Florida Dems could have killed a DeSantis priority. We told them not to blow it. They blew it | Editorial

Florida Democrats have spent much of this week crying foul at Republicans’ “political theater” during a special legislative session designed to undermine employer vaccine mandates and appeal to anti-vaccine sentiment.

But when given the unusual chance to block a bill that would leave the public in the dark regarding state investigations of such mandates, Democrats dropped the ball and handed their political rivals a win.

Democrats have either gotten so used to being the minority party in Tallahassee that they suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, or they are unable to get their caucus together when it matters. Or perhaps they are happy being complicit in chipping away at Florida’s public records laws as long as they get something in return from GOP leaders who control state government.

Needed super-majority

House Bill 3B needed a two-thirds vote in both legislative chambers because of rules that require a super-majority to pass exemptions to public-records laws. The Legislature passed the bill on Wednesday with nine Democrats in the House and two in the Senate joining Republicans. The bill makes complaints and investigations regarding employers’ COVID-19 vaccination mandates protected from public record disclosure — at least until the investigation is completed and, in some cases, indefinitely.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is certain to sign the legislation into law, making it part of more than 1,000 exemptions to Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine laws, most of which were approved over the years with bipartisan support.

The point of HB 3B, sponsors say, is to protect the identity and medical information of employees who file complaints against companies, which will be prohibited from imposing vaccine mandates unless they provide exemptions for religious, medical and a slew of other reasons just approved by the Legislature. But the bill is so broad it would also protect the names of companies under investigation. That means Floridians wouldn’t know, for example, whether companies with political connections got preferential treatment.

Privacy concerns

Miami Beach Rep. Michael Grieco told the Herald Editorial Board this was a “trap bill” that contained good and bad provisions. He said he held his nose to vote for it because he couldn’t explain to his constituents going against protecting their private information.

“I actually don’t like most of this bill,” Grieco said on the House floor. “[But] there’s one issue there that I know would be important to my constituents . . . and that’s our ability to protect the information, the health information of employees.”

That’s understandable. What’s not understandable is why Democrats couldn’t use their ability to sink this bill to play hardball and fix it (a Democratic amendment was voted down by the House GOP). Killing or changing a bill during a special session called by DeSantis — and so tied to his political messaging ahead of his bid for reelection and the 2024 presidential primaries — would’ve required Democrats to stand united. But some of them likely didn’t want to anger GOP leaders who decide which lawmakers can accomplish things for their districts.

Democrats will say, “We allow our caucus members to make the decision they feel they need to make on behalf of their district,” as Democratic Rep. Ramon Alexander of North Florida told reporters during a Wednesday news conference.

That sounds more like code for a party that couldn’t get its act together. If their plan is to undermine DeSantis’ agenda, they did just the opposite. What a contrast to Republicans, who, time and time again, have stood disciplined behind their leadership’s priorities.

Perhaps that explains, at least in part, why only one of those parties has dominated Florida for years.