Negotiations between the Florida Senate and House of Representatives, both controlled by Republicans, broke down, with the two sides unable to agree on a bill that would require inspections of aging condo buildings and mandate that condo boards conduct studies to determine how much they need to set aside for repairs. The talks were undone by a disagreement over how much flexibility to give condo owners in the funding of those reserves.
Read the full article. Florida Republicans managed to find the time to create new laws attacking LGBTQs, voting rights, women, and educators, but “ran out of time” to stop fatal building collapses.
The stalemate means that, barring a last-minute revival of talks, Florida condo law will remain unchanged despite broad calls for reform, and there will be no statewide requirement for safety inspections of older condo buildings. https://t.co/fV86UIII45
Don’t fall for this new Republican talking point “Florida session isn’t long enough & that’s why we didn’t pass property insurance reform! Or Surfside reforms! Or any meaningful policy!” Republicans set agenda. They chose culture wars over us b/c they want to distract, not serve.
Texas is worried it could lose over a billion dollars in federal funding over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring medical professionals to report gender-affirming care for minors as child abuse.
Attorney General Ken Paxton. Credit: USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Texas is worried it could lose over a billion dollars in federal funding over Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring medical professionals to report transgender children receiving gender-affirming health care as potential child abuse.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton amended an existing lawsuit suing the Biden administration Wednesday, attempting to void guidance issued by the U.S. Health and Human Services on March 2 that said restricting someone’s ability to receive medical care solely on the basis of their sex assigned at birth or gender identity is likely a violation of the Affordable Care Act for federally funded entities. That federal guidance came in response to Abbott’s directive issued late last month to treat certain medical treatments for trans children as possible crimes to be investigated by the Department of Family and Protective Services.
The federal guidance stated that health care providers do not need to disclose private patient information regarding gender-affirming care and that it is illegal to deny health care based on gender identity.
Paxton, in the lawsuit, said that guidance is based on “erroneous interpretation of sex discrimination.” The lawsuit says Texas does not aim to deny health care based on gender identity. Instead, the state argues its investigations disregard gender entirely, barring all children from “unnecessary medical interventions.”
In 2020, $1.36 billion in federal funds went to Texas’ Department of State Health Services, Paxton said in the lawsuit. More than $26 billion went to the State’s Health and Human Services Commission.
Before Abbott issued his directive essentially equating gender-affirming care to child abuse, Paxton issued a nonbinding legal opinion stating that health care treatments such as puberty blockers, prescription medicines whose effects are entirely reversible, constitute child abuse as well. These statements elicited intense criticism from the White House, doctors, lawmakers and advocacy organizations.
So far, the state has begun five investigations into parents of trans children since Abbott issued his directive Feb. 22. However, there may be more cases as the state declined to disclose active investigations amid pending litigation.
Paxton attempted to stop a ruling temporarily blocking the state from investigating the family of a trans child. But a Texas appeal court denied him Wednesday. On Friday, lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal will ask a lower court judge to stop state investigations against parents who obtain gender-reaffirming care for their children.
The Élysée Palace released images of French President Macron after his call with Putin today, regarding the invasion of Ukraine. 🇫🇷🇷🇺🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/I1uOgNMuma
Republican Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, doubled down on his pledge to raise most Americans’ taxes if the GOP retakes the Senate in this year’s midterms.
Scott gleefully justified his proposal to Laura Ingraham on Monday night.
Last month, he unveiled a plan that stipulating that, “All Americans should pay some income tax to have skin in the game, even if a small amount. Currently over half of Americans pay no income tax.”
When asked on Fox News if he wanted to raise taxes on most Americans last month, Scott straight up lied by saying his plan would not do that. He received no pushback from host Sean Hannity.
Appearing on The Ingraham Angle on Monday, Scott said that Americans “want free government stuff.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has distanced himself from Scott’s agenda. Last week he said at a press conference that it “will not be a part of the Republican Senate majority agenda” if the GOP retakes the chamber.
But that would depend on whether McConnell is still the leader of Senate Republicans.
Speaking with Scott, Ingraham rather bizarrely called his plan to hike taxes on most Americans “unabashedly populist.”
“Here’s what’s not fair,” he said. “We have hard-working Americans – they’re paying all these taxes, and retirees pay them. Who’s not? We’ve got some billionaires not paying it, and we got people that want free government stuff and they don’t want to have any skin in the game. That’s not fair.”
Ingraham followed up by asking Scott, “What is going on here with Mitch McConnell?” She noted that “he’s not a populist,” but rather “an old-style Bush Republican.”
Scott replied, “I just think there’s a difference of opinion.”
When asked by Ingraham if he was “fine” presenting his plan to voters, Scott responded, “Hell yeah!”
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/01b78ee3827bf0b3ecd8c309c84c7fc4/Ken%20Paxton%20REUTERS%20TT%20001.jpg)
