Florida Social Media Ban DOA? DeSantis Back In the Saddle & Lake O' Milestone - Top 3 Takeaways – January 29th, 2024
- Not so fast. Yes, the Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill which would ban social media accounts for those under 16. Yes, that made the proposal a big story across the state. No, I didn’t and still don’t believe it will become law in Florida. On January 12th, in that day’s Q&A, I had this to say about the bill when asked: In terms of attempting to enact the ban for minors under the age of 16 in Florida, for those who advocate doing so, there’s more than enough scientific/medical evidence to support the argument. Would Floridians, for example, support banning a commonly prescribed drug that’s proven to cause more harm than good for those under the age of 16? More people would probably find it irresponsible if action wasn’t taken to protect children in that example. In that context there’s no difference here. Most people seemingly view child social media use as a tech access issue as opposed to a public health issue. But clearly, the topic is mostly a public health issue. With that said, today’s note strikes an important point in the consideration about whether a social media ban for minors is appropriate. Is there any doubt but that most fast food is awful for children (and everyone else for that matter)? Has anyone considered banning access to it for minors? Therein lies the broader point in this debate. Especially if one is analyzing this through the prism of a limited government approach. Perhaps this, like the fast-food example, is best left managed by parents as opposed to regulated by government. And as this bill gained momentum and attention, I had this text exchange with a friend early last week... The message sent to me: Get the ban and no one under 16 will vote Republican when they’re 18. And it’s massive hypocrisy with the alleged support of parental rights. It most likely would be overturned like Montana’s TikTok ban and they will have lost all kinds of goodwill for nothing. Terrible optics. My message back to him... I’m not convinced it’ll pass or that DeSantis would sign it. While we still have over half of the state’s legislative session to go, we seemingly have the answer to one of my two assertions which will almost certainly lead to both of my inferences proving correct. On Friday Governor DeSantis was asked about the bill and had this to say: I’m sympathetic to, as a parent, what’s going on with our youth. But I also understand that to just say that someone that’s 15 just cannot have it no matter what, even if the parent consents, that may create some legal issues. My wife would go to great lengths to ensure they’re not on social media. I do think it’s a problem. I think social media has been a net negative for our youth, without question. Now, having said that, there have been other states that have tried to do similar things that have met resistance in the courts. Not to say courts are always right about this, but anything I do, I want a pathway for this to actually stick. So, DeSantis essentially said yes to regulation of children using social media, but no to the idea of a ban at a certain age. This means the current incarnation of the legislation is almost certainly DOA as currently written. Notably, while the full Florida House has already passed the legislation. The Senate hasn’t done anything with it, and at this point, based on both pragmatism and Governor DeSantis’ decision to preemptively weigh in on this legislation critically – I’d be surprised if they do. But what this also was, was the latest indication that...
- DeSantis is back in the saddle. There’s a reason Ron DeSantis won a historic reelection in 2022. He’d been a great governor. It wasn’t because Floridians wanted him to run for president. It’s safe to say that Governor DeSantis wasn’t the same man, the same governor, last year that he’d been for the previous four years that led to his historic popularity in this state. It was evident his agenda for the state last year was significantly influenced by his desire to use the issues he led on in Florida as national campaign issues. After all, the name of his book released a year ago in advance of the state legislative session was: The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival. He did have a #1 bestseller with the book, however politically he read the room wrong, first on the depth of the cultural war agenda that was desired and secondly on a presidential run. A week ago, when DeSantis fully realized this, there was much speculation about what would come next. Many in the godless, soulless and slanderous news media produced speculative and predictable hit pieces like this from the New Republic: DeSantis Will Now Return to What He Does Best: Terrorizing LGBTQ People in Florida. What, no IA’*+’s? Anyway, DeSantis’ first week back as Florida’s full-time governor showed exactly who has returned to Florida and what exactly his agenda is set to be as was capped off by his message and position on the proposed social media ban. The governor he used to be, which should make most Floridians happier with what they see and hear from him. Speaking of less toxicity...
- A major milestone. It took many years of hard-fought battles with agricultural interests to get the project approved. It’s taken many more years to get here. But the culmination of what’s been in the works for a decade or more with Lake Okeechobee discharges is here. It was April 30th, 2020, at the onset of the impact of the pandemic that physical work began to construct the 6,500-acre treatment wetland component, known as a Stormwater Treatment Area, of the EAA Reservoir Project. At the time Governor DeSantis said this: Today marks a critical milestone for Everglades restoration and achieving our state’s long-term environmental goals. When I took office, I made expediting the EAA Reservoir Project a top priority. Beginning construction means we are a big step closer to moving more clean water south to the Everglades and lessening harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee into the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie estuaries. And it was last Thursday that the first major milestone of the project was reached as the first of three cells in the reservoir was completed and ready to take on excess Lake O’ water. As was noted by the state. The EAA Reservoir is the crown jewel of Everglades restoration, and will help move water south which nourishes the Everglades, replenishes Florida’s aquifers and supports the Florida Bay. Additionally, the reservoir will help to reduce harmful discharges to the St. Lucie River, the Caloosahatchee River and the Lake Worth Lagoon. The other two cells will take a lot more time to complete – the current estimate is six years. But we’re a third of the way to where we need to be, which is huge for Florida’s waterways and everything that lives in them.