Florida News – Highlights from around the state – April 30th
Bottom Line: Your daily recap of the some of the biggest news from around the state that impacts you in South Florida.
Governor DeSantis announced Florida’s Phase 1 reopening plan, known as the Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step plan. As of Monday,all counties with the exception of Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach will be able to reopen the following...
- Elective surgeries
- Restaurants with 25% indoor capacity and outdoor seating-6 foot spacing between tables
- Retail businesses may operate at 25% of indoor capacity
Additionally, masks are recommended in public and social distancing measures are to remain in place. The Governor stated fear as the state's biggest obstacle moving forward. Facts should be comforting. We’ve done much better than everybody said we would do. We have more beds available today than March 1st.
- The National Federation of Independent Business has endorsed Governor DeSantis’s plan to reopen Florida. The NFIB said there are two common concerns by small businesses as they’re allowed to reopen. Will customers come back and will employees come back? The Federation cited DeSantis’s confidence as being especially important to restoring confidence within our state.
- Florida’s Democrats lost a legal challenge regarding the order candidates appear on Florida’s ballots. Florida’s system allows the Governor’s party to list their party’s candidates first. A Federal Appeals Court ruled against the Democrat’s challenge. The court noted they hadn’t pursued an appropriate legal challenge – suing the state’s election’s officer who isn’t responsible for the policy - and refuting the current system as providing an unfair advantage. It should be noted Florida’s current law was enacted with Democrats in complete control of the state’s legislature and signed into law by a Democrat.