1. SB252 Passed in Senate (“Medical Freedom”)
SB252 passed 29-6-4 (1 abstain). The speech from Sen Burton was pathetic… typical big pharma shill language about how “traditional” vaccines are great and safe. She paid lip service to mRNA vaccines being too new, but there’s just an 18 month ban on mRNA vax mandates. The ban ends regardless of whether there’s anything proven (good or bad) on safety. And it’s obviously a long way from what Daniel and many others think needs to be done: a total ban of mRNA vaccines themselves, not just vaccine mandates.
It looks like there was only one amendment added: “A licensed facility as defined in s. 395.002 may not discriminate in providing health care to a patient based solely on that patient’s vaccination status with a COVID-19 vaccine.” It was a small improvement. We might have gotten more if we’d started pushing earlier for 252 improvements rather than pushing for 222… I’ll take some blame for that.
If you have time and want to relive (or learn about) the 222 vs 252 battle, Jeff Childers summarized it yesterday before the vote was taken: https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/moist-feet-friday-april-28-2023-c
The key takeaway for me (like so many other things with talking heads these days): “So then I called two good friends in Florida’s medical freedom community who oppose SB 252 and pressed them for juicy details. Both admitted they hadn’t read the bill.”
If you want to be one of the few who’s actually read the bill, here’s the link:
https://legiscan.com/FL/bill/S0252/2023
The House version (HB1013) is advanced for second reading but not yet scheduled.
2. SB266 Passed in Senate (“Anti-DEI”)
SB266 passed 27-12 (1 abstain). This is technically a “higher education” bill with lots of stuff in there including a new Institute for Risk Management and Insurance Education at USF and the Hamilton Center for Classical and Civic Education at UF, but the important part is anti-DEI provisions. From the text:
Amends Statute 1004.06:
(2) A Florida College System institution, state university, Florida College System institution direct-support organization, or state university direct-support organization may not expend any state or federal funds to promote, support, or maintain any programs or campus activities that:
(a) Violate s. 1000.05; or
(b) Advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, or promote or engage in political or social activism, as defined by rules of the State Board of Education and regulations of the Board of Governors.
Amends Statute 1007.25:
(3)(c) General education core courses may not distort significant historical events or include a curriculum that teaches identity politics, violates s. 1000.05, or is based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, and privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, and economic inequities.
Full text: https://legiscan.com/FL/bill/S0266/2023
The house version (HB999) is advanced for second reading but not yet scheduled.
3. Anti-Trans Bill Almost Finished (“No transition for minors”)
HB1421 was been tabled in favor of SB254 which was Engrossed on 4/4 (passed in Senate 27-12-1). It passed Third Reading in the House on 4/19 (82-31-6) and is “In returning messages” to the Senate for final passage before heading to the governor.
The highlights:
- Adds “temporary emergency jurisdiction” (Statute 61.517) “protect the child because the child has been subjected to or is threatened with being subjected to sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures”
- Allows “warrant to take physical custody of child (Statute 61.534) if “being subjected to sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures”
- Creates Statute 286.31: Gov’t entity, public postsecondary educational institution, state group health insurance program, managed care plan “may not expend state funds as described s. 215.31 for sex-reassignment prescriptions”
- Amends Statute 395.003 (licensure): “licensed facility must provide a signed attestation to the agency stating that the facility does not offer or provide sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures, as defined in s. 456.001, to patients younger than 18 years of age… and does not refer such patients to other providers for such services”
- Amends 456.001 (definitions): “‘Sex’ means the classification of a person as either male or female based on the organization of the human body of such person for a specific reproductive role, as indicated by the person’s sex chromosomes, naturally occurring sex hormones, and internal and external genitalia present at birth.”
- Creates Statute 456.52: “Sex-reassignment prescriptions and procedures are prohibited for patients younger than 18 years of age, except”… “emergency rules” or if treatment started before act is passed or started; must have written informed consent; doing the procedure is a felony; failing informed consent is misdemeanor
- Creates Statute 766.318 “Civil liability for provision of sex-reassignment prescriptions or procedures to minors.”
Full text: https://legiscan.com/FL/votes/S0254/2023
4. Website Update… Call for Volunteers
The website is live, but very temporary. Obviously, legislative tracking will be moot by the time it’s fully running, but that part will be useful next year. We are hoping to have broad categories for people to use as reference when dealing with major issues. We’re going to need volunteers to help create these sections and keep them up to do. The categories:
- Education & Parental Rights
- Individual Freedom
- Healthcare
- Culture (including DEI, LGBTQ, gender ideology, grooming, life)
- Legislature (sections on how to track and how to run for office)
We’ll definitely need some active parents for the first one and healthcare workers for the third. If you have any experience or interest in dealing with any of the categories, please let me know.
5. Trans Teacher Threats in Hernando County
This is a little old now (4/13), but I forgot to send it out before. I’m sure you’ve been flooding with corporate media outlets covering this story since mass shootings in schools is such a hot topic (when done by the right people):
“A Florida middle school failed to notify parents after a transgender teacher allegedly threatened to kill himself and other students, multiple parents and advocates tell the Daily Caller.”
https://dailycaller.com/2023/04/13/parents-fox-chapel-middle-school-florida-transgender-teacher-threat/