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These are the lawmakers who set the agenda for the Florida Legislature in 2022

The legislative leadership of the majority Republicans go a long way toward shaping the direction of the Legislature during its 60-day session. Here are the majority and minority leaders for the 2022 Florida Legislature. 

Simpson, a businessman who owns an industrial egg-farming operation, is entering his second legislative session as president and final session. He’s running for agriculture commissioner in the next election. Expect him to continue a top-down style in the Senate, where he ensured senators passed a highly divisive slate of bills requested by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2021. If DeSantis gets his way this session, it will be because Simpson kept Republican senators in line.

Passidomo, a real estate attorney, is set to become just the third woman to lead the Florida Senate in late 2022. (A woman has never led the Florida House of Representatives.) Passidomo’s influence will be instrumental this session on the abortion debate. Already, she’s come out strongly against a Texas-style abortion ban, which essentially deputizes regular people to report violations of the state’s law against nearly all abortions after six weeks. She compared it to neighbors turning in neighbors in Nazi Germany.

No need to test for COVID-19 if asymptomatic, Florida health department says

The Florida Department of Health issued new guidelines Thursday in an effort to clarify when Floridians should seek a COVID-19 test.

In a one-page document, the department broke test-seekers into three groups: those at significant risk for severe COVID-19 who are showing symptoms, those not at significant risk for severe outcomes who are showing symptoms and the asymptomatic.

According to the guidance, vulnerable populations who are showing symptoms “should” get tested. Those not at significant risk for severe COVID-19 may “consider” getting tested. And for the asymptomatic, “COVID-19 testing is unlikely to have any clinical benefits.”

Florida providing 1 million at-home COVID tests for seniors

One million at-home COVID-19 tests will be available to Florida’s nursing homes and assisted living facilities under a new initiative, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.

The Republican governor made the announcement during a news conference in West Palm Beach on Thursday morning at the Rehabilitation Center of the Palm Beaches.

Starting Thursday, the self-administered tests will be sent to every nursing home and long-term care facility in the state, DeSantis said. They can then request additional kits as needed.

The state will also start making the kits available to senior communities.

“Our view on testing is if you are just young and healthy, you don’t need to be running out and getting tested every day,” DeSantis said.

The expanding vision of Everglades restoration: a tool to fight climate change in South Florida

In Florida’s battle against climate change, the Everglades is among the primary victims at risk from rising seas — but it could also prove a powerful tool to slow global warming and protect South Florida from future flooding.

Activists, government officials and politicians plan to discuss the complicated, controversial (and, they say, hopeful) future of climate change and Everglades restoration Friday and Saturday in the Florida Keys at the 37th annual Everglades Coalition Conference.

“It’s a very crucial moment,” said Richard Grosso, head of the Florida Keys chapter of the Izaak Walton League, a conservation group. “We’ve got good people running government now and an opportunity to make progress that we haven’t made in recent years.”