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Winners and losers emerging from the 2024 Legislative Session

A return to normalcy. That phrase applies to the 2024 Legislative Session in more ways than one.

As we and others have written about before, there were times during the past several years when it appeared Gov. Ron DeSantis was running two branches of government at once (see: DeSantis strong-arming the Legislature in 2022 over redistricting). But with DeSantis’ presidential ambitions faded, this year marked a return of healthy disagreement between the legislative and executive branches, where all leaders staked out their own priorities on more or less equal footing.

Sure, there is room to spin a narrative this year highlighting “battles” over the social media ban for minors, or the Senate stalling some gubernatorial appointments, or several culture war bills dying this year that would have been DeSantis favorites in years past. But in reality, these types of back-and-forth are, well, normal. It’s the way Session is supposed to work.

Take that social media restriction bill. DeSantis vetoed the first version of the Speaker Paul Renner-priority. But what did they do? They got in a room and hammered it out and, as a result, churned out an improved product that no doubt still sends a message from Renner that Florida is focused on protecting children’s mental health.

Florida Senate passes bill to limit medical debt collections to 3 years

Patients in Florida could soon get clearer information up front on what their care costs and whether their copay is more expensive than paying out of pocket, and then be able to more easily dispute those charges, if a bill that passed the Senate becomes law.

And while sending a patient’s bill to debt collection would be less likely under the measure, hospitals would have less time to pursue the money once they take that step.

The amended measure, HB 7089, is headed back to the House where it is expected to pass on Friday, the last day of the legislative session.

After the bill passed the Florida Senate on Thursday, Senate sponsor Jay Collins, a Tampa Republican, said in a statement that it “will go a long way to increase transparency so patients have a better understanding of costs, and protection from onerous debt collection practices.”

TikTok is a "national security issue," Sens. Mark Warner and Marco Rubio say

Sens. Mark Warner and Marco Rubio, who sit atop the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned Sunday of the threat posed by TikTok, a social media app owned by a China-based company that's become widely popular among young people in the U.S.

"We might have slightly different ways on how we go at this, but we think this is a national security issue," Warner, a Virginia Democrat, said of himself and Rubio on "Face the Nation."

The video-sharing app has been under fire by U.S. officials for years amid warnings that China's government could gain access to its data and use it to manipulate or spy on Americans. But a renewed push targeting TikTok has gained momentum on Capitol Hill in recent days, with a House bill that would compel the company to either sell the app or be banned from U.S. app stores.

Warner noted that since a large portion of American young people use TikTok as a news source, and because the app collects data that could be available to the Chinese Communist Party, it poses a serious threat, and perhaps "the most powerful propaganda tool ever."

Florida lawmakers want $3.5 million for clean water pipeline in Ocala

Florida officials have known for years that chemical pollution from a state firefighting college in Ocala has threatened the drinking water supply of nearby homes, prisons and businesses, but efforts to remove the area from at-risk well water have gone nowhere since 2021.

This year, that may finally change.

Florida lawmakers on Friday approved an annual budget that includes $3.5 million for a nearly 7-mile pipeline to deliver clean drinking water to the Lowell area. The budget now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, where he can choose to veto specific projects.

Firefighters at the Florida State Fire College trained with foam extinguishers that contained dangerous levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called PFAS or “forever chemicals,” that are linked to a slew of health problems. The state discovered in 2018 that the chemicals had seeped into groundwater around the college, eventually spreading to neighboring properties and threatening the drinking water at nearby state-run prisons, including the women’s Lowell Correctional Institution.