Florida Legislature Convenes to Vote for Freedom Over Fear
November 15, 2021 1:22pm
I am at The Capitol in Tallahassee where the Florida Legislature has just gaveled in a special session to pass proper laws that protect the citizens of Florida from Washington's overreach vis a vis COVID. All four proposed bills are good bills that should become law. And I expect them all to pass.
But I also expect a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth by the Democrats and their allies in the propaganda press as they accuse Governor DeSantis and the Republicans of being science deniers who are trying to kill Floridians. The truth, however, is that those who support these bills are NOT science deniers, and those who oppose these bills ARE freedom deniers.
These are the four bills under consideration:
House Bill 1B and Senate Bill 2B would prohibit employers from implementing COVID vaccination mandates for employees without providing exemptions for medical reasons, religious beliefs, immunity based on prior COVID-19 infection, periodic testing at no cost to the employee, and an employee agreeing to use employer-provided personal protective equipment. It would also prohibit vaccine mandates for government and education employees.
HB1 and SB2 and would also empower parents to control their children's health care decisions by prohibiting school boards from mandating that students wear masks and get COVID vaccines. DeSantis' executive order already prohibits such mandates, but the proposed legislation would give it the force of law, which provides much more solid legal grounds to defend it.
HB1 and SB 2 would also prevent schools from forcing asymptomatic students and teachers into quarantine just because they were believed to be in the presence of someone who has COVID symptoms or tested positive for it.
House Bill 3B and Senate Bill 4B would protect workers from undue retaliation by creating a public records exemption for personal medical information or information regarding an employee’s religious beliefs contained in files created during an investigation of an employer that refuses to provide the individual exemptions or terminates an employee based on COVID-19 vaccination status.
House Bill 5B and Senate Bill 6B would begin the process to withdraw the State of Florida from federal OSHA jurisdiction and assert state jurisdiction over occupational safety and health issues. While that may sound impossible or improper, twenty-one states plus Puerto Rico currently operate their own state plans that cover private employees and government employees. And an additional five states and the US Virgin Islands operate plans that cover only government employees. So the proposal that Florida handle occupational health and safety at the state level instead of being under OSHA's thumb has precedent.
House Bill 7B and Senate Bill 8B would repeal provisions of existing state law that could currently be interpreted to allow the state health officer to force vaccinations upon Floridians. That authority has never been used, and it's never been tested in court. But HB 7B and SB 8B would make that moot because it would remove any authority the state health officer may be perceived to have.
And just in case you're wondering, that current law has only been in effect since 2002. Prior to 2002, Florida law did not expressly authorize the Department of Health to order that an individual be vaccinated. But in the fear-induced aftermath of the anthrax mailings following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Florida legislature empowered the state health officer to take additional steps to protect public health during a public health emergency. The way that statute is written, it could be interpreted to allow him to order vaccine mandates. If HB 7 & SB 8 become law, such authority would be specifically NOT authorized.
This special session is scheduled to run through Friday, but I expect the legislature to conclude its business and adjourn on Thursday.
UPDATED 11/17/21 @ 7:13pm: All four bills were approved by the Florida Legislature today.