Top Three Takeaways – May 14th, 2021
- Lucky number nine. Today kicks off Florida’s Special Legislative Session for the purpose of ratifying the recently renegotiated Seminole compact with the introduction of sports gaming in Florida. The session – which is scheduled to run through Friday – has the potential to be one of the most transformative in Florida’s history. The initial review of Florida policies indicated at least four pieces of legislation would be needed to clear the deck for the terms laid out in the 75 page compact negotiated by Governor DeSantis and the Seminole Tribe. It appears the legislature is looking to go big or go home (well actually both). There are nine bills introduced for this week’s session. It appears that legislators are using a hedging strategy by a la carting all of the gaming pieces with their own laws. This serves two potential purposes. First, if there are certain legislators who support some of the compact's proposals, but not all of them, they can vote as they see fit without being all in or all out. This increases the likelihood of passage of the full ball of wax. Secondarily, and perhaps most importantly, assuming passage of these proposals this week, when the certain legal challenges are brought by the No Casinos PAC, a judge could strike down specific aspects of the expanded gaming without taking down the whole law. So, it’s game on... Or at least that’s the idea.
- October 21st. Not a random day. It’s the last time Florida’s weekly trend for new COVID-19 cases was as low as it is today and with about 55% of Florida’s adults vaccinated and the traditional flu season having ended a month ago, the pandemic may be close to being over in Florida. The issue will be whether officials ranging from the Biden administration to local governments will allow for it to end. Remember the arc of the 1918 H1N1 pandemic we’ve discussed. If COVID-19 has taken the seasonal flu torch from the H1N1 virus, which is exactly what happened this past flu season, this virus and its incarnations will still be around long after we’re all dead. Therefore, the goal can never be zero cases and zero deaths. It just needs to be manageable which as you look across Florida right now, you can make the case that it is. Speaking of which.
- Know your rights. Look, I’m fully vaccinated. As a pragmatist who doesn’t get an annual flu shot because it’s a failure for most who obtain it (average 43% efficacy), I viewed the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as a good idea. That being said if you haven’t and won’t get a COVID-19 vaccine you’re not a second-class citizen and frankly the CDC’s guidance is designed to make you feel like one. It’s outright wrong in my view for the CDC to put people and businesses in the position of vaccine shaming but make no mistake that’s what this is about. Publix became the latest business to drop mandatory masks for the fully vaccinated. Understand no one has a right to know if you’re vaccinated or not unless it’s part of your employment agreement and you shouldn’t have to feel as though you need to lie. Mask, no mask, whatever – no one has a right to know so don’t feel compelled to the contrary. This is bad policy by a politicized CDC – which retains no legal authority to create such policy - causing businesses to feel compelled to enact it. Vaccinated or not vaccinated it’s legally no one's business but your business.
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