGBTQ trailblazer may also have in-
Sen. Jim Boyd speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO
advertently voted to give a 2026 gubernatorial Primary opponent a bigger stage to stand on. Neither Jones nor Pizzo have formally announced, but both are openly mulling runs. So it’ll be interesting to see how Jones navigates this Session.
Carlos Guillermo Smith
The Orlando Democrat stood out for years as the Florida House’s most outspoken progressive avatar — until his unceremonious ouster from office in the 2022 elections. But the upset lawmaker didn’t stay mad; he got even. Smith muscled his way to the upper chamber, winning a Florida Senate seat (one previously held by moderate Chamber Democrat Linda Stewart) without facing opposition in the Democrat Primary or General Election. He’s part of a super-minority for the first time, but is as galvanized as ever to challenge every conservative policy that lands on the floor.
Jay Collins, Blaise Ingoglia and Jonathan Martin
Yes, each of these Senators boasts their own skills and expertise. But the Special Session highlighted how these three DeSantis loyalists may act as a bloc to tackle leadership whenever Albritton’s priorities run counter to the Governor’s. While Speaker Daniel Perez has the ability to browbeat a veto-proof majority, these three ensured no such path
Key Dates
March 11: Florida Space Day at the Capitol. Sponsored by FloridaCommerce, Florida Space Day aims to educate and raise awareness for the economic significance of Florida’s aerospace industry.
March 19: FSU Day at the Capitol.
April 3: House Ceremonial Resolutions must be submitted to the Rules & Ethics Committee for approval by 5 p.m.
April 8: UCF Day at the Capitol.
April 9: FAMU Day at the Capitol.
April 15: Children’s Week Florida begins. Events include an Advocacy Awards Dinner, the Celebration of the Hands, Children’s Day at the Capitol, Storybook Village and Teen
Day at the Capitol.
existed in the Senate — at least not on conservative bills the Democrats oppose. Ingoglia demands special attention as the Spring Hill Republican jockeys to replace Jimmy Patronis in April as CFO.
HOUSE
Anna Eskamani
The Orlando Democrat has long been her caucus’ sharpest questioner in floor debates while maintaining cordial relationships across the aisle. Beyond her self-shaped role as the blue angel on the Legislature’s shoulder trying to sway it from red devil temptation, she also will juggle her future this Session as she tries to set herself up as the favorite in an upcoming Orlando mayoral race. It will be an interesting moment of evolution as she tries to show herself as an influential lawmaker capable of tallying wins in a difficult environment and proving she has what it takes to be a strong Mayor.
Ashley Gantt
Gantt fared decently for a freshman Democrat in the 2023-24 term, notching a rare claims bill passage and delivering a win for mothers who previously had limited options to nurse their newborns in courthouses. But it was the Miami lawyer’s incisive queries during hearings on GOP-backed bills and call-it-like-it-is approach to dis-
course that earned her broader attention from those tuned into The Process. Voters evidently like the job she’s doing; they overwhelmingly picked her over two former lawmakers in August. Republicans didn’t bother running anyone against her in the General.
Richard Gentry
As a one-time Florida Public Counsel, Gentry already knows The Process inside and out, so he’s not the typical freshman lawmaker. The Astor Republican arrives in the Capitol as a master negotiator with quick Southern humor. Well-connected in the lobby corps, GOP Primary opponents tried to paint him as a swamp creature when he ran for the House, but to no avail. Now, his LinkedIn network makes Gentry one of the most experienced legislators in his class.
Christine Hunschofsky
As Republicans continue an effort to repeal parts of the gun control bill state lawmakers approved after the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, expect Hunschofsky to continue being one of the strongest voices opposing them. Few issues hit as close to home for the Minority Leader Pro Tempore, who was Mayor of Parkland when the massacre occurred seven years ago. And she’s tried, hoping against hope, year after year, to
April 16: Gator Day at the Capitol.
April 17: The 45th Day Rule, which requires committee or subcommittee meetings to issue notice by 5 p.m. the day before meeting, goes into effect.
April 18: After Day 45, the Chair or Vice-Chair of the House Rules Committee, by majority vote, may motion to move to communications, messages from the Senate, bills and joint resolutions on Third Reading, or Special Orders.
April 19: Unless otherwise directed by the Speaker, during the last 14 days of a Regular Session, all measures acted on by the House shall be transmitted to the Senate without delay.
April 19: All Senate bills are immediately certified and motions to reconsider bills may be made and considered on the same day.
April 22: The 50th Day rule, which marks the end of regularly scheduled Senate committee meetings, goes into effect.
April 27: The 55th Day Rule, which requires the House Special Order Calendar to be published in one Calendar of the House and allows it to be taken up on the day of publication, goes into effect.
May 1: After the 58th Day of Session, the House may only consider returning messages, conference reports, and concurrent resolutions.
May 2: The 2025 Legislative Session adjourns … maybe.
strengthen firearm safety measures. She’s also been quite successful on other fronts, passing measures to harden condos against storms, make home sales more transparent and improve student safety.
Vicki Lopez
Arguably the hardest-working lawmaker in the chamber, Lopez dove into complex, high-stakes issues like condo safety and housing during her freshman term, delivering major and overdue changes. Few seem to have as sound an understanding of The Process, and
it shows in her clearance rate; last year, she passed 75% of the bills she filed. The Miami Republican is trusted by leadership, respected by her peers on both sides of the aisle and is unafraid to split from her party on issues she believes in. And as the incoming Chair of the State Administrative Budget Subcommittee, her influence is growing.
Randy Maggard
The House Whip and Deputy Majority Leader immediately engaged with House membership and earned points early for playing it
straight and fair. In the midst of the debate over funding veto overrides, he has straddled the line between holding a fiscal conservative line and helping leadership re-exert the Legislature as a co-equal branch of government to the Executive. Already, he showed prowess in the Special Session, whipping a veto-proof majority on a DeSantis-snubbing bill while members fielded calls from home from angry party activists.
Fiona McFarland
Even before Session began, the affable Sarasota Republican attract-
ed the attention of 100 lobbyists with one sovereign immunity bill that produced agita for local governments across the state. But McFarland has developed a reputation for boiling complicated issues down to simple arguments — check out her work on digital privacy and social media restrictions that similarly attracted opposition but eventually passed with bipartisan support. She also has plans to remake Florida’s formula for calculating child welfare funding distributions and planning Florida roadways. She feels most at home at the center of complex policy arguments. Expect her to find her way there again.
Toby Overdorf
If he was a baseball player instead of a lawmaker, this Palm City Republican would be near the top of the batting lineup. He’s a dependable hitter, passing bills last Session to crack down on tech-assisted stalking, colorful vapes that appeal to kids and extend measures to fight human trafficking. But it’s his proposed repeal of Florida’s ban on bump-fire stocks, which turn semiautomatic rifles into machine gunlike weapons, that is likely to draw the most eyes of any bill he’s carrying this Session. Overdorf says the ban is unconstitutional, an opinion he shares with the U.S. Supreme Court. Don’t expect talks of the issue to be quiet, though.
Jenna Persons-Mulicka
The Fort Myers Republican doesn’t draw attention like some of her headline-loving colleagues, but there’s a quiet competence that makes her a go-to member for solving hard problems. That’s how she carried a six-week abortion ban
through the moderate wing of the party and to the Governor’s desk. This Session, the Speaker has already handed the dicey ballot initiative issues to Persons-Mulicka. On top of that, she chairs the second-largest budget silo, PreK-12, so she has control of those sweet education dollars every member wants to bring home.
Juan Porras
During the Special Session kerfuffle over immigration enforcement, this big Trump supporter proved he is unafraid to punch the biggest bully in the Florida schoolyard. Shortly before lawmakers passed the since-replaced TRUMP Act instead of the Governor’s preferred bills, Porras popped DeSantis and his online troll army with a good one. DeSantis is a “lame-duck governor grasping for political relevancy after losing his presidential primary,” he said, adding that the Governor’s web-based supporters were mostly “paid-for bot accounts.” Porras had trouble standing out in his first term, but his willingness to jump into the fray has many appreciating his scrappiness.
Michelle Salzman
Now in her third term, the Escambia County Republican is spreading her wings further with eye-catching measures to reduce the minimum age for firearm purchases and disable encryption features on social media for minors so parents can view their messages. She’s also re-filed a bill to standardize term limits for county-level offices. In the leadup to Session, she managed a combined workgroup tasked with reconsidering water project vetoes.
Continued on page 6
Rep. Ashley Gantt during a Civil Justice Subcommittee meeting. COLIN HACKLEY PHOTO
lationship with the Governor in personal terms, adding, “I have great respect for the Governor. I consider him a friend, and I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to work with him to make Florida a better state.”
Perez’s approach to leadership has remained consistent with the principles that have defined his rise in Florida politics. First elected to the House in 2017, he quickly built a reputation as a powerhouse fundraiser and advocate for modernizing the legislative process.
Fleming Island Rep. Sam Garrison, a fellow Republican who is on track to succeed Perez as Speaker for the 2026-28 term, called Perez “the single most talented politician I have ever seen in my life.”
“Danny got here the hard way,” he said. “He wasn’t tapped by anybody. From his first Primary as a redshirt all the way to (his designation as the next House Speaker in September 2023), no one in the history of this House who is on these walls has had to work harder.”
Perez wasted little time after officially stepping into the role of Speaker to begin implementing changes aimed at making his chamber more agile, including a redesign of the House website, upgrades to online bill formatting and rules adjustments for members meant to allow them to be more proactive in their work.
“Institutions have to adapt or they grow stale and fade,” he said. “My job as Speaker is to give House members all the tools
they need to effectively represent their constituents.”
Lakeland Republican Rep. Jennifer Canady, who won a race to be Speaker for the 2028-30 term last year, called Perez “the ultimate member’s member” and “a leader perfectly equipped for this moment in time.”
Perez’s leadership has also been defined by a strong working relationship with Albritton, whom he speaks and coordinates with frequently. During the recent immigration debate, the two maintained a united front.
“President Albritton and I are friends and partners, and we speak often,” he said.
Some observers have described the Legislature’s recent actions as a shift in power dynamics. But Perez sees it as part of the natural ebb and flow of governance.
“The beauty of term limits is that our legislative process is constantly adapting and rebooting itself to meet the moment,” he said. “Every two years, we have members leave the Legislature and new members join. We have a new Speaker and a new Senate President. Every two years, there’s a (so-called) ‘new day in the Legislature,’ and every term has its own unique characteristics.”
As for what’s next for Perez after the 2025-26 term ends and he reaches his own term limits in the House, he’s keeping predictably mum about next steps.
“I am focused on being Speaker, serving the members of the Florida House, my constituents, and the State of Florida,” he said. “I don’t have any current plans to run for office in the future.”
Continued from page 1 - Leader Pizzo
over our heads, car payments. I want my kids to have it better than I do, and I can do that without thinking my next-door neighbor is taking their spot.”
Pizzo’s Democratic Senate peers unanimously elected him in February 2023 to lead them through the 2025-26 term. It was already an advantageous position for the New Jersey-to-South Florida transplant, who is mulling a Governor’s run next year, before Senate President Ben Albritton and House Speaker Daniel Perez served Gov. Ron DeSantis a heavy helping of humble pie last month in the form of a Special Session switcheroo.
If any ranking Democrat can capitalize on the situation, even after tempers between DeSantis, Albritton and Perez subside, it’s an eloquent, straight-shooting, takeno-shit centrist whose years of prosecuting homicides injected ice into his veins, said Mercury Managing Director Eric Johnson, who worked on Pizzo’s 2022 campaign.
“Jason is pretty unique. He can keep true to Democratic values and fight for a lot of the priorities Democratic voters care about, but he forms relationships across the aisle, speaks the way people actually want politicians to speak — it’s never poll-tested or canned — and Republicans in Tallahassee seem to have a lot of respect for him,” he said.
“It’s not the greatest position to be in the minority, with few ways to influence The Process. The only path is building relationships,
which requires a good understanding of where the other side is coming from, and figuring out those laser-like places where you can get something through. But that’s also what he’s really good at.”
So what’s in the Pizzo Playbook for the coming Session and beyond? At least three endlessly usable plays. (Note: Pizzo did not refer to these as plays, nor did he use as corny a title as “Pizzo’s Playbook”; that’s all on us.)
First, don’t take the GOP’s culture war bait. Anything that
That leads to No. 2: Get more efficient, direct and effective at messaging.
“We suck at messaging,” he said. “The last time we had a Democrat elected Governor was in 1994, my senior year of high school. And immediately after that, we held an advantage of several hundred thousand more registered voters, but we never again won the Governor’s race.
“We turn that around by doing the right thing and then letting people find out who we are afterward.”
Continued from page 5 - Lawmakers
And as Chair of the Housing, Agriculture and Tourism Subcommittee, she’ll be instrumental in guiding important policy considerations on issues that affect millions of Floridians and billions of dollars.
Leonard Spencer
The Gotha Democrat’s November upset of Rep. Carolina Amesty was the only pickup for Democrats in the Legislature. But after former Democrats Hillary Cassel and Susan Valdés flipped, Spencer now finds himself the only House Democrat representing a district Trump won. How does the freshman representing maybe Florida’s last piece of purple territory navigate a Republican-dominated chamber? He seems focused on home insurance, a bread-andbutter issue. It will be curious to see what progress he can make his first Session
Hillary Cassel, Susan Valdés Taking the old epigram “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” to heart, Valdés of Tampa jumped ship in
December, ditching an already outgunned Democratic super-minority for more advantageous GOP shores. Cassel did the same later that month, citing Democrats’ comparative lack of support for Israel following the Oct. 7 attacks. How will the two interact with their former caucus? How will their current one promote them? It bears watching to find out. Wyman Duggan, Lawrence McClure, Josie Tomkow, James Buchanan, Tyler Sirois, Will Robinson, Chuck Brannan, Sam Garrison and Jennifer Canady Perez’s leadership team has been front-and-center and more actively engaged than any roster in recent memory. While representing a diversity in geography and special interests, these lawmakers already demonstrated themselves as collaborative and drama-free. This may be the first time the term “team” genuinely applies to the band of Representatives working closest with the Speaker’s office. Two future Speakers here — Garrison and Canady — will surely use this Session to signal a tone for the future.
Return of the ‘eyeball wars’:
Optometrists seek more autonomy in Florida
BY JANELLE IRWIN TAYLOR
The “eyeball wars” between ophthalmologists and optometrists will flare up again this year after Rep. Alex Rizo filed new legislation (HB 449).
Opposed by ophthalmologists, the measure again seeks to allow optometrists in advertisements to call themselves a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) or an “optometric physician,” despite significant differences in medical training and education.
Ophthalmologists complete medical school and a required residency, which typically represents a decade or more of medical training and more than 17,000 hours of patient contact training before such medical doctors are permitted to practice on their own. By contrast, optometrists complete a four-year course in optometry, and not all of the programs require a college degree. The training does not include a residency nor surgical training.
Rizo’s bill would, among other provisions, allow optometrists to advertise themselves as an optometrist, licensed optometrist, a doctor of optometry, optometric physician, board certified optometrist, American Board of Optometry certified, a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, residency-trained, or a diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.
It also includes revisions to existing law that would broaden an optometrist’s scope of practice to include additional surgical procedures and prescribing authority.
Ophthalmologists and their advocacy groups, as they have in past years, oppose the measure, arguing it is dangerous and unnecessary and that it would lead patients to assume optometrists are on the same level as ophthalmologists, despite lesser medical and academic training.
Opposition groups point to peer-reviewed medical research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing increased incidence of necessary follow-up surgery when procedures are performed by an optometrist rather than an ophthalmologist. That includes a 189% increased risk of additional necessary treatments following laser treatments performed by optometrists compared to the same laser treatment performed by an ophthalmologist.
Optometrists, meanwhile, argue the scope of practice legislation is needed to expand access to eye care by increasing the number of practitioners available. But ophthalmologists argue that most Floridians live within a 30-minute drive to an ophthalmologist, and that there is currently no backlog of patients seeking ophthalmologic care in the state.
to an ophthalmologist, necessarily, if there’s a condition that calls for this particular procedure or pain medication,” he previously told Florida Politics. “No surgery, nothing like that. It’s basically an advanced first-aid procedure to release inter-corneal pressure.”
Rizo carried a similar bill in 2021, but it and its Senate analogue died before reaching a floor vote.
The “eyeball wars” date back years, at least to Sen. Don Gaetz’s reign as Senate President, a leadership role he held from 2012 until 2014.
Gaetz coined the term “eyeball wars” and in 2013, he believed he resolved the turf war between ophthalmologists and optometrists. The two sides settled on a compromise allowing optometrists to prescribe oral medications, but not to perform surgery.
But the fight resurfaced a few years later.
A similar bill to this year’s effort (SB 1112) died last Session after a failure to reconcile between the House and the Senate. Then-Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, whose father was an ophthalmologist, filed priority legislation that would have blocked the use of the term doctor or physician in certain circumstances, including for optometrists.
The House amended the bill to allow optometrists to use the terms in advertisements. Passidomo had been successful in ushering the measure through (2023’s SB 230), but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed it. Rizo voted that year against efforts to allow optometrists to refer to themselves as doctors of optometry.
Rizo filed this year’s bill on Feb. 6. It’s been referred to two committees: the Health Professions and Programs Subcommittee and the Health and Human Services Committee. It’s awaiting its first hearing in Health Professions and Programs.
A Senate companion has not yet been filed.
If passed and signed by the Governor, the measure would take effect July 1.
Rizo has fired back against critics.
“What exactly this bill does (is make it so) you don’t have to go
Alex Rizo answers questions on the floor of the Florida House.
Expect dogfight over payout rules for local lawsuits against gov’ts
BY JESSE SCHECKNER
It’s been 15 years since Florida updated its sovereign immunity caps. Will it happen this Session?
The last time Florida updated its statutes limiting lawsuit payouts in cases of government negligence, Barack Obama was still in his first White House term and Legoland hadn’t yet opened.
It’s not for lack of trying. Year after year, lawmakers file proposals to revamp Florida’s rules on sovereign immunity, a centuries-old concept requiring legislative approval of government payouts above certain caps.
They’ve been stuck at their current levels, $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, since 2010. For any payment above those limits, the Legislature must pass a claims bill. Very few pass each year.
That’s not right says Sarasota Republican Rep. Fiona McFarland, who is carrying legislation (HB 301) this Session to give Florida’s sovereign immunity statutes an overdue revamp.
The measure, which cleared its first House committee in mid-February, would raise the liability cap for claims against the state and its local subdivisions and agencies to $1 million for one person and $3 million for each incident. Those sums would increase to $1.1 million and $3.2 million in 2030.
Notably, the bill would empower local governments to voluntarily settle claims exceeding those caps without approval from the Legislature. And it would also prohibit insurance companies from having Florida policies that condition benefits on enacting claims bills.
Even though it lines up with similar sovereign immunity systems in all but 11 other states in the U.S., Florida’s system for making victims whole doesn’t make sense in the context of America’s system of government, according to McFarland.
“The claims bill process is basically asking me to vote on how much somebody’s life is worth, and that’s an unnatural function for us as a Legislature. That’s a judicial branch function,” she said.
“We’re not asking governments to provide more services through this bill. We’re not asking them to do more for us. We’re asking them to do more when they’ve done something wrong.”
The fiscal implications of the changes McFarland is proposing have civil justice and victims advocacy groups praising HB 301, while drawing sharp opposition from local governments, school districts and agencies.
By the time the bill came up
for a hearing last month before the House Civil Justice and Claims Subcommittee, which voted 17-1 to advance it, it had attracted more than 100 lobbyist registrations.
Among its detractors: the Florida Association of Counties, the Florida League of Cities, Miami-Dade County, Martin County School District, the Small County Coalition, the Small School District Council Consortium and the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida.
Bob Harris, a lobbyist for the Panhandle Area Education Consortium, argued the bill could bankrupt small municipalities and school districts. Auburndale Mayor Dorthea Bogert suggested it could create a “niche market” for lawsuits against the government.
But Eric Tinstman of the Florida Justice Association called HB 301 a much-needed modernization of a “broken” system that today perpetuates poor governmental oversight. He noted that the term “sovereign immunity” is derived from English common law and the belief that the king could do no legal wrong and was immune from prosecution.
“I can think of a no more anti-American statement than ‘the king can do no wrong,’” he said. “When you start holding people accountable for their negligence … things get safer.”
Rep. Fiona McFarland reacts to a standing ovation she was given after her bill passed the House. Colin Hackley Photo
Even busy
lobbyists
and
lawmakers
have gotta eat; here’s where
BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON
It’s not always easy eating during the annual Legislative Session. And no, not just because you lose your appetite watching how laws are made. But this is a state of 23 million people with lawmakers who try to get all their work done in 60 days, and the pace can be frenetic.
There might be days when you have to be in 212 Knott from 10 a.m. to noon, HB 37 from noon to 2 and back to SB 101 by 3 — not to mention the calls you have to make between meetings and all the folks you see while running back and forth who want a minute of your time.
So this is a rough guide on how to survive Session without starving to death. Hopefully there’s something here that can help no matter who you are, what you like to eat or what kind of day you’re having.
If you can’t leave the Capitol complex, choices are very limited.
Early’s Kitchen runs the downstairs cafeteria. It serves made-to-order sandwiches and salads, snacks and beverages as well as a limited hot lunch that changes daily. The main meals focus on Southern and soul food served in to-go containers out of steam trays. It’s very reasonably priced, and it’s OK, especially if you don’t have time for other options. Early’s also has its 10th floor café; more of a coffee shop with graband-go sandwiches and salads. It’s also a good spot to get work done
“So this is a rough guide on how to survive Session without starving to death.”
and, unlike much of the Capitol, it’s one of the few public spaces where you have an outside view, and a grand one at that overlooking the historic Capitol.
There was a time when Publix set up a comfort station with free snacks and beverages on the fifth floor whenever either chamber was in Session. It was like a watering hole where mixed species like lobbyists, reporters, legislative staff, and groups of people wearing matching, bright-colored shirts declaring their support for immigrants, education, saving fetuses or (insert your cause here) gathered for survival.
Those days are gone, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t nibble for free at the Capitol. There are 160 lawmakers in 160 offices, most with bowls of treats for visitors. If you map it out right, you can make five different stops a day to say hello and grab some bite-sized candy without repeating an office more than twice during the 60 days of Session. The
other option for free food is to mark your calendar for “Capitol Days.” The Florida National Guard gives out jumbo hot dogs on its day, Miami-Dade County hands out paella on its day, and so on.
There’s a new spot for people who don’t have a lot of time, but can make a quick dash outside the Capitol. The Assembly on Adams (225 S Adams Street, 850-661-1009) is offering grab-and-go sandwiches, salads, baked goods and charcuterie plates. While it hosts catered events, it’s otherwise a food-to-go shop that also includes retail wine sales.
And, of course, dining outside the Capitol is always better than being stuck there. Two stalwarts have survived since the days of Gov. Jeb Bush: Metro Deli (104 S Monroe Street, 850-224-6870) and Goodies (116 E College Avenue, 850-681-3888).
Both are casual sandwich shops. Tallahassee insiders consider both to be solid stops for a quick dine-in lunch and both are great for takeout or for a delivery to the Capitol. For me, if I go to one and there’s a long line, I’ll see if the other has a shorter wait.
But there are differences. I give the nod to Metro Deli as far as variety and tastiness of the sandwiches. It’s a place I go when I’m having lunch with people I’m friendly with and I don’t plan to talk serious business. Goodie’s is what I recommend if I’m meeting someone for the first time or planning to
strictly talk about work. And it’s perfect just to go in for coffee. The atmosphere is less hectic. It’s also good for talking business because you don’t have to wait around for a server to bring you a check when you either stop running out of conversation points or are in a hurry to get to the third or fourth coffee meeting you’ve set up that day.
If you find time for a sit-down, table service lunch, the best bet is the Hayward House, formerly Andrew’s. Hayward House (228 S Adams Street, 850-825-7081) is an upgrade from Andrew’s in pretty much every aspect: food, adult beverages, service and atmosphere. You can still get a sandwich or salad, but the steaks are excellent, as are appetizers like PEI mussels in a garlic white wine sauce, the poutine, she-crab soup and chili croquettes. Among other sit-down restaurants within walking distance of the Capitol:
JoEllen’s (215 W. College Avenue Unit 101, 850-999-1779). JoEllen’s is Southern comfort food and a relatively new entry into the downtown market in the space that used to be 101. I’ve been for dinner and am more than willing to go back for lunch. The food was exactly what you want out of a good, filling, Southern meal: Fried chicken; catfish; smothered, fried or grilled pork chops; meatloaf and sides like collard greens, fried okra,
Continued on page 10
From cocktails to craft beer: Here are some Capitolarea bars to visit
The best place to find a drink during the annual 60-day Legislative Session is in the office of a legislator with a well-stocked bar and a friendly staff.
But that’s not always an option.
Still, there are plenty of other options within a half-mile of the Capitol, and they’ll probably see their best two months of 2025 sales between March 3 and May 3, the day before Session starts and the day it ends.
While much of the Adams Street drinking is done in private, either at the Governor’s Club Lounge or parties, fundraisers and events hosted by political and special interest groups, there are great options for those who aren’t wealthy or well-connected.
Most convenient to the Capitol is Hayward House (228 S. Adams Street, 850-825-7081), formerly Andrew’s. The indoor bar is now a rectangle in the center of the room, and it still has the patio out front. That’s a preferred spot on nice evenings, where you can sit and watch lobbyists and lawmakers on their way to the Gov Club. The craft cocktails and wine selection are a step up from Andrew’s, as is the service. Happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m., when house craft cocktails are $10, draft beer and wine by the glass are $2 off and Ology vodka cocktails are $6.
Handmade sausages take
center
stage at LINK in Midtown
BY ROCHELLE KOFF
The humble sausage is elevated to top status at the new LINK Sausages & Beer in Midtown. The casual restaurant is one of the newest places in Tallahassee, a welcome alternative to a crush of pizza, taco and burger spots in the Capital City.
LINK, in fact, replaces El Cocinero, which specialized in creative
tacos for nine years on Thomasville Road. Both are owned by the Seven Hills Hospitality Group, which operates some of Tallahassee’s most impressive culinary destinations: Bar 1903, Black Radish, Hawthorn Bistro & Bakery, Liberty Bar & Restaurant, The Monroe and Rae’s.
Like El Cocinero, LINK has the advantage of a sprawling patio shaded by colorful umbrellas. Inside, the setting is unpretentious, with concrete floors and at-counter ordering.
I wondered if there would be enough interest in sausages, but the place has been attracting a steady crowd since its soft opening Valentine’s Day weekend. Turns out smoked meats are immensely popular, a multi-billion dollar industry. Who knew? Well, Jesse Edmunds, for one. At the helm of the Seven Hills Hospitality Group, he’s been interested in the concept for 10 years.
Continued on page 10
The best place for cocktails is Bar 1903 (209 E. Park Avenue 850-354-9739). It’s a beautiful space, located in an early 20th century library, and it has 11 (eleven!) pages of cocktails, beginning with an often-changing mix of house specialties and followed by a page each of old fashioneds and gin and house-made tonic. The time travel begins with recipes that were around before 1880 and extends up to favorites from this millennium. Other pages celebrate popular speakeasy drinks from Prohibition, post-Prohibition favorites (The Grand Awakening) and fruity and tropical drinks enjoyed by Boomers. Happy hour runs from 5 to 7 p.m. and features a select variety of $9 cocktails, $1 off beer (cans and bottles only) and $2 off wine. Savour (115 E. Park Avenue, 850-765-6966) has a list of 11 superb craft cocktails that are as beautifully prepared as they are delicious. They get extra points for often featuring a unique specialty cocktail whose sales raise money for good causes. The wine list is decent and there are canned and bottled beers with a
BY BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Metro Deli sandwich. Photo by The Workmans
black-eyed peas, mac & cheese, candied sweet potatoes and more.
Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grille (301 S. Bronough St., 850-2223976). It’s a popular New Orleans-themed restaurant that’s part of a Florida-based chain. Mind you, if Harry’s was in New Orleans, it wouldn’t be a five-star standout. But it’s in Tallahassee and it does just fine with Cajun staples like jambalaya, shrimp and grits, red beans and rice, etouffee, po’boys and the like. And it has an outdoor deck that’s a great spot when the weather’s nice.
The Egg Café and Eatery (300 S Duval Street, 850-907-3447). Located on the first floor of the Plaza Tower condos, The Egg is a great place when you want breakfast for lunch. While it also has traditional lunch fare, its breakfast menu is several pages long. It’s sometimes hard to find, but there is an outside door in Kleyman Plaza for those who can’t take an elevator down from the condos.
Continued from page 9 – Link
Why focus on sausage?
“I’ve always loved sausages as a format,” said Edmunds, known for his charcuterie boards. “It’s something that almost every culture on the planet has, but it’s very expressive. You can pretty much do whatever you want with it. Sausages are eaten by 274 million Americans every year. It’s one of the original foods.”
gives sausage the proper respect even though we eat it all the time.”
Yet, it still offers creative challenges. “A burger is a burger is a burger,” he said. But the sausage, itself, can be a blank canvas for myriad flavors.
And you’ll find those here. The artisanal sausages are made on the premises. The joke is that
“A burger is a burger is a burger...” But the sausage, itself, can be a blank canvas for myriad flavors.
you don’t want to know how the sausage is made. At LINK, Edmunds is proud to talk about how the sausage is prepared because all the grinding, stuffing and smoking is done on-site, including the all-natural pork casing and the use of prime brisket, all-natural pork and chicken.
LINK offers 11 signature dogs. The only two not made in-house are the classic all-beef hot dog and the Uptown vegan dog. The menu offers plates – the sausage sampler (with two sausages, two sides and a signature sauce) and the mac ‘n cheese bowl – plus three burger choices and three salads. Those are the Garden Salad, Chef Salad and Southwest Salad.
scallions and cheddar.
My husband picked the Andouille signature sausage served on a rustic Italian bun. The smoked pork sausage tasted fresh, bold and distinctive, bursting with flavor. It was served with onions, green peppers, celery and shaved fresh scallions cooked on a hot griddle. The herb aioli is made with fresh herbs. So far, no shortcuts.
Turns out my choice of Mild Italian is pretty popular at LINK, for good reason. It has a subtle kick and herbal influences, with fresh basil, oregano, fennel seeds, coriander seeds and red wine. There’s enough zip, but not so much that it’s overwhelming.
Another hit – my side of baked mac ‘n cheese, with that desirable crisp top, my favorite part. Other sides include pub fries, baked potato salad, baked beans, beer-battered onion rings and kale salad.
The beer menu features a few choices from Proof, such as EightFive-O, Mango Wit and La La Land; Hooter Brown and Mill Pond Blonde from Oyster City; and Floridian Hefeweizen from Funky Buddha on the craft beer lineup. There’s a respectable list of draft beers as well.
LINK also offers a small retail section. Cases are filled with sausages by the pound, as well as mustard, so you can grab some to grill over the weekend.
Bottom line: Sure, you can go for the burger or salad, but you’ll want to try these thoughtfully crafted sausages whether you’re hanging out with friends or looking for a quick bite.
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Prices: Signature dogs $8 to $9.50; plates $18; burgers $12.50 to $14; salads $13-$14.
Continued from page 9 – Where to Drink
heavy nod to Florida brews. Savour also knows how to market to the Session crowd, announcing recently that it will open early (4 p.m.) during Session with a half-price happy hour.
Il Lusso (201 E. Park Avenue, 850-765-8620) is the hoity toity place on this list. That doesn’t make it bad, just don’t plan to wear a hat there (all hats are highly discouraged; baseball caps are prohibited). The bar area is bright and the craft cocktails are delicious. I particularly enjoyed the black Manhattan (Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon, Averna Amaro, Carpano Antica Dolin Rouge). I had to Google the ingredients to fully understand what I was drinking.
The deck at Chuck’s Fish is great during nice weather (224 E. College Avenue, 850-597-7506). The deck has always been popular dating back to the many years it was Po’Boys and a couple of other ventures since. The house craft cocktails tend to be on the sweet side and aren’t particularly adventurous, but Chuck’s has a good wine list and has three local breweries on tap – Proof, Deep and Oyster City. And where else can you get saki and saki cocktails downtown?
If you’re a beer snob, the closest brewery to the Capitol is Amicus Brewing Ventures (717 S. Gadsden Street, 850-772-0228) located in the Old City Waterworks building. It’s perhaps the coolest looking space among Tallahassee’s breweries, with wonderfully restored wood and brick inside the 1890 local landmark. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The beer is solid and there’s always a food truck. While wine is also an option, the pickings are slim.
I had high hopes for Eve on Adams (101 S. Adams Street, 850-5216018). It’s 17 stories above downtown and was built as a rooftop addition to the Doubletree. The view is impressive, for sure, and out-of-towners will appreciate it, but the cocktails, beer and wine lists are on the weaker side of downtown options. But they are cheaper during weekday happy hours from 5 to 7 p.m.
It’s believed that sausage originated about 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. Even today, consider all the space grocery stores allot for rows of sausage of all types.
The Huntsman (320 E. Tennessee Street, 850-765-1887) is a bit further from the Capitol and has a small bar, but it’s great for happy hour between 5 and 6 p.m. You can make a meal out of their amazing bar bites menu (lobster hush puppies and ribeye sliders? Yes, please). They have select $6 craft drink specials, but if you’re not looking to save money, their version of a dirty martini (vodka, savory brine, vermouth, foie gras and black truffle olives) is perhaps the best in Tallahassee. Their house specialty is The Huntsman. It’s $20, but worth it (Old Soul bourbon washed in bacon fat with aromatic and black walnut bitters and hand-smoked with a torch). Continued from page 9
As Edmunds noted, “no one
The sausage list features bratwurst, kielbasa, chorizo, jalapeño cheddar, turkey, spinach and roasted garlic, and a breakfast sausage served with a scrambled egg,
If you go …
LINK Sausages & Beer, 1303 Thomasville Rd.
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday through Thursday;
Bonus pro tip: While not technically a bar, the Capitol Plaza sometimes features adult beverages in the evening for special events, like Key West Day, which offers samples of Keys-brewed beer and distilled spirits. It’s free and open to the public.
Hayward House. Photo by The Workmans
OPINION
Senate President: Make Gov’t Efficient
BY BEN ALBRITTON
Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration six weeks ago, we have seen an unprecedented focus on government efficiency and accountability. As I travel around the state, this is one issue that resonates with everyone.
Floridians expect government to operate efficiently and tax dollars to be stewarded wisely. That is easy enough to explain at a rotary or chamber meeting at home; especially since Florida is not Washington. We pass a balanced budget, pay down debt, cut taxes, and save for a rainy day. But, going beyond those core fundamentals, what does government efficiency really look like?
For starters, Florida has a great framework for accountability. Performance metrics, planning requirements, and accountability standards put in place by Gov. Jeb
Florida’s beer consumers have it good
BY PETER SCHORSCH
Florida’s beer consumers have it good.
With an incredible variety of choices, from simple lagers and pilsners to Peach Pumpkin Ales, the three-tier system works, and it works very well for Florida consumers.
However, craft brewers in Florida and elsewhere appear to have hit their peak, and several have been forced to shutter.
There are several factors at play in the decline, including rising consumer demand for competing products such as seltzers and THC-infused beverages, as well as industry over-expansion. With new brewers springing up like weeds for the past decade or more,
Bush and Legislative leaders nearly 30 years ago that have served our state well. However, we have grown and changed a lot during that time, and technology has revolutionized nearly every facet of our economy.
I believe in continuous improvement. It’s time to build on and modernize some of Florida’s long-
standing accountability processes.
For example, the Long-Range Program Plans submitted by state agencies have been in place since 2000 and provide a five-year plan for strategic goals and objectives.
The Government Efficiency Task Force, on which I served, recommended modernization of the plans to improve flexibility, simplify processes and shift focus to outcomes, rather than outputs. This will allow our agencies to respond to changing situations efficiently, spending less time on bureaucratic paperwork and more time on core missions.
It is not enough to know government is completing a task or providing a service, we need to know if that service is being provided well. We need to have new, innovative ways to measure performance and outcomes.
Another area we know state government can improve is IT.
Keeping up with the ever-changing landscape and constantly increasing price tag is a problem for government at every level, just like it’s a challenge for private sector businesses.
Over my time in the Legislature, we have tried different ways to manage IT, but we can’t seem to get it quite right. It’s time for IT to be a Cabinet-level agency. Under no circumstances do I want to create an expensive, bloated bureaucracy of former C-Suite executives from Silicon Valley. But, we need top talent. When it comes to cybersecurity, personal data, and the IT infrastructure of our state, Floridians deserve and expect us to get that right.
Finally, I believe DOGE is popular at the federal level because Americans have a problem with unelected federal bureaucrats having so much authority. We are a nation of laws created by elected
FLORIDA’S THREE TIER SYSTEM
MANUFACTURERS
DISTRIBUTORS
Manufacturers big and small brew and package their products. Florida’s beer distributors handle the logisitcs for hundreds of brands, including sales, delivery, organizing products on shelves, draught line cleanings, marketing, curating portfolios to maximize choice and variety, and more, all while ensuring product safety and freshness.
RETAILERS
Consumers are then able to purchase their beer of choice at a local retailer, such as a convenience store, grocery store, restaurant, and more. Florida’s beer wholesalers deserve credit for shepherding the growth of small business in the craft beer sector all while ensuring a level playing field for all brewers, regardless of size.
a market correction was inevitable.
Despite turbulence in the micro and craft sectors, Florida’s three-tier system has been a steadying force.
Described by the Florida Bar as “the bedrock principle of the Beverage Law,” the three-tier system trifurcates the industry into manufacturers, distributors and vendors. Each camp has had quibbles with the law over the years. Lawmakers have obliged some with edits to the law, and regulators have reinterpreted statute and recast rules over the decades.
The law isn’t perfect (are any?), but its current state serves as an example of regulation done right. Consumers benefit, macrobrewers benefit and the microbrewer down the block benefits.
Florida’s beer wholesalers deserve credit for shepherding the growth of small business in the craft beer sector all while ensuring a level playing field for all brewers, regardless of size.
The three-tier system isn’t unique to Florida, but the Sunshine State’s implementation is the gold standard and without it, many
officials accountable to the people, not appointed professional staff. Florida is not immune from this kind of scrutiny. Our rulemaking process can be modernized to better serve our state. We are creating a five-year full rule review process under which each agency will review 20% of all rules annually to identify changes, amendments, or repeals necessary. Improved oversight of administrative rules will go a long way toward keeping government more accountable to the people.
With President Trump leading this effort in Washington, we’ve got the wind at our backs here in Florida. Now’s the time to implement some of these important enhancements to Florida’s strong existing structure of transparency and accountability. I look forward to working with the Governor and Speaker on these issues, which are important to everyone.
of the Sunshine State’s top craft brewers — some of which have grown from local faves to brands you can find at bottle shops across the country — wouldn’t be where they are today.
Not only does the three-tier system provide good jobs to individuals in each tier, but it also encourages growth for small businesses, allowing them to focus on creating top-tier products while bringing unparalleled choice and variety to consumers.
One reason it works: when one segment does well, all segments
do well. No distributor would tell you they wish they could sell less beer, and you won’t find a small business that would push away the customers who line up when Cigar City’s latest limited release hits the shelves.
Still, waves in the market have led some parties to push changes that could upend the system. Lawmakers thus far haven’t shown much interest, and groups such as Florida Beer Wholesalers Association don’t envision major changes this Session — after all, if something isn’t broken, why break it?
Albritton. Colin Hackley Photo
Food for America, Jobs for Florida & a Clean and Healthy Natural Environment
For generations, the men and women working in Florida’s sugarcane farming industry have been careful stewards of Florida’s natural resources, producing food for American families while working in an industry that sustains Florida’s economy. We grow sugarcane, while cleaning water, supporting our communities and providing an important food ingredient to our nation’s food supply.
Food for America
Florida’s sugarcane farmers and sugar producers supply 25 percent of our nation’s sugar - helping to reduce dependence on foreign food sources.
Jobs for Florida
Florida’s sugarcane farming and processing provides more than 19,000 jobs and $4.7 billion in economic activity to our state’s economy annually.
Preserving
Sugarcane farming and production occurs in harmony with nature as our farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area have reduced phosphorus in the water flowing off their farms by an annual average of 57% since 1996 - more than any private enterprise in the state of Florida.
