By Kimberly Leonard

Good morning and welcome to Thursday. 

The Florida GOP-led Legislature is answering Gov. Ron DeSantis’ call from last week to expand sanctions against Iran after Hamas’ attack on Israel.

A special session is even possible as soon as this fall, POLITICO’s Gary Fineout reported from Tallahassee. Lawmakers are already set to hold committee meetings in November and December.

The push for “universal” school choice was spearheaded by House Speaker Paul Renner and House Republican leaders as an effort to expand parental rights that both chambers passed by week three of the 2023 session. | Phil Sears/AP Photo

DeSantis asked the Legislature to block a broad array of state or local investments in Iranian businesses in Florida, from construction to manufacturing, which would go further than current law. House Speaker Paul Renner suggested the Legislature would also strengthen laws against antisemitism and fund more security for Jewish day schools, according to USA Today Network - Florida.

With the Legislature onboard, DeSantis has been able to approach the war in Israel through multiple angles: unilaterally sending flights to Israel to rescue stranded Americans at no cost to them, taking the discussion to the campaign trail and to the airwaves, pressuring GOP presidential rivals to take a position on matters such as Palestinian aid — and soon through legislation.

The swift coming together of state GOP lawmakers signals that, despite some groaning, the Legislature remains in DeSantis’ corner. It’s also a reminder of the advantage DeSantis has from his other 2024 GOP rivals, many of whom don’t hold down jobs aside from running for president. The announcement from the Legislature came as President Joe Biden touched down in Israel to express support for the U.S.’ longtime ally, while also promising $100 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinian civilians.

Democratic leaders in the Legislature, meanwhile, have criticized DeSantis’ flights as politically motivated, an overstep and duplicative of the federal governments' work. Some GOP operatives are skeptical that DeSantis’ actions could help him upend the presidential race when he's so far behind former President Donald Trump. “Ron DeSantis does not let bureaucracy, excuses, or naysayers stop him from doing the right thing," said Bryan Griffin, DeSantis campaign press secretary. More flights are expected in the coming days, and Florida donated medicine, clothes and children’s toys to Israel.

One thing both parties in Florida agree on is support for Israel. On Wednesday, a large bipartisan group of state legislators gathered at the Capitol to condemn Hamas and pledge support Israel.

— WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis is campaigning in South Carolina.

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ON TAP TODAY — The Florida House’s Health and Human Services Committee will meet for a hospitals panel. There’s also an estimating conference on the abortion rights ballot. (Watch live.)

NO ANSWERS — Florida’s insurance commissioner Michael Yaworsky wouldn’t say when residents would see their home insurance costs drop, despite the reforms the Legislature enacted last year, reported USA Today Network - Florida’s John Kennedy. Members of the Legislature have been saying that Floridians can expect drops in 18 months, yet Yaworsky sidestepped the question during a House Insurance and Banking subcommittee hearing Wednesday.

Reminder: “Floridians are paying on average the highest property insurance premiums in the nation — about $6,000 a year. That’s 42 percent higher than last year and triple the cost of what it was when DeSantis took office in 2019, according to the industry-backed Insurance Information Institute.”

BATHROOM BILL GOES PRIVATE — Students and faculty at private colleges and universities in Florida won’t be allowed to use bathrooms that don’t match their sex assigned at birth under a new department of education rule, reports WMFE’s Danielle Prieur.

Related: Trans and nonbinary Floridians told the Tallahassee Democrat that they are afraid for their health and safety since the public school bathroom law passed, and sometimes avoid using public restrooms at all.

TESTING SHAKE UP — Florida approves more ‘rigorous’ bar for statewide student testing, by POLITICO’s Andrew Atterbury: The Florida Board of Education approved a new scale Wednesday for measuring whether students are performing at grade level on standardized tests. Schools in the spring will be judged based on these standards for the first time since the state began testing students three times annually to gauge their improvement in key subject areas of language arts and math.

LOBBYING MUSCLE — “After HOA corruption arrests, Florida’s community management industry works to weaken reform bills,” by South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s David Fleshler: “Industry lobbyists fought proposals for more state oversight of HOAs and condos, leaving homeowners at the mercy of their boards. They fought to preserve boards’ abilities to levy fines on homeowners and turn fines into liens.”

SETTLEMENT — Florida hospital system begins repaying state $122 million for billing errors, by POLITICO’s Robert King and Arek Sarkissian: The errors were discovered by Jackson Memorial Hospital during an audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice.

HOSPITAL BILL — Florida’s health agency wants $558,000 to set up a system for collecting patients’ citizenship status, reports Florida Phoenix’s Jackie Llanos. The request, before the Legislature, is in response to a Florida anti-illegal immigration law that requires the data collection.

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM — “In Florida, Gen Z activists step into the fight against sugarcane burning,” by Inside Climate News: “The Stop the Burn campaign, started in 2015, has pushed for a transition from sugarcane burning to ‘green harvesting,’ an alternative involving mechanical harvesting machines that cut off the leaves and tops of the canes and leave them on the ground. The industry already practices green harvesting in “smoke-sensitive” areas located near schools and hospitals … Some sugar executives claim such changes in Florida will result in considerable economic impact.”

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TOMORROW — New College of Florida's board of trustees is set to approve its contract with Richard Corcoran as the school’s new president, reports Steven Walker of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

SEVEN YEARS LATER — The City of Orlando will buy the LGBTQ Pulse Nightclub to erect a memorial in honor of the 49 killed in the 2016 mass shooting, reports Ryan Gillespie of the Orlando Sentinel. Commissioners will vote Monday on the deal, which will cost the city $2 million.

MILESTONE — Miami-Dade County recently spent $2.3 million to purchase and install 1,700 new wall-unit air conditioners in its nearly 10,000 public housing units,” wrote WLRN’s Alex Harris and Ashley Miznazi. “When the final one is installed later this year, the county claims each and every one of its public housing residents will have access to AC.”

BUG IN THE EAR — Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava got to bend U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s ear about getting federal funding for Miami’s North Corridor Metrorail, reported the Miami Herald. The county might seek as much as $1 billion from the federal government for a project that was first promised to Miamians in 1978 but never materialized.

NEW MIAMI BEACH LAW — People who are unhoused could be put in jail for sleeping outside after declining shelter, reports the Miami Herald’s Aaron Leibowitz.

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In this image from video provided by the U.S. Senate, Aileen M. Cannon raises her hand after being sworn in to testify remotely during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight nomination hearing to be U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on July 29, 2020, in Washington. (U.S. Senate via AP) | AP

TOMORROW — Federal Judge Aileen Cannon will hold a second conflict-of-interest hearing for defendant Walt Nauta in Fort Pierce, regarding the Trump classified documents case. She postponed the hearing last week after prosecutors raised fresh objections during the trial that weren’t documented in paperwork beforehand.

SUPER BOWL WEEKEND — The Trumpettes fan club scheduled a Mar-a-Lago gala around the time of the big game. Toni Holt Kramer, a Trumpettes co-founder, told Antonio Fins of the Palm Beach Post that the theme of the event will be "Putting on the Glitz" and will feature an as-of-yet-not-revealed celebrity. "It's going to be magnificent," she said.

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Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro gestures as he speaks in a press conference at Miraflores Palace on Feb. 17, 2021 in Caracas, Venezuela. | Carolina Cabral/Getty Images

WHAT FLORIDIANS ARE WATCHING — The Biden administration said Wednesday it will ease sanctions against companies that trade in oil produced in Venezuela or invest in the South American country’s oil industry in response to its new agreement to allow free elections next year, reports POLITICO’s Ben Lefebvre.

ANTI-JORDAN RANKS GROW — Rep. Vern Buchanan joined fellow Florida Republican congressmen Carlos Gimenez, Mario Diaz-Balart and John Rutherford on Wednesday in voting against Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio as House speaker. The prospect of Jordan getting the votes he needs is getting dimmer.

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NAMESAKE — A new park in Manatee County has gotten a familiar name: Governor Ron DeSantis Park, reports Jeff Patterson of WFLA. It was the overwhelming favorite when put up during a naming contest with 300 others. “Prepare for the extra security that you are going to need because this is going to invite vandalism,” warned Manatee County Commissioner Misty Servia (who is a DeSantis supporter).

DeSantis unveiled the name during a ceremony on Wednesday.

BIRTHDAYS: Former state Rep. Ramon Alexander … former State Rep. Brett Hage 

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