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Optimism is high among lawmakers and advocates that 2019 will be the year Florida adopts stiffer distracted driving laws.

The Legislation would allow law enforcement to pull people over when they see them driving distracted.

This is the second year Brooke and Jordan Scherer have come to the state Capitol to advocate for stiffer distracted driving laws.

It was two and a half years ago they lost their 9-year-old son Logan.

“We just happened to be at the end of that traffic jam, in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Brooke.

Others like Demitrus Broncha, who lost his son Anthony, have been coming even longer.

“Our kids are dying. This is the number one killer of American youth,” said Broncha.

Legislation that would not only make texting while driving, but all distracted driving a primary offense, punishable by a $30 citation, passed its second Senate committee with unanimous support Wednesday.

In a press conference immediately following the vote House sponsor Rep. Jackie Toledo said an identical companion bill has the support of House leadership.

“Florida is just one of four states where distracted driving is not a primary offense and waiting just another day puts so many Floridians at risk,” said Toledo.

Currently, law enforcement can only issue citations if a driver is pulled over for another traffic offense first.

“With it being a primary offense it will literally take the handcuffs off of law enforcement and allow us to make our roads safer,” said Florida Police Chiefs Association President, Chief David Perry.

Under the proposal hands free use of a phone would still be allowed.

A first time offender could even bring proof they purchased a bluetooth device to their local clerk of courts in lieu of paying the fine.

There would also be a three month grace period after the law takes effect where all first time offenders would be issued warnings instead of tickets.

Last year similar legislation aimed only at texting died in the Senate over privacy concerns.

This year, Senate sponsor Wilton Simpson says prohibiting all distracted driving, not just cell phone use has put those concerns to rest.\

If the bill becomes law Florida would be the 17th state to adopt a hands free law.

Other states with hands free laws have seen a 16% reduction in traffic fatalities within 2 years.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is pushing legislation pumping up penalties for people caught putting credit card skimmers on gas pumps.

She’s also asking for a task force to study the issue.

She says the number of skimmers being found doubled in the last year alone.

“Skimmers have grown as a huge problem across our state. We’ve removed over twenty four hundred skimmers. And since this last year, over twelve hundred of those in the state of Flordia. Each skimmer has the potential of a one million dollar impact, which means one million dollars being taken away from our consumers, and we must make a stop of this,” said Fried.

The tougher penalties cold range as high as a first degree felony, depending on the scope of the operation.

A bill that could shield video and pictures of mass shooting incidents from the public record passed its final Senate committee Wednesday morning.

The bill leaves exceptions to the public records exemption for victims families.

Senators expressed some concerns that blocking the records could prevent media from holding government accountable for poor responses to mass shooting incidents.

Sponsor Senator Tom Lee says the legislation comes from a place of legitimate concern.

“The experiences that certain members have had touring the crime scene down in Parkland I think is what led to us trying to take something like this up,” said Lee. “There are some groups out there that are using this information for just some really nefarious purposes.”

Under the current bill, citizens could petition a court to gain access to the records, but Senator Lee suggested major changes to the legislation are likely before it comes to a floor vote.

Florida Democrats are proposing giving teachers a 13% pay raise over the next three years.

They would pay for it by ending the Best and Brightest bonus program and by collecting sales taxes already owed on internet purchases.

Democratic leader Kionee McGee pushed back on those who say collecting the tax is actually a tax increase.

“No we are not going about making a tax on the consumer,” said McGee. “We’re actually saying to the seller, who is most likely going to be out of state, to say you know what, you have to shoulder some of this responsibility because Florida deserves better.”

Under current law, consumers are supposed to report their internet purchases and pay the tax.

About 5,000 forms were filed last year, but many filed more than one quarterly form.

Governor Ron DeSantis outlined his priorities and urged lawmakers to be bold during his first State of the State address to a joint session of the Florida Legislature, but the next 59 days will test his deal making abilities.

With the daughter and son of one of the Groveland Four, who were pardoned posthumously in January in the gallery, DeSantis congratulated lawmakers for apologizing two years ago.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” said DeSantis.

Then he encouraged lawmakers to be bold.

“I’ve also requested two point five billion dollars over the next four years for water resource projects and for Everglades restoration,” said DeSantis.

The Governor lobbied to end a 14,000 student long waiting list for vouchers.

“Tax credit scholarship students are forty three percent more likely to attend a four year college,” said DeSantis.

He also wants a greater emphasis on vocational education.

“I propose a plan to take Florida from the middle of the pack to number one in workforce education by 2030,” said DeSantis.

The Governor wants to give teachers a bonus, but no pay raise.

“That will reward more than 40,000 teachers with bonuses approaching $10,000,” said DeSantis.

The speech drew praise from some Democrats, something the previous governor seldom got.

“I was happy to hear the things he said on the environment,” said Rep. Joe Geller.

While the Governor is still enjoying a honeymoon with Florida lawmakers, the next 59 days will test that.

On day one, friction is already building with the House over university funding, and the Senate is skeptical when it comes to the Governor’s plans on health care.

Both could derail the good will, but in the end, all three need each other to be successful.

The Governor is also asking lawmakers to protect Florida families by making sure immigrants here illegally don’t go back on the streets after being arrested.

He is supporting legislation that would withhold state funds from cities and counties which engage is sanctuary policies.

The investigation into a November shooting that killed two at a Tallahassee Yoga studio found the shooter had an intense hatred of women.

Now that father of one victim is partnering with Florida State University on groundbreaking research into the hate and violence resulting from some men who who feel sidelined by the opposite sex.

Investigators found the Yoga studio shooter had a long history of inappropriate behaviour with women.

It including posting songs about violence and hatred. He was also involved in dark chats with others who call themselves incels…short for involuntary celibate.

“They feel like they have been unfairly deprived with intimacy with women,” said Dr. James Clark, Dean of FSU’s College of Social Work. “And that their only recourse is to strike back at women.”

Jeff Binkley is the father of Maura, one of two who died in the shooting.

“This will support positive solutions,” said Binkley.

Through a foundation called Maura’s Voice, Flordia State University will oversee research into men like the one who pulled the trigger last November.
“Ideas before Ideology. Research before rhetoric. Policy before politics,” said Binkley.

Researching what lead to her death and preventing violence to others is exactly what Maura Binkley would have wanted according to her best friend Audrey Benson.

“Maura wanted to do good. She wanted pursue policy,” said Benson.

Maura Binkley marched with Parkland Students a year ago, but her father says this isn’t just about guns.

“The primary focus as stated is addressing these root causes of hatred. Helping identify dangerous individuals,” said Binkley.

Monday would have been Maura Binkley’s 22nd birthday.

One goal of the research is to learn how men who hate women move from hatred into believing violence against women is the only way to get retribution for their perceived slights.

Alabama and Georgia bore the brunt of Sunday’s dangerous storms, but families living just a dozen miles east of the state Capitol spent the day digging out from a tornado that struck the Baum Community.

Ten Houses were hit, five of them completely destroyed.

“About ten homes have suffered substantial damage, and about half of those completely destroyed. You saw out here, some of these homes completely taken off the frames,” said Leon County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Shonda Knight.

David Byler was sitting at home when the warning on his phone went off shortly after eight o’clock Sunday night.

“The four of us huddled up inside our pantry, and all hell broke loose,” said Byler. “They say it sounds like a freight train, it sounds like a freight train running over you. The house was shaking. Debris, bug debris hitting the front of the house. The front door flew open, wind rushed through, and all this happened in about forty-five seconds.”

Two people were hospitalized, but no one died.

You could soon be rewarded for shopping around for less expensive medical procedures.

Part of a multifaceted approach by Republican lawmakers to cut down on medical costs.

Nearly half of the state’s annual budget goes to health care.

House Speaker Jose Oliva says the rising costs for both the state and consumers is the result of a lack of competition in the market place.

“We have to bring in some real market forces into it so that people have to compete for that business,” said Oliva.

A new bill aims to incentivize patients to shop for the lowest cost procedures.

It would allow insurance companies to return 25% or more of the money policy holders save by finding cheaper options.

Those savings could then go towards paying off policy holders’ premiums or future health care costs.

“It’s a chance to actually spend a few minutes and save money and put money in your pocket,” said Bill Sponsor Rep. Paul Renner. “And who wouldn’t do that?”

Other proposals include importing cheaper Canadian drugs and encouraging certain medical procedures to be conducted outside of hospitals, where costs are higher.

“You put all those together and we start to see a better market, a lower cost for Floridians, while improving access and maintaining the high quality that we have in the state,” said Renner.

Democrats say Medicaid expansion is missing from Republican’s health care fixes.

“All the polling has shown Floridians support the expansion of Medicaid,” said Senator Annette Taddeo.

Taddeo is sponsoring a constitutional amendment to put Medicaid expansion on the 2020 ballot.

“We’re leaving money at the table, money that we send to the Federal government that should be coming back to cover approximately 800,000 Floridians,” said Taddeo.

Republicans have traditionally opposed Medicaid expansion, arguing the system is already overwhelmed and adding more people to the program would reduce the quality of care.

If Democrats aren’t able to push their proposed amendment through the Legislature, there’s also citizen’s initiative collecting signatures that could put the question of Medicaid expansion before voters in 2020.

One out of three veterans in Florida don’t use all the benefits they’re entitled to leaving tens of millions of dollars in veterans benefits unclaimed, but some lawmakers are seeking funding for a new website that would make it easier for service members past and present to find out what they qualify for.

The bill seeks a $130,000 appropriation to expand Florida’s Network of Care Database to offer information about veterans services and benefits.

“And that’s veterans specific. So it has very particular information from DOD, Reserve Affairs, the VA,” said Bruce Bronson, President of Trinity Integrated Resources, the company that would be contracted to host the database. “It makes it much easier for veterans to readjust to coming home and to be able to find a way to move forward in their lives.”

The Florida Network of Care already offers a website for mental health services, broken down by region.

If the new Legislation passes a similar site will launch, that will tell veterans what benefits, jobs and services are offered in their part of the state.

“From anywhere you’re at you can, you know I need emergency financial assistance, I’m at risk, they’re turning my power off and I’m getting kicked out of my house. They hit a button. It takes them directly to Project Vet Relief. And they go there to Project Vet Relief, they get money to stay in their home, they don’t become homeless,” said Retired Navy Commander and Veterans Advocate, Dennis Baker. “So there’s a lot of prevention here, but mostly it’s just a one stop shop.”

And supporters say when veterans use their benefits, everyone is better off.

“It’s going to bring Federal VA dollars into the area. It’s going to free up Medicaid, state Medicaid money for others people, that can use that money for a better use. To help them recover from the hurricane, that’s just an example,” said Baker.

If the funding is approved by the Legislature it will take roughly four months for the site to be completed, putting the launch data somewhere around the end of this year.

So far the bill hasn’t been scheduled for any committee hearing in the House.

The Senate companion has not been filed yet, but that is expected to change.

The Governor and Cabinet have voted to reappoint the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.

The agency head wants to focus on clean water, clean air and is also putting a priority on addressing climate change.

Governor Ron DeSantis hit the ground running with his promise to improve the environment soon after taking office.

“We are recommending, over four years, $2.5 billion for water resources and Everglades projects,” said DeSantis.

In an Executive Order he tasked the Department of Environmental Protection with researching ways to prevent toxic algae blooms and clean Florida’s water ways.

The Governor and Cabinet approved the reappointment of Noah Valenstein to lead the agency, Tuesday morning.

The move had support from environmental groups like Audubon Florida.

“He really was a breath of fresh air when he took that position and I’m really optimistic about what he’ll be able to accomplish with an administration like this one that’s so focused on improving our wetlands and water quality,” said Executive Director of Audubon Florida Julie Wraithmell.

Originally chosen by Governor Rick Scott in 2017, Valenstein says there have been some notable changes under DeSantis.

“I’ll just say this, it’s been a busy month,” said Valenstien.

He’s also putting an emphasis on climate change, a phrase seldom used by state agencies under Rick Scott.

“Climate change is certainly a large issue that Florida faces and it’s something we’ve got some really talented staff working on,” said Valenstien.

Florida’s only Democratic Cabinet member, Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried says she is encouraged by Valenstein’s focus on climate change and plans to create a stronger partnership between the two agencies.

Aliki Moncrief with the Florida Conservation Voters says new tone is encouraging, but hopes DEP also focuses on preventing climate change.

“That’s the side of the conversation that isn’t happening within the current administration and that we’re not hearing yet from Noah Valenstein,” said Moncrief.

However, Moncrief says there’s still time for that to change.

When Florida lawmakers return to the Capitol next week, one of their first items of business will be expanding school safety legislation developed after the Parkland shooting last year.

While arming teachers is getting a lot of attention, provisions in the bill seek to identify threats and stop them before they act.

Created by the FBI and Secret Service, threat assessment management believes that potential assailants show signs of their intentions long before they act, but no one connects the dots.

“Most shooters exhibit four to five of the indicators,” said FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen.

Directed by the Governor, Swearingen has studied every school shooting since Columbine.

“There’s a misconception that these people snap. They don’t snap. They decide,” said Swearingen. “In almost all of these instances its been proven that they planned these attacks days, weeks, even months ahead of time, so the further you can intercept them from that pathway to violence, the better chance you have of preventing a targeted violence attack.”
The hope is that threat assessment teams will connect the dots.

In hindsight, FDLE says the Parkland Shooter exhibited six or seven of the markers that should have identified him as a threat.

Swearingen says he believes if it had been in place prior to the Parkland shooting, it could have stopped Nikolas Cruz.

“I believe it could have been different, yes,” said Swearingen.

Under this year’s school safety legislation, threat assessments will get new attention.

“So we’re taking it to the next level, so that we can know, district by district how those threat assessments are being conducted,” said Senate President Bill Galvano.

Under the legislation, the Department of Education has until August 1st, just before school year starts, to come up with a standardized assessment tool for every school in the state.

The legislation also sets aside $161 million, for school safety for the next school year.

Three out of four Floridians are worried about violence at their local school according to a new poll conducted by a coalition of law enforcement, businesses, mental health professionals and educators.

The Institute for a Safer Florida is spearheaded by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

“Big picture the institute will focus in four areas, safer work places, safer schools, mental health and of course public safety,” said Mark Wilson President of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Its goal is to cut down on workplace and school violence, which has taken the lives 85 Floridians in the last 32 months.

“We’ve got to get past reacting to a shooting and try to prevent them,” said Executive Director of Florida State University Schools Dr. Stacy Chambers.

The institute’s polling shows 94% of Floridians support more emergency training for school teachers and staff.

The group says its primary focus will be investigating and developing best practices for businesses and schools in the state.

However, there’s one area the group isn’t touching: gun control.

“That’s someone else’s argument and we are not going to get into that argument,” said Wilson. “We’re going to get into best practices, we’re going to get into mental health. That’s the conversation we think we can make a difference on.”

Instead, members hope better communication between businesses, schools, police and mental health can prevent the violence from ever occurring.

“You know if you see something say something,” said Sheriff Mark Hunter, President of the Florida Sheriffs Association. “I know that sounds real simplistic, but there’s a lot of truth to that and if we have people comfortable enough to say, ‘hey we saw this’ we may be able to prevent another episode.”

The group plans to advocate in support of Legislation that aims to increase public safety.

Part of its mission will include defending the school safety law passed last year in the wake of the Parkland Shooting.

Florida would become the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana if a newly filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session becomes law.

The legislation sponsored by a freshman State Representative would allow adults over 21 to have two and a half ounces of marijuana, tax it at $50 an ounce, and allow individuals to grow up to six plants.

The bill, sponsored by a freshman State Representative faces an uphill battle.

Lawmakers are grappling with allowing smokable medical marijuana, which House Speaker Jose Oliva called a back door attempt at legalization.

“The discussion that is being had now by some people, basically, we want recreational marijuana,” said Oliva. “We want to call it medicine because if we call it medicine, then we have some cover.”

But the effort for full legalization is gaining steam.

A gallup poll late last year found that a majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents all favored legalization. T

That’s the first time that’s happened.

Bungled attempts at medical marijuana in other states have lead to legalization.

Senate President Bill Galvano says it’s possible that’s the direction Florida is headed in as well.

“I think there are many of us who believe that, what we are going through now in the amendments and the implementation are just steps towards that ultimate goal,” said Galvano.

One obstacle is Governor Ron DeSantis.

“My thing is that I don’t think it’s good for teenagers and young people to be doing,” said DeSantis.

Advocates say it is only a matter of time.

“If we really want to keep it our of the hands of children, we certainly don’t do that when the only access anyone has is through the black market,” said Jodi James with the Florida Cannabis Action Network.

During the Gubernatorial campaign, Democrat Andrew Gillum argued legal marijuana could raise $1 billion a year for schools.
Of the ten states which have legalized marijuana, only Vermont did so through its state legislature.

The other nine were all by referendum.

The Choir from a Tallahassee High School spent Wednesday morning at the Historic State Capitol.

The group performed songs traditionally sung by African Americans as its contribution to Black History month.

Museum Director Tiffany Baker said it was a way to honor the contribution African Americans made to the state.

“Well, Black History Month is an important nation wide recognition of the contributions of African Americans to American History, and this is just one way for us to recognize that national month and participate,” said Baker. “And when we’re presented with such a great program that’s basically plug and play for us, we couldn’t say no.”

The choir has previously performed at the Historic Capitol for holiday events.