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A bill aimed at increasing safety for high school athletes has cleared its first Senate committee.

The legislation would require all high schools to make cooling stations available at all practices and games to help prevent heat stroke.

The cooling stations would also be required to have cold-water immersion tubs capable of rapidly cooling athletes if they become overheated.

“We rank 14th as a state nationally for sport safety standards, but yet we rank first in high school sports related deaths and that’s specifically due to heat stroke,” said Robert Sefcik with the Florida Alliance for Sports Medicine.

The bill sponsor says funding for the additional safety features would likely come from both public and private dollars.

LGBTQ advocates are condemning a handful of bills filed for the 2020 session they say will harm their community.

Two bills would preempt local governments in various ways.

Equality advocates say they could repeal local ordinances that currently prohibit employment discrimination for gender identity and sexual orientation and local bans on conversion therapy.

They say sponsors of both bills have been willing to work with the LGBTQ community to address some of their concerns, but another bill that would ban transgender affirming medical practices on children they are calling to be immediately withdrawn.

“The anti-transgender bills that were brought forward by Representative Sabatini and Senator Baxley. These are ugly bills, they are mean bills and they are unacceptable and they should simply be withdrawn from consideration immediately,” said Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith.

LGBTQ advocates are hoping the Competitive Workforce Act is approved by the Legislature this year.

It would establish equal protections for gender identity and sexual orientation for housing, public accommodations and employment.

Two Polk County lawmakers are arguing a changing social climate makes their homes more vulnerable to those who intend harm.

They are working to take the information out of the public record, but the idea is getting a lukewarm reception from the Governor and public records advocates.

State Representative Daisy Baez was forced to resign in 2017 after reports showed she didn’t live in her district.

But learning who lives where could get more difficult.

State Senator Kelli Stargel wants to remove lawmakers home addresses from public records.

“I’m accessible. They can They can reach me in my office. We have cell phones, we have Twitter, we have Facebook and all that so someone doesn’t need to meet me at my front door,” said Stargel.

Stargel’s address is already supposed to be secret because she is married to a judge, but she says many already know it.

“I have two people wrote me and say too bad, I already know where you live. And then somebody else wrote me and said, don’t forget, I already know where you live. And because of this context, so, it’s just a different day and the hostility is just worse than it was,” said Stargel.

First Amendment Foundation President Pamela Marsh said those comments prove the change in public records isn’t needed.

“There has to be someway that we have evidence that they actually live in their districts where they are serving their constituents,” said Marsh.

One potential compromise in the works would be to allow lawmakers to opt-in to make make their addresses private, creating public scrutiny.

“If you have a young family with young kids and there have been threats made, I’d think I’d want my address withheld,” said Sen. Kathleen Passidomo.

But even if something passes, convincing the Governor could be a tough sell.
“You elect someone you kinda need to know where they live if they are going to represent your community,” said Governor Ron DeSantis.

Another hurdle is that passing the legislation would take a two thirds vote.

Opponents of the change also argue removing the home addresses could lead to a false sense of safety, since most attacks on public figures are a result of them being stalked or attacked at public events.

Cracking down on bear poaching is the focus of a bill passed through its final House Committee Thursday morning.

Lawmakers say the problem is more prevalent than they previously thought.

A bear hunt hasn’t been authorized since 2015.

It took just two days for hunters to kill more than 300, prompting regulators to end the hunt early.

But bears are still being illegally hunted and lawmakers seeking to tackle the issue have found penalties are surprisingly low.

“It’s less of a criminal penalty to kill a bear than to take a turkey one day out of season,” said Representative David Smith.

A bill moving quickly through the House would bring the penalties for poaching black bears in line with other game.

“It’s a common sense bill that just bear poaching up to the level of deer and turkey out of season,” said Kate MacFall with the Human Society.

If the bill becomes law, killing a bear out of season would come with a minimum $750 fine and a three year suspension of any FWC license or permit.

Rep. Smith is sponsoring the bill.

He said there have been at least 18 bear poaching cases in recent years, and possibly more.

“Some of the poaching goes on, on federal property, the Ocala National Forrest or on some of the military bases that aren’t really state property. So it was a much more prevalent issue than I thought it was,” said Smith.

While the bill is already teed up for the House floor, it hasn’t moved in the Senate, where it’s expected be more controversial.

Senator Bill Montford chairs the bill’s first committee stop.

He said it will be heard, but some senators have hesitations.

“There’s a disagreement on the number of bears and a disagreement on how you deal with them if there are too many bears,” said Montford.

There are more than 4,000 bears roaming the state.

It will be up to lawmakers to decide if they need the additional protections.

Legislation blocking life, disability and long term insurers from using your DNA against you when it comes to how much you pay or even whether you get insurance coverage passed its second committee in the state Capitol Thursday.

For the second time, lobbyists for the insurers chose not to oppose the ban publicly.

Sponsor Chris Sprowls of Pinellas County said more than 26 million people didn’t know the full risk of providing their DNA to a public site.

“Many of us are vulnerable to this and most people don’t know they are vulnerable to it, and it would be wildly inappropriate for an industry that’s supposed to be about spreading rise to then try to guarantee the outcome. That not what insurance is and that’s what this bill prevents,” said Sprowls.

Because the sponsor is in line to be House Speaker after November, the industry is concentrating on modifying or killing the legislation in the Senate.

Lawmakers are hoping to crack down on individuals who lie about serving in the military.

A bill passed through its final House committee Thursday morning would make it illegal to falsify or misrepresent military service in order to obtain employment or political office.

Sponsor Representative Anthony Sabatini said the issue is more common than is often reported and even occurred in his own district.

“We had a gentleman who won a seat for mayor in one of the towns in south Lake County completely totally misrepresenting his military record, saying he was a Purple Heart recipient like I mentioned earlier. So this bill really takes care of that situation,” said Sabatini.

Violators would face a third degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

It’s been more than a month since the deadly terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola.

The US Secretary of Defense visited the air station Wednesday and met with Governor Ron DeSantis.

The three American servicemen killed and the eight who were injured during the December terrorist attack at NAS Pensacola were honored by the Florida Senate at the start of the 2020 Legislative Session.

The attack was carried out by a Saudi National receiving trained at the base.

“You know the people of Pensacola, it’s a great military town, they’ve welcomed a lot of these foreign folks there. They’re kind of part of the community and I think a lot of them felt like they really got stabbed in the back,” said DeSantis.

So far 21 Saudis have been expelled from the country.

DeSantis got his first chance to get a full update on how the Federal Government plans to respond Wednesday.

He told reporters he had tough questions for US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper prior to their meeting at the Pensacola base.

“Clearly if you look at this guy, I mean this is a big problem that you would have someone like that in our country, training them. So I’m going to be asking some hard questions… Now the Secretary has been very responsive. The day it happened we’re on the phone, he kept in contact and I think he understands that this was a really significant incident,” said DeSantis.

We spoke with State Senator Doug Broxson who represents Pensacola.

He said he’s confident the Federal Government will take the appropriate actions.

“I know it’s a very complicated issue because we’re selling equipment to them that they have to know how to use and so I’m totally dependent on the Governor and the President and the Congress in trying to resolve that issue to make sure that the rest of us are safe,” said Broxson.

Later in the day, Secretary Esper said the Government has increased screenings for foreigners training at US military bases.

Governor DeSantis seemed to approve, though he has previously called on the Saudi Government to compensate victims and their families.

He’s also asked for legislation at the state or federal level that could ban non citizens from legally buying a gun.

DeSantis will be meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Thursday.

He’s been working with the Secretary to try an secure compensation from Saudi Arabia for the victims.

Hundreds of tourism officials and those who depend on visitors were in the State Capitol Wednesday, fighting for the state agency that promotes the state.

Visit Florida has been under fire from the State House leadership, but a potential trade could be in the works to keep Visit Flordia alive.

Supporters ‘Save Visit Florida’ badges during their annual tourism day breakfast.

Governor Ron DeSantis has asked for $50 million to keep the promotion agency alive.

“Our Governor understands that tourism is the foundation of our state economy,” said Visit Florida CEO Dana Young.

The Governor said there is a time and place for Visit Florida to tell the nation that Florida is open for tourists after a natural disaster.

“People just think Florida, what’s going on in Florida. Maybe we’ll do something else this year,” said DeSantis.

Pinellas State Senator Ed Hooper got a standing ovation after telling the crowd he’s got a bill to keep Visit Flordia alive for another eight years.

“We know where the problem lies, we know where the obstacles are,” said Hooper.

Conspicuously absent was House Speaker Jose Oliva.

He calls Visit Florida useless.

Instead the House Speaker staged a rally and press conference with advanced registered nurse practitioners.

He wants to see them get full authority to practice general medicine.

So we asked the bill’s sponsor Rep. Cary Pigman if trading Scope of Practice for Visit Florida could be in the works.

“I try to make really good arrows. How the Speaker chooses to use my arrows is his decision,” said Pigman.

We asked the Governor the same question, which brought a smile to his face.

“Look, the Visit Florida is what it is, I think we’re gonna do that. I know the Speaker has some strong views on some of these other things,” said DeSantis.

But the reality is that there are very few coincidences when it comes to legislation in Tallahassee.

The Senate President has said funding for Visit Florida would have to stand on its own, but during the last week fo the 60-day session, virtually every major issue is involved in some horse trading.

On the 47 Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a bill that would require minors get their parents permission before having an abortion was approved by its final Senate Committee.

The bill is one of the most controversial of the 2020 legislative session.

Democrats on the committee expressed concerns about the judicial waiver option included in the bill that allows minors to bypass the parental consent requirement by going to the courts.

They fear it may leave victims of incest, human trafficking and sexual abuse at risk in certain circumstances.

But proponents say the concerns are overinflated.

“It works, 21 other state have parental consent and there have never been any problems with judicial waivers. In fact, Florida goes even further by respecting the privacy rights of those minor children to make sure that they’re not subject to public records requests,” said Anthony Verdugo, Executive Director of the Christian Family Coalition.

The Senate President said he expects the bill to be heard on the Senate Floor next week.

The legislation is also ready to be taken up on the House Floor.

The first bill heard by the Florida Senate when it convince this morning would prohibit local governments from banning sunscreens.

The legislation comes in response to a ban passed by the city of Key West, which feared certain chemicals in the products might harm coral reefs.

Senate Sponsor Rob Bradley said the state has looked at the research and concluded the ingredients believed to harm coral reefs do not appear in high enough concentrations in nature to have a negative impact.

“And it would be a shame if people stopped using sunscreen because it was too expensive or they didn’t like a certain kind because a local government said you can’t use that kind of sunscreen. I think that’s the wrong message to send,” said Bradley.

Senator Bradley also said if the chemicals are deemed to be harmful to humans, the FDA could order them to be removed from sunscreens.

The bill is now ready for a floor vote in the Senate.

Senate President Bill Galvano has been under fire from conservative republicans over his acceptance of a half million dollars from now Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg.

The money was given to a political action committee controlled by Galvano following the Parkland shooting.

Some are accusing Galvano of being disloyal to the President, and that prompted Governor Ron DeSantis to speak unprompted about the situation.

“Look, I just think Bill has taken a lot of flack as if he’s a supporter of Bloomberg. Bloomberg is running for President now, which is different now. I just want to say the guy is a hundred percent supporter of the President. He was instrumental in getting things like Sanctuary cities passed, school choice, he’ reduced taxes, he’s moving some good legislation. So I just felt as a friend, whatever happened then, he’ll have to explain that, and obviously I was on the other side of a lot of that Bloomberg money, but I’ll just tell you since I’ve dealt with him, he’s been really strong and he’s definitely been a supporter of the President. I just think it needed to be said,” said DeSantis.

The Governor did make clear he opposes increased background check legislation being pushed by Galvano this session.

77-year-old Clifford Williams was all smiles Wednesday at the Capitol.

A house subcommittee approved a bill that would give Williams $2.15 million for the 43 years he spent behind bars after being wrongly convicted in 1976 for a murder in Jacksonville.

Williams spent five years on death row before having his sentenced commuted to life in prison.

He was released last March.

“It took 43 years to get out, but thank God we kept living because a lot of people have died who were innocent,” said Williams.

Williams’ nephew also got life in the case and refused to testify against his uncle in exchange for a lighter sentence.

With three out of ten high school students using vaping products lawmakers say a public health crisis is imminent if teen use isn’t addressed.

A billed passed by a Senate committee Tuesday is looking to do just that.

Late last year with the President’s signature, the Federal Government raised the age to purchase nicotine products to age 21.

State Senator Divd Simmons said unless Florida does the same, enforcement will be lacking, leaving teens at risk.

“It’s your children, it’s our children, it’s our grandchildren and the simple fact of it is, where do we start?” said Simmons.

This year’s version of the Tobacco 21 Act, sponsored by Sen. Simmons, would officially raise the age in Florida and regulate vaping products the same as tobacco products.

Vaping companies say they support raising the age, but that this bill puts too many regulations on their businesses while not doing enough to punish bad actors.

One complaint is that it would require face to face delivery for online sales.

“That adds about $6 to $18 for one individual package,” said Gregory Conley with the American Vaping Association.

Vaping companies also argued penalties for shops and adults who sell to minors should be raised.

They also want higher punishments for people under 21 who possess or purchase the products.

“We’re trying to prevent youth access, but what we’re not doing is actually holding youth accountable for breaking the law,” said Edgewater vape store owner Jonathan Risteen.

But health experts have reservations.

“We don’t think, and the data shows, that penalties on youth are particularly effective,” said Paul Hull with the American Cancer Society.

There is a separate bill moving in the Senate that deals with increasing penalties, but none of the recommendations proposed by the vape industry are included.

The Tobacco 21 Act has two more committee stops in the Senate.

It’s yet to receive a hearing in the House.