Q&A of the Day – How to Track Florida’s New Laws & Rush Limbaugh Way
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: @brianmuddradio Good work covering the state session. Is there a place to go to easily see what the new laws are? Also is it true there’s going to be a road named after Rush?
Bottom Line: Yes, and almost certainly yes are the answers to those two questions. You’re right that it can be hard to track legislation. All told there were 1,828 bills filed during this year’s state legislative session, that’s a ton to try to keep tabs on over the course of 60 days - though that’s a number that’s actually about half of what we’ve previously seen proposed. If you’ve followed my coverage of the state session, as today’s listener appears to have done, you may notice that I often covered legislation which wasn’t in the news. As you’ll often hear me say- the most pervasive form of bias in news media is omission of information and there’s a lot of it during the course of each year’s legislative sessions.
While some outlets do somewhat credibly cover the session, attention is often disproportionately focused on what they will often deem to be the most controversial proposals. This session the so called “culture war” issues dominated coverage. I dare say the “bathrooms” bill received as much or more coverage as universal school choice, which is the most transformative policy I’ve seen the state legislature pass in my 18 years covering it. The time and attention dedicated to playing up the “culture war battles” often crowds out potentially impactful policy which isn’t as sexy from a ratings and clicks perspective. It also paints a skewed picture of what’s happening politically in Tallahassee. For example, would you have suspected that roughly a quarter of policy which passed through the legislature to Governor DeSantis’ desk, including the biggest of all, the budget passed on unanimous votes? Would you have suspected that there was bipartisan support to some degree for approximately half of what passed? It’s often been played that Republicans ran rough shot over Democrats in this session due to their new-found super majority status. That simply was not true. Yes, there were passionate differences on some key issues. No, Democrats weren’t ignored, and in fact one of the earliest priorities of the session, the sixth bill signed into law by Governor DeSantis in March, the Sunshine Water Control District Act, passed unanimously by the legislature, was introduced by a Democrat. It’s but one example of many. But while keeping tabs on legislation in the legislature is somewhat tough to track, the good news, relative to today’s question about tracking laws, is that it’s exceedingly easier to keep tabs on them.
Florida’s transparency laws dictate the public documenting of all aspects of the legislative process. From the public posting of proposed bills online, to the progress, if any, with each bill during the legislative process and finally when they are received by the governor when passed. The website FlGov.com, the official website of Florida’s governor, posts all updates on legislation which is passed through to the Governor’s desk. You’ll notice on the homepage, a running tally of news announcements from the governor. Those announcements include all updates on legislation that’s received by the governor in addition to the action taken on them (signed into law or vetoed). If all you’re interested in are the bills signed into law during the session, there’s a super handy tab on the right-hand side of the homepage labeled 2023 Bill Actions. If you click it you’ll see all legislation signed into law by Governor DeSantis to date, including the dates when he received the bills and then signed them into law. Through Friday, the governor had already signed 31 bills into law. And yes, one of the bills which will soon land on Governor DeSantis’ desk is one which would create “Rush Limbaugh Way” - though it will be a long way from Palm Beach.
A three-page bill which passed near the end of the session on a mostly party-line vote, was crafted to honor numerous people, a total of 19, which ranges from local law enforcement heroes to the late Sally Ride, the first female astronaut and yes, the late great Rush Limbaugh. Should the bill be signed into law by Governor DeSantis, which would appear to be likely, Rush Limbaugh Way would be established on a stretch of road in Hernando County. In case you’re not familiar, Hernando sits north of Hillsborough, home to Tampa and west of Orange home to Orlando. It’s one of the most conservative counties in the state – Governor DeSantis won reelection by 40-points there – and thus became the location of the road honoring Rush in the bill. So hopefully that’s helpful and I’ll continue to provide regular updates on new laws as well. Many will be signed between now and the end of June.