JUICE — Florida Politics' Juicy Read — 3.5.2021 — Fried Wants FBI To Scope DeSantis — COVID Liability — Gruters, Rubio, Scott, Pizzo, Patronis — More...

JUICE — Florida Politics' Juicy Read — 3.5.2021 — Fried Wants FBI To Scope DeSantis — COVID Liability — Gruters, Rubio, Scott, Pizzo, Patronis — More...

Javier Manjarres
Javier Manjarres
|
March 5, 2021

It’s a Tax. It’s Not a Tax.

State Senator Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) says that his SB 50 is not a tax increase, but it’s named, “CS/SB 50: Sales and Use Tax,” tells a different story.

Huh? What? Que?

So, we are going to go with its a tax, as the measure has just passed the Senate Appropriations Committee (18-0), it looks like SB 50 will make its way to a final vote and eventually get signed into law.

Maybe.

The bill calls for Non-Florida online retailers that rack up more than $100K in sales, to have to pay a tax.

Would DeSantis sign off on this “Sales and Use Tax” bill in order to cut into the huge budget gap caused by the lack of tax revenue as a result of the pandemic?

Remember, DeSantis is one of those ‘Less Taxes, No New Taxes’ governors.

Sen. Jason Pizzo (D-Miami) is one of the Democrats who support this sales tax.

COVID Liability

Florida Legislators are wrestling with legislation that would protect health care businesses from facing liability and potential litigation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) saw his SB 74 squeak by with a 5-4 vote in the Health Policy Committee.

Sen. Brandes wants potential plaintiffs to prove that whatever health care provider they are suing as a result of the pandemic, must prove the defendant acted with “gross negligence.

Brandes told The Floridian that he was happy to see his bill move along. Trial lawyers are not happy, as you can imagine.

Speaking of Brandes, Florida's Pot King’ told The Floridian that he believes that the legalization of recreational marijuana will happen in Florida. Brandes points to the surging poll numbers that show that the majority of Floridians approve of legalizing pot for recreational use. READ MORE

Big Announcement

State Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R) is holding an event on Monday, March 8 to presumably announce his run for the U.S. Congress.

The Floridian first broke the story last weekend that Rep. Sabatini was strongly considering the run. READ MORE

 

Sabatini did not say if he was definitely going to run for Congress. We speculate that he will primary challenge  Reps. Daniel Webster or Scott Franklin.

 

AG Ashley Moody @AGAshleyMoody-Tax season is in full swing and scammers are working overtime to steal your personal information. Stop tax identity theft in its tracks by reading our Scams at a Glance: Tax Identity Theft brochure today!

Lauren Melo @LaurenMeloFL-Today, I had the honor of presenting my first bill in committee! The Consumer-First Workforce System Bill will consolidate workforce services so that they may be accessed through one site and more. Thanks to Chair @RepMcClain and my colleagues for a unanimous vote! #BeMoreDoMore

Cyndi Stevenson @RepStevenson-I was honored to have my son join me earlier this week as the Doctor of the Day on the Opening day for the 123rd Session of the Florida House of Representatives!

Rep. Anna V. Eskamani @AnnaForFlorida-The Inspector General’s report on Florida’s broken unemployment system demonstrates a serious failure on all fronts and reinforces what we already knew to be true: CONNECT was set up to fail.

 

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Javier Manjarres

Javier Manjarres

Javier Manjarres is a nationally renowned award-winning political journalist and Publisher of Floridianpress.com, Hispolitica.com, shark-tank.com, and Texaspolitics.com He enjoys traveling, playing soccer, mixed martial arts, weight-lifting, swimming, and biking. Javier is also a political consultant and has also authored "BROWN PEOPLE," which is a book about Hispanic Politics. Follow on Twitter: @JavManjarres Email him at Diversenewmedia@gmail.com

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