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Florida's Senate president on health, education and more ahead of the legislative session

With Florida’s 2024 legislative session just a few weeks away, lawmakers will be tasked to address pressing issues affecting Floridians.

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, spoke about some of these issues Friday with Tom Hudson on "The Florida Roundup."

She said she’s focused on a package of proposals called Live Healthy, which promises to “grow Florida’s health care workforce, increase access, and incentivize innovation.”

Passidomo also touched on education bills, home insurance, social media and more. This Q&A has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Florida State Guard unit received weapons training for migrant responses

A select group of volunteers expected to help Gov. Ron DeSantis intercept migrants at sea gathered at a Panhandle combat training facility this fall for lessons on how to use rifles and pistols, treat “massive hemorrhages” and practice “aerial gunnery.”

The training sessions, authorized this summer following a surge in migrant arrivals by boat to the Keys, mostly from Cuba and Haiti, were for a specialized unit of the Florida State Guard, revived last year by the Florida Legislature.

The unit that received the training has the power to make arrests and carry weapons under state law, unlike the majority of State Guard members, who so far have responded to natural disasters. A $1.2 million purchase order signed in August makes clear the DeSantis administration felt it had an “immediate and emergent need for specially trained personnel” to intercept migrants traveling by boat.

A draft plan of instruction shows the vendor, Stronghold SOF Solutions, offered to recruit, vet and train volunteers at its facility in Defuniak Springs, where a 45-square-mile body of water, vessels for on-the-water training and a Bell 412 helicopter were available to recruits. 

GOP Sen. Rick Scott responds to Bill Hancock, College Football Playoff Committee on FSU snub

GOP Sen. Rick Scott is still looking for answers from the College Football Committee and its executive director Bill Hancock. Scott responded to a letter from Hancock which was sent out Friday. Scott's office shared the letter with the Democrat on Monday morning.

Scott has been one of the most outspoken Florida politicians demanding transparency about the College Football Playoff Committee's decision to snub Florida State from the four-team playoff field.

The Seminoles went a perfect 13-0 and won the ACC Championship but were still left out for two 1-loss teams in Texas and Alabama for a playoff spot.

"Dear Mr. Hancock, I appreciate your response on Friday, December 15, to my letter dated Monday, December 4, regarding the unprecedented exclusion of the 13-0, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Champion Florida State University (FSU) Seminoles from the College Football Playoff (CFP). Unfortunately, your response failed to answer all 10 of the questions I posed in my initial letter."

Gov. Ron DeSantis funds $100 million of projects to benefit Indian River Lagoon

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday a combined $100 million was awarded to a suite of projects in the Indian River Lagoon Protection Program created in May. The awards will support 21 projects to improve water quality in the 156-mile long lagoon along Florida's Atlantic Coast.

In May at the Pelican Yacht Club in Fort Pierce, DeSantis signed House Bill 1379 contained within the state budget. He reinforced the state government's commitment to protect Florida’s environment including the IRL.

“Florida’s prized waterways draw visitors from across the world and are the foundation of our local economies. We are advancing our efforts to protect the Indian River Lagoon through smart investments that will continue to preserve this waterway,” DeSantis said via press release.

With the addition of $100 million, the investment brings the state's contribution to Indian River Lagoon based funding to $390 million since 2019, when DeSantis took office, a record amount of lagoon funding.