Dear Friends,
This is the last column of the 2021 Legislative Session and by next month we will be ready to report on what all transpired during our time in Tallahassee. This session may be one of the most impactful years we’ve had in the Florida Senate. Even though we’ve filed less bills than previous years, the substance of the few that we have are some really big lifts. Here’s an update on some of those.
SB 90, a bill filed by your Senator, addresses a number of issues related to election administration and vote-by-mail. Simply put, we’re looking to eliminate potentially weak areas of our voting process and ensure Florida’s citizens that it will be easy to vote, but very hard to cheat. One provision in SB 90 addresses ballot harvesting so that no person may possess a ballot other than his or her own and those of immediate family members. We are eliminating the use of drop boxes so that the ballot harvesting prohibition can be enforced and to prevent bad actors from having the opportunity to spoil ballots. The second largest provision in the bill expands the timeframe for canvassing vote-by-mail ballots, providing that one vote-by-mail ballot request is good for all elections through the next regularly scheduled general election. Current law states that one request is good for all elections through the next two general elections. This change is necessary to provide voters with more flexibility to decide which method of voting they want to utilize, instead of being locked in for two cycles.
Just this week the Florida Senate passed SB 72, which shields businesses and health care providers acting in good faith from lawsuits related to COVID-19. The threat of frivolous lawsuits shouldn’t be hanging over these organizations who have sacrificed much and are trying to safely reopen. Your Senator was a proud co-sponsor of this very good legislation and we’re excited that this was one of the first bills to pass this session.
The Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability just approved SB 1606, which designates November 7 as the Victims of Communism legal holiday in the State of Florida. While largely symbolic, this bill will serve as a reminder to our citizens that the voices of millions of victims throughout history cry out against the evils of communism and that we must be vigilant in putting down any attempt to normalize or accept this philosophy in our culture.
This is just a very small glimpse of some of the work that we are doing on your behalf in Tallahassee, and I look forward to providing a more detailed report upon our return to the district. If you have any questions about work we are doing on a particular subject, please call one of our offices and my staff will be happy to discuss in more detail.
Onward & Upward,
Senator Dennis Baxley
