Well, I'm not the State Champion for cycling, but more on that later... This last week was the third of six Committee Weeks ahead of the 2022 Legislative Session and the big news was, we may get a BONUS "Special Session" in the next few weeks to placate Governor DeSantis' presidential primary politics.
It was a... busy week...
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I heard two bills this week, and voted against both of them! Seriously, after months of hearing about the staffing crisis in Florida's prisons, the Secretary's emergency ability to unilaterally release inmates he cannot safely house, and minutes before being asked for 200m more dollars (on top of a 5.6b budget), the Republican's ran two bills to increase penalties (including the death penalty) for low-level non-violent drug crimes ( story [[link removed]] ).
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And, yes, to follow up we then we all walked into Judicial Appropriations and agreed to spend $200m OF YOUR MONEY on fixing the crisis inside our prisons. Ridiculous...
Anyways, moving on. I did enjoy getting to spread a little knowledge at FSU Law School as their honorary "Senator" in a mock Comittee Meeting! The bad news, one class apparently didn't qualify me for a law degree, BUT it was a great opportunity to meet some of the up and coming leaders in our state!
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On the way to Tallahassee, I also had a GREAT pit-stop at the Florida Museum of Natural History! Seriously, I learned so much about our Natural History, springs, native cultures, and pre-historic origins. It's FREE for all but the butterfly garden and traveling exhibits (worth it though) and a GREAT place to bring the kids if you need an I-75 road trip stop.
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I got the briefing on a super cool new Florida Water exhibit they are building that incorporates Florida's natural springs, aquifer, and ways we can all help clean up and keep it pristine for another 1,000 years.
Ok, switching gears to the part I know you care about as much as I do, the State Championship Bike Race was this weekend!!! I had a personally disappointing 7th place finish, but that was out of about 60 guys on the start line so not too bad overall. I did make the winning breakaway, but I got caught before the line and my breakaway-mate went on to win. HUGE congrats to him on a monster effort. Here's the breakdown of Saturday's ride:
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This next week be on the lookout for announcements on my upcoming legislative and appropriations filings. I put a bow on some of the behind the scenes negotiations this past week and it's just about time to hit the file button!
And lastly, a bit of good news from the Florida Hospital Association on updated COVID cases:
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And something to make you smile so I don't end my e-mail with a nerdy graph...
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Andrew Learned
Candidate for Florida House (FL-59)
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