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Special session could slow release of Florida redistricting maps, panel chair says

House Redistricting Chairman Tom Leek hopes initial maps with proposed congressional and legislative lines for the next decade could be ready before the 2022 legislative session begins in January.

However, the Ormond Beach Republican expressed a little concern that the high-stakes process could be affected by a special session this month that Gov. Ron DeSantis has called to address COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

“I don’t want to hem us into a definitive timeline on that, because I want to make sure everybody feels comfortable with the education on how to do this,” Leek said after the Redistricting Committee met on Tuesday. “And this is really complex stuff.”

Surfside-inspired proposal would force landlords of evacuated condos to pay for residents’ relocation

Miami-Dade landlords and homeowner associations whose negligence leads to a building deteriorating to dangerous conditions will be forced to pay their residents’ relocation costs if a new ordinance moving through the County Commission passes next year.

That policy could soon go statewide, according to Commissioner Sally Heyman, the sponsor of the item, which got a preliminary OK Tuesday. If passed, a residential building owner or the entity responsible for its maintenance and safety must pay “all reasonable expenses” to relocate residents to “safe, sanitary and secure housing” within a day of being told to vacate by a county building official who deems the structure a collapse, health, windstorm or fire hazard.

The law would apply only to buildings with 25 or more units. It wouldn’t apply retroactively for rental units but would for all tenancies entered after the ordinance passes. It’s also restricted only to safety, not cosmetic issues.

Florida’s monoclonal antibody plan cost $244.8 million in 2021

On Thursday, Florida officials gave a price tag to the state’s monoclonal antibody program for this year: $244 million in federal money.

That’s how much it’s expected to cost to set up and operate 25 state-run monoclonal antibody sites. Once 2021 turns to 2022, state officials say they could need another $634.3 million in order to meet the demand for various antiviral treatments, including other monoclonal antibody therapies.

The COVID-19 treatments will ultimately be paid for by reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. On Thursday, a state official asked a panel of lawmakers charged with overseeing the state’s budget for the authority to draw down those federal funds.

Florida could get $5 billion for Everglades restoration soon,  but there's a catch

Florida lawmakers say a looming $1 trillion infrastructure bill has enough money in it to cover the federal government’s share of Everglades restoration projects — but the ultimate say on how the money is spent is up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, a federal agency that has long been a target of anger from Florida Republicans and Democrats alike.

During a meeting of Florida’s 27-member U.S. House delegation on Wednesday, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said a bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s currently in procedural limbo but expected to pass includes nearly $13 billion in funds that could be spent on the Everglades.

That’s more than enough for the federal government to cover its $5 billion share for approved Everglades restoration projects, Wasserman Schultz said. The money will come from an $11.6 billion funding pot for the Army Corps of Engineers and $1.9 billion for aquatic ecosystem restoration projects.