Chairman's Message

Fighting for Florida children to breath freely

As the Biden Administration, Democrats, the federal government and the CDC seek once again to force school children to wear masks all day at school, Governor DeSantis and Florida leadership refuse to cave to such damaging schemes. Governor DeSantis instead convened a roundtable Monday to discuss the issue and understand how Florida can effectively stop such detrimental efforts.

The roundtable included doctors, experts, a school administrator, a concerned parent, and a high school student. During the discussion, they all shared their professional or personal insights and experiences about how mask mandates and school closures harm children.

During the past 18 months, Governor DeSantis has been determined to keep Florida open and free by ensuring that parents and students have choices, giving them the ability to make decisions that are best for their families — and not school bureaucrats, unions or boards with other agendas.

Governor DeSantis opened set the roundtable with this opening:

“As many of you know, there's been talk amongst the CDC and the Academy of Pediatrics to force masking on school children — I think the academy even says teachers and school children, regardless of even immune status, even if they've recovered from COVID or even if they have been vaccinated. 

“And so, we in Florida, at this point, our school districts have proposed the mask optional. But I think our fear is that seeing some of those rumblings, that there may be an attempt from the federal level or even some of these organizations to try to push for mandatory masking of school children. And so, our view is that this should absolutely not be imposed. It should not be mandated. And I know our Legislature feels strongly about it, such that if, if you started to see a push from the feds or some of these local school districts, I know they're interested in coming in, even in a special session, to be able to provide protections for parents and kids who just want to breathe freely and don't want to be suffering under these masks during the school year.”

Watch the roundtable here:
https://rumble.com/vkd74v-07.26-covid-19-roundtable.html

Read the full transcript here:
https://www.temi.com/editor/t/JrHapRwkwTc5VGKDhSkiD2S99xHNF00sjm1OUz7iBUUZmp1xbMI5QS-GkZHSMCMnjGdV6t5SQpytgBTeiHIM56Ccw5s?loadFrom=DocumentDeeplink&ts=133.74

Florida

Florida has emerged victorious again over the CDC. After Florida appealed to the United States Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court reversed its earlier decision and sided with the State of Florida against the CDC’s unlawful No-Sail Orders. This means the cruise industry will be able to resume operations without having to follow the CDC’s unlawful and discriminatory rules.

“I’m glad to see the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reverse its prior decision and free the cruise lines from unlawful CDC mandates, which effectively mothballed the industry for more than a year,” Governor DeSantis said. “The importance of this case extends beyond the cruise industry. From here on out a federal bureau will be on thin legal and constitutional ice if and when it attempts to exercise such sweeping authority that is not explicitly delineated by law.”

Read more: https://www.flgov.com/2021/07/23/eleventh-circuit-declares-win-for-florida-and-the-cruise-industry/ 

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Florida's attractive business climate of low taxes and a responsible regulatory environment continues to lure great American companies to the state. Now it is the famed Disney Imagineers and 2,000 high-wage jobs coming from Los Angeles to the Orlando area. 

Disney could get an estimated $570 million in tax breaks over 20 years on a project that has a capital investment up to $864 million. That means a lot of jobs in construction over the years and a lot of jobs spinning off from the new Floridians.

Lake Nona is a development about 20 miles from Disney World and the new home for Cisco, General Electric Co. and several other major companies that are also realizing the benefits of Florida’s business climate.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/disney-looks-to-relocate-its-theme-park-magic-makers-to-florida-11627048801

ICYMI

Community Leaders Applaud State Response to Red Tide Bloom in the Tampa Bay Area

Governor DeSantis joined the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to survey the impacts of the red tide bloom affecting Southwest Florida and the Tampa Bay area. 

In response to the bloom, Governor DeSantis directed all agencies to take an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to provide resources to assist in cleanup efforts. Here is what community leaders are saying about the state’s response efforts.

Dave Eggers, Chairman, Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners: “I want to thank the Governor for visiting Pinellas County and for allowing the DEP and FWC to fully commit to mitigating the red tide fish kill and for committing over $2 million in cost reimbursements to date with an openness for more as needed. Also, I want to thank the Governor for reconstituting the red tide task force in an effort to provide much more focus on policy and research.”

Ed Montanari, Chairman, St. Petersburg City Council: “I have been so impressed with the strong leadership at all levels of government on the recent red tide bloom. The Governor’s office has been great to work with, along with our Pinellas County partners, along with city leaders. This is how government is supposed to work to solve complex problems.”

Read more here: https://www.flgov.com/2021/07/23/what-they-are-saying-community-leaders-applaud-state-response-to-red-tide-bloom-in-the-tampa-bay-area/

Social Media Highlights

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