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Top Three Takeaways – November 9th, 2021
- Near parity. Florida’s voter registration is at near parity for the first time in our state’s history. The state’s most recent voter registration update is in and it shows Democrats once again hold their smallest voter registration lead on record. In 1978 there were 1.63 million more registered Democrats than Republicans in our state – at the peak of the Dem’s political reign in Florida. Today that lead is down to 12,699 voters. It’s a remarkable change 4+ decades in the making which has almost come full circle. The most likely outcome is that by year end, and possibly sooner, registered Republicans will outnumber registered Democrats in Florida for the first time ever. Florida’s NPA’s have most commonly broken in favor of Republicans in recent years, meaning that Florida’s conversion from a blue state to a purple state to a red state is nearly complete. All of this continues to support the notion that those fleeing blue states for Florida are bringing their politics with them, but that those politics generally reflect a desire for the current leadership our state offers as opposed to the states they’ve left. As for what our state’s about to take up it’s...
- Special. As in next week’s special session for the state legislature. In rolling out the formal agenda for the upcoming session on Monday, Governor DeSantis said: We have got to stand up for people and protect their jobs and livelihoods. It's wrong to kick people out of work. That set the stage for what’s formally being rolled out as the “Keep Florida Free” Joint Legislative Session. While the attention has focused on the impetuous behind this session in the first place, combating the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for employees, that’s not all that’s set to be taken up next week. Four bills are specifically set to be considered. They are entitled: Reject COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates, Protect Private Health Care and Religious Information, Begin Withdrawing From OSHA and Remove Authority of State Heath Officer to Order Vaccinations. Starting with the bill rejecting COVID-19 vaccine mandates - the proposal goes further than just granting employees additional protection from the federal government. It provides additional protections against employer mandates as well. It specifically introduces for the first time, the consideration for...
- Natural immunity for those who’ve had COVID-19. Should the legislation pass as currently written, in the state of Florida those who’ve had COVID-19 and recovered will be considered equitable with those who’ve been fully vaccinated against the virus. This wouldn’t just be a first in Florida, it’d be a first anywhere in the country. To date, 3.36 million Floridians have recovered from COVID-19 and thus have antibodies as a result. This legislation would be the first to account for that reality. The proposed legislation also states that should employers institute a testing program, the tests must be paid for by the employer not the employee – this is the direct opposite of the OSHA rule. Also, pregnant women or “those who expect to become pregnant” become exempt from employer vaccination mandates. The legislation which addresses private healthcare and religious information provides additional protections for employees who use religious or health exemptions to avoid COVID-19 vaccination from employer retribution. The proposed legislation addressing the role of the state health officer would ban the state from ever being able to force any vaccination on Floridians in the future. And yes, the fourth piece of legislation dealing with OSHA would begin the process to create a state agency with workplace oversight as opposed to OSHA (though that’s almost certainly going nowhere even if it passes as the Biden Administration would have to agree to Florida’s plan). So yes, Florida’s special session is likely to be special producing numerous changes to the way vaccination status is viewed by the state of Florida and can be by employers.